Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

PRESS RELEASE
Free Space IDHR
Aygedzor str. 4/1, Yerevan 0019, Armenia
Tel. +374 10 264712, +374 91 432119
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
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FREE SPACE international forum
15 October 2014, Yerevan, Armenia

FREE SPACE international forum will be held in Yerevan, Armenia, on the
17-19 October, 2014 with about 15 events – panel discussions,
presentations, workshops, performance, gardening, music.

The main themes of the forum are democratisation of public spaces and
empowerment of women. The forum will bring together activists and
researchers from 7 different countries and will provide a platform for
discussions, exchange and networking concerning issues of (re)claiming
and designing democratic, free public spaces, women empowerment and
their presence in public spaces.

The forum will be held at Karen Demirchyan park, known as the
`Malibu park’, which is an abandoned public space in the very
heart of Yerevan, near Mashtots Avenue and which we aim at co-designing
and co-useing through this event.

The FREE SPACE forum is organized by the Institute for Democracy and
Human Rights (IDHR) in cooperation with the South Caucasus Regional
Office of Heinrich Böll Foundation (Germany), in the framework of
`Designing a democratic public space’ project. The
project aims at shaping democratic, participatory, diverse public spaces
in Yerevan. Taking this into account we facilitate informal education
for disadvantaged women, raise awareness on strength of the organized
social mobility of women, and enhance their civic culture and
rights-based claims.

We are pleased to invite you to participate in the events within the
forum program and cover them in your media.

For additional information please contact us:

From: Baghdasarian

STUNNING ARMENIA, A FASCINATING GLIMPSE INTO NOAH’S LAND (ONE OF TWO PARTS)

Sun Star, The Philippines
Oct 15 2014

WRITING about my recent trip to Armenia is not going to be easy –
there are just too many great experiences to note down!

Friends and family were wondering what got into our heads when we
decided to go there. Where and what is there to do? And why of all
places Armenia? You’ll soon see why. Armenia is honestly one of the
most gorgeous countries I’ve been to.

Brief background

Armenia is right smack in the middle of four other nations: Turkey,
Georgia, Azerbaijan and Iran. It’s made up of mostly landmass and is
not bordered by any seas. It is a dominantly Christian country and was
the first in the world to adopt Christianity as their state religion.

It is also one of the oldest countries in the world. It is known as
Noah’s land, for in the bible it is said that his ark came to rest
on Mt. Ararat:

In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark
rested upon the mountains of Ararat. (Genesis 8:5)

The sights

The moment we landed in Yerevan, we immediately saw a rather faint,
but rather clear outline of Mt. Ararat. We also saw it from above,
while on the plane, and it got us so excited to see the famed mountain
of Noah on the very first day.

Yerevan is such a beautiful city. It had a very European feel,
is clean, modern but with touches of culture and architecture from
another era. Our hotel was located at Republic Square. At night, the
scene transformed. Imagine the sight with fountains, lit up buildings
and Andrea Bocelli’s Time to Say Goodbye playing in the background. It
was gorgeous! The city is also called the rose colored capital because
most of its buildings are built in a pink shade of “tuf” stone.

We spent the majority of the trip in Yerevan and would just drive
out every day to visit the sights. The Armenian countryside is very
pleasant and each drive always yielded different views.

One fun thing we did while on one of our drives out to the tourist
sites was to stop by the road and pick up some obsidian. There is so
much of it in the country!

The monasteries

A lot of the sights that we went to were monasteries. I’ll have to
say I was pretty much blown away almost every time I visited a new one.

Each one had a more fantastic location than the last. There were
dramatic backdrops like gorges, valleys and mountains, while locations
were usually in the middle of nowhere.

One of the first ones we visited were the churches that were
overlooking Lake Sevan. This lake is the largest body of water in
Armenia and is situated pretty high above sea level at 1,900 meters.

The next was the Khor Virap monastery. This was supposed to be where
you could get the best views of Mt. Ararat and its snowy peaks, but it
was covered with fog on the day that we went. There were some vendors
selling doves, which you could release in the direction of Mt. Ararat.

Sounded like another one of those tourist traps, but of course,
one of my sisters still bought one. Why not though, right? When else
can you say you released a dove out into a biblical mountain? It was
still a fun and funny experience (She had to carry the bird up lots
of steps and it would not stop twitching!).

Khor Virap also had St. Gregory the Illuminator’s underground pit. St.

Gregory is the country’s patron saint and is credited for converting
Armenia from paganism to Christianity.

The next monastery, Noravank, was my favorite. The mountains
surrounding it were all red rock and jagged stones.

A visit to Geghard Monastery, which is carved from a single rock, was
a must. It had really amazing acoustics, that when one person sings,
it sounds like a whole choir! We also went to Sanahin and Haghpat
monasteries, both of which are Unesco World Heritage Sites.

Saghmosavank Monastery is a monastery that is perched at the edge of
the precipitous gorge of the Kasakh river. Celyn Sala

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN COMMUNITY PRAYS FOR AILING PATRIARCH MUTAFYAN

Daily Sabah, Turkey
Oct 15 2014

Zeynel Yaman

ISTANBUL — Prayers continue to pour in for the recovery of Archbishop
Mesrob II Matufyan, the Armenian Orthodox patriarch in Turkey, who
has undergone treatment for dementia since 2008.

The patriarch, also known as Mesrob Mutafyan, was photographed for the
first time in six years at the hospital where he is being treated for
dementia. The photo shows the patriarch in his hospital bed surrounded
by Armenian Orthodox bishops and Aram AteÃ…~_yan, the vice-patriarch
who represents the patriarchate in the absence of Mutafyan, solemnly
praying for the ailing religious leader.

Mesrob II was diagnosed with dementia in 2008 and is confined to a
Turkish-Armenian hospital in Istanbul where he has been treated since.

He is the 84th patriarch of Turkey’s Armenian Orthodox community and
succeeded Karekin II in 1998. Archbishop Aram AteÃ…~_yan was appointed
to serve as Patriarchal Vicar, as Mesrob II had to withdraw from the
duties of the patriarchate due to his illness. Under Turkish laws
and patriarchate rules, a new patriarch cannot be elected while his
predecessor is alive. The Istanbul-born patriarch studied sociology
and philosophy in the U.S. before returning to Turkey. He was ordained
by the priesthood in 1979 and appointed as pastor to Kınalıada,
an island near Istanbul where a small Armenian community lives.

From: Baghdasarian

ABOLISHMENT OF GOV’T REGULATION LEAVES MINORITY FOUNDATIONS IN LIMBO

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Oct 15 2014

Turkey’s minority foundations have been unable to elect presidents
for almost two years as the Directorate General for Foundations (VGM)
has failed to draft a new regulation following the annulment of the
previous one, a daily has reported.

The issue has been taken to the courts by four representatives of
the Greek minority community, the Bugun daily reported on Wednesday.

Katina Evdokiye Veriopoulos, Evdoksia Galanopoulo, Keti Vucas and
Evangelos Mihailidis applied to the Bakırköy 7th Civil Court of
First Instance claiming that the VGM had failed to deal with the
issue either intentionally or out of neglect, according to the report.

The regulation, enacted in 2008, was annulled in January of 2013
purportedly due to concerns over conflict regarding unearned income
from real estate owned by minority foundations.

The third section of the regulation pertaining to the constituency
of the elections, Article 29 regarding the creation of a board of
directors and election period, Article 30 concerning the conditions
of voter eligibility and Article 33 regarding election procedure had
been abolished by the VGM.

Cem Murat Sofuoglu, the lawyer of the four Greek community members,
stated that his clients had requested that the judge intervene and
elect the administrators if the foundation members themselves were
not allowed to, the report said.

A request was made to reach a decision and determine the election
procedures at the Balıklı Rum Hospital Foundation; one of three
hospitals belonging to the Greek minority community which has had the
same president for 23 years. In the application it was stated that
the democratically elected board had been in place since 1991. “There
have been no elections since 1991. The current administration does not
even inform the Greek community about its decisions. The 90-year-old
president, Dimitri Karayanni, has been assuming the role of foundation
president for 23 years.”

Leaders of foundations, opinion leaders express concern over inability
to elect administrators

Representative of minority foundations at the Foundations Council,
a branch of the VGM, Laki Vingas resigned from his post due to the
abolishment of the regulation 22 months ago.

Vingas stated that he “resigned because he wasn’t able to
conscientiously approve of the situation.” He also remarked that then
Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arınc contacted and assured him that the
problem would be solved and that he should withdraw his resignation.

“I believed him, trusted him and withdrew my resignation but no new
regulation has been passed,” Vingas said, adding: “Some foundations
aren’t able to reach decisions. Administrative problems are arising.

Those with terms filled are unable to operate. This type of situation
causes rifts in small communities such as ours.”

Jewish community leader Silvyo Ovadya stated: “I don’t understand why
the regulation is not drafted. Elections aren’t able to take place
because of this. Without elections the foundations will become like
czardoms. They will be able to rule the foundations as they wish as
no one can be elected.”

Around 45,000 members of the 60,000-strong Armenian population
in Turkey are thought to reside in Ä°stanbul. The community has 55
churches, a nursery and 17 primary schools in addition to the Armenian
Church. Likewise, 22,000 of the 25,000 members of the Jewish community
in Turkey live in Ä°stanbul. The Jewish community has 36 synagogues,
three schools, 18 foundations and two hospitals. In addition,
a 4,000-strong Greek population runs 15 primary schools, six high
schools, with two newspapers published in Greek, 75 foundations and
90 out of a total of 108 places of worship still under use.

From: Baghdasarian

NAGORNO-KARABAKH TO HOST WINE FESTIVAL

13:45, 02.10.2014

The first wine festival will be held in Nagorno-Karabakh on October
18 in Tokh village of Hadrut Region.

The goal of the festival is to intensify development of communities
located in the southern direction and to promote tourism development
in NKR.

The festival was initiated by the NKR department on tourism and
protection of historical environment, and has key importance in terms
of revival of winemaking traditions of Karabakh.

This platform will enable Armenia and Karabakh wine makers to sell
and promote their products and exchange experience.

Armenia News – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian

EEU MEMBERSHIP NOT TO AFFECT ARMENIA’S MANUFACTURING – MINISTER OF ECONOMY

YEREVAN, October 16./ARKA/. Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian
Economic Union (EEU) will not have a negative impact on domestic
production, minister of economy Karen Chshmarityan told reporters
on Wednesday.

On October 10, Armenia joined the EEU treaty that will come into
effect on January 1, 2015.

According to the minister, EEU membership will not cause a decline in
production as Armenia had free trade and free capital turnover with
the EEU-member countries before, along with some restrictions. Now
all the procedures will be simplified, the minister said.

In particular, VAT will not be paid at the border anymore, documenting
procedures will become simpler and there will be free cross-border
movement of goods. All this opens up wide opportunities for sales,
Chshmarityan said.

The minister said he sees no reason for concerns about local
production.

The only problem may be the need for increasing productivity,
introducing innovative technologies to boost production output,
he said.

“Armenia has a manufacturing potential. In particular, exports were
seen diversified this year, with other countries having accounted
for over 40% in overall exports, which is an almost 6% growth”,
Chshmarityan said. This indicates expansion into new markets,
increase of production and better quality of products, according to
the minister.

The minister emphasized Armenia maintains its free trade with other
countries, Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova in particular. -0–

From: Baghdasarian

ARMIES CAN BE DEMOCRATIC IN COUNTRIES IN “NO WAR, NO PEACE” SITUATION: ARMENIAN DM

16:35, 16 Oct 2014

Lusine Vasilyan
Public Radio of Armenia

The Armenian Ministry of Defense in cooperation with the OSCE Yerevan
Office has organized a two-day workshop on the politico-military
aspects of security. The workshop focuses on the transparency and
accountability of the armed forces, prevention of corruption risks.

The event has brought together representatives of different
international bodies – NATO, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions
and Human Rights, Geneva Center for Democratic Control of Armed Forces.

The main document on the agenda is NATO’s Building Integrity (BI)
Programme, which Armenia joined in 2013. It provides practical tools
to help participating countries strengthen integrity, transparency
and accountability and reduce the risk of corruption in the defense
and security sectors.

Speaking at the workshop, Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohnayan
said Armenia’s joining the Programme and its effective cooperation
with the OSCE in the field break the stereotype that the army of a
country in “no war, no peace situation” cannot be democratic.

“I assert with confidence that we are breaking that stereotype. We
consider that the army can be transparent and democratic even in a
‘half-war’ situation,” Minister Ohanyan said.

The BI Programme is tailored to meet national needs and requirements.

It is demand-driven and participation is on a voluntary basis. It is
open to all NATO Allies and partners.

From: Baghdasarian

YEREVAN’S MUSEUM OF FUTURE WILL ONLY BE OPEN FOR A DAY

10.16.2014 15:44 epress.am

“Armenia is rightly called the birthplace of the “future”. More than
two thousand years ago, at the dawn of Christian civilization in the
foothills of Mount Ararat was born fraternity of fighters for equality
and justice of the ideal society.”

The Yerevan Museum of Future History project’s text begins with the
latter paragraph. The project will take place on October 17, at 7 pm,
at the Art Laboratory (13 Hrachya Kochar str., 1st Floor, #20 room)
for only one day.

The project’s participants write:

“The heroes’ long journey continues to this day, leaving indelible
traces in the hearts of new generations, seekers of freedom. If the
people of the earth just knew how much creative sweat, blood, and
pain bears the long-awaited free future! That knowledge has a value
of gold. Like a miraculous drug relieves it from the sleep of reason
and sweet forgetfulness of slavery. Therefore, they do not stop their
pursuit of those who take it upon themselves to tell the stories of
the future and to fight for it. One day, after the victory of the noble
brotherhood, liberated from the shackles of injustice and oppression,
Yerevan History Museum opens a renewed Future.

And in this new museum, there will be the integration of the stories
of oppressed generations, which have been passed on from generation
to another. All around planet Earth and all other planets, a renewed
humanity will remember and honor the memory of those who are indebted
to the future. But today, we can start to bring that day closer.

Therefore, we are opening, for the first time in Armenia and only
for a day, the Yerevan Museum of the Future.

The project was created by Arseny Zhilyaev in collaboration with
Armenian artists, cultural critics and political activists, and with
curator Eva Khachatryan, in the framework of Suburb Cultural Center
and CEC ArtsLink residency program.

The people who have worked on the project are Arseny Zhilyaev, Eva
Khachatryan, Momik Vardanyan, Arthur Petrosyan, Vardan Jaloyan, Ara
Nedolyan, Vahram Aghasyan, Edgar Amroyan, Samvel Vanoyan, Hovhannes
Margaryan, Hayk Bianjyan, Narek Aleksanyan and Grigor Khachatryan.

From: Baghdasarian

THREE FAMILIES IN A GARAGE (VIDEO)

13:26 | October 16,2014 | Social

A lot of negative phenomena in society are concentrated in Gyumri
temporary settlements, where the effects of poverty and unemployment
can be witnessed in every step. Very often orphaned children and
cases of early marriage can be met there. Most part of the children
in large families don’t continue education after school.

The video by “Shirak center” is about a family of eight living in a
suburban temporary settlement in Gyumri. Recently one of the print
media of Gyumri has presented their lifestyle and noted that their
first grade girl was very upset, when she wasn’t given a bag, which
were distributed at the school.

Today “Shirak center” employees visited their family. The child was
given a bag full of stationary, as well as clothes and winter fuel.

From: Baghdasarian

RAFFI HOVHANNISIAN IS AN ELECTED PRESIDENT – ZARUHI POSTANJYAN

16:00 / 15.10.2014

Speaking to reporters today MP from the Heritage faction Zaruhi
Postanjyan said that if the trio really has a goal to get free of
the incumbent authorities it must at least present the agenda and
the way of its implementation.

She also stressed that the Prosperous Armenia party has not broken
ties with the authorities yet. “If the agenda forwarded by me is
accepted by the PAP I will say they have done it,” she said.

As to the candidacy of PAP leader Gagik Tsarukyan in the post of
the president, Zaruhi Postanjyan said that such issue will not be
discussed.

“I see Raffi Hovannisian as a president. He was elected by a fair
vote. We have president – Raffi Hovhanissian, the next one must be
a person able to take the country trough transition period, and this
president is again Raffi Hovhannisian,” she said.

Nyut.am

From: Baghdasarian