Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

POLITICAL EXPERT: SO FAR, THERE ARE NO PREREQUISITES FOR ROBERT KOCHARYAN’S RETURN TO BIG POLITICS

by Marianna Lazarian

ARMINFO
Tuesday, January 14, 17:00

So far, there are no prerequisites for the second president Robert
Kocharyan’s return to big politics, Alexander Iskandaryan, Director
of Caucasus Institute, told reporters, Tuesday.

According to him, politics has disappeared from Armenia over the last
2 years, amid collapsed opposition.

In this light, the people began paying more attention to insignificant
events, including scandals, interviews of some people etc.

“If there were serious politics in the country and the parliament
were an area of political fight and not an area for law stamping,
such kind of information would not attract so much attention. The
current situation will continue till the next elections, unless a
serious political force emerges,” the political expert said.

In this light, Iskandaryan said that the former president’s interview
couldn’t affect the situation in the country. Furthermore, it will
have no influence on the opposition field.

“The problem is not unification. A real opposition force is needed
to lead the people,” Iskandaryan said. According to Iskandaryan,
Armenian Parliament Vice Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov’s response to
Kocharyan actually meant that the authorities are satisfied with the
work of the prime minister.

To recall, Robert Kocharyan has recently harshly criticized the
government, including Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.

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Subject: Political expert: So far, there are no prerequisites for Robert
Kocharyan’s return to big politics

Political expert: So far, there are no prerequisites for Robert
Kocharyan’s return to big politics

by Marianna Lazarian

ARMINFO
Tuesday, January 14, 17:00

So far, there are no prerequisites for the second president Robert
Kocharyan’s return to big politics, Alexander Iskandaryan, Director of
Caucasus Institute, told reporters, Tuesday.

According to him, politics has disappeared from Armenia over the last
2 years, amid collapsed opposition.

In this light, the people began paying more attention to insignificant
events, including scandals, interviews of some people etc.

“If there were serious politics in the country and the parliament were
an area of political fight and not an area for law stamping, such kind
of information would not attract so much attention. The current
situation will continue till the next elections, unless a serious
political force emerges,” the political expert said.
In this light, Iskandaryan said that the former president’s interview
couldn’t affect the situation in the country. Furthermore, it will
have no influence on the opposition field.

“The problem is not unification. A real opposition force is needed to
lead the people,” Iskandaryan said. According to Iskandaryan,
Armenian Parliament Vice Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov’s response to
Kocharyan actually meant that the authorities are satisfied with the
work of the prime minister.

To recall, Robert Kocharyan has recently harshly criticized the
government, including Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.

From: Baghdasarian

EX-PRESIDENT RIGHT TO SPEAK NOW – GARNIK ISAGHULYAN

15:14 ~U 14.01.14

Former presidential representative in Armenia’s parliament, Chairman of
the National Security party Garnik Isaghulyan, who recently proposed a
meeting between the two ex-presidents and incumbent President Serzh
Sargsyan, answered Tert.am’s question about ex-president Robert
Kocharyan’s silence for a long period and his latest statements on
the Armenian-Russian gas agreements.

“According to our Constitution, power belongs to the people in our
country, and the people have the right to the final say. I am sure the
people will do so. If Mr Kocharyan refrained from voicing his opinion,
he would be accused of being silent,” Isaghulyan told Tert.am.

– Mr Isaghukyan, Armenia’s ex-president Robert Kocharyan has given
two interviews in the recent 20 days. His tone was similar to that of
the opposition. In his previous interview he addressed such problems
as apathy, emigration, the rest 40% of Armenia’s population. Do you
think he is making a bid for returning to big politics?

– Robert Kocharyan has played a significant role in the last 25 years
of Armenian history. As a political figure who was Nagorno-Karabakh’s
first president and Armenia’s second president he had the right to
remain silent on the ongoing processes for a certain period. However,
Kocharyan’s remaining completely silent when the present failures
are put down to his presidency and “wrong economic policy,” with
late Chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia Andranik Margaryan
as premier, would be viewed as a proof that the present failures are
the result of the blunders during Andranik Margaryan’s premiership. I
think Kocharyan’s answers should be viewed in this aspect, without
any implications.

– In his remarks about the gas agreements, Robert Kocharyan described
the hidden natural gas debts as a “very unpleasant story” that
compromised the Government’s reputation. What’s your evaluation
of that?

-I definitely agree to that response, as we together eye-witnessed it
during the National Assembly’s session that discussed the question. If
there is anyone thinking otherwise, he or she can order a survey on
the topic to make sure of the credibility of the remarks.

– Do you think the Kocharyan-prime minister confrontation – the
replies they gave to each other – are direct or indirect? I mean,
are Robert Kocharyan’s remarks addressed to the prime minister per
se or are they a message to President Serzh Sargsyan?

– To speak about a confrontation between sides that discuss completely
different problems is not appropriate. I have repeatedly had the
occasion to state that knowing Robert Kocharyan well as an individual,
citizen and president, I can say that whenever he has something to
say to a person, he does it directly, without any mediation.

– Mr Isagulyan, certain individuals consider the second president’s
interviews as a staged performance signaling the preparation for his
comeback. Your comments, please.

– I have practically answered this question. If Robert Kocharyan
decides to return to politics, he will speak of that. There are people
for whom roundabout ways are unacceptable. So there is no need to
worry at the moment. In case anything is planned, we will keep the
society in the know.

From: Baghdasarian

IRAVUNK: SAFARYAN ACCUSES POSTANJYAN AND HOVANNISIAN OF WEAKNESS

13:03 14/01/2014 ” DAILY PRESS

Head of Heritage parliamentary faction Zaruhi Postanjyan and faction
secretary Stepan Safaryan had a serious quarrel in the New Year
holiday period, Iravunk writes, citing its sources.

“Safaryan fell into hysterics after learning that as Heritage MP Tevan
Poghosyan gives up his parliamentary seat, member of Free Democrats
party Masis Ayvazyan, who comes next in the Heritage’s proportional
list, has no plans of missing the chance to become an MP and conceding
his seat to Stepan Safaryan. Safaryan had long phone conversations with
Zaruhi Postanjyan and Raffi Hovannisian, accusing them of weakness and
inability to put any influence on Free Democrats,” the newspaper says.

Source: Panorama.am

From: Baghdasarian

VERITE ET JUSTICE POUR LES TROIS MILITANTES KURDES ASSASSINEES

Publié le : 14-01-2014

Info Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN vous
invite a lire cette information publiée sur le site des Amitiés
kurdes de Bretagne le 13 janvier 2014.

Photo Francois Legeait

Ils étaient des milliers a manifester a Paris

lundi 13 janvier 2014 par Amitiés kurdes de Bretagne

Des milliers de Kurdes (13 000 selon la police, 30 000 selon les
organisateurs) venus de toute l’Europe, ainsi que de Francais,
dont une délégation des Amitiés kurdes de Bretagne, ont défilé
samedi dans les rues de Paris et tenu meeting sur la place de la
République pour crier leur indignation, toujours aussi vive, un an
après l’assassinat de trois militantes kurdes, dont Fidan Dogan,
bien connue en Bretagne sous le nom de Rojbîn.

A l’heure où le nom de Nelson Mandela est sur toutes les lèvres,
il est impossible pour les Kurdes et ceux qui les soutiennent de
ne pas faire le rapprochement entre Mandela et Ocalan (leader kurde
emprisonné a vie), l’ANC et le PKK (deux organisations dont l’une,
le PKK, est toujours considérée comme terroriste), Dulcie September
et Rojbîn (toutes deux en poste a Paris et assassinées dans leurs
bureaux).

La Fédération des Associations kurdes de France (Feyka), la
Coordination nationale Solidarité Kurdistan (CNSK), le Parti
communiste francais (PCF), Femmes Solidaires, la Marche Mondiale
des Femmes, le Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l’amitié entre
les peuples (MRAP), le Mouvement de la Paix, Le Nouveau Parti
anticapitaliste (NPA), la communauté tamoule, les organisations de
la gauche turque, mais aussi les antifascistes allemands étaient
présents. Des députés européens, des maires, des élus locaux ont
également pris part a la manifestation. Parmi les nombreux orateurs on
citera Remzi Kartal, co-président du Congrès du Peuple du Kurdistan
(Kongra-Gel), Pierre Laurent, sénateur, président du parti de la
gauche européenne et secrétaire national du PCF, Aysel Tugluk,
députée de Van, co-présidente du Congrès pour une société
démocratique (DTK).Tous ont alternativement crié leur indignation.

André Métayer, au nom de la CNSK, a affirmé la détermination
totale des organisations qui la composent pour obtenir des autorités
francaises que toute la vérité soit établie et que la justice passe,
même si l’accusation concerne un pays (la Turquie) ami de la France :

nous attendons du gouvernement francais et de l’Elysée l’attitude
qu’il convient quand il s’agit de dénoncer un crime politique qui a
été commis sur notre sol, de réconforter les proches des victimes
et de demander des comptes au pays mis en cause.

André Métayer

Retour a la rubrique

Source/Lien : Amitiés kurdes de Bretagne

From: Baghdasarian

TOURISM IN ARTSAKH COULD BE A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE

I will be making many more visits there and am thankful that I had
the good fortune to find this enigmatic land a few years ago.

If you are a person seeking the darker side of life with gangs in the
streets, muggings, shootings, protests, people being intimidated,
bombs etc then you will be disappointed by Nagorno-Karabakh. You
need to go to the more popular destinations of London, and other
European and “Western” capital cities to see such excitement. If you
want impressive landscapes, unusual cultural traditions, different
cuisine, and a friendly, welcoming and safe environment then perhaps
Nagorno-Karabakh is an option for you?

January 13, 2014

PanARMENIAN.Net – In all of my 9 visits to Nagorno-Karabakh, I have
always felt very safe and have never been subjected to any personal
danger whatsoever. I will be making many more visits there and am
thankful that I had the good fortune to find this enigmatic land a
few years ago.

For most of us outside of Nagorno-Karabakh we don’t realize the
extent of the genuine danger that we live under, and yet, seemingly,
are totally irrational to a place where a conflict ended 20 years ago.

This is largely borne out by ignorance. Sarajevo, which was under
siege at the same time as the Nagorno-Karabakh war, receives about 20
times the number of tourists. Somehow those visitors have forgotten
the daily news bulletins of the “war-torn” capital. Also millions of
people travel to Belfast (Northern Ireland UK) each year, now, even
though it was the scene of inter-community violence and bombings for 30
years and even to this day devices are still being planted in places
that, theoretically could kill tourists. For some reason a blind eye
is turned to this risk. But for Nagorno-Karabakh, the myth continues.

I have heard people ask if there are risky areas, or places which
should be avoided due to land mines – yes of course. The popular
maxim which applies to all tourists in any destination in the world
is to do your research and be aware of the guidelines that you are
given. If you travel to New York and drift into no-go areas late at
night, despite the advice given in the hundreds of tourist books,
then the outcome is likely to be very risky. In Nagorno-Karabakh
you will never accidentally find yourself anywhere near a military
establishment which poses any danger for a visitor. For anyone who is
visiting the many beautiful tourist destinations in the country then
there is simply no risk. If you want to act recklessly and ignore
advice given by locals and head into the mountains alone into known
minefield areas then that is no different to going into the “bad areas”
of any capital city late at night.

So just to re-iterate – Nagorno-Karabakh is a safe place to visit.

Is it difficult to get to Stepanakert? Simple answer – No.

There are many flights into Yerevan. Anyone using Paris or
London as a hub can fly via Air France or if using Moscow, via
Aeroflot. The airport in Yerevan is a beautiful new building, and very
passenger-friendly and there are plenty of authorized taxis able to
take you into the city centre. Yerevan has many quality hotels all of
which can be booked either directly, or through the usual internet
agencies like Booking.com. As with any major city, accommodation is
available for all price ranges.

The only way of getting to Stepanakert from Yerevan is by road. This
can be done by bus ( which is very cheap) or a taxi can be hired.

Personally, I always go by taxi which costs about £40-£50 ($70-$80)
– this is cheap for a 6 hour journey. It is occasionally raised as
a major hurdle for people not visiting. However they are prepared to
spend much longer confined to an aircraft, with no view at all. If you
go in a taxi, the journey is more flexible – you can stop as often
as you want, watch the beautiful landscape unfold, and you may even
enjoy some of the delights of the culture on the way.

Stepanakert, and Shushi now have some very modern, and luxurious
hotels that will appeal to the European/American traveler and are
very reasonably priced. I was privileged to have been shown round the
rooms and the facilities of the new Vallex Garden Hotel – the rooms
there are extremely good, and would be very pleasant for people who
like their comforts when travelling. There are many high quality
restaurants and cafes available in the city as well and, for those
who have the opportunity to meet up with some of the locals, then a
meal hosted by a family would be a treat to remember – and you will
be made to feel very special!

There is a vast amount of unspoilt scenery and places to visit in
the country. The Governments website has some powerful videos, and
photographs, as well as much more information to help the tourist. For
people from the established industrialised nations then you will find
the country very good value compared to what you are used to.

The vast majority of people in the UK, assuming they leave the country,
will only go on holiday to conventional tourist destinations in Western
Europe, US, Canada, and a few well known Middle Eastern, and Asian
countries. Poland and Croatia is about as far East as they would go,
in Europe, and that is considered to be exotic, so encouraging people
to go to Nagorno-Karabakh would be a long process.

However for the people in the global Armenian Diaspora this should
not be the case.

As an unrecognized country it is extremely difficult for manufactured
products to be exported much beyond Armenia, or Russia, which severely
curtails the ability of the country to grow from within. Most of the
significant investments into the infrastructure are made by wealthy
business people / philanthropists from the Diaspora. The one export
that can be made, without the movement of goods is Tourism – there is
no particular reason why this cannot continue to grow. In addition
to bringing money into the country, it will bring confidence to the
people that they are “recognized”, and this will gradually help with
their greater well-being.

Since 2009 the number of tourists ( excluding those from the Republic
of Armenia) has grown by 40% per year but in 2013 this will still only
be in the region of 20,000 people. If 1% of the Armenian Diaspora
visited each year this would be nearer 100,000 people. Although
the major infrastructure projects supported by the Telethons are
important, perhaps an appeal which supports people actually visiting
Nagorno-Karabakh could be another initiative?

A modest increase in the tourist traffic would have a profound effect
on the local economy and if done in a co-ordinated, and considered way,
the influx of money could directly help a large number of people in
the country. Ultimately, this could be a life-changing experience for
the people visiting – as it did for me – as well as the many people
living in this besieged Armenian country.

Russell Pollard

From: Baghdasarian

Op-Ed Contributor

Playing the Genocide Card

By ALEX DE WAAL

Published: December 18, 2013

When France decided to send soldiers to the Central African Republic
on Nov. 26, it did the right thing for the wrong reason.

France, the United Nations and the African Union dispatched some 4,000
troops soon after the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, warned
that the C.A.R. was `on the verge of genocide.’ Yet the country
doesn’t face genocide; it is experiencing state collapse and limited
intercommunal killings after a military takeover by a coalition of
undisciplined militiamen known as Seleka.

Last week, flying home from the memorial service for Nelson Mandela in
Johannesburg, President François Hollande of France stopped in Bangui,
C.A.R.’s capital, to visit the newly deployed French peacekeepers. The
stopover also served as an implicit act of contrition for events in
April 1994, when world leaders congratulated Mr. Mandela for presiding
over the peaceful end to apartheid, even as they were pulling their
peacekeepers out of Rwanda. Close to one million people died in the
genocide that unfolded over the following months.

Nineteen years later, French and African soldiers have fanned out
across Bangui and other towns largely unopposed, losing just two
soldiers so far. Over the last decade the C.A.R. had become a
battleground for sundry marauders, freebooters and proxy forces,
especially from Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Lord’s Resistance Army of Joseph Kony, on the run from Uganda, is
believed to be hiding out in its thick, lawless forests.

Even by its low standards, C.A.R. slid further into chaos this year at
the hands of two political contenders who are little more than
aspiring warlords set on plundering for personal gain. François
Bozizé, the country’s cruel military leader from 2003 until last
March, was eventually abandoned by his sponsors in Chad and Sudan
because of his nepotism and incompetence.

Michel Djotodia, who took control of Bangui in March with the support
of Seleka, an undisciplined coalition of militia from the C.A.R.’s
Muslim minorities, had no political agenda beyond seizing power. But
this was not a mere change of guard. The African Union warned that if
the Muslim rebels overran the capital there was a high risk of
intercommunal pogroms. Muslims constitute about 15 percent of C.A.R.’s
population and are concentrated in the northeast, at the borders with
Chad and Sudan. They are overrepresented among market traders, but
members of the Christian majority have long dominated politics.
Discrimination is such that Mr. Djotodia, a Muslim, had to take a
Christian name to enroll in school.

People from the country’s southern region, which borders Cameroon and
the Democratic Republic of Congo, frequently refer to people from the
remote and marginalized northeast as foreigners, regardless of their
actual citizenship.

Both France and the African Union already had troops in the country as
a result of previous peace-maintaining efforts. The African Union
urged the French to defend the capital from the Seleka rebels while
its own forces would control the northeast, from where Seleka was
launching its attacks. But France had no stomach for propping up a
discredited dictator who seemed intent on clinging to power solely to
enrich his family, and so it let Djotodia take the city.

The African Union’s warning was prescient. Longstanding religious
fault lines soon translated into ethnic killing. Communities have
armed themselves, and local vigilantes have turned on one another. At
least 500 people have been killed, and tens of thousands have been
displaced.

Yet neither C.A.R. specialists nor students of genocide would describe
this violence as genocide. There haven’t been large-scale and
systematic massacres, and the killings are driven by the contingencies
of fear, not a deeply nurtured intent to destroy another ethnic group.

France is legitimately worried that the implosion of the country might
bring chaos to neighbors like Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of
Congo, which are rich in natural resources and important members of
the global Francophone bloc. But the French authorities have been
concerned that they could not generate domestic support for a faraway
military adventure unless they dramatized the crisis, and so they used
the word `genocide.’

The overstatement has also allowed the French to obtain a United
Nations Security Council resolution that gives their troops the
authority to use `all necessary measures.’ The soldiers’ mission is to
disarm the militias and hand over security to the African-led
International Support Mission in the Central African Republic, which
the United Nations Security Council has charged with stabilizing the
country over the next 12 months.

This might seem like a fine outcome, but there are serious downsides
to treating situations like the current crisis in C.A.R. as a
genocide.

Misdiagnosing the problem can mean taking the wrong actions to resolve
it. The playbook for an international response operation to mass
atrocities calls for neutralizing perpetrators and protecting unarmed
civilians; it is not designed to manage a conflict among many armed
actors, each with a distinct civilian constituency.

One immediate question facing the French and African troops in C.A.R.
is, which forces should they disarm? Were their task to stop a
genocide from unfolding the answer would be obvious: the perpetrators
of violence. But in C.A.R., there are no clear villains and victims:
All parties are armed, and all can plausibly claim to be acting in
self-defense.

Most important, if the label `genocide’ is readily applied to any
situation of ethnic strife and governmental breakdown, it will lose
its analytic power and its special moral force. Soon enough it won’t
serve any purpose.

Alex de Waal is executive director of the World Peace Foundation.

A version of this op-ed appears in print on December 19, 2013, in The
International New York Times.

From: Baghdasarian

ianyan magazine
Jan 12 2014

Pushkin Street: Raffi Wartanian’s Eclectic, Honest Musical Debut

Posted by Liana Aghajanian

Raffi Wartanian has probably never particularly enjoyed sitting still.
The 27-year-old musician has gone from playing for Baptist church
choirs in rough Baltimore neighborhoods to studying flamenco in Spain,
volunteering on a Portugal farm and riding his bicycle across the
country to San Francisco. It was in the Bay Area where he wound up
living with some of the best gypsy jazz guitar players in the city –
an encounter that had a profound impact on his style.

After being based in Armenia as a Fulbright research fellow where he
studied music with teachers at the Komitas Conservatory, Wartanian
released his debut album last year. `Pushkin Street,’ an impressive
collection of 11 songs, comes with as much eclectic sound as it does
track titles. Wartanian’s deep, consistent voice and trusty guitar
anchor a folk, blues, rock, indie-filled journey that reflects his own
life, identity and travels in the most wondrous of ways.

The youngest of three who was driven down to Armenian school in D.C.
while listening to a radio program called the Beatles Brunch every
week, Wartanian’s upbringing is as much a fusion as his music. At
home, he spoke Armenian and at lunch, he ate manaish, a Levantine
dough topped with cheese or ground meat, in a sea of peanut butter and
jelly sandwiches.

`It was like the classic double life experience of first generation
Armenian-Americans,’he says. `American by day, Armenian by night.’

In a way, his love for music has connected both worlds. He had studied
piano, influenced by his classical pianist aunt, and there was never a
shortage of Armenian, Greek and Arabic music in his house. But it was
in high school when he switched to guitar and became enveloped in the
music of Nirvana and Led Zeppelin. He began writing music and playing
shows before he studied music theory in college as an undergraduate,
often playing in different bands – some funk, some neo-soul. He
quickly figured out though, that the complexity involved in lining up
schedules, perspective and specific vision made him better suited to
branching out as a solo artist.

After college, he traveled across the U.S., Europe and as well as
Lebanon where his roommate was his grandmother, but it was Armenia,
which he first visited in 2007 with Birthright Armenia, a program that
offers applicants with Armenian descent to volunteer in the country
through long and short-term stints, that solidified in him a manic
desire to return.

`I was constantly longing to come back,’ he says.

So he did, visiting in 2012 and also spending most of 2013 in Armenia
under a Fulbright Fellowship. He traveled across the country, learning
about Armenia’s unique biodiversity as well as growing environmental
problems. He even shot his music video for the song, `Electronic
Flirtation,’ in the country.

What does Wartanian really, truly love about Armenia? The fact that he
doesn’t have to think about being Armenian when he’s there.

Courtesy of Raffi Wartanian

`It doesn’t matter,’ he says vigorously. `I’m just who I am and that’s
it. When I’m in the diaspora, whether it’s in Lebanon or America or a
farm in Portugal, there is this always this question of identity and
having to define myself – `how Armenian am I going to be today?’ –
Here, there’s none of that. I just buy some cheese and toilet paper
and it’s the most Armenian thing I could possibly do.’

Naming his album, a nod to the Yerevan street where he performed his
first live music show in Armenia , came

`It wasn’t a big deal, but for me it was like a thrill and a rush to
be performing in Armenia and performing my own music,’ he says. `It
really gave me a sense of validation in my own voice and ability.’

That validation eventually lead Wartanian to release `Pushkin Street,’
where he incorporates a bevy of colorful characters and personal
stories that include everything from a Celiac disease to overcoming a
fear of dogs and political elections in Armenia.

`Gluten Free Blues,’ a feet-stomping rockabilly-inspired song was
written as a wedding gift for Wartanian’s two close friends – one who
has Celiac disease and one who does not – whom he biked across America
with.’Hello, empty stomach/Pleasure to meet you/Days are gonna be
long/And I might have to eat ya!’ Wartanian sings

In `Electronic Flirtation,’ a `thematic philosophical statement song’
about how the new, digital landscape impacts the way people relate to
each other, Wartanian waxes poetic about the good old days of romance
and bits and bytes that have replaced it.

Dizzy in Dreams is a nostalgic song detailing how it feels to always
be coming and going, about `trying to reconnect with a place that
you’ve left, that feeling of saying goodbye and hello again,’ he says.

Though Wartanian is currently based in NYC, working on new music while
he’s enrolled in a master’s program at Columbia University, and
occasionally working on some sketch comedy, it seems heading back to
Armenia, a place he says he feels really at home in, is in his future.

`I don’t have any of those existential questions,’ he says about
living in the Caucasus country, `rather I feel like I belong to this
big family.’

Listen to Pushkin Street here

Watch Raffi Wartanian music video for `Electronic Flirtation’ here:

From: Baghdasarian

The Times of India
Jan 12 2014

Divas, spies and first ladies of their ilk

Ratnottama Sengupta,TNN | Jan 12, 2014, 02.26 AM IST

KOLKATA: When they died, both Gauhar Jaan and Noor Inayat Khan were
laid to rest in unmarked graves. Other than this, they had another
thing in common – Kolkata. This emerged on the fourth day of AKLF, on
at The Park, in association with The Times of India.

Gauhar Jaan ‘Kalkattewali’, the first Asian to be recorded on 78 RPM,
was the toast of this city’s upper crust. They were mad about her
ghazals and thumris; she was mad about her cat and hosted lavish
parties for their litter. Born to a Hindu grandmother, British
grandfather, and Armenian father, she would ride down Red Road on her
four-horse buggy and wave at the viceroy if he happened to pass by,
even if that spelt a thousand-rupee penalty. Inevitably, she was
paupered and had to seek employment with the Wodeyars of Mysore. Two
years later when she died, childless, no one bothered to place a
tombstone on her grave.

Noor was daughter of Hazrat Inayat Khan, a descendent of Tipu
Sultanwho died fighting the British rulers. Being a Sufi, Inayat
didn’t care for fights: When his murshid told him to travel west, he
arrived in California with his veena and his chelas. There, he fell in
love with this beauty called Ray Baker, married her and headed for
London. When he realised he was being trailed, he fled to Moscow where
Noor was born full 100 years ago, on January 2. When the October
Revolution happened, Inayat returned to London where they stayed
through WW1. Again, when he was followed, he moved to Paris where he
suddenly died. Noor, all of 13, took charge of her mother and
siblings.

In 1939, with war clouds hovering over them, Noor’s brother Vilayat
said, “Though Sufis, we must fight fascism.” So they’re back in
London, he joins RAF, she its women’s wing. The war had empowered the
women in many ways: Noor learnt radio transmission and became the
first woman wireless operator. Soon she was inducted into the secret
service: one day a young man unilaterally informed her in French:
“You’ll be sent to Paris. If you’re caught you’ll be killed. Are you
ready?” Noor didn’t think even once, she simply said “Yes”.

Nora or Madelaine – as she was known – had an appetite for adventure.
But the job at hand was full of danger – she could decode in less than
72 hours but her circuit was broken in less than a week. She rebuilt
it and had a busy time for three months. But her beauty proved her
undoing: She was betrayed by an informer whose infatuation she didn’t
reciprocate. The feisty spy found herself in Dachau, condemned to
‘disappear without trace’.

Spy or diva, both citizens of the world had to get the better of
logistical challenge. Noor, wherever she went, had to carry the
transmission machine in a box, plug it electrically, transmit and
scoot – with the box! And Gauhar? Since there were no microphones
then, she had to scream at the top pitch into a horn, with two
technicians standing by her to hold back her hand if she lifted it to
her ears, Hindustani-vocalist style! Don’t you see? It’d disturb the
recording – that ended with the declaration ‘I am Gauhar Jaan!’ -which
would then be cut into a disc by a technician in Hanover.

Screechy, even funny to our stereophonic-and Dolby-attuned ears, these
recordings still bring us the story of the diva who led the vinyl
recording movement that went unnoticed in its 100th year – 2002.
That’s why Vikram Sampath has taken up the task of making available to
everyone who’s interested in the ‘Voices of India.’

Noor? She was decorated by the Brits with a George Cross and the
French with a Grand Croix. But India did not know of her. Full 50
years after WW2 had ended, when the secret service records were
declassified, details of her war against fascism surfaced. And
Shrabani Basu picked up her trail. Besides penning down her
impassioned story, she even raised 100,000 pounds for a bronze bust
that was unveiled in London 2012 – by Princess Anne!

From: Baghdasarian

Armenian MP of ruling party speaks of `lack of constructivity’

13:52 – 12.01.14

Four parliamentary groups plan to hold a protest at funded pensions on
January 18.

Armenia’s authorities have a clear opinion of that, without being
particularly concerned over the unification of non-coalition forces.

Hovhannes Sahakyan, a Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) parliamentary
group member, does not think the ruling party, RPA, is concerned over
the non-coalition forces’ combined efforts.

`I think we lack constructivism now. And the fact of the political
forces joining their efforts can be welcomed,’ he told Tert.am.

According to the MP, Armenia is a state of law, and the authorities
are building up a rule-of-law state and have proved that any actions
within law are acceptable regardless of whether they are organized by
opposition forces civil activists or pro-government forces.

`Each person has his or her own opinion, and they can express their
opinions within law. I do not see any problem,’ Sahakyan said.

Late in 2013, the government’s statement on the introduction of a
funded pensions system in Armenia, caused public discontent. The
initiative against funded pensions has since held a number of
protests.

From: Baghdasarian

Shant Harutyunyan Fainted After Being Given Improper Food: Attorney

01.10.2014 15:29 epress.am

Shant Harutyunyan, a political activist imprisoned on Nov. 5, lost
consciousness after he ceased his hunger strike, his lawyer, Inessa
Petrosyan, said at a press conference today after visiting her client.

According to lawyer, after the decision to end his hunger strike,
Harutyunyan was not given dietary food but egg, which caused him to
faint. She added that for about an hour and a half today, she was not
permitted to meet with her client since he had fainted.

The investigative body verbally informed the lawyer that the forensic
psychiatrist determined Harutyunyan to be sane. Recall, after being
arrested, Harutyunyan spent one month in Nubarashen psychiatric
clinic, where he was subject to a forensic examination. Petrosyan,
however, has not yet been received the written conclusion.

Petrosyan has complained of the conditions in which Harutyunyan is
being kept: the room is not heated and the constant transfers have a
negative impact on his health. She also recalled that it’s been 3
months that her client’s family has not been permitted to visit him.

Through the attorney, Harutyunyan expresses his gratitude to his
supporters, noting that his will is unshakeable and he will continue
to fight.

From: Baghdasarian