Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

Turkey’s neighbors have to confront Sunni integration – political analyst

May 27, 2013 | 17:29

YEREVAN. -Turkey’s neighbors will have to confront the Sunni
integration, political analyst Sergey Kurginyan said.

The alliance of Sunni states supported by the United States has
launched an active struggle in the Middle East, he said, speaking in
Politologists’ Union of Armenia on Monday.

`The strategic alliance of radical Sunni Islamism – not Islam which I
respect, but Islamism – is obvious. In any territory to which we pay
attention, we see evidence of this, including Iran. It’s time to
finally see that the Taliban and al-Qaeda are the main allies of the
United States. Now they are dividing Taliban into `peaceful’ and
`non-peaceful’. Have you seen a peaceful Talib?’ he said.

The expert stressed we should not forget that Turkey is a major Sunni state.

`How will states with rich history, but a small area and a small
population, respond to the integration of Sunni forces actively
supported by the United States? The answers to these questions must be
found,’ Kurginyan said.

He noted that even Israel, in spite of all its strategic interests,
begins to support the invasion of Sunni forces into Syria.

`This is the influence of pressure. And the pressure is caused by the
fact that the U.S. did not have enough forces to establish the world
order,’ he added.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian

Special agency set up to help Syrian-Armenian students

03:09 PM | TODAY | SOCIAL

Syrian-Armenian students face problems connected with housing and
tuition payments. About 250 out of the 4000 students from the Diaspora
are from Syria.

A special agency has been set up under the Diaspora Student Council
which is tasked with coping with problems of Syrian-Armenian students.

“Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund has allocated AMD 40 million for their
tuition reimbursement. “200 students are now receiving full or partial
tuition reimbursement from the Hayastan All Armenian Fund,” says
Samvel Mkoyan, President of the Diaspora Student Council.

Also, surveys were conducted in seven universities which revealed that
60% of the Syrian-Armenian students had arrived in Armenia in 2013 in
the result of the ongoing armed conflict in Syria.

“We try to help them as much as we can, otherwise we direct them to
relevant bodies. For example, the Council is organizing language
courses for those Syrian-Armenian students who encounter language
problems,” said Araks Mahtesyan, a representative of the
Syrian-Armenian Students’ Committee.

She did not rule out a new flow of Syrian-Armenian students after the
opening of Aleppo airport.

From: Baghdasarian

The NKR MFA Foreign Minister Received the French Parliamentarians

Monday, 27 May 2013 16:24

On May 27, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic Karen Mirzoyan received Chairman of the France-Armenia
Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group Francois Rochebloine and French
senators Henri de Raincourt, and Bernard Saugey, who were in
Stepanakert on a visit.

During the meeting Karen Mirzoyan introduced the main tasks facing
NKR’s foreign ministry. The Head of MFA also touched upon the current
stage of the conflict settlement process between Azerbaijan and
Nagorno Karabakh under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk group
co-chairmanship.

The participants of the meeting also dwelled on the activity of the
France-Arsakh Friendship Circle, noting its importance from the
perspective of further broadening and deepening of ties between the
two states and peoples.

NKR MFA Press Service

From: Baghdasarian

NKR Foreign Minister receives French legislators

03:54 PM | TODAY | OFFICIAL

On May 27, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Artsakh
(Nagorno-Karabakh) Republic Karen Mirzoyan received Chairman of the
France-Armenia Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group Francois
Rochebloine and French senators Henri de Raincourt, and Bernard
Saugey.

During the meeting Karen Mirzoyan introduced the main tasks faced by
NKR’s Foreign Ministry. The NKR official also touched upon the current
stage of the conflict settlement process between Azerbaijan and
Nagorno-Karabakh under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk group
co-chairmanship.

The participants of the meeting also dwelled on the activity of the
France-Arsakh Friendship Circle, noting its importance from the
perspective of further broadening and deepening of ties between the
two states and peoples, NKR MFA Press Service reports.

From: Baghdasarian

Hagob Baronian (November 19, 1843 – May 27, 1891)

15:18, May 27, 2013

Hagop Baronian, widely regarded as the greatest Armenian satirist of
all time, was born in Edirne and died in Constantinople.

An influential Armenian writer, educator and social figure, Baronian
was known for his scathing critique of leading figures in
Constantinople Armenian political and social circles.

Baronian’s most famous work was the book Medzabadiv Mouratsganner
(“Honorable Beggars”), which parodies the almost beggar-like state of
writers and publishers in that period.

Unfortunately, he suffered the same fate as the characters in
Medzabadiv Mouratsganner, and died penniless, suffering from
tuberculosis, on the streets of Istanbul.

The Heritage of Armenian Literature: From the Eighteenth Century to
Modern Times; pp 405-406

`In the 1870s he sided with Khrimian Hayrik in support of the revision
of the National Constitution and criticized the corruption of Ottoman
officials in the Armenian provinces. As the Balkans erupted into the
rebellion that led to the Russo-Ottoman war o1877-78 (which in turn
made the Armenian Question an international issue), he attacked
Ottoman internal policy and exposed the hypocrisy of the European
powers with bitter sarcasm. In 1883, in order to avoid censorship, he
began to publish a weekly brochure called Dzidzagh (Sneer), in which
the heroes, all national and international figures, were represented
allegorically by animals derived from Armenian folklore, such as the
fox, the frog, the ant, and the monkey. The series lasted for only one
year and his enemies declared victory.

From: Baghdasarian

Yerevan-Damascus-Qamishli-Yerevan flight postponed to June 5

May 27, 2013 | 13:25

YEREVAN. – Syrian Airlines will operate
Yerevan-Damascus-Qamishli-Yerevan flight on June 5.

The flight was postponed from May 28 to June 5, manager of Syrian
Airlines’ Yerevan office Svetlana Hovhannisyan told Armenian
News-NEWS.am. The initiative on postponing the flight came from
Damascus, she added.

Twelve passengers will fly to Damascus and 62 will come to Armenia.

As reported earlier, the first Damascus-Qamishli-Yerevan flight was
operated on April 16. Thus, air communication between Armenia and
Syria was resumed.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian

FRANCE-VALENCE (DRÔME)
Armenia organise une table ronde sur les Arméniens de Valence

l’association culturelle `Arménia` organise une soirée de
rencontre-débat et table-ronde autour des `Arméniens de Valence et de
la région`, vendredi 7 Juin à 20h30 à la salle Cheneviers de la MJC
Jean Moulin de Bourg-Lès-Valence. Combien sont-ils a Valence et dans
la région ? quel fut le chemin de leur intégration ? Quelles sont
leurs relations avec l’Arménie et les Arméniens ? Autant de questions
que tenteront de répondre les intervenants. Ouvert à un large public,
toute personne désreuse de témoigner pourra intervenir lors de cette
table-ronde. Au terme de la soirée, `Arménia` donnera une réception.

`Les Arméniens de Valence et région`, table-ronde, Vendredi 7 Juin à
20h30 à la MKC Jean Mouline de Bourg-Lès-Valence. Entrée Libre.
Contact : `Arménia` 130 rue Marcel Paul (Bourg-Lès-Valence). Tél 04 75
83 80 58. E-mail : [email protected]

lundi 27 mai 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

From: Baghdasarian

Hidden processes going on in region – Armenian oppositionist

09:00 – 27.05.13

The superpowers’ interests in terms of increasing Azerbaijan’s role in
the South Caucasus region coincide, according a senior representative
of the Armenia based opposition party Heritage.

Speaking to Tert.am, Styopa Safaryan said he believes the United
States, Europe and Russia are showig a kind of reverence to the
country.

`Hidden processes are going on in the region. Turkey, which proposed –
in November last year – opening communication routes of geopolitical
and geo-economic importance is again among [the powers] standing at
its bottom,’ he said, pointing out to the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad
which is due to be launched this autumn.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a recent meeting with
his Azerbaijanii counterpart that the continuing status-quo over
Nagorno-Karabakh is not to anyone’s advantage.

At a hearing organized by the PACE Monitoring Committee in Talin,
Estonia, Director of the International Crisis Group Sabine Freizer (as
well as European experts) considered the OSCE Minsk Group an
ineffective platform for settling the Karabakh conflict. They hinted
at the possibility of continuing the negotiations beyond that format.

`In November last year, Turkey made quite a cunning step, by offering
Armenia to join the Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railroad on condition of solving
the Karabakh issue. And because Azerbaijan has a key position in South
Caucasus in terms of all these programs, it has acquired a ponderous
role for Russia. With Turkey proposing that Armenia and Azerbaijan be
directly connected with Russia, that’s obviously in the country’s
interests,’ said Safaryan, adding that the Russia is interested in
replacing the status quo over Karabakh.

Armenian News – Tert.a

From: Baghdasarian

States News Service
May 25, 2013 Saturday

FIDH PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE “SATURDAY MOTHERS” AND TO THE VICTIMS OF THE
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

The following information was released by International Federation for
Human Rights (FIDH):

An FIDH delegation went Saturday 24 May to Galatasaray square, in
Istanbul, where FIDH is holding its Congress, to support the “Saturday
Mothers”. These women gather every Saturday since 1995 to demand the
truth about their missing children and relatives. From the 70’s to the
90’s, Turkish security forces were responsible for the disappearance
of over 800 Turkish and Kurdish activisits. The FIDH delegation
included Shirin Ebadi, 2003 Nobel Peace Prize and Nassera Dutour,
spokesperson for the Collective of Families of the Disappeared in
Algeria.

FIDH delegates then went to Dolmabahce, also in Istanbul, to pay
tribute to the victims of the Armenian genocide. Those present,
including Artak Kirakosyan, General Secretary of FIDH from Armenia and
Yusuf Alatas, FIDH Vice-President from Turkey, threw flowers into the
sea in the memory of the victims. It is from Dolmabahce that over 300
Armenian intellectuals were forced onto trains on 24 April 1915 and
taken towards unknown destinations; this was one of the initial events
of the Armenian genocide. Each year, on this day, Turkish human rights
defenders pay tribute in this very symbolic place.

FIDH is currently holding its 38th World Congress in Istanbul. Its 164
members organisations are meeting to define FIDH’s strategy for the
next three years and elect on 27 May, the new international board.

From: Baghdasarian

Fresno Bee, CA
May 26 2013

Ask Me: Armenian Town homes restored

Saturday, May. 25, 2013 | 10:39 PM

Question: What is the status of the old Armenian Town houses that once
sat near the Van Ness Avenue exit of Highway 41?

— Gary Giese, Dinuba

Answer: The five single-story wood-frame houses built between roughly
1900 and 1905 in the Queen Anne and vernacular styles have been moved
and are being restored, said Karana Hattersley-Drayton, historic
preservation project manager for the city of Fresno.

Four of the houses were built on the 400 and 500 blocks of N Street,
and the fifth was originally on the 500 block of O Street. Located in
what became Armenian Town, the homes are identified according to
former owners: the Hoonanian, Schmidt/Terzian, Tollikian, Damirgian
and Karagosian families.

The homes were first moved to a vacant lot below the freeway off-ramp.
During 2011-2012, the homes were moved to their current site at Santa
Clara and M streets.

ERIC PAUL ZAMORA/THE FRESNO BEE
One of the homes in Armenian Town at M Street and Santa Clara Street
being renovated by construction crews.

MORE PHOTOS

Moving and restoring the houses is a project of the city’s
Redevelopment Agency. During the project’s current phase, the exterior
“character-defining features” are being restored, Hattersley-Drayton
said. Stained glass windows original to some of the homes have been
put back in place and the homes are being painted.

The houses are now owned by the city’s Successor Agency, which
replaced the Redevelopment Agency. The plan is to sell them for
business use, although they also could be rezoned for
commercial/retail or residential use, she said.

Question: We moved to Madera Ranchos from the Bay Area several years
ago. What is the history of the area?

— Tony Colorado, Madera Ranchos

Answer: The Madera Ranchos subdivision in rural Madera County was
planned in the early 1960s by actor Jack Haley — the Tin Man in “The
Wizard of Oz” — and a group of investors that included comedian
Jackie Gleason.

“They wined and dined the county to get what they wanted,” said Ethel
Pronin, a longtime area Realtor. Haley and his group weren’t required
to install roads or water and sewer systems, which caused problems for
early homeowners, she said.

The subdivision sat vacant for nearly 10 years before Haley’s group
and Fresno home builder John Bonadelle Sr. began developing the area.

The first homes were built in the early 1970s near Avenue 12 and Road
37½. “There was nothing out here. No PG&E, no phones and bad roads,”
said Pronin, who built several homes and developed the area’s first
shopping center.

Many of the early problems have been overcome: Roads “are better than
they used to be,” Pronin said. Madera County runs a private water
system and a ponding basin has helped relieve flooding.

Today, Madera Ranchos has several churches, a senior center owned by
area residents, stores and restaurants and a branch of the Madera
County Library. Children attend Webster Elementary, Ranchos Middle and
Liberty High schools in the Golden Valley School District.

Question: What is the purpose of those bumpy yellow squares in sidewalk ramps?

— Laurie Jones, Fresno

Answer: The bumps on those yellow squares are officially known as
“truncated domes,” says Shannon M. Simonelli, Americans With
Disabilities Act coordinator for the city of Fresno.

The bumpy texture serves to notify people who are visually impaired or
blind that they are leaving the sidewalk and entering a street,
Simonelli said.

Truncated domes were added to ADA requirements in 1991 but removed
from the federal standards in 2010, she said. But the California
building code kept the requirements, so the bumpy panels continue to
be installed throughout the state.

Initially, the dot pattern on the panels was staggered, but a newer
in-line pattern can help people using a walker or wheelchair to avoid
the bumps.

Of the city’s 21,556 street corners, curb ramps have been installed at
21,043 of them, Simonelli said. It costs $1,300 to $1,800 to install a
standard curb ramp, including about $155 for truncated domes. Curb
ramps are financed with gas tax and Measure C money, she said.

From: Baghdasarian