Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

APPLY FOR CAMP JAVAKHK 2013! DEADLINE MARCH 15

CAMP JAVAKHK 2013 promises to be a truly memorable and fulfilling
summer experience for all Armenian youth. The AYF Eastern Region
invites all youth interested in making a difference in the lives
of other Armenians and connecting with our brothers and sisters in
Javakhk to apply today for the counselor position.

The camp will be from July 22nd to August 3rd (travel dates a few days
prior to camp) and offers the opportunity to experience firsthand
a taste of our current and historical homeland. Unfortunately all
applicants may not be accepted so get your application in today!

Questions or concerns should be directed to [email protected].

Follow us on Facebook at for the latest
news and updates, and we look forward to receiving your application!

From: Baghdasarian

MINISTER-COUNSELOR FROM EMBASSY OF ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN IN ARMENIA: STATEMENTS BY PRIVATES DO NOT REFLECT OFFICIAL TEHRAN’S STANCE

ARMINFO
Wednesday, March 6, 16:35

There are people in Iran who express their personal views, which
does not reflect the official stance of the country, Jafar Zamani,
Minister-Counselor from the Embassy of Islamic Republic of Iran in
Armenia, told ArmInfo when commenting on the statement by General
Mohsen Rezaei that the Armed Forces of Iran participated in the
Karabakh war and helped Azerbaijan.

Ms. Zamani said that Iran has good relations with all its neighbors
and enhancement of ties with one of them does not affect the relations
with the others. Iran has always supported peaceful resolution of
the Karabakh conflict and is ready to mediate in the Karabakh peace
process, he said.

He recalled that in the course of the Karabakh war, it was with help
of Iran that the parties made the first ceasefire. Mr. Zamani said
that official Tehran has experience in mediation missions and supports
peaceful resolution of conflict via political dialogues.

In an interview with the Sahar TV channel, Mohsen Rezaei, who was
the commander of the Revolutionary Guards during the six-year war
between Iran’s two northern neighbours, said he had ordered his forces
to provide special military assistance to the armed forces of the
Republic of Azerbaijan.

“I personally issued an order … for the Republic of Azerbaijan army
to be equipped appropriately and for it to receive the necessary
training,” he said. “Many Iranians died in the Karabakh War. In
addition to the wounded, who were transported to [Iran], many of the
Iranian martyrs of the Karabakh War are buried in Baku.” “Karabakh is
a part of Islamic lands and the Republic of Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity must be guaranteed through peaceful means”, – he said.

Rezaei, who is currently the Secretary of the Expediency Discernment
Council, recently announced that he would be running in the upcoming
presidential elections in June. He rejected claims within the Republic
of Azerbaijan that Iran offered no assistance to Baku during its
war with Armenia, saying that they were made by individuals close
“the West” and “international Zionism”.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN STUDIES PROGRAM BRINGS ERIC BOGOSIAN TO U-M

March 6, 2013

Playwright, novelist, and actor will deliver Berj H. Haidostian Annual
Distinguished Lecture

The University of Michigan’s Armenian Studies Program this week
announced that playwright, novelist, and actor Eric Bogosian will
deliver the 2013 Berj H. Haidostian Annual Distinguished Lecture
on Wed., March 13. Bogosian will discuss how his decision to write
a screenplay about the 1915 assassination in Berlin of the Ottoman
Grand Vazir, Talat Pasha, led him to write a non-fiction history of
the Nemesis assassins and their context. He has dedicated the last
five years to the study of Armenian and Turkish history, interviewing
prominent historians around the world, translating primary texts from
Armenian, French, and German, and conducting primary research in the
British archives. He will talk about his public experience as a writer,
as well as the private and personal self.

Eric Bogosian has most recently starred with Laura Linney on Broadway
in Donald Margulies’ “Time Stands Still.” He wrote and starred in the
play “Talk Radio” (NYSF, 1987; Broadway with Liev Schreiber, 2007),
for which he received Pulitzer Prize and Tony award nominations. For
his film adaptation of the play, Bogosian received the Berlin Film
Festival Silver Bear Award. In addition to “Talk Radio,” Bogosian has
written a number of full-length plays, including “suburbia” (LCT,
Second Stage, adapted to film), “Griller” (Goodman), “Red Angel”
(Williamstown Theater Festival), “Humpty Dumpty” (The McCarter),
and “1+1” (New York Stage and Film). He is also the author of three
novels-Mall, Wasted Beauty, and Perforated Heart-and a novella,
Notes from Underground.

As an actor, Bogosian has appeared in numerous films and television
programs, starring in Robert Altman’s “The Caine Mutiny Court Martial,”
Oliver Stone’s “Talk Radio,” “Under Siege II,” “Wonderland,” and as
Captain Danny Ross on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” His six solo
Off-Broadway performances between 1980 and 2000-including “Drinking
in America”; “Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll”; and “Wake Up and Smell the
Coffee”-received three Obie awards. He lives in New York with his wife,
director Jo Bonney.

The Haidostian Annual Distinguished lectureship was established by
the family of the late Dr. Berj Haidostian, a prominent and devoted
physician in Michigan. The Haidostian family has a long and continuing
relationship with the University of Michigan and the Armenian Studies
Program. Every year, together with the Armenian Studies Program
faculty, they select a speaker from among internationally recognized
experts on Armenia and Armenians. Recent Haidostian Distinguished
Lecturers have included the renowned director Atom Egoyan, Dr. Gerard
Chaliand of Paris, Dr. Fiona Hill of the Brookings Institution, Thomas
de Waal of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Dr.

Vartan Gregorian of the Carnegie Foundation.

The lecture begins at 7 p.m. at Helmut Stern Auditorium, University of
Michigan Museum of Art, 525 S. State St., Ann Arbor, Mich. It is open
to the public and will be followed by a question and answer period. It
will also be video recorded and posted on For
more information, contact the Armenian Studies Program by calling
(734) 763-0622 or visiting

From: Baghdasarian

US-ARMENIAN FAMILY’S 390-YEAR OLD BUSINESS AVOIDS LAYOFFS

20:58 ~U 06.03.13

American industry was built by immigrants, who looked beyond quarterly
profits. And today, the Zildjian cymbal factory in Norwell, Mass.,
still does, NBC News says in an article describing the US-Armenian
family’s business that has a history of 390 years .

For 15 years, the firm’s boss, Debbie Zildjian, has offered incentive
pay, not just for working faster or producing more, but for jobs
that are done right the first time. “There were only two months out
of those 15 years where we haven’t had a payout,” she pointed out.

Every person on the line must approve the work they do. That’s said
to be a big reason why Debbie’s sister, Craigie, the CEO, has never
outsourced a job overseas.

“The notion of sending your quality, outsourcing your quality halfway
around the world,” Craigie says, “is unthinkable.”

The Zildjian Company makes cymbals. Leon Chiappini has been testing
them for more than half a century. “You’re not going to find two of
them that are the same,” Chiappini says. “They’re like snowflakes.

Each sound is unique.”

Cymbals were hardly heard at all in popular music before Craigie’s
and Debbie’s grandfather made some of them thinner and found a
rainbow of sound. He did this during hard times, the start of the
Great Depression. Avedis Zildjian III began hiring as businesses all
around him were firing. He lured good workers with a simple promise.

“It comes down to trust doesn’t it?” Craigie said. “You take care of
us, and we’ll take care of you.” That pledge has remained unbroken
since the beginning.

The Zildjian Company has outlasted empires. It began in Turkey back
in 1623, survived the move to Massachusetts, and thrives even during
economic turmoil.

Quality became more than a slogan. The 125 Americans in this little
factory cornered more than half the cymbal market in the world.

“Our dad always said, ‘follow the music,'” Debbie said. And they did,
from big bands to the Beatles, classical to jazz. Debbie pointed
to pictures of the legendary drummers who have used their product:
Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Ringo Starr. They were invited to help the
company innovate.

From: Baghdasarian

PRESIDENT OF BUNDESTAG PAID TRIBUTE TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS

17:08, 6 March, 2013

YEREVAN, MARCH 6, ARMENPRESS. The delegation led by the President
of the German Bundestag Norbert Lammert, accompanied by the Deputy
Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Hermine
Naghdalyan, paid a visit to Tsitsernakaberd Hill dedicated to the
memory of the Armenian Genocide victims. As reports “Armenpress”
the German distinguished guests placed wreaths near the memorial of
the innocent victims and flowers near the unquenchable fire. Among
other things Norbert Lammert stated: “My visit to this place is one
of the most emotional elements. There are a number of similar places
in my country and throughout the world too. They wouldn’t be erected,
if not those events, which these monuments symbolize now.”

The Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute Hayk Demoyan
introduced the samples of the museum to the President of the German
Bundestag Norbert Lammert. Among other things the President of the
German Bundestag left a note in the memorial book.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIANS OF SASSOUN FILED A LAWSUIT AGAINST TURKISH AUTHORITIES

19:25, 6 March, 2013

YEREVAN, MARCH 6, ARMENPRESS: Union of Sassoun Armenians operating
in Istanbul has filed a lawsuit against Regional Directorate of
Culture and Tourism of Batman and Beshir on charges of not maintaining
churches and historical monuments of ethnic minorities. President of
the Union Aziz Dagcı has substantiated the claim with the fact that
local authorities don’t maintain Armenian Church of 14th century in
Yenipınar village. He also noted that in a result the church has
turned into a landfill, walls have been damaged and stones have been
stolen by villagers.

As reports Armenpress, referring to Turkish batmancagdas.com, leader
of Armenians of Sassoun noted in the interview with the web site that
“authorities should protect the stones of some village houses, stolen
from the historical church”.

“Armenian Church in that village has turned into a landfill. The door
has been stolen and the decorated stoned were stolen and used in the
construction of nearby houses. We have filed a lawsuit in accordance
with Article 63 of Turkish Constitution,” Dagcı said.

From: Baghdasarian

HRW CALLS ON AZERBAIJANI AUTHORITIES TO RELEASE HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER DEFENDING INTERESTS OF “VICTIMS OF EUROVISION”

18:32 05/03/2013 ” SOCIETY

An Azerbaijan court on February 27, 2013, sentenced a human rights
lawyer, Bakhtiyar Mammadov, to eight years in prison on the basis
of a prosecution and conviction that appear politically motivated,
the Human Rights Watch says at its official site. The lawyer should
be released pending an independent investigation into the charges
and prosecution, Human Rights Watch said.

Mammadov represented several residents who were forcibly evicted
from their homes in the capital, Baku, which were demolished in
early 2012 as the government was building a performance hall for the
2012 Eurovision Song Contest. Mammadov’s clients had challenged the
government compensation package, and Mammadov alleged corruption by
a high-level official involved in the compensation funds.

“This looks like yet another politically motivated prosecution
in Azerbaijan. The timing and context of the prosecution against
Bakhtiyar Mammadov certainly make it look like the authorities are
abusing the legal system for revenge.” said Rachel Denber, deputy
Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

HRW reminds that in 2011, Mammadov represented three families who
challenged as inadequate the 10,000 AZN (US$12,700) in compensation
the government offered in exchange for their homes. In addition to
representing the families in court, Mammadov filed complaints on their
behalf with the prosecutor’s office and the Anti-Corruption Committee
alleging, among other concerns, misappropriation of funds earmarked
as compensation for the evicted residents. Mammadov’s clients were
among the 29 families evicted from the area, which was under the
jurisdiction of the Azerbaijani Navy. The area was adjacent the
construction site for the Baku Crystal Hall, the venue for the 2012
Eurovision Song Contest.

Mammadov alleged that two million AZN (US$2.5 million) had been
allocated from the state budget to compensate evicted residents, and
that as a result of the misappropriation of funds, evicted families
were being deprived of their fair compensation. His allegations were
published in newspapers affiliated with the Azerbaijani political
opposition.

“Mammadov was arrested on December 30, 2011, and has been in detention
ever since. He was charged with large-scale extortion (article 182.3.2
of Azerbaijan’s criminal code) based on an allegation that he had
attempted to blackmail the person he had accused of misappropriation.

Mammadov was accused of threatening to expose documents implicating a
naval officer in misappropriation unless he paid Mammadov 18,000 AZN
(US$23,000); Mammadov has denied the accusation,” the statement said.

Azerbaijani authorities made Mamedov to keep silence as Denber said.

Mammadov’s wife and colleagues told Human Rights Watch that military
personnel had warned Mammadov in the summer and autumn of 2011 to
stop making the corruption allegations. One of Mammadov’s relatives
was warned repeatedly that she could lose her government job unless
Mammadov stopped making the corruption allegations. The relative was
not fired, but was demoted without explanation, the HRW says.

Source: Panorama.am

From: Baghdasarian

MARCH 5: BAREVOLUTION CONTINUES UNDER A COLD WET SNOW

17:51, March 5, 2013

A cold wet snow didn’t keep a few thousand people from attending
today’s Barevolution Rally at Freedom Square in Yerevan.

Speakers called for the opposition to unite and turn the current
movement to unseat the ruling regime into an unstoppable people’s
struggle for radical and real change in Armenia.

Raffi Hovannisian announced that he would again take his message to
the provinces tomorrow.

On March 6, they would visit Dilijan, Ijevan, Noyemberyan and Berd.

The following day, they would tour Talin, Artik, Gyumri and Vanadzor.

On March 8, the Heritage Party leader would organize another rally
at Freedom Square on the occasion of Women’s Day.

Hovannisian announced that a number of women, intellectuals and public
figures, would join his on the platform to address the crowd.

The Heritage party leader said that his wife Armenouhi would address
the rally.

and that two days later he would present his plan of action to
the people.

Heritage Party General Secretary Styopa Safaryan urged the people to
remain steadfast and defend the victory it registered on February 18.

He said that this time the people must keep up the pressure and not
weaken over time. The side that weakens first will lost, Safaryan said.

ARF leader Aren Rustamyan also called on the people not to lose the
faith and to rally around the concept that change is possible.

From: Baghdasarian

RAFFI HOVANNISIAN TO CONTINUE REGIONAL VISITS

06:16 PM | TODAY | POLITICS

In the upcoming two days Raffi Hovannisian will leave for the regions
of Armenia.

According to Raffi Hovannisian’s headquarters, the schedule is
as follows:

March 6

Departure from Yerevan 9:30 Dilijan 11:00-12:00 Ijevan 13:00-14:00
Noyemberyan 15:30-16:30 Berd 18:30-19:30

March 7

Departure from Yerevan 10:00 Talin 11:00-11:30 Artik 12:30-13:15 Gyumri
14:00-15:00 Vanadzor 16:00-17:00 Spitak 17:30-18:00 Aparan 18:30-19:00

From: Baghdasarian

OPPOSITION BLOC HINTS AT NON-PARTICIPATION IN UPCOMING YEREVAN ELECTIONS

POLITICS | 05.03.13 | 12:51

Photolure

The Armenian National Congress (ANC) is not going to take part in the
May elections to Yerevan’s municipal council, according to a senior
member of the opposition bloc.

In an interview with Aysor.am, ANC lawmaker Lyudmila Sargsyan said
the bloc (which has been turned into a party recently) had not
yet discussed the matter, but, in her opinion, no real electoral
process is ensured in Armenia today, which makes participation in
such processes meaningless.

“These are just a series of arrangements that are obligatory for
implementation once every four or five years,” she said. “We deem it
pointless to formally participate in such processes.”

Other opposition groups, including the Heritage Party of Raffi
Hovannisian, the officially defeated presidential candidate now
disputing the election outcome, have not yet clearly stated their
intention to run in the May 5 city elections.

Many analysts in Armenia deem the upcoming elections as a result
of which a new Yerevan mayor will be elected may be instrumental in
defusing the current post-election tensions.

From: Baghdasarian