Author: Boshkezenian Garik

Semneby visits Karabakh

armradio.am
16.06.2007 15:12

EU Special Representative Peter Semneby is expected to visit Nagorno
Karabakh today.

ArmInfo correspondent reports from Stepanakert that meetings with the
President of Nagorno Karabakh Arkady Ghhukasyan, NKT political and
non-governmental circles are expected.

Commenting on Peter Semneby’s forthcoming visit to Nagorno Karabakh,
coordinator of the Nagrno Karabakh Committee of the `Helsinki
Initiative ` 92′ Karen Ohanjanyan noted that the meeting with
representatives of the non-governmental circle expresses the positive
and serious attitude of the European Union towards the development of
democratic processes in Nagorno Karabakh and activation of the peace
process.

AYSEL TUGLUK-THE EMBODIMENT OF PERVERSITY IN KURDISH NATIONALISM
Globe Political Desk – By Behrooz Shojai

Kurdish Aspect, CO
June 14 2007

Taking aim at a recent article by the co-leader of the DTP, the author
states that labeling the Sèvres Treaty as a societal grief for Kurds is
"distorting Kurdish history and depriving it of its legitimacy."

Aysel Tugluk, co-leader of the allegedly pro-Kurdish Democratic
Society Party in Turkey, recently suggested in an article in the
Turkish newspaper Radikal new and astonishing perspectives for a
solution of the Kurdish question in Turkey. Her solution has not only
amazed the Kurds, but also surprised the Turkish leftist Kemalists,
because she surpasses devoted Kemalists in her allegiance to Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. I would like to
quote a segment of her article:

With the occupation of Iraq, the imperialists’ policies towards
Kurds has been intensified, along which the trauma of Sèvres Treaty
has once again arisen. The Kurds should be sincere; the solution
can be achieved only when the frontiers of the "National Pact" are
indisputably protected!

By "intensified," she means that Kurds, particularly southern Kurds,
are marionettes of the imperialists; i.e., Americans. It also follows
that the Kurds did not have any struggles or aspirations for those
achievements they have now in the south. It is, in accordance with
her leftist ideological perversion, simply a big conspiracy against
the people of Iraq, if not Turkey, because later in the article she
argues that even Northern Iraq (the official Turkish terminology for
Kurdistan Region) is part of the so-called National Pact, a terminology
minted at the time when the Republic was founded after the defeat
of the Ottoman Empire. Hence, what happens here is inevitably of
primary interest for Turkey, but labeling this part of the country
as part and parcel of the National Pact means that she joins the
Turkish military chief’s nostalgia for the great Ottoman Empire,
within which the wilayet of Musul (southern Kurdistan) was included.

Above all, indisputably protecting the frontiers of the National Pact
not only implies the physical boundaries of the Republic, but also the
notion of the Turkish unitary state- the core principle of Kemalism:
one nation, one culture, one language and one flag. She confirms
her unconstrained belief in this pact by frequently mentioning the
"Turkish society."

For her, the Sèvres Treaty constitutes a trauma in the spirit of the
Turkish nation, pointing out that "the societal grief is still alive
with the memory of the Sèvres trauma." Nota bene that this treaty gave
the Kurds the rights to establish their state in the aftermath of the
Ottoman Empire collapse in 1919. For the Kurdish national movement,
it has been a frequent event to refer to as historical legitimacy. For
Kemalists and Turkish nationalists, and of course for Aysel Tugluk,
it is a historical grief for the Turkish nation!

Labeling Sèvres as a societal grief for Kurds is distorting Kurdish
history and depriving it of its legitimacy. The Sèvres Treaty was
perhaps an obstacle against the aggressive expansionist Turkish
nationalism, but it was a minimum for the recognition of the right
of sovereignty for dispossessed peoples like Kurds and Armenians.

Let alone the Sèvres, blinking at the just cause of the south, she
indecently is labeling it as a conspiracy initiated by imperialists!

She urges the Kurds to be sincere because the solution is, as
she argues, within the absolute protection of the frontiers of the
National Pact. Kurds have probably been very sincere in their just
cause, hence their seriousness when they suffered the deaths of their
young daughters and sons in the mountains, when their people were
tortured in prisons and gratuitously killed by their antagonists, and
when their villages were leveled to the ground. Every Kurdish patriot
should have a good conscience, because the Kurdish national movement
has never had any territorial claims on other people’s lands; it has
seldom been offensive and gone beyond the geographical boundaries of
Kurdistan. Regardless of their success or shortcomings, the Kurdish
national movement has been of the defensive nature on Kurdish soil.

In the history of the Kurdish national movement, there has never been
any expansionist discourse.

Ms. Tugluk is frequently mentioning the National Pact and rational
solutions; anything beyond that would be irrational and irrealist.

Thus, the rational and realist solution should be shaped within
the Kemalist National Pact. We know, Aysel Tugluk knows, and all
Kemalists know that there is no solution for Kurdish national rights
within the Turkish National Pact, because the National Pact has an
exclusive discourse based on the supremacy of the Turkish ethnicity,
Turkish language and Turkish culture, steadfast in the sanctuary
of the Turkish political borders. Simply expressed, what Tugluk
is offering is nothing beyond what Kurds have in Turkey now, i.e.,
some limited folkloristic exemptions for jingle-jangle.

What Kurds in the north have now would have come eventually due to
globalization. The suffering of the Kurds, particularly in the north,
was not for this petty achievement, this folkloristic reality. They
had and they still have a greater cause, a just cause, for their
human dignity and human rights and liberties. These rights cannot
be achieved without power, since the notions of rights/liberties and
power are closely interconnected. The right and liberty to be a Kurd
implies the expression of national identity. It follows that this
national identity should be steadfast in the country’s Constitution,
and the only way to be that is to share the power/sovereignty with
the Turks. Of course, it would be in contravention with the notion
of the Turkish National Pact, and Tugluk is aware of that.

Aysel Tugluk is offering perpetual Turkish supremacy over the Kurds,
who have been marginalized, dispossessed and deprived of their
dignity. Amazingly, she is supposed to advocate Kurdish rights. If she
represents the logic of the Kurdish national movement in the north,
then I have to qualify her as the embodiment of perversity of the
Kurdish nationalism in the north. It reminds me of Stockholm syndrome,
a mental illness in which victims become sympathetic to their captors.

The Kurdish intelligentsia, as the conscience of Kurdish people in the
north, should be committed to the just cause of the Kurdish national
movement. Their commitment, therefore, should be expressed through
a genuine solution based on human rights. Unfortunately, there is
not a single page of an abstract concerning the framework of such a
solution. The Kurdish intelligentsia in the north and of course in
Great Kurdistan is responsible for the emergence of personalities
like Aysel Tugluk, and Aysel Tugluk is a warning signal for the Kurds.

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ACCORDING TO FORECASTS, LAST YEAR’S APRICOT CROP TO BE TWO OR THREE TIMES AS MUCH AS CROP OF THIS YEAR

Noyan Tapan
Jun 13 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 13, NOYAN TAPAN. Damage done by torrential rains and
floods in Armenia amounted to more than two billion drams this year,
including damage of about 420 million drams (about 1.2 mln USD)
to the agricultural sector.

The Head of the Plant Cultivation, Forest and Plant Preservation
Department of the RA Ministry of Agriculture Garnik Petrosian stated
this at the June 13 press conference. He said that on the instructions
of the prime minister, working groups have been set up to examine
the situation on the spot. "The results of the examination will
be summarized soon and submitted to the government with the aim of
allocation of funds in order to mitigate the consequences," he noted.

According to G. Petrosian, it is expected that due to heavy rains,
last year’s apricot crop will be two or three times as much than
the crop to be gathered this year: last year, 50 thousand tons of
apricots was purchased, whereas this year this index is expected to
make no more than 15 thousand tons. In the words of G. Petrosian,
the unfavorable weather has not damaged other stone fruits – good
crops of grapes, peaches and cherries are expected.

FUAD MUSAYEV NOT BELIEVES FUAD ESEDOV RESIGNS FOR HEALTH PROBLEM

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
June 13 2007

"I don’t believe Fuad Esedov has resigned from the post of AFFA
secretary general for health problem", former AFFA president Fuad
Musayev told APA-Sport.

Musayev said Esedov faced pressure.

"They bothered Esedov and he had to resign. He probably had some
disagreement with the leadership", he said.

Esedov worked as vice-president in 2000-2003 when Musayev was AFFA
president. Former AFFA vice-president Togrul Hadjiyev also thinks
health problem is an excuse.

"Esedov suffered diabetes when we worked together. It is common for
officials to justify health problem for resignation", he said.

Hadjiyev thinks Esedov has resigned in order to shirk responsibility
if Azerbaijan suffers failure in Euro qualifying matches against
Armenia in September.

"I don’t want Esedov to resign because, as AFFA vise-president Rauf
Aliyev said, the federation has wasted a great amount of money.

Esedov is also engaged in here. He decided to escape before the match
against Armenia", he said.

Former AFFA secretary general Chingiz Ismayilov stressed that health
problem is not serious reason for resignation.

"Esedov does have health problem but he looks much better than he
did five years ago. I think there is some other reason here", he said.

Ismayilov stated that Esedov was the only one among AFFA
leadership-in-office who has knowledge of football. He noted that
the reason of the resonation is pressure.

"Esedov might have been demanded to resign. He took the step because
he knows that it is impossible to develop football in 5 or 10 years.

AFFA reminds an office. Not a federation. They make a decision one
day and change it the other. The one who gets up earlier becomes
president in AFFA", he underscored.

O.C. EYE DOCTOR TRANSFORMS A COUNTRY: AN OPHTHALMOLOGIST BUILDS UP ARMENIA’S VISION CARE USING PEN CAPS AND CIGARETTES
By Tom Berg

Orange County Register, CA
June 13 2007

LAGUNA HILLS – It’ll never work, he was told. Not in Armenia. The
roads are too poor.

But Dr. Roger Ohanesian figured he’d buy an 18-wheeler anyway.

Not that Ohanesian, an eye surgeon with white hair and white smock,
knew anything about big rigs. He wouldn’t know a Peterbilt from
Freightliner. But he had this idea.

For nine years, he’d been flying to Armenia to perform eye surgeries
with little or no equipment, electricity or sleep. And slowly, he
transformed the nation’s eye-care system.

"He is worshipped over there," says fellow eye surgeon Dr. John
Hovanesian, who’s accompanied him several times. "His name is a
household word in Armenia. Have you heard of Jonas Salk? He’s held
in that sort of light."

Dr. Jonas Salk, who developed the vaccine for polio, never had to
buy a big rig. Or install surgery rooms in back, ship it to a former
Soviet-bloc country (with armed guards) and then roll it to the four
corners of a nation whose mountain roads could swallow a Volkswagen
whole.

"I had no idea how to design it," acknowledges Ohanesian, now 67,
of Laguna Beach. "There were none like this before."

And in Armenia, there had been none like him. But the question
remained: could this really work?

EYES FROM AMERICA

It was a blind fax – sent to an eye doctor. How could Ohanesian resist?

In 1992, Armenia’s minister of health blanketed U.S. doctors with
pleas for help. Four years of war with Azerbaijan had left too many
injuries and too few doctors.

Ohanesian dropped vacation plans and flew to Yerevan, Armenia – land
of his grandparents. What awaited him was a life-altering experience:
soldiers blinded by rockets, children injured by landmines, old people
with eye disease but no hope of help.

Ohanesian worked around the clock. The electricity faltered, but not
the endless lines who believed he could cure anything.

One family brought a blind, 6-year-old boy over a contested mountain
pass. He’d been struck by rocket fire six months earlier, and both
eyes had to be removed.

"There’s nothing I can do," Ohanesian told his interpreter. "Why is
the family crying?"

"They just learned that you didn’t bring new eyes from America,"
came the reply.

Such was the hope. Yet Ohanesian had little to work with. He
improvised, using ball-point pen caps as scleral depressors, Swiss
army knife tweezers as suture extractors and cigarette filters as
cotton swabs.

That was the state of medicine when Ohanesian started thinking he might
need an 18-wheel mobile hospital to reach everyone who needed help.

LIMITED POWER

Friday night, and eye surgeon Dr. Rick Hill’s pager beeps. He calls
back.

"I’d like to refer a patient," Roger Ohanesian says.

"No problem."

"I’ve already operated twice, and it’s failed."

"No problem."

"She’s in Armenia."

"No problem. … We’re going to Armenia?"

"Yeah, and we’re leaving Wednesday."

That’s how Hill, professor emeritus of ophthalmology at UC Irvine,
began teaming up with Ohanesian in 1994. Together, they spearheaded
the Armenian EyeCare Project, which has delivered more than $20
million in aid to Armenia.

This week, Ohanesian will make his 30th trip and Hill his 21st trip to
Armenia, each on his own time and expense. Now they fly into a modern,
well-equipped Malaian Eye Center, where patients come from Russia,
Iran and Georgia to seek eye surgery. But that wasn’t always the case.

Their early stories weave a tale of deprivation: electrical outages
with scalpel in mid-eye incision. Rooms so cold that water iced over.

Patients so desperate that they lined up 70 at a time for eye exams.

"There was just tremendous need," says Hill, 51, of Irvine. "They
had nothing. We brought what we could. But our effect was minimal."

Ohanesian had to improvise again to make their help more lasting.

CHEERING CROWDS

First, he asked the American surgeons who joined him to let the
Armenians perform the surgeries. The Americans would assist. It took
longer but taught better.

Then he talked to Southern California pharmaceutical companies, such
as Allergan, Alcon and Pfizer, to donate millions in medicine and
equipment. Then he plugged into California’s Armenian community –
less than 1 million strong, but tight-knit and generous.

Supporters include former California Gov. George Deukmejian, who says,
"When people learn of what he’s done over there, they want to help."

And retired engineer Nish Derderian, 85, of San Clemente, who tells
Ohanesian: "Anything you need, let me know. I’ll take care of it."

Derderian has written checks for things such as new lasers and
fellowships for Armenian doctors to study in America.

Six Armenian ophthalmologists have studied here, and each has returned
to run a specialty clinic, serving half of the patients for free. Such
efforts have sparked a revolution in Armenian eye care.

One that now features cheering crowds when Roger Ohanesian’s $1.5
million Mobile Eye Hospital rolls into town.

A SENSE OF FULLNESS

It is an icon. Rolling through a country of beat-up, old Russian cars:
an 18-wheel, Volvo tractor-trailer with an enormous logo featuring
the names of its major donors. Nowhere on it is Roger Ohanesian’s name.

"A lot of people would’ve put their picture on it, but you won’t find
his name," colleague Hovanesian says.

Since hitting the road in 2003, it’s screened more than 6,000 of
the country’s poorest citizens and performed more than 2,000 free
laser procedures.

They often arrive in their Sunday best and later return with
vegetables, meat pies and fruit to say thanks. Hill was on board
last year when a 40-year-old woman with cataracts regained sight in
both eyes.

"She blinked a couple times and started crying," he says.

What started with Ohanesian performing surgeries with ball-point pen
caps and cigarette filters has led to a 15-year transformation of an
entire country.

"I feel I’ve done something to help people," he says.

Yet he’s not finished.

The mobile hospital serves those on welfare. And the capital
serves those who can afford eye surgery in a country without health
insurance. But on the eve of his 30th visit, Roger Ohanesian has
trained his sights on those caught in between.

"What do you do for this vast middle class?" he asks.

He has an idea, but it may be crazier than his mobile hospital once
sounded, so he says:

"I need an answer."

Contact the Armenian EyeCare Project at 949-675-5767 or
[email protected]

http://www.ocregister.c om/ocregister/news/local/article_1727246.php

ARMENIAN PRELACY OF CANADA HOSTS ANNUAL YOUTH DRAWING EXHIBIT

ArmRadio.am
12.06.2007 10:42

Under the Auspices of His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Hagopian, Prelate,
the annual youth drawing exhibit of the Armenian Prelacy of Canada
was held at the Prelacy hall.

The artistic director of the exhibit was renowned artist Areg
Elibekian, whose father, uncle and brother are also prominent
artists. During his closing speech, Elibekian emphasized the importance
of introducing children to art, especially Armenian art.

During the weekend, more than 200 people attended the exhibit,
where two to three drawings from each participant were on
display. The drawings’ themes varied from the Armenian Church,
Armenia and also depicted the personal and national sentiments of the
artists. Participants at the Exibit were: Arevig Afarian, Lori Afarian,
Nareg Assrabian, Simon Baghdassarian, Arek Bakloyan, Aren Kassarjian,
Armen Keshgerian, Nairi Ketchigian, Arto Lalevian, Katarina Melkonian,
Talar Ohanian and Alice Zaparian.

The exhibit will remain open for the public at the Armenian Prelacy
of Canada hall for the week.

U.S. MILITARY IN IRAN IS UNAVOIDABLE, TEHRAN IN ITS PART WORKS OUT PLAN OF SEIZING BAKU

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.06.2007 15:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ An U.S. military invasion in Iran is unavoidable,
political scientist Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan stated to a press
conference in Yerevan. He said, the United States has lost too much
recently to withdraw. "The American army comes off second-best in Iraq,
which is being provided with arms from neighboring countries. And
this is a rather forcible argument for launching a war. In this
case Armenia must keep neutrality. However, there exists a danger
of radioactive infection. There are 4 nuclear power plants in Iran:
Bushehr, which is located rather far away from Armenia, two near
Tehran and one in Tabriz. Under unfavorable "wind rose" a strike on
the plant in Tabriz may seriously affect Armenia. As to Azerbaijan,
Iran’s firs return strike will target exactly that country. Based on
my information, which are rather precise, Tehran works out a plan of
seizing Baku," Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan underlined.

GOVERNMENT WILL SUBMIT ITS PROGRAMME WITHIN 20 DAYS

A1+
[05:01 pm] 11 June, 2007

Vardan Khachatryan, the Minister of Finance and Economy told
reporters on June 11 the new government will submit the programme
to the National Assembly within 20 days. In answer to the question
whether the government may submit the program earlier than 20 days,
Vardan Khachatryan said "it is not excluded".

The government was appointed on June 9 by a decree of the
president. According to the Constitution, the government must
submit the program with the National Assembly within 20 days after
appointment. The reporters also asked Vardan Khachatryan to dwell on
the stance of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun on the government. In answer to
A1+’s question on possible collaboration with the ARF Dashnaktsutyun
which has assumed responsibility for only its own portfolios, Vardan
Khachatryan said: "I cannot generalize but our partners, with whom we
collaborated, worked well over the past four or five years. I should
note that they are professionals."

The government members can collaborate efficiently, Vardan Khachatryan
said.

Publishers Weekly Reviews
June 4, 2007
REVIEWS; Fiction; Pg. 32

The Dead Don’t Lie: An Abe Lieberman Mystery

The Dead Don’t Lie: An Abe Lieberman Mystery Stuart M. Kaminsky.
Forge, $23.95 (304p) ISBN 978-0-765-31602-8

MWA Grand Master Kaminsky’s 10th Abe Lieberman mystery (after 2006’s
Terror Town ) will mostly appeal to longtime fans. Lieberman, a
living legend on the Chicago police force, is drawn into a series of
murders centered on the search for a long-lost journal rumored to
prove that the Turks were not responsible for the horrific massacre
of Armenians in the early 20th century. His longtime partner, Bill
Hanrahan, is preoccupied with the birth of his newest child as well
as some amateurish thugs who stumble into a more complicated crime
during an attempted mugging. In addition, Lieberman is distracted by
the interplay of personalities at his family synagogue. The minor
story lines distract from the central plot, which also suffers from a
lack of plausibility, while the intended light touch won’t work for
all readers. (Aug.)

RA President received Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin

ArmRadio.am
09.06.2007 12:54

President Robert Kocharyan received the Head of the OSCE Office in
Yerevan, Ambassador Vladimit Pryakhin, who is completing his mission in
Armenia.

Robert Kocharyan thanked Ambassador Pryakhin for productive joint work
and noted that the level of cooperation with the OSCE Office has
considerably deepened during his tenure in office.

Vladimir Pryakhin assessed the cooperation with the Armenian
authorities and civil society as effective.

Turning to the parliamentary elections in May, he said these almost
fully corresponded to accepted democratic standards and Armenia has
made a big step forward.

At the end of the meeting President Kocharyan wished success to Mr.
Pryakhin in his future activity.