EDWARD MIRZOYAN COMPLETED HIS NEW WORK TO BE PERFORMED BY HOVER CHOIR
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
12.05.2009 21:44 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Edward Mirzoyan, who celebrated his 88th anniversary
yesterday, has completed his new work, soon to be performed by
Hover Choir.
According to composer, "The Best Person of Europe" title holder,
at all times women have been the inspiration for his work.
GENOCIDE RECOGNITION (GREECE – AUSTRALIA – ARMENIA – TURKEY)
American Chronicle
s/view/102121
May 12 2009
Australian Macedonian Advisory Council May 11, 2009 On 30 April 2009,
the South Australian lower house did a remarkable thing; it recognised
the genocide of the Christian peoples of Anatolia during the Ottoman
Empire. The full text of the motion that was passed is as follows:
"That, whereas the genocide by the Ottoman state between 1915-1923
of Armenians, Hellenes, Syrian and other minorities in Asia Minor
is one of the greatest crimes against humanity, the people of South
Australia and this House –
(a) join the members of the Armenian-Australian, Pontian
Greek-Australian and Syrian-Australian communities in honouring the
memory of the innocent men, women and children who fell victim to
the first modern genocide;
(b) condemns the genocide of the Armenians, Pontian Greeks, Syrian
Orthodox and other Christian minorities, and all other acts of genocide
as the ultimate act of racial, religious and cultural intolerance;
(c) recognises the importance of remembering and learning from such
dark chapters in human history to ensure that such crimes against
humanity are not allowed to be repeated;
(d) condemns and prevents all attempts to use the passage of time to
deny or distort the historical truth of the genocide of the Armenians
and other acts of genocide committed during this century;
(e) acknowledges the significant humanitarian contribution made by
the people of South Australia to the victims and survivors of the
Armenian Genocide and the Pontian Genocide; and
(f) calls on the commonwealth parliament officially to condemn the
genocide."
Noting in passing that the Assyrian community has been misdescribed
as ´Syrian,´ a grave error that will hopefully be rectified, this
recognition of the genocide of the Christian peoples of Anatolia
forms a historic landmark in the history of the Armenian-Australian,
Assyria-Australian and Greek-Australian people. This is not a political
or ethnic victory, for we are thankfully not enmeshed within the
warp and the weft of the greater geo-strategic and political games
played by the representatives of our mother countries. This is not a
victory of diplomats, who for the most part shy away from agitating
publicly on what we term to be "national issues." Most importantly,
this act of recognition is balsam applied to the unhealed wound in
the souls of genocide victims and their descendants. The Australian
historical narrative often tends to ignore the socio-political events
that its migrant populations have experienced. Yet these events,
often traumatic, inform these Australian´s world-view. The opinions
and emotions forged during such times have been transplanted to this
country and often, passed down the generations. Horrific international
experiences such as the Holocaust or the Genocide are thus pertinent
to this country because they have affected, directly or indirectly,
a portion of the Australian community.
South Australian Attorney General Michael Atkinson was thus entirely
correct when he stated in his speech: "We should support the
motion to recognise the Armenian, Pontian Greek, Syrian Orthodox,
(sic) Nestorian and Assyrian communities who flourish in Australia
today. The Republic of Turkey, having dispersed these people to the
point of the globe farthest from Anatolia, can hardly complain that,
in the freedom of the Antipodes, they perpetuate the memory of their
ancestors and their culture. These Australians–and I remind Senator
Ferguson that they are Australians with the full right of citizenship
to talk about topics that Senator Ferguson considers too ancient
and too controversial–came to Australia from countries, including
Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, where they had settled
after the genocide."
The Leader of the South Australian Opposition, Martin Hamilton Smith
also spoke upon the relevance of the empirical and personal connection:
"As a man married to a Greek, with a son who is half Greek, who is
Orthodox, this has very much touched me and my family. Let there be
no doubt in the mind of any South Australian about my view and the
view of the state Liberals of these terrible and tragic events."
Further, through the international treaties it has signed, Australia
has cast itself as a democratic, humanitarian country, that abjures
all forms of totalitarian terror, it is a humanitarian victory for
all Australians who still believe in the democratic process and
principled politicians. As John Rau, Member for Enfield stated: "The
fact that this motion is before the parliament, the fact that we are
debating this matter and we are talking about this matter is at least
some modest way that we as legislators in what is, after all, only a
provincial parliament–I should not really say that here, should I,
but that is what we are–can make some contribution to raising public
awareness, both of the terrible circumstances of this particular
conflict, but also of the fact that these conflicts can and do and
will occur again unless people are aware of these issues and take
intelligent, statesmanlike solutions to these problems to hand." The
Member for Fisher, R B Such, went further, courageously acknowledging
his own battles as a child, in coming to terms with tolerance, before
stating: "We cannot afford to sit back and do nothing. We need to
ensure that we are ever vigilant and that we promote tolerance and
empathy, particularly amongst our children, so that we rid the world
and ourselves of the evil that can be reflected in the sort of genocide
and intolerance that is highlighted in this motion today."
The debate in the SA parliament on the Genocide thus underlies just
how principled its politicians are. Some of the debate centred on a
few comments published in the Diatribe a few weeks ago, about Senator
Ferguson´s denial of the historical authenticity of the Pontian
Genocide. In particular, the Diatribe had opined: "Playing ethnic
politics is a dirty game that threatens to shatter social harmony quite
a good deal more easily than referring to or interpreting historical
events. The fact of the matter is that Australia’s communities of
diverse backgrounds have proven that they can co-exist peacefully in
fruitful collaboration and ties of friendship because of our joint
commitment to multicultural Australia. No cynical, irresponsible
or misguided attempt to score points or votes off the back of any
arbitrarily chosen ethnic group should ever be permitted to bear the
bitter fruit of discord."
It appears that this was the guiding principle of all the politicians
who spoke on the motions, from both major parties, though I regret the
misguided attempt in Parliament to use this quote to accuse others
of ´using´ ethnics as pawns in a broader political game. This
notwithstanding, it was gratifying in the extreme to witness these
politicians quote extensively from the research of Dr Panayiotis
Diamandis, Thea Halo´s famous book "Not without My Name," William
Dalrymple´s "From the Holy Mountain," and even from primary sources
such as the archives of the Greek government: "The government of
Ankara decided that the Greeks of the regions of Atabazar and Kaltras,
first, and later the Greeks of the Pontos , would be slaughtered
and eliminated. He assigned Yavur Ali to burn down a Greek village
which is near Geive and to kill all of its inhabitants. The tragedy
lasted two days. The village, with its 12 factories and its nice
buildings became a dump site. Ninety per cent of the population were
slaughtered and burnt. The few who were able to escape in order to save
their lives went to the mountains. In order to preserve his Chets ,
Mustafa Kemal had to find an area which he could attack."
The extensive references to the actual historical events and their
effects prove that these politicians are not motivated by political
expediency in the recognition of the Genocide. Indeed, they have
nothing to gain politically from doing so. Instead, through their own
research and critical faculties, they have become convinced that the
Genocide of the Christian peoples of Anatolia is a historical fact
that needs to be recognised at a formal level. All of them ought to
be commended for this, especially in the face of vociferous protest
by the Turkish consular authorities. I am informed, though I have
not seen a copy of the relevant letter, that the Australian Foreign
Minister has written to the Attorney General of South Australia,
stating that it is not the Federal Government´s policy to recognise
the Genocide. Perhaps the Australian government should take a leaf
out of the enlightened South Australian parliament´s book and pass
resolutions based on fact and not Realpolitik.
The president of the Federation of Pontian Organisations of Australia,
Harry Tavlarides, the alternate president, Panagiotis Jasonides and
many others have worked tirelessly over the years, not to politicise
the issue, but to firstly raise awareness of the Genocide among the
Pontian and broader Greek community, then to liaise and co-ordinate
commemoration events with the Armenian and Assyrian communities
(and indeed, it was this diametric move away from isolationist
activities and the placing of the Pontian Genocide into the broader
context of the fate of other Christian nations in the same region,
that arguably allowed the issue of recognition raise itself from the
quagmire of obscurity,) and finally, to present the facts to members
of Parliament and have them make up their own mind.
In many ways, the whole campaign for Genocide Recognition has
its inception in Federation member, Central Pontian Association
"Pontiaki Estia´s" Pontian Genocide Workshops. The brainchild of
Litsa Athanasiadis and George Papadopoulos, these have run for almost
a decade now, having transmogrified into the cultural and theatrical
annual "Seed" event at the Clocktower Centre in Moonee Ponds. Neos
Kosmos has also played a prominent role in raising awareness of
the Genocide and calling for its recognition through its frequent
articles on the topic over the years and of this, and the fact that
South Australian parliamentarians: "draw the attention of the house to
an article in Neos Kosmos , described by some as Australia’s leading
Greek newspaper and the largest ABC audited ethnic publication,"
we should all be very proud. As one member of the Pontian Federation
remarked to me: "I was told a few years back by some first generation
leaders of the Pontian community that there was absolutely no way
that the Pontian Genocide would ever be recognised in Australia. Now
look how far we have come." We have come thus far, because of the
grass roots support of a broad swathe of the Australian community,
carefully informed, and despite the politicking of most of our
parochial community organizations.
In a sense, I sympathise with members of the Turkish community who will
feel enraged at the South Australian Parliament´s recognition. After
all, they, just like us, share nationalistic myths about the destiny
and character of their race. They, just like us, have been brought
up to think that there race is noble, just, courteous and of great
benefit to mankind. An official recognition of the genocide shatters
such myths just as it calls them into question. As a corollary, why
does official Greek historiography skim over the massacre of innocent
Turks during the taking of Tripolitsa, or the atrocities committed
by the Greek army in Asia Minor? Simply because the Greek people are
also, to some extent, informed by the same nation-building myths. What
the recognition teaches the Turkish community, as well as us, is
that crimes against humanity are not committed by races. They are
committed by human beings, and it is those human beings, not their
race, creed or colour that are to be condemned. It is degrading
to defend the indefensible and we should all be possessed of the
conviction to uphold what is right and denounce the wrong, regardless
of our kinship with its perpetrator
The recognition of the Genocide should thus not be viewed as the
ascendancy of one ´ethnic´ lobby over another. It is justice
achieved, a little victory for a people downtrodden and crushed
into the dust. All that remains therefore, as we pay respect to
their memory, is to echo the laudable sentiments of the Honourable
Michael Ferguson: "Rest eternal, grant unto them, Oh Lord, and may
light perpetual shine upon them. May they rest in peace and rise in
glory." Βμήν.
IMF: BANKING SECTOR OF ARMENIA IS ABLE TO RESIST THE IMPACT OF THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS
ArmInfo
2009-05-11 17:12:00
ArmInfo. The banking sector of Armenia is capitalized enough to resist
the negative impact of the global financial crisis, International
Monetary Fund Mission Chief in Armenia Mark Lewis said in Yerevan when
presenting a report on "Regional Economic Outlook. Armenia Outlook",
Monday.
According to him, the global crisis mainly affected the real sector
of Armenia’s economy as the financial system of the republic was
not involved in the world economy. At the same time, he pointed
out that the crisis may affect the quality of credit portfolios in
commercial banks.
Deputy Director of IMF Middle East and Central Asia Department Ratna
Sahay said that due to the balanced policy of Armenian Government
and Central Bank, Armenian commercial banks didn’t accrue big foreign
borrowings, while this was the reason of the crisis in many countries.
RUSSIA TO START FLIGHT TESTS OF 5TH-GENERATION FIGHTER BY YEAREND
RIA Novosti
17:03 | 11/ 05/ 2009
KOMSOMOLSK-ON-AMUR, May 11 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian deputy prime
minister said Monday that flight tests of a fifth-generation fighter
will start in Russia by the end of 2009.
"By the end of this year, the plane will rise into the air and flight
tests will begin," Sergei Ivanov told journalists after a shipbuilding
meeting in the Far East, adding that serial production will start
in 2010.
Russia’s advanced multirole fighter is being developed by the Sukhoi
aircraft maker, part of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), along
with India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), under a preliminary
intergovernmental agreement signed in October 2007.
The first prototype is scheduled to make its maiden flight before
the end of 2009.
AMERIABANK TO GRANT RURAL CREDITS
PanARMENIAN.Net
11.05.2009 21:04 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Millennium Challenge Account has provided
Ameriabank with credits to finance rural areas development. Loans can
be granted to Armenian regions with the exception of Gegharkunik and
Tavush which were included in rural roads repair program launched by
the Millennium Challenge Account.
The loans will amount from AMD300 000 to AMD10.5million with 2-7
years maturity period and up to 12% annual percentage rate.
YEREVAN REFUSES TO JOIN DRILLS OVER NATO’S SUPPORT FOR BAKU – REPORT
AzerNews Weekly
May 6 2009
Azerbaijan
Armenia has refused to participate in NATO exercises due in Georgia
in protest at the support of the alliance`s chief for Azerbaijan`s
territorial integrity, Russian Regnum news agency quoted Armenian
Foreign Ministry sources as saying.
Yerevan announced it would not take part in the Cooperative Lancer/
Cooperative Longbow drills to be held in the neighboring South
Caucasus republic May 6-June 3 after NATO`s Secretary General Jaap de
Hoop Scheffer made the statement at a news conference after meeting
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels on April 29.
Armenia`s move is actually linked to the Russian factor, analysts
say, as Moscow is striving to prevent these exercises from taking
place. Servicemen from Latvia, Estonia and Kazakhstan have also stated
they would not head to Georgia for the drills, citing diverse reasons.
Azerbaijan`s military men will participate in the exercises.
Around 1,000 soldiers from more than a dozen NATO member states and
partners will practice "crisis response" at the Vaziani base east
of Tbilisi, around 70 km from the nearest Russian troop positions in
breakaway South Ossetia.
TURKISH PRESIDENT TO MEET WITH AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN LEADERS IN PRAGUE
Anadolu Agency
May 6 2009
Turkey
ANKARA (A.A) – 06.05.2009 – Turkish President Abdullah Gul will come
to Prague, Czech Republic, on May 7 to attend the EU-East Partnership
Summit.
The next day, President Gul will attend the summit of "Southern
Corridor" which will gather EU leaders in Prague to discuss Nabucco
pipeline project.
He is also set to hold separate meetings with President Ilham Aliyev
of Azerbaijan and President Serzh Sargsian of Armenia. (UK)
OPPOSITIONISTS’ MARCH HELD AFTER ANC PREELECTION MEETING IN NORK-MARASH PROCEEDS WITH SOME OBSTACLES
NOYAN TAPAN
MAY 6, 2009
YEREVAN
First RA President, Armenian National Congress leader Levon
Ter-Petrosian heading the ANC electoral roll in Yerevan Council of
Elders elections met with Nork-Marash community’s voters in the yard
of Saint Mary Mother of God Church. Armenian National Congress (ANC)
Coordinator Levon Zurabian, Hanrapetutiun (Republic) party Chairman
Aram Sargsian, Armenian National Movement party leader Ararat Zurabian,
ANM Board member Aram Manukian, resident of Nork-Marash, YSU lecturer
Felix Arakelian spoke at the meeting.
L. Ter-Petrosian spoke at the end of the meeting. He reminded those
gathered that on the voting day no power representative can press or
intimidate a voter. According to him, the authorities can only press or
intimidate those to carry out promotion. According to L. Ter-Petrosian,
for achieving success the inert part of the electorate should become
active.
"You should realize, understand that today they hold the power and
tomorrow we will. However, you should treat us the same way. It is
not the authorities that are the masters of the state, neither is
the people, but a person, a citizen," L. Ter-Petrosian stated. In
his words, no good power is formed anywhere through elections, but
elections are the only mechanism giving the people a possibility to get
free of a bad power. "If you elect us now and we become worse tomorrow,
I will be glad if you throw us out," the opposition leader said.
The march following the meeting proceeded with some incidents. As
long as L. Ter-Petrosian led the march no conflict took place between
the demonstrants and police forces. However, after the first President
left dozens of special police forces in red berets joined the policemen
and on the way from Nork-Marash to the city center for several times
surrounded the demonstrants and brawls and fights took place in some
places. After a conflict between ANC Spokesperson Vladimir Karapetian
and policemen a mutual consent was achieved, and the demonstrants
finished the march without policemen’s accompaniment.
North County Times, CA
May 3 2009
FORUM: Gun advocate needs to know history
By DANIEL ZUCKERMAN — Temecula | Sunday, May 3, 2009 12:09 AM PDT ??
Loading¦ Increase Font Decrease Font email this story print this
story An estimated 30,000 people die each year due to guns. I am not
going to debate whether guns should be outlawed, though I do think
assault rifles have no place in our society. They are for military use
and nothing more.
What I will debate is the insertion of a total fabrication into a
newspaper read by numerous communities. The Community Forum that ran
April 24 was nothing more than NRA talking points that have been
circulating on the Internet. Dick Morgan seems to have copied it
verbatim in his ill-informed piece on gun control.
I would like to rebut the link he tries to draw between so-called gun
control and the deaths of citizens in other countries. Mr. Morgan,
through his copying of these talking points, would like to lay the
deaths of countless millions on those citizens not having guns to
protect themselves.
It is always instructive to know your history.
— The Ottoman Empire (not Turkey, which wasn’t in existence until
1923) did commit genocide against Armenians. This had to do more with
religion than anything else. Guns were not an issue, as this happened
during WWI.
— The best guess for deaths under Stalin in the Soviet Union was 23
million, with an estimated 20 million-27 million people killed during
WWII. This was not due to gun control, though I am sure that the
repressive Soviet government did not want its civilians armed. The
deaths occured as a result of mass deportations and famines.
— Mr. Morgan’s talking points claim that in 1935, China established
gun control, and approximately 20 million people died. How China
established gun control when it was fighting the Japanese in an
all-out war is beyond me; 19.2 million people died in the war with
Japan.
— He continues that in 1938, Germany established gun control, which
led to the extermination of 13 million Jews and other
peoples. Mr. Morgan, the Jews did have guns, and used them. Read about
the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. The Jews had guns, and unfortunately
still died.
I could go on, but there is little use. Each of the points Mr. Morgan
cites as evidence is an example of a mobilized repressive state
killing its own citizens. Every example happened during a world war or
a civil war: World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, civil wars in
Guatemala and Uganda. And somehow Mr. Morgan would have us believe
that all these deaths are because a law-abiding country outlawed guns,
then proceeded to kill its citizenry.
This kind of infomation that is passed off as knowledge is
disingenuous at best, and outright lies at worst. Knowing that this is
a forum for the community to air its concerns, what concerns me is
that a newspaper such as the Californian would print anything that was
as false as this.
Dan Zuckerman lives in Temecula.
PanARMENIAN.Net
MasterCard Inc net profit totaled $367 million in 2009 first quarter
02.05.2009 13:15 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ MasterCard Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly
earnings on Friday but said revenue growth this year will fall short
of its targets, sending its shares down 7 percent in afternoon
trading.
The world’s second-largest credit card network said lower expenses and
increased fees helped first-quarter results.
Net income fell 18 percent to $367 million, or $2.80 per share, from
$447 million, or $3.37 per share, a year earlier. But the results beat
Wall Street expectations.
Analysts, on average, forecast earnings of $2.62 per share, according
to Reuters Estimates.
MasterCard shares climbed to a seven-month high on Thursday, a day
after Visa released its earnings. MasterCard is partially insulated
from the credit crisis because it processes transactions rather than
lends funds. But the company has seen a slowdown in the growth of
revenue and transaction volumes as battered consumers used their
credit cards less.
MasterCard’s first-quarter U.S. credit volume fell 17.2 percent,
compared to an 11.4 percent decline last quarter, while U.S. debit
volume grew 5.6 percent, in line with the levels of the previous
quarter.
Credit and charge programs accounted for 67 percent of the gross
dollar volume of MasterCard, while the remaining 33 percent was
related to debit cards.
In addition, mounting pressure from Washington for credit card
companies to slash fees and interest rates could takes its toll on
card networks, as it could slow growth in an industry that developed
rapidly before the financial crisis. MasterCard shares were down 7.8
percent at $169.15 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock
Exchange. The shares are up 25 percent this year, Reuters reported.