Author: Hovhannisian John

The Nation, Kenya
April 15 2007

Ms Wangui will re-link us with our ancient kin

Story by PHILIP OCHIENG
Publication Date: 4/15/2007

If a marriage takes place between the Armenian lad and the Kenyan
lass, I will chortle because intermarriage is one method by which our
horribly sundered world might redeem its specific unity.

The adjective specific refers to all those things that objectively
unite a species. In humans – puzzlingly – they include the
individual, racial, gender, ethnic and sectarian prejudices which
specifically divide us.

Although ours is the most intense of all the specific brains – nay,
because of it – it is also the most impressionable. A snake’s thought
cannot be influenced by tuition or propaganda. Therefore, snakes have
no superstitions and religions and never go to war to impose these on
one another.

That is the paradox of human intelligence: Nature has equipped us
with the ability not only to be curious but also to investigate and
find out. Yet we prefer to jump to the most facile conclusions,
spinning the most ignorant tales and phobias against one another.

Then we declare our myths to be the Truth, condemn those of
neighbours as evil and can slaughter them if they persist in their
beliefs. Highly educated Europe has murdered millions in such
thoughtlessness as the Inquisition, the witch-hunt, the Jewish
holocaust, the Crusades, the black slave trade, `Our Manifest
Destiny’, colonialism, globalisation, the `war on terror’.

Thus, merely because our prospective Armenian son-in-law has made
horrible headlines in Kenya, many Kenyans are apt to jump to the
conclusions that all Armenians are devils. Yet, if they investigated,
they might find that Armenians have deep African roots.

The story begins around 3100 BC, when a Nubian prince called Men
invaded Lower Egypt and united it with his kingdom of Cush to set up
at Memphis the pharaonic house that ruled Egypt for the next 3,000
years.

Menes – as the Hellenic Greeks called him – then invaded Crete, where
the insular dialect rendered him as Min and the Hellenes subsequently
as Minos, the name by which this Nubian is best known as the founder
of the Minoan empire. In The Greek Myths, Robert Graves affirms it:

`A large number of goddess-worshipping [pre-Arab black] Libyans …
from the Western Delta … arrived [in Crete] when Upper and Lower
Egypt were forcibly united under the First Dynasty about the year
3000 BC. The First Minoan Age began soon afterwards, and Cretan
culture spread to Thrace …’

Graves makes it certain that the three events were led by the same
individual – Egypt’s unification by Menes, the Minoan dynasty’s
foundation by Minos and Armenia’s conquest by a Cretan hero called
Menus or Minyas.

They moved steadily along the Nile

In Gods of the New Millennium, Alan Alford avers that the names
Menes, Minos and Minyas all refer to that same Nubian warrior.
Hellenic historian Herodotus confirms that Colchis had been colonised
by Pharaoh Sesostris and identifies the Colchians by their `…black
skins and kinky hair…’

But, much more germane to our theme is that the Colchians were what
came to be known as Armenians, an offshoot of what Graves calls
`Libyo-Ethiopians’.

They moved steadily along the Nile through the Delta to Rhodes,
Crete, Argolis, Attica, Arcadia, Corinth, Boeotia, Thessaly, Magnesia
and the Troad to the Caucasus and backwards to rejoin their brother
Agenor (the Bible’s `Canaan’), whose roots Graves traces also to
Uganda.

The Minyans of Thessaly, Euboea, Thrace, Troy and Colchis are known
in other texts as Minni, Menus and Menia, and their ultimate country
as Ar-Minni, Ar-Menus or Ar-Menia, names which link them unmistakably
to Min (Minos) and Men (Menes).

The prefix Ar means `hill’ or `mountain’ (here the Caucasus). Armenia
thus means `Mount Men’ or `Min’s Hill’, being the Hamitic equivalent
of the Semitic har, as in Hebrew Har Megiddo, Galilee’s strategic
`Mount Megiddo’ from which the Hellenes wove their yarn of
Armageddon.

Thus `Mount Ararat’, which also rises in Armenia, is a tautological
term because the `ar’ in it already means `mountain’. Ararat’s
original name was Ar Aras (going into Hebrew as Har Arat), `Aras
mountain’.

Aras refers also to a river that rises in Turkish Armenia and flows
into the Caspian. Araks or Aragats – the Russian name for Aras – also
owes its `ar’ prefix (to the same Hamitic etymology. If Armenians are
now fully Caucasian, so are the PelasgicGreeks, descendants of the
African Graikoi (`children of the Grey Goddess’); so are Scythians
and Scots, descendants of Queen Scota of Cush; so are the Irish and
Danes, descendants of the Pelasgic Tuatha de Danaans; so are the
Gauls and other Celts, descendants of the African Goidels.

Racial outlooks can be altered beyond recognition by commingling in
long-run climate conditions. And, in Armenia, Wangui’s descendants
will in the end – like Scota’s – lose all their Negroid attributes
and become Caucasian. But Wangui will have re-linked us to these
ancient relatives of ours.

Young people from Javakheti visited Artsakh

14-04-2007 13:45:58 – KarabakhOpen

The members of the Javakheti youth association of the ARF
Dashnaktsutyun arrived in Karabakh for a three-day visit. The purpose
of their visit is to learn about the history of Artsakh, the Artsakh
youth association of the ARFD said to the KarabakhOpen.

The members of the Artsakh and Javakheti youth association of the ARFD
discussed a number of problems, including the activities of the
Javakheti organization, as well as collaboration.

The group visited historical sights, museums, laid flowers to the
graves of Arthur Mkrtichyan, the first speaker of the Supreme Council
of NKR and the azatamartiks.

This year the 140th anniversary of the leader of the liberation
movement in the late 19th century Nicol Duman from Karabakh will be
marked. In this connection, the Artsakh Youth Association of the ARF
Dashnaktsutyun and the National Legacy Foundation plan to hold joint
events. The young people from Artsakh and Javakheti with the support
of Jasmen Buniatyan held a tree planting event at Gshlagh, the native
village of Nicol Duman.

GEORGIA NEVER TO JOIN AN ALLIANCE WITH MUSLIM COUNTRIES AGAINST CHRISTIAN COUNTRY

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.04.2007 15:09 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Paata Zakareishvili: "Mikhail Saakashvili is so
unpredictable that we sometimes do not know what he will do tomorrow."

"During four and a half years, i.e., since January of 2003, a lot
of things have changed in Georgia, I would even say country changes
constantly. But people began to think if those constant changes
are always good, after all not always everything goes for better,"
member of the Republican Party of Georgia, political scientist Paata
Zakareishvili stated to the PanARMENIAN.Net journalist. He said,
a lot of hasty steps were made during those 4 years. "However we
continue to move forward. It’s also true that Mikhail Saakashvili
is so unpredictable that we sometimes do not know what he will do
tomorrow. But one think I can say for sure: Georgia will never go
against Armenia and any country in the region generally. Economically
we participate in joint projects with Azerbaijan and Turkey, but
culturally and religiously we are connected with Armenia. Georgia
will never be in an alliance with Muslim countries against Christian
country. Don’t forget Kars-Tbilisi-Baku and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
projects are American projects, and Georgia must participate in
those projects since the foreign policy of our President demands it,"
the Georgian political scientist said.

IVANOV HAILS STRONGER RUSSIAN-ARMENIAN TRADE, ECON COOPERATION

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
April 11, 2007 Wednesday

Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov has hailed stronger
trade and economic relations between Russia and Armenia.

"There cannot be relations, moreover between friends, without
problems. There is the shortage of contracts for some Russian
enterprises in Armenia, but I want to point to upward trends in
bilateral trade and economic cooperation," he told a joint news
conference with participation of Armenian Prime Minister Serzh
Sarkisian on Wednesday.

The bilateral trade that increased by 70-80 percent of late proves
these trends.

"Russia stably ranks first in the influx of foreign investments in
Armenia’s economy. At our today meeting Armenian President Robert
Kocharian said what is more pleasing is that not ethnic, but economic
investments grow," Ivanov said.

"This concerns energy, including nuclear one, transport and
communications, mainly mobile one. These are areas that account for
highest investments in Armenia’s economy," he said.

"Of course, we have problems, and we do not evade them, but resolve
them," Ivanov said.

ARMENIA PM AGAINST NATO MILITARY BASE IN TRANSCAUCASIA

ITAR-TASS, Russia
April 11 2007

YEREVAN, April 11 (Itar-Tass) – Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisyan
on Wednesday came out against the deployment of a NATO military base
in Transcaucasia.

"New demarcation lines will add nothing to security of our region,"
the prime minister noted at a joint news conference with Russia’s
First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov.

"If Russia reduces its military presence in the region, it does not
mean that others must step it up," Sarkisyan emphasized.

RAFFI HOVANNISIAN: "I WANT THAT RIVALS SHAKE EACH OTHER’S HAND ON MAY 12"

Noyan Tapan
Apr 11 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 11, NOYAN TAPAN. The start of the pre-electoral campaign
of the "Zharangutiun" (Heritage) party took place on April 10 at the
Yerevan Armenia-Marriott hotel. All the 51 candidates involved in
the proportional list of the party were present at the event. The
party leader and all other participants of the meeting performed
the anthem of Armenia. To also recap, speeches were interrupted by
performances of the Armenia Navy Band ensemble, by the way, Raffi
Hovannisian accompanied Arto Tuncboyacian.

R. Hovannisian mentioned that in the case of existence of equal
conditions, "Zharangutiun" will get absolute majority of votes, and
in the case of unequal conditions, it will get relative majority of
the votes. "We thing that the reality will be fixed on May 12 that
"Zharangutiun" is the leader in the elections," the party leader
assured.

In R. Hovannisian’s opinion, the Armenian mentality is based
on fairness and morality. "We must show that the Armenian
newly-independent statehood is able to hold free, fair and transparent
elections," he mentioned. In the "Zharangutiun" leader’s words, if
elections are again hold in Armenia with falsifications, not only
the people and the opposition but the ruling structures and the state
itself will lose.

R. Hovannisian mentioned that in spite of unequal conditions,
"Zharangutiun" will participate in the propaganda mission, going
"from village to village, from city to city, from house to house"
and presenting its alternative program. In his words, the party will
carry out its propaganda mission "with the constructive principle
and positive fillings."

"I much want that rivals shake each other’s hand on May 12. We are
ready to do it if we see that another party really gained the people’s
vote," R. Hovannisian stated.

VISITS OF THE RF HIGH-LEVEL OFFICIALS BECOME FREQUENT

A1+
[03:39 pm] 11 April, 2007

more images April 11, 2007 – RA President Robert Kocharian received
the RF delegation at the head of first premier Sergey Ivanov. The
key issues of the discussion were the Armenian-Russian relations
on the economic level. The parties also dwelt on other issues of
regional cooperation.

Robert Kocharian and Sergey Ivanov highlighted the fact that the
Russian capital gradually expands in Armenia, which is an outcome of
mutually beneficial dynamic partnership.

TURKISH GOVERNMENT MAY TAKING ADDITIONAL MEASURES AGAINST TERRORISM

Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
April 9 2007

Ankara, 9 April: "Turkey revises measures to be taken regarding fight
against terrorism. Turkey will take additional measures if necessary.

We are decided to take additional steps. Our government is resolute
to do whatever necessary," said Government Spokesman and Justice
Minister Cemil Cicek said on Monday [9 April].

After the meeting of Council of Ministers, Cicek said foreign policy
and security issues were discussed at the meeting.

Noting that Iraq was high on their agenda, Cicek said, "Turkey is
interested in this issue because this threat – that violates peace,
country’s integrity, law and order in Turkey’s national borders – has
its roots in Iraq. And we will be interested in it to the bitter end."

Cicek said tomorrow’s National Security Council meeting will discuss
this issue too.

"In Turkey, everybody knows that terrorist activities would not occur
if these activities were not supported by external powers," Cicek said.

Another subject of the cabinet meeting was the bills criminalizing
denial of so-called Armenian genocide, Cicek noted.

Stating that an EU draft framework decision will come up on 18
and 19 April during Germany’s presidency, Cicek said a draft will
be discussed which would inflict imprisonment up to three years for
denial (of so-called Armenian genocide) remarks. Cicek stressed that
this draft would remove freedom of expression, noting that it would
even remove the research opportunity of historical facts.

Cicek stated that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will bring up
this matter during his visit to Germany this weekend.

"This draft is a quite big mistake," he added.

Russian expert views Armenian election cycle, relations with Russia

Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Moscow
27 Mar 07

Text of report by Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta on 27 March
[Interview with Vyacheslav Nikonov, political scientist, by Avtandil
Tsuladze, time and place not indicated: "The Elections in Armenia – A
Russian View" – taken from HTML version of source provided by ISP]

In a few weeks the electoral cycle that will end with the election of
a new president will begin in Armenia. Will the change of government
have an impact on the relations between our two countries? Well-known
political scientist Vyacheslav Nikonov answers this and other
questions of our Rossiyskaya Gazeta reporter.

[Tsuladze] Vyacheslav Alekseyevich, parliamentary elections will be
held in May in Armenia. What importance do they hold for Russia?

[Nikonov] The elections in Armenia are among the most important
elections, if not the most important elections, that are taking place
in post-Soviet space. The May elections open an election cycle that
will end with the replacement of the president of Armenia. This
country is Russia’s most important strategic partner in the
Transcaucasus. Armenia – Russia’s ally in the CIS, YevrAzES [Eurasian
Economic Community], and the Collective Security Treaty – is a core
member of our community. The nature of Russia’s relations with its
strategic partner and Russia’s position in this strategically
important region, which has been an object of serious geopolitical
competition in recent times, depend on the outcome of the
parliamentary and presidential elections in the republic.

[Tsuladze] If we hypothetically divide Armenian political forces into
"ours" and "not ours," what is the ratio of forces?

[Nikonov] Anti-Russian attitudes are the exception, not the rule in
Armenia.

The pro-government forces in Armenia and the Armenian government
itself are oriented to expanding cooperation with Russia. The same
thing can be said about the leaders in the election race – the
Republican party of Armenia and Flourishing Armenia. As for those
parties that are on the point of getting into parliament, there are
among them, of course, those who are not disposed to cooperation with
Russia, although they do not mention this directly in their rhetoric.

It is political suicide in Armenia to say that relations with Russia
should be cut off. Nonetheless, in practice that is exactly what the
party called Country of Law, which is headed by former speaker of
parliament Artur Bagdasaryan, is doing. He is betting on the West and
playing the "Armenian Yushchenko" card with all the obligatory
"orange" trappings. That means posing the goal of Armenia’s possible
admission to NATO, solving the Karabakh problem on terms that suit the
West, and a general strategic reorientation of Armenia towards the
West. Obviously, this kind of rhetoric and politics enjoys sympathy in
the West and in countries allied with it, in particular Turkey.

[Tsuladze] Is there an interdependence between political processes in
Russia and in Armenia? After all, both countries have entered a period
of change in government.

[Nikonov] The election cycles coincide. In both Russia and Armenia
parliamentary elections will take place first, then the presidential
election. And in both countries the president cannot run for a third
term, so the question of succession of power arises. The difference in
the situation is that the Kremlin is more confident from an electoral
point of view than the top leadership of Armenia.

The situation is more complex in Armenia. While the republic has
enjoyed rapid economic growth in recent years, the economic situation
is not simple.

Paradoxical as it may seem, cooperation with Russia is also a
complicating factor for the Armenian leadership, above all because
there is a certain disillusionment with the results of this
cooperation. Certain complaints about Russia have built up, and to a
degree they are justified.

In my view, Russia could have done more for Armenia and can do more in
the future, taking account of the concerns that our Armenian friends
have. I am referring to the position of Armenians in the Russian
Federation, protecting their rights and the opportunity for them to
live and work normally here. I am referring to the fate of those
Armenian enterprises that were turned over to Russian legal persons
for debts. It is obvious that these enterprises should function; we
should invest in them.

It is also important that the Armenian people not feel hurt by the
change in Gazprom policy – we could talk about giving direct economic
assistance, which would compensate for their losses. Money is being
appropriated for foreign aid programmes today for the first time in
the history of the Russian Federation, and Armenia, as a Russian
partner, should expect a certain share of this aid.

[Tsuladze] Great concern is being seen in Armenia in connection with
the killing of Armenians in Moscow. Some are inclined to consider
these murders politically motivated. Is that true?

[Nikonov] There is no anti-Armenian campaign in Russia. Unfortunately,
like any European country and like the United States, we have
nationalists and skinheads. We see what is happening in the suburbs of
Paris, in Texas, and in Germany. Such attitudes are, unfortunately,
widespread in Russia too. People of the most diverse nationalities
become victims of this unmotivated ethnic cruelty. It also happens to
Russians, Chechens, Tajiks, Uzbeks, and so on. Firm steps are being
taken against this by the RF president and law enforcement organs. The
Public Chamber is also getting into the fight.

[Tsuladze] Returning to the subject of elections, what are the
probable scenarios for the change of government in Armenia with the
departure of Kocharyan?

[Nikonov] First we have to wait for the parliamentary elections. It
seems to me that the political force that turns up as the leader in
the parliamentary elections will have a good chance of victory in the
presidential election as well. At the same time, I think that
businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, who heads the Flourishing Armenia Party,
is a man who entered politics recently and would hardly set such a
goal for himself. Most likely the "successor" will come from the ranks
of the Republican Party, which current Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan took part in creating.

Judging by the sociological surveys, public opinion sees Serge
Sarkisyan, who is now the minister of defence and heads the country’s
Security Council, as the likely "successor." He is a man who received
a philological education but by the will of fate became one of the
commanding officers of the Karabakh Army. He is a major figure in the
law enforcement and security structures of Armenia today. He is a team
player who has pretty good relations with the Russian leadership and
is unquestionably a supporter of strengthening cooperation between
Russia and Armenia. He enjoys obvious support in Moscow. It is
important to emphasize that Sarkisyan does not arouse any antipathy in
the West either.

As for other candidates for the presidency, they can only hope for
something if they have serious outside support and only if there is a
destabilization, which is absolutely unacceptable for Armenia.

[Tsuladze] Is it possible that "orange" techniques could be used in
Armenia?

Is the West involved in any games there?

[Nikonov] Obviously a game is underway. This is seen by the
publications of certain candidates in the Western media, which is
always evidence that Western consultants have been brought in to
work. The "orange" techniques were never put away in the archives
anywhere. There have been attempts to use them in all past elections
in post-Soviet space, including in states where these techniques did
not work. I absolutely do not rule out the possibility that an
"orange" scenario has been planned as a back-up for Armenia. The
procedures for realizing this scenario are quite well known.

[Tsuladze] What is your prediction for development of the situation in
Armenia and the further fate of Russian-Armenian relations?

[Nikonov] As for the election campaign in Armenia, for now the
dynamics of the election ratings tell us that the Republican Party,
which has been increasing its electorate from poll to poll, should
take first place. The Flourishing Armenia Party’s growth has slowed
down a little. But in any case, it is obvious that these two parties
will be a majority in the future Armenian parliament. Inasmuch as both
parties cooperate with the government, Robert Kocharyan and his team
will have a parliamentary majority.

Three or four political forces that are now on the brink of passing
the five-per cent barrier will also get into parliament. With some
degree of likelihood we can say that National Unification and Stepan
Demirchyan’s People’s Party of Armenia will get in, and the Dashnaks,
the oldest party in Armenia, have their core electorate. But the
future of Country of Law and Artur Bagdasaryan personally will depend
on how much outside forces invest in him.

As for Russian-Armenian relations, their nature will depend on who
comes to power in Yerevan. A strengthening of the political groups
that are oriented to distancing from Russia could cause a certain
destabilization in the Transcaucasus. At the same time, it is obvious
that keeping the current team in power and a victory by Serge
Sarkisyan in the presidential election would give a positive charge to
Russian-Armenian relations and make it possible to move to a higher
level of mutually advantageous cooperation.

MAIN TRAINER OF NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM OF ARMENIA HAS GOAL TO CREATE 2nd TEAM

Noyan Tapan
Apr 05 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 5, NOYAN TAPAN. The reason of being defeated by Poles
was lack of competation experience of players of the Armenian team
as well as the fact that the new competition period did not start in
Armenia yet. Main trainer of the national football team of Armenia,
Scotsman Ian Porterfield stated about it at the April 4 press
conference. In the competition struggle with the team of Poland he
separated Robert Zebelian and gate-keeper Roman Berezovski, returned
the team, who saved the team from loss with a big score.

Ian Porterfield stated that he has a goal to create the 2nd national
team of Armenia. To recap, the trainer undergoes a cure after an
operation and will start working in 2 weeks.