Author: Jagharian Tania

PanARMENIAN.Net
Karabakh Conflict: Armenia Reached Limit and Cannot
Move Farther

11.03.2006 21:46 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `Taking into account common
interests and prospects of development of Armenia,
peace in the region, it seems to me that what is on
the bargaining table at the Nagorno Karabakh talks and
what we agreed to is a limit, after which Armenia
cannot move farther,’ Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian
stated in an interview with Armenian Shant TV Company.
In his words, Azerbaijan did not even approach that
limit, thus much indeed depends on Baku. `Today a
balanced settlement option is on the bargaining table,
which can be both painful and have large
opportunities. Azerbaijan should demonstrate the
degree of its readiness to compromise at the talks,’
Oskanian said. At heart Azeri leadership considers the
process should not be missed. However, on the other
hand the degree of Azeri maximalism is determined now,
the Armenian FM believes. `If Azerbaijan does not
concede in a specific issue, this means it remains on
maximalist positions,’ Oskanian added. Armenia has
made concessions on its part and this is recognized by
all parties, including the OSCE Minsk Group and
Azerbaijan’s concessions are necessary for advance in
the process, the FM added.

USA GIVES ARMENIAN BIRD FLU EXPERTS PROTECTIVE CLOTHING
Mediamax news agency
13 Mar 06
Yerevan, 13 March: US ambassador to Armenia John Evans handed 1,500
sets of special protective clothing over to the Armenian authorities
in Yerevan today.
The protective clothing is for specialists who can take part in
monitoring, preventing or studying cases of bird flu.
A total of 1,125 sets of special protective clothing were given to
the Agriculture Ministry, and the other 375 to the Health Ministry
of Armenia, Mediamax learnt from the press service of the US embassy
in Yerevan.

PRESS RELEASE
March 14, 2006
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Tel: 202-319-1976, x. 348; Fax: 202-319-2982
Email: [email protected]
Web:
Armenia Introduces New Zip Code System
Haypost, the Armenian postal service, will introduce new zip code
system in Armenia effective April 1, 2006. Instead of the previous
6-digit postal code, new postal codes will contain 4 digits. For
example, the Foreign Ministry postal code will change from Yerevan
375010 to Yerevan 0010.
The complete list of new postal codes and post offices is available
at the Haypost website link:

NEW IDENTITY FOR ‘MERCENARIES’: THEY ARE CZECH CITIZENS
By Emmanuel Onyango
Kenya Times, Kenya
March 14 2006
Minister Says They Are Czech Citizens Licensed To Work In Kenya.
THE two alleged mercenaries are citizens of the Czech Republic and
are licensed to work and do business in Kenya.
Immigration Minister Gideon Konchella refuted claims that the two
brothers are from Armenia, and confirmed that they were actually from
Czech Republic.
The minister said that the Kenya Government had earlier this year
granted work permits to the two brothers, allowing them to invest in
the country and engage in business activities.
The genuineness of two brothers now comes under question, after they
had on Monday morning insisted they were from Armenia and that they had
blood relations with the Armenian Prime Minister, Andranik Margaryan.
Said the minister: “The two brothers are businessmen who had applied
for a work permit in January. The papers they presented to the ministry
showed that they were actually citizens of the Czech Republic.”
The minister added: “We found their papers (which confirmed their
citizenship) to be in order and issued them with work permits.”
The Minister consequently ruled out any possible deportation of
the two brothers, irrespective of concerns by Lang’ata MP Raila
Odinga that the duo were mercenaries on hire assigned to assassinate
Opposition leaders.
“We cannot deport them because they are in the country legally. Raila
should come out and tell the Government more about the mercenary
allegations,” Konchella said.
Asked whether his ministry had attempted to dig into the history of
the two brothers before issuing them with work permits, Konchella
became dismissive, stressing that his job was not to investigate
permit applicants.
“It is not my job to investigate their activities. We just verified
their documents and issued work permits,” the minister quipped.
The Immigration Ministry, Konchella added, will only consider deporting
the two if the Police and security authorities can ascertain that
they are a threat to the country’s security.
“If they are investigated and found to be mercenaries, we will deal
with them. There is no way my ministry will tolerate foreigners who
can cause havoc to the country,” asserted Konchella.
The Minister’s revelation intensifies the controversy surrounding the
identity of two brothers who left the country as mysteriously as was
their arrival.
Konchella further dismissed the theory that the two foreigners were
hired by the Government to wipe out personalities perceived as a
threat to President Kibaki’s rule.
“How can this be a Government project? When mercenaries are hired,
they are usually assigned to overturn the Government. How then can
a government try to overturn itself?” Konchella posed.
The minister also urged Police Commissioner Hussein Ali to cast his
net afar to foreign countries while investigating the two brothers,
and even seek the help of international agencies.
“The Police should investigate what the two brothers have been doing
even in Dubai, and consider taking them at the international courts
if they are found to be mercenaries,” Konchella added.
The minister, however, failed to explain how the two foreigners managed
to secure a press briefing at the Jomo Kenyatta airport’s VIP lounge,
which is usually reserved for senior Government officials and official
State guests.
“I’m not aware why they used the VIP lounge and how they managed to
get a reservation. I’m just from my constituency and am yet to report
to the office,” said Konchella.
The Immigration minister made the comments yesterday after paying a
courtesy call on the newly-appointed Nyanza Provincial Commissioner
John Nandasaba.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Glendale News Press
Published October 15, 2005
WRITING THE RIGHT
One sneeze or two, it’s up to you
ANI AMIRKHANIAN
Armenians are superstitious people. The act of warding off evil and keeping
away bad luck is an essential part of life for the most superstitious
Armenian.
Most superstitions have to do with luck. Everyone wants to have good luck
and people take measures to achieve that luck.
I have never been very superstitious. The occasional knocking on wood or
keeping fingers crossed is as far as I’ve gone to have some luck come my
way.
In many cultures, an animal or mythical creature, is a symbol of luck. The
elephant, for example is considered to lucky in Thailand.
The Armenian people consider the “kapoot achk,” or blue eye, lucky. That
doesn’t mean whoever has blue eyes is the luckiest person in the world.
A blue eye charm is hung often on the front mirror of a car or on a chain as
a necklace. The blue eye keeps away the “evil eye” and is to prevent bad
luck from occurring.
Many people actually have more than one blue eye charm. An entire set of
stringed blue eyeballs is also common as a necklace or bracelet.
Other superstitions are a bit more abstract. When traveling, it is always
customary, well, more of a superstition again, to throw water on the path of
the traveler.
My mother is the official “water thrower” in the family. She will stand
holding a glass of water and as soon as the traveler drives away in their
car, she will throw the water after them.
Since water is symbol of life, it also represents purity, as if to say “may
your travels be righteous with God on your side.”
Another superstition has to do with sneezing. This may sound a bit absurd,
but it is one of those superstitions that many Armenians take seriously.
It is always said that two sneezes are better than one. If you sneeze once,
you should follow it with another.
Sneezing twice is particularly important when one is engaged in a
conversation about the future or an upcoming event.
Armenians believe that if you sneeze once your future goal will less likely
be achieved. But a second sneeze will take away all the ills or devastations
that may stand in the way of achieving your goals.
I have relatives who believe deeply in this superstition. They will worry,
and even be alarmed, if the second sneeze does not follow.
During a conversation, it is best to refrain from sneezing, because if one
sneezes, they are expected to have a second one on the way.
I have engaged in conversations with people who have stopped and asked me to
sneeze again.
“Sneeze again, bring another one,” is often the request. The request is
usually followed by a long pause, where they await the second sneeze.
Sneezing becomes a requirement and if one ceases to sneeze for a second
time, a stern look is often returned that translates to “you are doomed.”
So when it comes to Armenian superstitions, it’s helpful to be familiar with
them before entering into an Armenian household.
They provide a glimpse into the culture.
* ANI AMIRKHANIAN is a news assistant. She may be reached at (818) 637-3230

Libération, France
Mardi 11 octobre 2005
Orhan Pamuk, bête noire des autorités turques
Orhan Pamuk, 53 ans, qui recevra à la Foire de Francfort le 23
octobre le prestigieux Prix de la paix des libraires allemands, doit
être jugé le 16 décembre à Istanbul pour «insulte délibérée à
l’identité turque» pour avoir évoqué le génocide arménien
(1915-1917). Dans un magazine suisse, Pamuk, avait affirmé qu’«un
million d’Arméniens avaient été tués en Turquie». Il risque de six
mois à quatre ans de prison. Très lu dans son pays où il a autant
d’admirateurs que de détracteurs, Orhan Pamuk s’est attiré la foudre
des nationalistes turcs pour sa défense des causes arméniennes et
kurdes.
Deux textes de soutien à l’auteur du «Livre noir», du «Chteau blanc»
ou «Neige» (lire la critique parue dans «Libération» ) circulent
actuellement en France. «Les poursuites engagées contre lui par le
ministère turc de la Justice sont une attaque délibérée contre toute
liberté d’expression si elle s’écarte de la vérité officielle sur les
pages les plus sensibles du passé. Elles sont aussi une provocation
contre les Européens et leurs valeurs», selon le premier texte. Son
«procès ne doit pas avoir lieu. Nous demandons aux chefs d’Etat et de
gouvernement européens, qui, le 3 octobre, ont ouvert les
négociations d’adhésion (de la Turquie à l’Union européenne, ndlr),
d’exiger du gouvernement turc qu’il abandonne ses poursuites et cesse
de se servir de son Code pénal pour imposer sa vision de l’Histoire»,
demande le texte. Laure Adler, Samir Amin, Michel Deguy, Alain
Finkielkraut, Antoine Gallimard, Christophe Girard, Benoîte Groult,
Nancy Huston, Liana Levi, Françoise Nyssen, Serge Rezvani, Jean-Marie
Rouart ou Lydie Salvayre figurent parmi les signataires.

ARMENIANS TO SHARE $17M PAYOUT FOR OTTOMAN MASSACRE
By Stephen Castle in Brussels
The Independent, UK
Oct 14 2005
Descendants of some of the 1.5 million Armenians killed during the
collapse of Ottoman rule in 1915 will share a $17m (£9.7m) payout
after a settlement with the French insurance giant AXA. The relatives
lodged their legal case in California, home to one of the world’s
largest Armenian communities, claiming for life insurance benefits
that were never paid. The settlement is likely to be approved in
November in the US District Court in California.
Armenians are stepping up their campaign to win formal classification
of the murders as an act of genocide. Turkey has always denied there
was a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing against Armenians,
saying they were casualties of partisan fighting and of a political
vacuum during the final days of the Ottoman Empire.
Ankara says that as many as 300,000 Armenians, and at least as many
Turks, died during civil strife in eastern Turkey during the First
World War. Last month the authorities finally allowed the issue to be
debated on Turkish soil by historians at an academic conference. But
the organisers had to side-step two legal orders banning it by
rearranging the venue.
The California settlement will be administered in France, which also
has many expatriate Armenian communities and which was one of the first
countries to recognise the murders as genocide. AXA’s headquarters
are in France and the company operates in the US through subsidiaries.
Under the settlement, AXA agreed to donate several million dollars to
various France-based Armenian charities. It will also contribute $11m
toward a fund to pay valid claims of heirs of policyholders with AXA
Group subsidiaries that did business in the Turkish Ottoman Empire
before 1915.
The AXA case was the second lawsuit of its kind to be settled in
US courts, although the United States, along with Turkey, does not
officially recognise the deaths as genocide. In February, New York
Life agreed to pay $20m to descendants of its Armenian policyholders
killed in 1915.
Mark Geragos, an Armenian descendant who was a lawyer for the
plaintiffs, said: “The AXA and New York Life settlements are important
building blocks not only toward seeking financial recovery for the
losses resulting from the Armenian genocide but also in our ultimate
goal, which is for Turkey and the US to officially acknowledge the
genocide.”
This month, Turkey launched EU membership talks which are expected
to last at least a decade. Despite criticism of the stance taken by
Ankara on the issue, EU member states did not seek to make recognition
of the Armenian case as genocide a condition of beginning negotiations
on joining the bloc.
The failure to acknowledge the genocide has also bedevilled Turkey’s
relations with its neighbour, Armenia. Turkey shut its border with
Armenia in 1993, angry at the Armenian separatist forces fighting
for independence from Azerbaijan in the disputed territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
For Armenians, the behaviour of the Young Turks, the dominant party in
the Ottoman Empire in 1915, in systematically arranging the deportation
and killing of 1.5 million Armenians, is central to their national
self image. They say persecutions continued with varying intensity
until 1923 when the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist and was replaced
by the Republic of Turkey.
Ankara angrily rejects the claim of a planned genocide, but some EU
politicians still want Turkey to recognise the killings as genocide
before Ankara is allowed to join the EU.
Descendants of some of the 1.5 million Armenians killed during the
collapse of Ottoman rule in 1915 will share a $17m (£9.7m) payout
after a settlement with the French insurance giant AXA. The relatives
lodged their legal case in California, home to one of the world’s
largest Armenian communities, claiming for life insurance benefits
that were never paid. The settlement is likely to be approved in
November in the US District Court in California.
Armenians are stepping up their campaign to win formal classification
of the murders as an act of genocide. Turkey has always denied there
was a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing against Armenians,
saying they were casualties of partisan fighting and of a political
vacuum during the final days of the Ottoman Empire.
Ankara says that as many as 300,000 Armenians, and at least as many
Turks, died during civil strife in eastern Turkey during the First
World War. Last month the authorities finally allowed the issue to be
debated on Turkish soil by historians at an academic conference. But
the organisers had to side-step two legal orders banning it by
rearranging the venue.
The California settlement will be administered in France, which also
has many expatriate Armenian communities and which was one of the first
countries to recognise the murders as genocide. AXA’s headquarters
are in France and the company operates in the US through subsidiaries.
Under the settlement, AXA agreed to donate several million dollars to
various France-based Armenian charities. It will also contribute $11m
toward a fund to pay valid claims of heirs of policyholders with AXA
Group subsidiaries that did business in the Turkish Ottoman Empire
before 1915.
The AXA case was the second lawsuit of its kind to be settled in
US courts, although the United States, along with Turkey, does not
officially recognise the deaths as genocide. In February, New York
Life agreed to pay $20m to descendants of its Armenian policyholders
killed in 1915.
Mark Geragos, an Armenian descendant who was a lawyer for the
plaintiffs, said: “The AXA and New York Life settlements are important
building blocks not only toward seeking financial recovery for the
losses resulting from the Armenian genocide but also in our ultimate
goal, which is for Turkey and the US to officially acknowledge the
genocide.”
This month, Turkey launched EU membership talks which are expected
to last at least a decade. Despite criticism of the stance taken by
Ankara on the issue, EU member states did not seek to make recognition
of the Armenian case as genocide a condition of beginning negotiations
on joining the bloc.
The failure to acknowledge the genocide has also bedevilled Turkey’s
relations with its neighbour, Armenia. Turkey shut its border with
Armenia in 1993, angry at the Armenian separatist forces fighting
for independence from Azerbaijan in the disputed territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
For Armenians, the behaviour of the Young Turks, the dominant party in
the Ottoman Empire in 1915, in systematically arranging the deportation
and killing of 1.5 million Armenians, is central to their national
self image. They say persecutions continued with varying intensity
until 1923 when the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist and was replaced
by the Republic of Turkey.
Ankara angrily rejects the claim of a planned genocide, but some EU
politicians still want Turkey to recognise the killings as genocide
before Ankara is allowed to join the EU.
–Boundary_(ID_w5yTcrfJaPFUOcjPl4Bi0g)–

CONNECTING JAMES JOYCE WITH ARMENIA
Belmont Citizen-Herald, MA
Oct 13 2005
Marc A. Mamigonian of Belmont will speak at the National Association
for Armenian Studies and Research Center in Belmont, on Wednesday,
Oct. 26 at 8 p.m., on the Irish novelist James Joyce’s use of Armenian
words and themes.
The lecture, entitled “All Abunk for Tarararat!: Armenian in James
Joyce’s ‘Finnegan’s Wake,'” will be a substantially expanded version
of talks given at international conferences in Dublin in 2004 and at
UCLA in 2005.
James Joyce wrote his final book, “Finnegan’s Wake,” between 1923
and 1939. Joyce, one of the high priests of literary modernism whose
earlier novels, “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” (1916) and
“Ulysses” (1922), were in many ways the ultimate expression of that
movement, in “Finnegan’s Wake” demolished the very notion of a unified
work of art, of literary structure, and of the English language itself.
Joyce’s revolution of the word was in part a reaction to the chaos
of World War I, and finding a place in his de-centered universe
are the Armenians and the Armenian Genocide, to which he refers in
the book. This lecture will explore the ways in which Joyce used the
Armenians, the Armenian language, and the Armenian Genocide to support
the book’s major themes of death and rebirth, the “fall from grace,”
and the cyclical nature of history.
The light cast by the Armenian references into the novel’s
vast obscurity is not merely peripheral. Joyce, ever alert to
historical-mythical parallels, saw the Armenians as similar to the
Irish, both nations of “people living in the same place … or also
living in different places,” dispersed, oppressed, persistent in
their refusal to be destroyed.
Mamigonian is director of programs and publications at NAASR, where
he has worked for nearly eight years. Prior to his time at NAASR,
he spent two years at Boston University writing annotations for
a multi-media edition of Joyce’s “Ulysses.” He is co-author of a
full-length commentary on Joyce’s Stephen Hero, published in 2004
by the James Joyce Quarterly, as well as other articles on Joyce,
the Armenians, and other topics. He holds a master’s degree in
English from Tufts University and has taught a class on “Ulysses”
at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education since 1997.
Admission to the event is free (donations appreciated). The NAASR
Bookstore will open at 7:30 p.m. The lecture will begin promptly at
8 p.m.
For more information about the lecture, call 617-489-1610, e-mail
[email protected], or write to NAASR, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478.

NIGHT “YES” TO CONSTITUTION
A1+
| 17:08:57 | 11-10-2005 | Politics |
The city authorities used the Armenian singers as an instrument for
spreading the election campaign titled “yes to constitution” during
the Erebuni-Yerevan festivities.
Yesterday a stage decorated for the conduction of the event was
transformed in a huge “yes”. The Armenian stars sang recurrent “yes”
under the posters with “yes” inscribed. Thus, a campaign-concert was
held a video sketch for further propaganda was shot.

A VOTE FOR UNITY: ARMENIAN REPRESENTATIVE PLEDGES TO RE-OPEN MELKONIAN
By Jean Christou
Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
Oct 11 2005
DR VAHAKN Atamyan was the winner of the by-election on Sunday for
the Armenian seat at the House of Representatives, after garnering
52 per cent of the 1,500 votes cast at the polls.
Atamyan received a total of 769 votes. In Nicosia, he snagged 224
votes at one of the two polling stations in the capital, and another
272 at the second. In Limassol he received 113 votes and in Larnaca
160. He succeeds Bedros Kalaydjian, who died on September 1, aged 71.
The second of the two main candidates, Dr Antranik Ashdjian received
a total of 649 votes or 43.91 per cent. In Nicosia, he received 198
votes at the first polling station and 222 at the second, while in
Limassol Asdjian secured 89 votes and in Larnaca 140.
Outsider and late-entry candidate Parsegh Zartarian received a total
of 60 votes or 4.06 per cent. In Nicosia, he garnered 26 votes at
the first polling station and 15 at the second. In Limassol Zartarian
secured 13 votes and in Larnaca 6.
All three candidates were running on a ‘unity’ ticket, pledging to
bring the divided 3,000-strong Armenian community together to resolve
decades of polarisation within the ethnic group.
Immediately after his victory on Sunday, Atamyan promised to act as
representative for all Armenians in Cyprus and strive to meet his
pre-election commitments.
He called on all Armenians to join him in a struggle to promote
solutions to the serious problems faced by the community and said he
would be also be running for re-election in the May 2006 parliamentary
elections to finish the work he is about to start.
Atamyan said he had already begun contacts with all Cypriot political
parties to solve the problems faced by the Armenians in Cyprus.
He told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that he plans to visit the Armenian
Patriarch in Lebanon and to begin negotiations for the reopening of
the Melkonian, the only Armenian secondary school in Cyprus, which
was closed down for financial reasons.
Opponents of Atamyan, who had been on the school board, said he had
not done enough to help save the school.
“I will start in the next few days to have negotiations on the school
with the alumni and we will see how to proceed,” Atamyan said.
Commenting on the election results yesterday Ashdjian said he had
been honoured by the number of votes he received.
“It shows that nearly half of the Armenian community were pro change
and worried about the future and the mismanagement and closure of
the Melkonian,” he said. “I congratulated Dr Atayman last night and
I will see if his promises of cooperation will be met.”
Zartarian said he hadn’t expected to secure more votes than he had
“because of the deep polarisation that exists in the community”.
“However I am happy that my message was heard by all of the
electorate. I’m glad that I had a lot of positive feedback from people
and that the message was approved, even though for various reasons
it was not converted into votes,” he said. “People didn’t want to
switch. But it’s a start.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress