Author: Kajoyan Gevork

Message of His Holiness Karekin II on the Feast of the Holy
Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ

12:36 20.04.2014

The Message of His Holiness KAREKIN II
Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians
On the Occasion of the Feast of the Holy Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, April 20, 2014

In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

`I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life.’
John 8:12

Dearly Beloved Sons and Daughters in Armenia and the Dispersion,

The feast of the wonderful Holy Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ
has illuminated our souls with bountiful hope. Our Savior has Risen
from the dead; the tool of execution ` the Cross ` has been
transformed into the tree of life; man and universe have been renewed
by the grace of life and eternity.

Today risen with Christ, is the new creation, the path of a new life,
bright with life-giving light, which is granted by the Savior. `I am
the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in
darkness, but will have the light of life.’ These words of our Risen
Lord are a divine invitation for an eternal, as well as an earthly
illuminated life, directed to each individual since the graces of the
Holy Resurrection are distributed for all; including those who as yet,
are not walking the path of faith; including those, who brokenhearted
by the trials of life, are rebelling against God. The graces of the
Holy Resurrection are dispersed also in those places where men and
women have become bitter through wars and enraging terrorism, where
hearts have become hardened, where people bear the severe burden of
misery, where angelic children are sacrificed, all as results of
poverty, indifference, and military actions. Today, the
darkness-dispersing light of Christ’s Resurrection shines over all
conflicts that disrupt the life of mankind, over humanitarian and
environmental disasters, economic and political crises, and all
worries and challenges. The belief in the Resurrection, which
transformed the course of history, and educated soul and mind, created
culture, guided states to progress; offered standards for justice and
rights for all mankind, philanthropic values and principles; remains
also today the miraculous power on which we shall rely and through
which the world and the souls of men shall be renewed by new
achievements, peace and love, to transfigure with goodness the life of
humankind. Today, there are no societies or states without concerns,
needs or problem. However, societies and states cannot have progress `
and are even doomed to annihilation ` if they do not possess the
vision and goals of life, progress, and perfection, established on
spiritual-moral values; and apostles devoted to the same.

Indeed, the greatest achievements of mankind are the heroisms of
individuals who possessed vision; just as those disciples of Christ
who spread the light of Christianity, who with their powerful faith in
God, and a self-sacrificing sense of duty, laid the beginning of the
path of eternal life in this world, for the sake of humanity’s
salvation, happiness and wellbeing. Everyone who believes in God, who
has love for creation and his fellow man, is an apostle and will
implement his mission with the confident knowledge that the source of
grace is God’s blessing, which dispels the gloom from life; that God’s
help multiplies the fruits of labor, God’s consolation dissipates
hopelessness and sadness, and God’s heavenly justice reinforces the
foundations of earthly justice. It is with this knowledge and the
elevation of this spirit that the wounds of the present world shall be
healed, the course of nations and societies be established on paths of
love and solidarity, and life be transformed by the light of
resurrection, which is the commandment of our Lord and the sacred
mystery of the Resurrection of Christ.

Dear and Pious Faithful,

The good news of the Risen Savior today is an invitation to our people
dispersed throughout the world to not submit to the difficulties of
our national life; rather to invest efforts with steadfast will for
the prosperous and bright future of our native land and our people. In
the tempests of centuries, where would our people be if not
strengthened by the graces of Christ’s Resurrection? If not having
love for our homeland and nation? And not able to turn that, into a
buttress in times of difficulties, and strength, to live, create and
rise up? We can determine solutions to the trials and challenges we
face with unshakeable desire to transform life, by fidelity to our
Christian values, via the noble and good path, and with our
undertakings, and our nation-devoted and beneficial works. The feast
of the Holy Resurrection brings to us the encouragement to bring to
life with a hopeful spirit those plans that each individual ` by
responding to the call of the Lord ` is able to realize for our
familial, societal, state and national life, by not differentiating
between the personal interest and the national and people’s interest.
Let us serve in our calling and responsibility with spirit and
devotion; let us not aspire for successes only for ourselves, rather
for one another, for the progress of our native and national life, and
as the Lord instructs, consider that we have done all that we were
obligated to do. (Luke 17:10.)

We extend our fatherly words especially to our young children in
Armenia and the Diaspora, exhorting them to be the bearers of the
divinely commanded mission; combining with hope and faith the
marvelous vigor of youth with our national life. Keep strong the
life-affirming spirit of youth when facing the difficulties and
imperatives of our lives, the self-centered and passing
soul-destructive trends and views of our times, and all gales of
temptation, by steadfastly standing on the rock of faith and recalling
the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, `I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the
light of life.’ Dear and beloved young sons and daughters, you who are
the first generation of our free homeland, keep and protect in your
hearts as your most precious treasure, the light of your souls that is
free with Christ, that is bright through Christ. A people that has
scions educated with the laws of God, has real hopes and a positive
future. You shall bring to fruition those hopes in the fields of our
state, national and ecclesiastical life, at the borders of our
homeland, at the positions of defense of our language and culture in
the Diaspora; to strengthen our country, to defend the right of
Artsakh to live free, to defend our righteous cause on the fields of
battle; and with the devotion of your souls, through your
responsibilities in our native and national life, you shall weave the
victories of our life in this new day.

At present, the difficult situation of the Armenians in the Middle
East, continues to concern our national life, especially in Syria. In
recent weeks, a new crisis has arisen in Kessab where militant
extremists have engaged in military actions with the assistance of the
Republic of Turkey. The destruction of an Armenian populated area and
the deportation of its Armenian residents is the continuation of the
same criminal policy adopted by Turkey towards the Armenian people,
which we shall confront through state, ecclesiastical and national
structures, to defend the rights of our people through unified
efforts.

Today, beloved, when the light and excitement of the Feast of the
Resurrection of Christ once again beat in our hearts, and in accord to
the apostolic words, having put on the armor of light (Romans 13:12),
as one who rejoices in our Risen Lord, and as apostles who reject
grief, fear and despair, let us go out to transform our lives and the
lives of our brethren and people with new accomplishments, through
steadfast steps that shall turn the vision of our bright future into a
shining reality.

It is with this faith and wish that we extend the greetings with the
good tiding of the Holy Resurrection to the incumbents of the
hierarchal sees of our Holy Apostolic Church: His Holiness Aram I,
Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia; His Beatitude Archbishop
Nourhan Manougian, Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem; His Beatitude
Archbishop Mesrob Mutafian, Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople; and
all clergy of our Church; as well as to the heads of all sister
Churches and their faithful flock. We appeal for the Lord’s protection
for them and His daily assistance in their divinely commanded mission.

With the appeal for the graces of Christ’s Resurrection, we convey our
greetings to the President of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsian,
and the First Lady, present here today for the Divine Liturgy. We
extend our greetings and best wishes as well to the President of the
Artsakh Republic, Bako Sahakian, and to all state officials of the
Armenians, and all representatives of diplomatic missions accredited
in Armenia. We extend our fatherly love and blessings with the joyful
news of the Holy Resurrection to all of our sons and daughters
dispersed throughout the world.

On this holy and cherished Easter Sunday, our prayer from the depths
of our heart, is for the graces of Resurrection to reinforce you, dear
Armenian people, to live in faith and hope and love, and to build the
new good day of our lives in solidarity.

May God grant peace to the entire world under His Holy Right Hand,
grant prosperity and progress to our homeland, and brilliance to our
Holy Church and our faithful Armenian nation, to praise today and
always, the Holy Resurrection of our Savior.

Christ is Risen from the dead.
Blessed is the Resurrection of Christ.

LIBAN
Sa Sainteté Aram Ier préside la présentation de la publication
commémorative afin d’honorer le spécialiste de la presse écrite ,
Ardashes Der Khatchadurian

Le 20 mars 2014 la présentation de la ` publication commémorative ` a
eu lieu au Hall du Musée de Cilicie . L’événement a été organisé par
le comité du trimestriel Hask, une publication du Catholicos et du
Séminaire .

Le Père Shenohk Ashekian a souhaité la bienvenue à tous et a souligné
la célébration comme l’expression de l’engagement du Catholicossat de
Cilicie pour la préservation de la langue arménienne et de son
patrimoine culturel. Le premier orateur Hugop Balian a décrit le livre
comme le fruit des jours et des nuits inlassables qu’Ardashes Der
Khatchadourian a passé Ã indexer la presse écrite arménienne . Le
deuxième orateur , Garo Hovhanessian , a introduit la compilation en
deux volumes des manuscrits de Der Khatchadourian et les résultats de
la recherche , qu’il a décrit comme des trésors de la presse
arménienne .

Après la présentation , Daron Der Khatchadourian a remercié Sa
Sainteté pour le parrainage de la publication des manuscrits de son
père et M. Garo Hovhannessian pour l’édition et la compilation du
livre.

Sa Sainteté Aram Ier a conclu la soirée en rendant un hommage
particulier à l’engagement de Ardashes Der Khatchadourian à la
littérature arménienne et sa contribution à travers la presse écrite .
Il a ensuite remercié la famille Der Khatchadourian pour avoir rendu
le travail de leur père à la disposition du public arménien.

dimanche 20 avril 2014,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

ARMENIE
Une concurrence déloyale affecte la qualité des produits fabriqués en Arménie

Une concurrence déloyale affecte la qualité des produits faits en
Arménie a déclaré Gagik Makaryan, président de l’Union nationale des
employeurs.

Gagik Makaryan a dit que la solution à ce problème exige une stratégie
conçue par le gouvernement et que l’Arménie n’a pas à l’heure
actuelle.

Il a déclaré que les mesures prises par le Service de sécurité
alimentaire et la Commission d’État pour la protection de la
concurrence économique pour superviser la qualité des produits locaux
et de s’assurer qu’ils respectent les normes internationales ne
produisent pas l’effet désiré.

Selon Gagik Makaryan, la stratégie du gouvernement doit viser aussi
l’amélioration des connaissances des consommateurs quant à la qualité
des produits qu’ils achètent. Selon lui, les consommateurs doivent
avoir des connaissances sur les précautions de base, telles que la
vérification de la date de péremption des produits.

« Sans stratégie de l’Etat, nous n’obtiendrons pas des produits et des
services de haute qualité car il y a toujours des producteurs qui
violent les normes de qualité » a-t-il dit.

dimanche 20 avril 2014,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
April 18, 2014 Friday

Praise for efforts as transport minister

by Geoff Chambers

GLADYS Berejiklian is described by her supporters as “the story of
Australia”. The 43-year-old, of Armenian descent, is the daughter of a
boilermaker and nurse from Ryde.

Hornsby MP Matt Kean – who backed her in the leadership ballot –
described Ms Berejiklian as the party’s “peacemaker”.

“Her story is the story of Australia – migrant family came out here
with nothing, dad was a welder, mum was a nurse. If ever you wanted to
smash the public perception of the Liberal Party – Gladys is it,” Mr
Kean said. “She barely spoke a word of English when she went to
school. She left school with top marks, became a senior executive at
the Commonwealth Bank, president of the Young Liberals, and now one of
the state’s best-ever transport ministers.” Former state transport
minister and Premier Mike Baird’s father Bruce also described Ms
Berejiklian – a close friend of federal Treasurer Joe Hockey – as the
state’s best minister when it came to his old role.

The Baird government is expected to use transport and infrastructure
projects as its bedrock at next year’s election.”When I look at what
she’s achieved in terms of a whole series of measures – northwest rail
line, southwest rail link, on time running, cleanliness of trains,
privatisation of the ferries, the Opal card, the overhaul of state
rail – these are quite significant reforms,” Mr Baird Sr said. The
Willoughby MP will remain committed to those reforms, keeping the
Transport Minister role despite her elevation.

Armenian Genocide remembered: Commemoration events in Glendale,
Pasadena, Los Angeles area

14:39 19.04.2014

Armenian Genocide

Several local events commemorating the 99th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide will be held in Glendale over the next several days,
the Glendale News-Press reports.

The main event of the week will be the city-sponsored Armenian
Genocide commemorative event at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Alex Theatre,
216 N. Brand Blvd.

The event will feature traditional Armenian dances and musical
performances by local students and keynote speaker Maurice Missack
Kelechian, who is a Silicon Valley engineer whose scientific research
led to the unveiling of an Armenian orphanage in Antoura near
Beirut-Lebanon which dated back to the time of the genocide.

Operated by Ahmad Jemal Pasha, the orphanage housed 1,000 Armenian
orphans and served as a `Turkification’ center.

The commemorative week will kick off with two events.

On Monday, the Armenian clubs from Glendale, Hoover, Crescenta Valley
and Clark Magnet high schools will hold their 13th annual Armenian
Genocide remembrance assembly at 7 p.m. in Glendale High’s newly named
John Wayne Auditorium, located at 1440 Broadway.

Students from each school will contribute to part of the assembly,
ranging from instrumental musical compositions, poetry readings and
video clips.

Also on Monday, the city of Glendale will host a night of poetry
focused on inhumane events of the present and past at 6 p.m. in
Parcher Plaza at City Hall, 613 East Broadway.

Unified Young Armenians will host a candlelight vigil in remembrance
of the genocide at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the corner of Verdugo Road
and Mountain Street.

In Pasadena, the Armenian Community Coalition will host a
commemoration event at 10 a.m. on Thursday at Pasadena City Hall, 100
N. Garfield Ave.

The event will feature several speakers including Very Rev. Father
Andon Atamian and Rep. Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park.

Unified Young Armenians’ annual mass demonstration in Little Armenia
will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at Hollywood Boulevard and Hobart
Street.

The Armenian Youth Federation plans its annual protest in front of the
Turkish Consulate, 6300 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, from 4 to 6 p.m.
on Thursday.

The city of Glendale is set to host other events related to its `Man’s
Inhumanity to Man’ campaign that take place around the Armenian
Commemorative event as well.

French journalists launch TV project on Turkey’s Islamized Armenians – Video

April 19, 2014 | 03:29

French freelance journalists Anna Benjamin and Guillaume Clere have
been working already for eight months on a documentary film titled
Turkey: Heritage of Silence, Islamized Armenians.

The film will tell the stories of Turkey’s citizens who find out about
their Armenian roots, Nouvelles d’Arménie reported.

According to Benjamin and Clere, `it’s difficult to speak about this
topic,’ tell the forgotten story of the Armenian Genocide survivors,
and present the events that occurred in 1915.

The documentary will officially be presented in April 2015, and it
will be interactive, as audience participation will be required.

All Armenians across the globe will be able to post announcements to
find their relatives who have scattered around the world as a result
of the genocide.

`We aim to present this Internet platform in English, Armenian, and
Turkish,’ the film’s co-producers stated.

Turkey got `carte blanche’ from the U.S., Ruben Safrastyan thinks

Friday 18 April 2014 15:37
Photo: Photolure

Ruben Safrastyan

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Director of Institute of Oriental Studies of
Armenian National Academy of Sciences Ruben Safrastyan said today that
Armenia is entering a new phase of global developments and it will
exert its impact on Turkey’s policy.

Ruben Safrastyan believes that the deterioration of relations between
Russia and the U.S. over the past months will inevitably increase
Turkey’s significance in U.S. calculations, Mediamax reports.

`It’s not only about exacerbation of relations but also about a stage
of shaping a new world order. Turkey once managed to take advantage of
the newly emerging situation and it will result in strengthening of
Turkey’s anti-Russian policy, and Turkey will fortify its position in
the region’, said the scientist.

Ruben Safrastyan pointed out that Turkey has received `a carte
blanche’ from the U.S. for its actions. The expert of Oriental Studies
added that the situation provides a chance for Turkey to fight more
actively against Armenian Genocide recognition.

Génocide des Arméniens
Action choc du Nor Seround à l’annexe de l’ambassade de Turquie Ã
Paris : Loris Toufanian interpellé ( + Vidéo ) mise à jour 10h50

La jeunesse exige réparation du génocide des arméniens

Vendredi 18 avril 2014 Ã 17h, un groupe de jeunes du Nor Seround
proteste devant l’annexe de l’Ambassade de Turquie à Paris, siège du
service culturel, en demandant justice et réparation pour le génocide
subit par le peuple arménien.

Les militants ont jetés des seaux de sang dans le hall du btiment et
manifestés leur colère face au négationnisme d’Etat qui sévit en
Turquie depuis 1915 sur la question du génocide. Munis de pancartes
avec les inscriptions `Justice pour le peuple arménien !`, `Turquie
hors de Kessab !` ou encore `Justice, réparations ! `, le groupe
effectue actuellement un sitting pacifique devant le btiment du 102
avenue des champs Élysée.

`Nous ne lcherons pas, même 100 après !` scandent-ils en coeur. Pour
symboliser leur détermination à rester sur place afin de dénoncer la
responsabilité de l’Etat turc dans le génocide de leur peuple, les
jeunes se sont enchaînés les uns aux autres, arborant des Tee-shirts
affichant des slogans tels que `Etat Turc coupable` et `Erdogan hors
de Kessab`.

En effet, depuis quelques semaines, des djihdistes en provenance de
Turquie, ont attaqué Kessab, un village de Syrie qui fut un refuge
pour les familles qui ont survécues aux déportations de 1915. Le
soutien logistique de la Turquie dans la volonté d’épuration ethnique
pratiqué contre les Arméniens de Kessab est une preuve supplémentaire
de la continuité de l’Etat turc avec son passé criminel visant Ã
supprimer la présence arménienne de son foyer historique.

à 1 an de la commémoration du centenaire du génocide des Arméniens, le
Nor Seround est venu sans violence, pour rappeler à l’Etat turc les
revendications légitimes du peuple arménien suite au génocide dont il
a été victime. Cette page de l’histoire ne pourra être tournée que
lorsque les biens nationaux des Arméniens auront été restitués, les
spoliations compensées, les préjudices réparés, et la dignité des
Arméniens réhabilité, ceci au nom du principe de justice, seul garant
d’une paix sincère et durable.

Le Bureau National de la FRA Nor Seround – France

Le Président du Nor Seround, Loris Toufanian et les membres du Nor
Seround ont été emmenés dans un fourgon de la Police, applaudis par la
foule qui s’était massée derrière les cordons de CRS. Un kurde a
également été mis en garde à vue. Passant par hasard près de l’Office
du tourisme, il avait manifesté son soutien à la cause arménienne. Les
8 jeunes du Nor Seround ont été libérés une heure après les
vérifications d’identité. Seul Loris Toufanian était encore en garde Ã
vue ce samedi matin.

samedi 19 avril 2014,
Jean Eckian ©armenews.com

Turkey vulnerable to rising Russian power in the Black Sea
By MICHA’EL TANCHUM
04/19/2014

With the annexation of Crimea, Turkey faces a stronger and bolder
Russian naval power in the Black Sea. A resurgent Russia may be
tempted to exploit its temporary naval dominance to alter current
Black Sea energy exploitation and transportation arrangements more in
its favor and to the detriment of Turkey and its partners in the
Caucasus. The politically motivated stoppage of Turkey’s National
Warship Project’s production schedule has created a window of
vulnerability in Turkey’s Black Sea naval defenses in the face of
rapidly rising Russian naval power.

Background:

The $3 billion `National Warship’ Project, known by its Turkish
abbreviation MILGEM, seeks to upgrade the Turkish fleet by replacing
and augmenting its older foreign-made warships with eight domestically
produced Ada-class anti-submarine warfare corvettes and subsequently
four intermediate-class TF 100 frigates. After gaining experience from
the building of the slightly larger but more lethal TF 100 anti-air
warfare frigates, Turkey then intends to build a series of TF 2000
frigates. Double the size of the TF 100, the TF 2000 anti-air warfare
frigate will significantly advance the Turkish fleet’s transformation
into a blue-water navy.

Aside from being an intermediate phase for the development of the TF
2000, the TF 100 frigates are of present vital importance as
replacements for the German-made Meko 200 frigates that form an
essential component of Turkey’s force projection in the Black Sea. The
TF 100 frigates will be the first Turkish vessels to carry the
American-manufactured RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM)
system capable of countering the current generation of supersonic
anti-ship missiles.

Prior to Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the head of Turkey’s
Undersecretariat of Defense Industries Murat Bayar publicly
acknowledged the need to replace the Meko 200 frigates with the
ESSM-equipped TF 100s by 2020.

However, in September 2013, upon the commissioning of the TCG
Büyükada, the second of MILGEM’s eight Ada-class corvettes, the
Turkish government abruptly canceled RMK Marine’s contract to build
the remaining six corvettes. A subsidiary the Turkish conglomerate Koç
Holding A.Å?., the cancellation of RMK Marine’s contract appears to be
part of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s political vendetta
against the Koç family for providing assistance to anti-Erdogan
protesters from a Koç-owned Istanbul hotel during the summer 2013 Gezi
Park demonstrations.

The next two corvettes will be produced by Turkey’s national shipyard
while the government evaluates bids for the building of the four
remaining corvettes. Despite Undersecretary Bayar’s optimistic
forecasts that the government’s cancellations will delay the
production schedule for the Ada-class corvettes by only one year, the
cascade effect of the production stoppage in setting back the building
of the TF 100 frigates, as well as the subsequent TF 2000s, has
created a four- to eight-year window of vulnerability for Turkey in
the Black Sea vis-Ã-vis a resurgent Russia.

Turkey’s strategic vulnerability was not anticipated because of the
view in Turkish policy circles that Turkey enjoys a relative parity
with Russia in the Black Sea. However, the approximate parity exists
only when Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is matched against all the major
assets of the Turkish navy. Prior to the Crimean conflict, Russia’s
Black Sea fleet consisted of 24 major surface combatants and one
diesel submarine while Turkey’s major naval assets consist of
approximately 24 surface combatants and 14 submarines. The parity is
illusory as it is unlikely that Turkey would be able to deploy all or
most of its naval assets in a Black Sea conflict.

Turkey’s ability to deter Russian assertiveness in what Moscow regards
as its greater Black Sea sphere of influence, including the eastern
Mediterranean and the Caucasus, was already questionable. As Russia’s
Black Sea Fleet disposed of Georgia’s miniscule navy during the 2008
Russo-Georgian War, Ankara passively watched the Russian military
destroy Turkey’s infrastructure investments in Georgia. Turkey’s
supposed naval parity did not afford Ankara any significant policy
options.

Indeed, Ankara revealed its reluctance to provoke Moscow into
challenging the Montreux Convention, the 1936 treaty granting Ankara
exclusive control over the Bosphorous Straits and the Dardanelles and
restricting the transit of heavy warships through this strategic Black
Sea-Eastern Mediterranean access corridor.

Implications:

With the annexation of Crimea, Turkey faces a stronger and bolder
Russian naval power in the Black Sea. Russia now possesses the
Ukrainian navy’s submarine and several, if not most, of Ukraine’s 11
major surface combatants. Even without the Ukraine’s naval assets,
Russia’s own new additions to its Black Sea Fleet will enable Moscow
to dominate the region. Russia recently put to sea the first of its
six Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates. All six frigates are
designated for service in the Black Sea Fleet.

Larger and more advanced than Turkey’s four modified Meko 200
Barbaros-class frigates, each of the six Admiral Grigorovich-class
frigates will be the first vessels equipped with the state-of-the-art,
supersonic Shtil-1 Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) air defense system.
Moscow expects all six frigates to be in service in the Black Sea
Fleet by the end of 2016. Turkey’s now delayed TF 100 frigates, slated
to carry the ESSM system, would be the only Turkish vessels with a
comparable SAM capability.

Within the same 2016 timeframe, Russia will also add six newly
improved Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines to its Black Sea Fleet
ahead of Turkey’s deployment of an equivalent number of Ada-class
anti-submarine corvettes. These two Russian procurement programs alone
will quickly tilt the balance of naval forces in Russia’s favor,
giving Russia a significant strategic advantage for a window of four
to eight years depending on the pace of Turkey’s resumed production
schedule.

In addition, Russia is in the process of acquiring two French-made
Mistral-class amphibious assault ships, to be named the Vladivostok
and Sevastapol, the latter being the namesake of the Russian Black Sea
Fleet’s base in Crimea. The amphibious assault ships are helicopter
carriers that can accommodate 16 attack helicopters as well as 13
battle tanks and 450 combat soldiers.

A Mistral-class helicopter carrier in the Black Sea Fleet would
provide Russia with unprecedented power projection capability in its
greater Black Sea region. Russia’s recent announcement that it has no
plans to deploy either of the helicopter carriers in the Black Sea may
simply constitute a temporary measure by Moscow to assuage French
sensibilities in order to ensure that France does not rescind the sale
as a result of Moscow’s annexation of Crimea. Turkey cannot discount
the likely possibility that the Sevastapol will serve at the Black Sea
Fleet base after which it was named.

Russia’s reassertion of naval power in the Black Sea has already been
accompanied by Moscow’s first action to change the status quo in
relation to Black Sea energy exploitation. With the formal annexation
of Crimea, Ukraine’s Black Sea Oil and Gas company, ChronomorNaftohaz,
was made into a whole-owned subsidiary of the Russian state-controlled
joint-stock company Gazprom. Between the acquisition of
ChronomorNaftohaz itself and Gazprom’s now exclusive license for all
offshore energy development in Crimea’s continental shelf, the Russian
energy giant has acquired an estimated $50 billion in capital assets.

Turkey’s national oil and gas company TPAO has itself spent $2.5
billion on offshore energy exploration in Turkey’s continental shelf.
Current estimates predict Turkey’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in
the Black Sea contains 10 billion barrels of crude oil and two
trillion cubic meters of natural gas. However as ultra deep-water
wells are drilled in the region, more hydrocarbon resources may be
discovered. Even if Russia, whose continental shelf now projects from
Crimea and therefore closer to Turkey, does not attempt to dispute the
demarcation of Turkey’s EEZ, Turkey’s drilling platforms can no longer
be defended as easily from Russian warships.

Of greater concern for Ankara is the more likely possibility that
Russia may use Turkey’s window of vulnerability to alter the status
quo in relation to the transport of natural gas through Russia’s
`South Stream’ gas pipeline. The Russia-to-Bulgaria pipeline had been
routed through Turkey’s territorial waters to avoid the Ukraine’s EEZ.
Russia’s annexation of Crimea renders this longer and more expensive
route unnecessary and may lead Moscow to abrogate this very lucrative
agreement for Turkey.

Moreover, Moscow may seek to affect the development of the
Trans-Anatolian Pipeline intended to transport Azerbaijani natural gas
to Europe via Georgia and Turkey. To prevent the breaking of its
stranglehold over gas exports to Europe, Russia may resume its
simmering conflict with Georgia or even expand the use of military
pressure to Azerbaijan. Ankara would have fewer options to block such
an exercise of Russian power, as Turkey is now in a weaker relative
position than during the time of the 2008 Russo-Georgian war.

Conclusions:

The politically motivated stoppage of the MILGEM’s production schedule
has created a window of vulnerability in Turkey’s Black Sea naval
defenses in the face of rapidly rising Russian naval power. The
delayed production of the Ada-class anti-submarine corvettes will put
Turkey at a disadvantage relative to Russia’s imminent deployment of a
new fleet of Black Sea submarines. Russia’s Black Sea Fleet will also
possess six Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates capable of countering
supersonic anti-ship missiles while Turkey will lack the comparable
capability because of the setback to MILGEM’s four TF 100 frigates.

Until Turkey can build and deploy these naval assets, Ankara’s
deterrent capability has eroded and Russia will dominate the Black
Sea. Exercising sea control, Moscow can more easily deploy its newly
acquired Mistral-class helicopter carrier to stage amphibious assault
operations against other Black Sea littoral states including Georgia
and Azerbaijan.

Having taken control of Ukraine’s offshore oil and natural gas
operations, Moscow will likely attempt to alter regional energy
transport arrangements in Russia’s favor while Rusia still enjoys
naval dominance. With Moscow’s annexation of Crimea, Russia no longer
needs to route its `South Stream’ gas pipeline through Turkish waters
to avoid Ukraine’s EEZ. Moscow may attempt to cancel its agreement
with Ankara and reroute the pipeline through Crimea’s continental
shelf, resulting in a considerable revenue loss for Turkey.

Until Ankara can rectify the gap in naval capabilities created by
MILGEM’s delays, Turkey will not be able to defend its national
interests adequately as Russia attempts to reestablish its sphere of
influence in the greater Black Sea region.

The author is a Fellow at the Shalem College, Jerusalem, and at the
Middle East and Asia Units of the Truman Research Institute for the
Advancement of Peace at Hebrew University. Dr. Tanchum teaches in the
Departments of Middle Eastern History and East Asian Studies of Tel
Aviv University.

This article was first published in the Turkey Analyst
(), a biweekly publication of the Central
Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program Joint Center.

VIDEO OF THE DAY: TIGRAN – ‘ROAD SONG’

Oregon Music News
April 18 2014

April 18, 2014

Pianist Tigran is going to be in Portland on April 23rd at Alberta
Rose Theater in support of his new album, Shadow Theater. Tigran
Hamasyan with perform with special guest Emmet Lindsay. Doors are
at 7pm and the show starts at 8PM. The show is all-ages; minors OK
when accompanied by a parent or guardian. Tickets are $18 Advance
and $20 At the Door. There are $30 Preferred Seating (first 5 rows
of the front/center section) available, too.

We were told:

When Armenian-born pianist, keyboardist and occasional singer Tigran
saw a traditional Armenian shadow theater for the first time, he
felt the power of ambiguity. The silhouetted figures have no faces,
and they seem to be hiding multitudes of meaning. in that darkness,
the viewer must place her own story. With Shadow Theater, Tigran picks
up on that idea, offering a lush and energizing landscape that allows
listeners to dive in — and explore their own imaginations.

Shadow Theater shows the breadth of this young experimenter’s vision,
and it shows how much a young musician these days can make jazz and
folk music sound like experimental pop — and the other way around.

Tigran has already collaborated with figures ranging from American
electro post-hip-hop producer Prefuse 73 to Tunisian oud master Dhafer
Youssef, to Swedish cellist Lars Danielsson to French electronic
producer Fowatile as well as Norwegians Arve Henriksen, Jan Bang and
Eivind Aarset. Shadow Theater compounds the painterly piano playing
that won him First Place at the 2006 Thelonious Monk International
Jazz Piano Competition with folk influences from his native Armenia.

Along the way, it adds a bodily jolt of death metal and a range of
kinetic electronic textures that root the record firmly in the present,
and give it a greater appeal to non-jazz listeners than any of his
previous efforts.

The result lands somewhere between Madlib’s dragged-out beat wizardry
and Meshuggah’s doom-blasting sonic inferno, Sigur Ros’ lapsing
stratospheric textures and Steve Reich’s insistent crosshatchings. All
are stated influences on the pianist. You might say that it offers a
new meeting ground for experimental jazz and popular music, pointing to
a way forward for others — but then again, it’s hard to imagine anyone
else building something so personal and fluid out of these components.

More than anything, Tigran hopes that it will help listeners
investigate and illuminate their own experiences. “The album is
basically the contrary of the shadows in the theater, because the
sounds are cinematic and rich in colors. It’s the imagination,”
he says. “I let everybody imagine their own story behind the shadows.”

For the record, he’s joined by an A-list band of young innovators
mostly based in New York, featuring drummer Nate Wood and saxophonist
Ben Wendel of the jazz-rock band Kneebody, plus the multitalented
vocalist and Armenian folklorist Areni Agbabian and the bassist Sam
Minaie. The album is rounded out by a handful of string players and
electronic percussionists, as well as new touring drummer, Arthur
Hnatek, and bassist Chris Tordini.

Tigran was only 19 when he found himself catapulted to jazz stardom
after winning the prestigious Monk competition, but he was quick to
avoid picking up anyone else’s mantel: he dove into touring projects
with The Moutin Brothers largely in France and Europe, recorded as a
sideman with drummer Ari Hoenig and began an ongoing collaboration with
a group of then Los Angeles-based musicians (Tigran and his family had
moved to the Los Angeles area when the pianist was 14 and following
high school he attended the University of Southern California).

First was the saxophonist Ben Wendel, whom Tigran met at USC. The
resulting quintet Aratta Rebirth formed in 2009, featuring Wendel,
Wood (both of Kneebody) and Agbabian and Minaie (who both attended Cal
Arts), special guest Altura and other young comers on the jazz scene.

The band was a stunner: 2010’s Red Hail proposed an approachable
synthesis of zinging piano calisthenics, ethereal female vocals
and ethnic jazz fusion. The X factor was Tigran’s love affair with
metal, which gave the album a surprising ability to transcend its
own boundaries, matching beauty with destitution.

Three years later, he pushed himself zestfully into another
transformation, releasing the surprisingly lush solo album A Fable,
in which he performed overdubbed duets with himself. The opus —
which also featured some of Tigran’s own vocals — earned plaudits
from around the globe. In France he received a 2011 “Victoire de la
Musique” award (analogous to a Grammy(R) Award).

For Shadow Theater, Hamasyan abided by a rigorous process: He spent two
weeks rehearsing and recording the album in the South of France with
his band, an augmented version of Aratta Rebirth, then added another
month of postproduction. Listening to the record, you can tell it’s
the result of a fertile push-and-pull between one man’s strong vision
and an entire band’s comfortable communication. “I brought the songs
in all ready — I even had the drum beats in mind,” he said. “But
obviously, certain things work and certain things don’t work. It’s
one thing to do a really killing demo, with everything you imagine,
then another thing to actually bring it for the musicians to play.

Sometimes things got shifted around because the guys had their own
things to contribute.”

Additionally, Universal released a remix EP of the single “The Poet”
highlighting collaborations with Fowatile, Prefuse 73 and the bass
music producer LV. An integral part of Tigran’s new live show not
coincidentally involves the pianist leaving his main instrument and
appearing center-stage using a Roland TR808 drum machine and layering
his beats underneath his own singing and beat boxing, further revealing
a desire to shatter all expectations of someone known primarily as
a pianist.

When you listen to the Shadow Theater’s Technicolor brilliance
and folksy undercurrents, you feel the depth of what that process
produced. And you feel like Tigran could have cribbed a concept from
another crossover pioneer: this album depicts a “bright-size life.”