Author: Kajoyan Gevork

REVUE DE PRESSE
L’histoire enfouie de Lusignan remonte à la surface

Personne ne soupçonnait son existence à douze mètres sous terre. Une
salle de l’ancienne forteresse vient d’être mise au jour. Une
découverte exceptionnelle.

L’épopée de la puissante famille des Seigneurs de Lusignan, qui
partirent du Poitou vers l’Orient où ils furent rois de Chypre, de
Jérusalem et d’Arménie (XII – XV siècles) est au coeur du patrimoine
de la ville de Lusignan. Cette histoire qui remonte à plusieurs
siècles, vient de ressurgir à la faveur d’une découverte tout à fait
exceptionnelle. Peu des 2.680 habitants de la commune le savent, et
ils sont encore beaucoup moins à avoir pu pénétrer dans ce lieu situé
sous l’une des deux tours de la porte occidentale du centre-ville.

“J’étais le petit gamin qui descendait dans les grottes de Lascaux”

Le maire René Gibault ne se lasse pas de raconter les circonstances de
la découverte. > Il ne s’agit pas du fameux trésor de la Fée Mélusine que
certains habitants cherchaient encore dans les années cinquante dans
des souterrains du bourg, mais d’une salle voûtée en parfait état de
conservation, avec ses arcades romanes. Elle comprend une archère et
l’emplacement d’une canonnière. Elle est située sous l’une des deux
tours que la ville a acquis l’an dernier.

Des travaux sont en cours pour la mise en valeur de la porte
occidentale, réalisés par l’entreprise Soporen à qui l’on doit la
restauration de l’église Notre-Dame-la-Grande de Poitiers.

> Il a donc été décidé
avec les Monuments historiques de procéder à une étude archéologique
confiée à la Scop Atemporelle de Parthenay spécialisée dans le
patrimoine médiéval. Effectivement, fin novembre, l’archéologue qui
dirige les travaux, Fabrice Mandon, confirme l’existence d’une
communication, un trou >. Après avoir
dégagé l’accès, ils sont descendus à l’aide d’une échelle.

L’aide de l’école de géophysique d’Orsay

Selon les premières études, il s’agirait d’une salle de garde dans des
douves sèches profondes de 10 à 12 mètres, qui a pu servir de prison à
une époque. Après cette découverte,

COMMUNAUTE ARMENIENNE-LYON
Près de 2 000 personnes à Lyon au concert d’Aramé, Lilith
Hovhannissian, Kourken Dabaghian, Souren Davdian et Mihran Tsaroukian
(PHOTOS)

Samedi 22 mars, près de 2 000 personnes étaient présentes au concert
des vedettes de la chanson arménienne Aramé, Lilith Hovhannissian,
Kourkén Dabaghian, Mihran Tsaroukian, Souren Davdian et Kourken
Dabaghian à l’Amphithétre de la Cité Internationale à Lyon. Un
concert présenté par l’association Nour d’Arménie organisé au profit
de la classe d’arménien du collège Charles de Foucault de Lyon. Les
artistes étaient accompagnés des troupes de danses Naïri et des jeunes
d’Arévig. Souren Davdian puis Kourken Dabaghian furent largement
applaudis par le public. Mais les fans de la belle Lilith
Hovhannissian très à l’aise sur scène étaient très nombreux à
l’applaudir également. La belle arménienne a interprété avec une très
grande énergie et un geste de provocation, ses derniers succès qui
sont régulièrement diffusés par les télévisions d’Arménie. Mihran
Tsaroukian a également interprété ses chansons à succès. Mais la
vedette du jour était surtout Aramé qui subjugua la salle par sa voix.
Le public -dont beaucoup originaire d’Arménie- profitait du concert
pour danser dans les allées de la salle en montrant sa joie et son
bonheur de faire la fête avec les vedettes de la chanson arménienne.

Après Lyon hier, aujourd’hui ces artistes seront en concert à Marseille.

Krikor Amirzayan texte et photo-reportage

dimanche 23 mars 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

CALL FOR ACTION: HOVANNISIAN WANTS “FORMAT OF FOUR” FOR OPPOSITIONAL FORCE

POLITICS | 21.03.14 | 15:52

Photolure

Gohar Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter

Heritage party leader Raffi Hovannisian is inviting political and
civil forces to a rally scheduled for March 28 at Liberty Square,
which he has termed as ‘public pre-rally’, believing it would set in
motion a new process.

Hovannisian, who finished second to President Serzh Sargsyan in
last year’s presidential ballot, told the press on Friday that the
struggle has to be continuous and added that “we are all ready for
a sacrifice, but are not ready to become ‘donkey martyrs’ in vain,
with no definite results”.

“If there is no move in April, we will have great difficulty in
turning people’s current willingness [to go for a change] into a
political act,” says Hovannisian, adding that the rally of the four
non-pro-establishment political forces has not happened so far, and
should it take place, it would allow them to overcome the disagreements
and finally speak about the ‘format of the four’.

Speaking about the closed meeting between the alternative Prosperous
Armenia party leader Gagik Tsarukyan and himself, Hovannisian says
the meeting revealed many differences, but also many common grounds,
and the parties agreed to continue the communication in that format.

“The Heritage party and I believe that by changing a prime minister
or any other official we would not shift the situation in the country.

However, we do not object to that initiative, nonetheless believing
that it is a semi-measure and the main emphasis has to be impeachment,”
he says.

Hovannisian, who was present also at a March 1 opposition rally,
said in reference to first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s speech
that although he shares Ter-Petrosyan’s opinions on many issues,
he disagrees with his claim that the Customs Union membership is a
done fact that cannot be reversed.

“The top is flawed: the entire leadership has to be changed,
starting with Mr. Serzh Sargsyan. I want a meeting of the four
(opposition parties) during which I will submit a plan for radical
power turnover with a definite timeline. Nothing is irreversible,
because the direction Armenia has taken up til now will lead not only
to an economic decline, but also loss of sovereignty and independence,”
he says.

As for the telephone conversation between presidents Sargsyan and
Russia’s Vladimir Putin during which the parties discussed a number
of issues related to the Armenian-Russian bilateral relations as
well as issues currently on the international and regional agenda,
then reflected on the work carried out since the decision to join
the Customs Union to make it happen, Hovannisian says it is premature
and is not in Armenia’s interest.

Fight Saga
March 21 2014

Vanes Martirosyan: The Comeback Kid returns on Friday Night Fights

Written by Joseph Herron at Mar 21, 2014 – 11:33AM ET in News

After waiting over eight years for a major world title opportunity,
Junior Middleweight contender and former 2004 Olympian Vanes
Martirosyan finally received the chance to compete for the coveted WBO
154 pound championship in Corpus Christi, Texas, on November 9th,
2013, against 2008 Olympic combatant Demetrius Andrade.
Despite flooring his opponent in the opening round of the highly
anticipated bout, the Armenian born boxer/puncher uncharacteristically
froze in the back half of the contest, allowing his tall, rangy
opponent to take control of the twelve round fight.

While the 27 year old competitor was never severely hurt or floored
throughout the tactical chess match that took place last year, Andrade
eventually won the fight by way of split decision and took home the
WBO Junior Middleweight belt.

Just like that, Martrosyan’s window of opportunity had come and gone.

“The Nightmare” reflects on what transpired that fateful evening in Texas.

“I froze…I really don’t know what happened that night,” admits Vanes
Martirosyan. “I didn’t have Freddie throughout the entire training
camp because he left for the Philippines to train Manny Pacquiao, and
I did everything on my own. We had someone in the corner who Freddie
had just hired and he didn’t know much.”

“The first round was beautiful, and after that, I really don’t know
what happened. I wasn’t getting the right instruction in the corner to
make adjustments throughout the fight, so I genuinely felt lost in
there throughout the majority of the fight.”

“It was a nightmare. I didn’t have the proper training, I didn’t have
the right cornerman during the fight, but I felt that I had to take
that fight because I had been waiting such a long time for my title
opportunity.”

After experiencing that devastating personal disappointment in
November of 2013, Vanes felt the necessity to make major changes in
order to move forward within the talented Junior Middleweight
division.

“I changed my entire team after that,” states the Los Angeles based
fighter. “I left my promoter Top Rank, and also left the Wildcard Gym
and trainer Freddie Roach as well.”

After interviewing with several promotional groups, including Golden
Boy Promotions, the perennial contender eventually signed with
California based promoter Dan Goossen of Goossen Tutor Promotions, and
began training at the Ten Goose Boxing Gym in Van Nuys, California,
with heralded boxing mentor Joe Goossen.

“I spoke to several different promoters before I finally made my
decision to work with Dan Goossen. I spoke with Golden Boy Promotions,
but ultimately decided on Goossen Tutor because I was tired of dealing
with a promotional group that had a lot of politics attached to it. I
have a lot of respect for Top Rank, but I wanted to work with someone
who has a great relationship with everyone in the industry so it
didn’t limit my options at 154 pounds.”

“I really like Dan’s energy and enthusiasm, and really like the plan
he has for my career. But I especially appreciate the fact that he has
a great working relationship with everyone in the industry.”

After years of being contractually obligated to a promotional group
who didn’t have a working relationship with a rival entity that
strategically possessed the majority of the top fighters at Junior
Middleweight, Vanes finally feels optimistic about his potential in
landing the big fights at 154 pounds.

Vanes earned a technical draw with Erislandy Lara, one of the most
avoided fighters in boxing, in 2012

“I really wanted the rematch with Erislandy Lara, but was talked out
of it by Top Rank because of the promotional conflict.

Now that I’m with Dan Goossen, we can finally go after all of the best
fighters in the division. I was tired of all of the politics between
Golden Boy and Top Rank. Now I can focus on the things that a fighter
should be focused on.”

With his promotional situation secured, it was time to find a trainer
who could not only fine tune his craft, but add new wrinkles to his
exceptional existing talents.

Enter veteran trainer Joe Goossen. The experienced boxing mentor has a
long history of teaching new aspects of the fight game to veteran
fighters who are seemingly set in their ways. The colorful LA based
trainer has worked with Joel Casamayor, James Toney, Michael Nunn,
“Sugar” Shane Mosley, and the late Diego Corrales.

Despite being a proficient sniper and matador in the ring, the
prolific counterpuncher has run into problems in the past when faced
with opponents who have tactically forced Martirosyan to take the
lead. Vanes claims that he’s already noticed a drastic difference
working with his new trainer, and insists that the fight fans will see
a noticeable difference tonight on ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights”.

“We’re currently working on increasing my punch output and being more
aggressive in the ring,” claims the 27 year old fighter. “We really
want to make a statement on Friday Night Fights. The fans are going to
see a new and improved Vanes Martirosyan.

“It’s no mystery that the Armenian born “Nightmare” is strategically
targeting several renowned counterpunchers within the packed 154 pound
weight class.

“I want Andrade, then I want Lara, and ultimately I want Canelo,”
claims Vanes Martirosyan. “I want to face the best at Junior
Middleweight, but I especially want the rematch with Lara really bad.
I know that working with Dan Goossen is going to open a lot of doors
that were slammed shut before.”

“I know this is finally going to be my year in 2014. Watch and see…I’m
going to be the comeback fighter of the year!”

Tonight on ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights”, former Junior Middleweight
title challenger Vanes Martirosyan (33-1-1, 21 KOs) will compete for
the WBO Intercontinental title against hard punching Mexican, Mario
Alberto Lozano (28-4, 22 KOs) in his Goossen Tutor Promotional debut.
The ESPN 2 coverage begins at 9PM EST.

AL-Monitor
March 21 2014

Turkish, Armenian filmmakers to meet at festival

Author: Star (Turkey)Posted March 21, 2014

The Armenia-Turkey Cinema Platform (ATCP) is getting ready for its
tenth meeting. The platform, promoting joint film production between
Turkish and Armenian filmmakers, will convene on April 14-16 as part
of activities on the fringes of the 33rd Istanbul International Film
Festival. The ATCP this year is backed by the European Union, a unique
accomplishment for which the filmmakers deserve congratulation.

The ATCP, which has ushered bilateral cultural ties into a new era,
was formed in 2009 by the Yerevan Golden Apricot Film Festival and the
Anatolian Culture organization. Meeting twice every year, it evaluates
project applications from Turkey and Armenia and brings together
filmmakers from the two countries. Over the past five years, it has
brought together more than 200 filmmakers and supported 13 films.
“Diyar,” which in 2012 became the eighth film to receive ATCP support,
was selected for the Istanbul Film Festival. A documentary chronicling
the life of director Devrim Akkaya’s grandfather, making its debut at
the Istanbul Film Festival, will be quite meaningful.

Applications remain open ahead of the ATCP’s April meeting. Filmmakers
from Turkey, Armenia and their diaspora can submit projects by March
28. The initiative had started with short films and documentaries,
produced with amateur means and based on human stories that moved the
audiences and built cultural bridges. The quality of productions,
however, increased throughout the years. So did the prestige of the
platform, which has offered financial support to filmmakers since
2010.

This year, the platform’s international jury will assess 10 projects
and award one a $10,000 grant. ATCP officials say they received a
submission even from Africa this year and regret they had to reject it
on eligibility grounds.

There are remarkable examples of how the film quality has improved and
the initiative moved forward. “I Left My Shoes in Istanbul” — a
documentary by Lebanese director Nigol Bezjian, a friend of [Turkish
filmmaker] Kutlug Ataman from the renowned UCLA film school — has
received international acclaim. The film follows poet Sako Arian as he
travels — both fearful and curious — to Istanbul, the city of his
ancestors, which he knows almost street by street from the books of
Armenian writers and his family history, and visits prominent people
from both communities in the city. “I Left My Shoes in Istanbul” was
selected for showing in the “Home” section of the Istanbul Film
Festival, a nice gesture to both the film’s director and main hero and
the ATCP.

Lusin Dink’s “Saroyan Country,” which received financial support in
2011, is another source of pride for the ATCP. It was embraced in
Turkey and Armenia alike. The film competed both in the “Armenian
Panorama” section of the Yerevan Golden Apricot Film Festival and the
national section of the Istanbul Film Festival. Two days ago, it
received the “Best Balkan Film” prize of the Film Critics Jury at the
Sofia International Film Festival. In 2013, it won the 2013 Best
Documentary prize of [Turkey’s] Cinema Writers Association (SIYAD).

In “Ziazan” — another ATCP-supported production, which is currently
counting down to meet the audience — a surprise name is behind the
camera. Derya Durmaz, the popular actress of many movies and TV
series, is making her debut in the director’s chair, telling the
adventures of a five-year-old girl in the name of chocolate cream her
uncle brings from Turkey. The film, scheduled to make its world
premiere at a European film festival soon, reflects the child’s
innocent view of the world as it tells a naive story about the
“losses” caused by the closure of the Turkish-Armenian border,
displaying an able directing of child actors.

Let’s see what stories about friendship, peace and love — yet sad ones
— will emerge from the 10th meeting of the Armenia-Turkey Cinema
Platform.

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
March 21 2014

Israeli Arab in Armenian prison

21 March 2014 – 10:15am
Peter Lukimson, Israel. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza

The Israeli Foreign Ministry finally begins to worry about a resident
of the Arab town of Tyre, 28, who is imprisoned in a Yerevan prison
for a fight with a local taxi driver.

All details of the incident are known from hearsay of relatives of the
young man and have to be checked. They say that the young Israeli Arab
and several other Israeli citizens took a taxi to a Yerevan night
clubs to celebrate their graduation. When it was time to pay, young
people thought that a driver overcharged them by a couple of dollars.
They began to sort things out, it turned into a fight during which a
side mirror of the cab was broken.

Tyre’s resident says that finally he paid for the broken mirror to the
driver and decided that it was an end of the episode. However, the
young man faced a group of taxi drivers. A fight began again, one of
drivers was injured by a knife or a glass bottle.

Participants of the fight were arrested by the Yerevan police, but
soon all Israeli citizens were set free, except for Tyre’s resident.
The family of the young Arab states that the Armenian mafia frightens
him, demanding buoying-out.

Usually the special department of the Israeli Foreign Ministry deals
with such problems, but in recent weeks its employees are striking and
not working. Only this week “as an exception” they decided to consider
“the Armenian incident.” The problem is that unlike in Baku or
Tbilisi, there is no Israeli embassy in Yerevan, only the honorary
consul represents interests of the Jewish state there.

At the same time, there are diplomatic contacts between the countries
and they have already been used.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry doesn’t exclude that the Armenian
law-enforcement agencies have reasons for arresting the Israeli
citizen, and in this case Israeli diplomats will do their best for his
rights are followed appropriately.

Raffi Hovannisian: “I am against” will turn into “I am for Armenia
without Serzh Sargsyan”

March 22, 2014 | 15:27

YEREVAN. – “I am against” initiative is on the verge of renewal,
leader of Heritage party Raffi Hovannisian said during a rally in
Liberty Square.

“The time for action has come. Political parties, NGOs, war veterans,
villages and cities by supporting this movement must realize that
people are against mandatory pension plan, because they are for
self-governing Armenia, they are for constitutional revolution and for
return of power to people,” he said.

Regardless of the Constitutional Court’s judgment on March 28, the
people must be united.

“Let’s get rid of these authorities, let’s bring new generation to
power. “I am against” will turn into “I am for Armenia without Serzh
Sargsyan”. This movement has no right to fade away,” Hovannisian
emphasized.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

British Armenian actor to direct “The Jungle Book”

14:12 22.03.2014

Andy Serkis, a British actor of Armenian ethnicity actor best known
for playing the CG-created character Gollum in the Lord of the Rings
movies, has come on board to direct Warner Bros.’ live action take on
The Jungle Book. It is unclear if he will take a part in the movie at
this stage, the Hollywood Reporter informs.

Jungle Book would be Serkis’ feature directorial debut after directing
second unit on Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit movies, the third of which
Warners is due to open in December. Some of the shoots involved the
creation of elaborate and lively action sequences.

English teaching in Armenia is at high level – UK ambassador

March 22, 2014 | 11:09

YEREVAN. – The teaching of English is at a high level in Armenia.
Katherine (Kathy) Leach, Ambassador of Great Britain to Armenia,
stated the aforesaid Saturday at a conference titled “Cooperation for
Success.”

The event is organized by the British Council, and it is devoted to
the 25th anniversary of the worldwide introduction of the IELTS
(International English Language Testing System).

“The British Council plays a key role in the teaching of English; this
is very important for the development of intercultural dialogue,”
Ambassador Leach said.

In turn, Arevik Saribekyan, Director at British Council, Armenia
office, stressed that there is a growing interest in Armenia toward
the IELTS.

“There are 900 [IELTS] test centers in 135 countries and, in Armenia,
it is the British Council. We collaborate with the French University
in Armenia, the Pedagogical University, the Russian-Armenian
(Slavonic) University, and the American University of Armenia,”
Saribekyan noted.

She added that the British Council is also ready for the online
learning of the IELTS.

More than 1,000 people take the IELTS exam in Armenia each year and
receive the international Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE).

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

Yerevan tells Kyiv stance on right to self-determination unchanged

March 22, 2014 – 13:30 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenia’s principled stance on people’s right to
self-determination, repeatedly expressed on numerous occasions,
remains unchanged, Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan said at
the Friday, March 21 meeting with Ukrainian envoy Ivan Kukhta, Armenia
Now reported.

Earlier that day Kukhta was recalled by Kyiv over Armenia’s stance on
the Crimean referendum expressed during a telephone conversation
between President Serzh Sargsyan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir
Putin.

According to the presidential press service, during their March 19
telephone conversation the two leaders “shared opinions regarding the
crisis in Ukraine and the ways out of it.” “In that context the
Presidents touched upon the situation after the referendum in Crimea
and stated that the latter constitutes another case of exercising
peoples’ right to self-determination through free expression of will.
At the same time the Presidents stressed the importance of committing
to the norms and principles of the international law, first and
foremost the UN Charter,” the press release said.

As reported by the Foreign Ministry’s official website, at the meeting
with the envoy, Kocharyan also stressed that “the centuries-old
relations between the friendly peoples of Armenia and Ukraine form a
solid basis on which the interaction between the two countries is
built.”

Earlier on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, through
an official, warned Yerevan of “serious damage” to bilateral ties and
demanded an official explanation regarding its stance on Crimea’s
secession from Ukraine and annexation to Russia. At the same time,
Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Danilo Lubkivsky said that Armenia’s
ambassador in Kyiv had twice been summoned to the Ukrainian Foreign
Minister and handed an official note.

Meanwhile, the Armenian leader sought to reach out to the Ukrainian
people as he spoke during a presidential awards ceremony honoring
artists, writers and scientists.

Olena Fetisova, Ukrainian screenwriter, producer and co-director of a
new feature film about Soviet-Armenian filmmaker Sergey Paradjanov,
was among the honorees. The Ukrainian, however, decided against
accepting the award in protest against Sargsyan’s de-facto acceptance
of the outcome of the internationally condemned referendum in Crimea.