Author: Kajoyan Gevork

Increasing majority of French eye Islam as threat

October 27, 2012 – 12:45 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – An increasing majority of people in France believe
Islam plays too influential a role in their society and almost half
see Muslims as a threat to their national identity, according to a
poll.

Reuters reported that the survey by pollster Ifop in Le Figaro
newspaper showed that 60 percent of people believed that Islam was
`too important’ in France in terms of its influence and visibility, up
from 55 percent two years ago.

It found that 43 percent of respondents considered the presence of the
Muslim community as a threat to their national identity, compared with
just 17 percent who said it enriched society. Forty percent of those
questioned were indifferent to the presence of Islam, Le Figaro said.

The survey, carried out Oct 15-18 among 1,736 people, showed a growing
resistance to the symbols of the Islamic faith. Some 43 percent of
those questioned were opposed to more mosque building, up from 39
percent in 2010.

Sixty-three percent opposed Muslim women wearing the veil or Islamic
headscarves in public, compared with 59 percent two years ago.
Sarkozy’s previous conservative banned the wearing of full-face veils.

Ruined city of Ani set for new excavations

armradio.am
13:49 27.10.2012

Ani, a ruined and uninhabited Armenian city situated in the eastern
Turkish province of Kars on the Armenian frontier, will be the subject
of new academic work to better present site to visitors.

Archaeologists are planning renewed excavations next year in Ani, an
ancient Armenian city in the eastern province of Kars, the Hurriyet
Daily News reports.

Academics from Pamukkale University in Denizli have applied to lead
the excavation works and are currently conducting negotiations with
the Culture and Tourism Ministry, according to Hakan DoÄ?anay, the Kars
culture and tourism director.

There are two application programs and three projects for the ruins
that are right on the border with Armenia, he said, noting that the
work was expected to finish by the end of 2013.

The work will involve creating a detailed map of the site, which was
once the center of a powerful Armenian empire and possessed a
population of between 100,000 and 200,000 over a millennium ago,
making it one of the biggest cities in the world at the time.

Ani was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered
much of present-day Armenia and eastern Turkey. Ani is protected on
its eastern side by a ravine formed by the Akhurian River and on its
western side by the Bostanlar or Tzaghkotzadzor valley. The Akhurian
is a branch of the Araks River and forms part of the current border
between Turkey and Armenia.

Dubbed the `City of 1001 Churches,’ Ani stood on various trade routes,
and its many religious buildings, palaces, and fortifications were
among the most technically and artistically advanced structures in the
world at the time, according to specialists. Unearthing the ruins at
Ani would shed light on the past, DoÄ?anay said.

DoÄ?anay said the site occupied 78 hectares of land and was surrounded
by 4,500-meter-long ramparts. In addition to its numerous churches,
the site also features the remains of an inn, a public bath, a mosque
and other buildings, DoÄ?anay said.

The site was located on the historic Silk Road and formed the first
gate connecting the Caucasus to Anatolia before a sea route was
discovered.

Ani is on the World Cultural Heritage List. `Ani is a city of
universal religions. We call it a world city since people from all
nations, cultures, and races live there,’ DoÄ?anay said.

`It is essential to bring this world city to light and give it to the
world as soon as possible. Our workings are ongoing in a planned and
systematical way,’ DoÄ?anay said.

In 2011, 21,460 people visited Ani. Sixty percent of them were
foreign, while 40 percent were locals. `We think they were attracted
since Ani is a world city,’ the cultural official said, the Hurriyet
Daily News says.

Armenia’s national carrier could be banned from flying to Europe? – newspaper

news.am
October 27, 2012 | 07:01

YEREVAN. – The EU member countries have warned Armenia that they no
longer intend on serving Armenian, specifically, Armavia Airline
Company – which is Armenia’s national carrier – flights, Zhoghovurd
daily’s well-informed sources report.

`And the reason is that the Armenian flights do not meet the safety
standards, in addition, they are disrupted regularly.

According to our sources, the Armenian General Department of Civil
Aviation has asked for time to correct the safety-related
deficiencies, but they have left Armavia’s fate to the Europeans.

In an interview with us, General Department of Civil Aviation
spokeswoman Nelly Cherchinyan, however, denied this news,’ Zhoghovurd
writes.

EGLISE ARMENIENNE
Consécration de l’église Sourp Anna au village d’Aghvanadoun dans la
région d’Armavir

Dimanche 21 octobre fut inaugurée la nouvelle église Sourp Anna
(Sainte Anne) du village d’Aghvanadoun dans la région d’Armavir
(Arménie). C’est l’archevêque Sion Aghamian qui procéda à la
bénédiction et la consécration de l’église en présence des fidèles et
de nombreuses personnalités. Parmi ces dernières le Premier ministre
Dikran Sarkissian, le gouverneur de la région d’Armavir Ashot
Ghahramanian, le député Achot Krikorian et le bienfaiteur de l’église
Vahan Avakian venu de Moscou en compagnie de sa famille. Vahan Avakian
reçut à cette occasion la croix de « Sourp Krikor Loussavoritch »
(Saint Grégoire l’Illuminateur) décernée par Sainte Etchmiadzine pour
sa générosité.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 27 octobre 2012,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

AZERERIES A MEXICO
Une commission chargée d’examiner l’avenir de la statue d’Aliev à Mexico

Face aux critiques et manifestations liées à l’inauguration de la
statue du dictateur Azéri Haïdar Aliev (le père du président-dictateur
actuel Ilham Aliev), les autorités de l’Etat de Mexico ont constitué
une commission chargée d’étudier ce dossier. La contestation avait
pris des proportions importantes. Lors d’une manifestation contre la
statue d’Aliev on pouvait lire des panneaux sur lesquels était inscrit
« Libérez-vous de ce dictateur ». Mais de son côté, Manuel Luna le
secrétaire de l’Ambassade d’Azerbaïdjan à Mexico avait menacé de
poursuites judiciaires en cas de déplacement de cette statue d’Aliev,
Bakou ayant signé avec les autorités mexicaines un contrat autorisant
ce placement pour une durée de 99 ans. Mais Felipe Leal un
représentant de la mairie de Mexico affirme de son côté que les
autorités se doivent de répondre aux mécontentements des habitats.
Ainsi la Commission crée pour examiner le dossier de ces plaintes doit
donner des réponses claires. Après l’affaire Safarov à Budapest, en
finançant et imposant la statue de Haïdar Aliev sur une place publique
de Mexico, l’Azerbaïdjan a une nouvelle fois mis le feu aux poudres.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 27 octobre 2012,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

Samaritans On Scene [UPDATED]: LAist

Driver Jailed For Crash That Led to Fatal Electrocutions of Good Samaritans
On Scene [UPDATED]

* The accident scene (Photo courtesy
LAFD /Flickr)*

The driver who lost control of his vehicle and toppled a light pole
and sheared a fire hydrant this August in Valley Village is now behind
bars.

19-year-old Arman Samsonian of Glendale turned himself in Thursday evening
after learning there was a warrant issued for his arrest, according to City
News Service.

The accident turned deadly in the aftermath when two women tried to
give aid at the scene but were fatally electrocuted due to charged
water pooling at the crash site.

Samsonian, who was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, was
allegedly speeding in his SUV on Magnolia Boulevard the night of August 22
when the crash took place.

Irma Zamora, 40, was the passenger in a car driven by her husband traveling
behind Samsonian prior to the crash. Zamora got of the car to help
Samsonian, but was electrocuted by the charged water that had pooled as a
result of the damaged hydrant. Her husband was at the scene, screaming for
someone to help his wife.

Stacey Lee Schreiber, 39, a resident of the area of the crash site, rushed
to Zamora’s aid, likely not hearing cries of caution from other onlookers.

Six other people suffered electrical burns, and five were hospitalized for
a time. One of the injured was a patrol officer from the LAPD’s North
Hollywood station who suffered a shock through one of his boots.

Samsonian was booked into the Van Nuys Station jail Thursday on suspicion
of vehicular manslaughter, and was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

*UPDATE 10:45 AM:* We’ve learned Samsonian posted bail shortly after 2:00
a.m. Friday. He is facing two felony counts of vehicular manslaughter.

Armenian Students’ Association of America, Inc.
333 Atlantic Avenue
Warwick, Rhode Island 02888
Tel: (401) 461-6114
Web:
E-mail: [email protected]

PRESS RELEASE
October 22, 2012
Contact: Nathalie Yaghoobian
E-Mail: [email protected]

ASA INC SPONSORS “ARTHUR HALVAJIAN MEMORIAL” ARMENIAN POETRY PROJECT
COMPETITION

WARWICK, RI—The Armenian Students Association, Inc. (ASA Inc.) announced
this month that it will once again be sponsoring the Armenian Poetry Project’s
annual writing competition. This is the third year that the ASA Inc. has
sponsored the annual competition and the first year that it is naming its
sponsorship in memory of Arthur Halvajian, a longtime member and trustee of
the ASA Inc who passed away in 2010. The 2012 competition opened October
1st, the start of Armenian cultural heritage month, and the deadline for
submissions is December 1, 2012. Competition winners will be announced in
February 2013.

“We are pleased to continue our support of the Armenian Poetry Project
and it is only fitting that we name our sponsorship in honor of Arthur
Halvajian who first built our relationship with the Project,” said
Brian Assadourian, Chairman of the ASA, Inc. Board of Trustees.

The Armenian Poetry Project, led by Lola Koundakjian, is a research and
documentation site of 19th to 21st Century Armenian poets and poetry.
Whether it is through its website/blog, Facebook, or iTunes presence –
which features podcasts of recited works – the Project brings together
writers from all walks of life across the world.

All residents of the United States and Canada are invited to submit their
work, in English or Armenian (preferred) for the third annual competition.
Entries should be e-mailed to [email protected] with the
subject heading “Halvajian ASA/APP Poetry competition”. Individuals may
only submit one poem for the competition.

The competition groups submissions into three categories; students (ages
12-17), college age (ages 18-22), and adult (ages 23 and older). A top
prize will be awarded for each of the categories in the amounts of US $50
(students), $100 (college age), and $250 (adult).

Each poem submitted for the competition must be accompanied by the author’s
full name, age, home address/telephone number, school name, and sponsoring
teacher’s telephone number. Those in the college age category need not
include a sponsoring teacher. Those in the adult category need not include
school information.

You can learn more about the Armenian Poetry Project by visiting

The Armenian Students’ Association of America, Inc. encourages educational
pursuits by Armenians in America and the raising of their intellectual
standards, provides financial assistance in the form of scholarships to
deserving Armenian students, develops fellowship among them, cultivates in
them the spirit of service in the public interest, and acquaints them and
the entire American community with Armenian culture.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Director
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

HIS HOLINESS ARAM I RECEIVES THE REPRESENTATIVES OF A NEW GROUP ADVOCATING
THE ‘RIGHT TO LIFE FOR ALL’

Yesterday, His Holiness received the representatives of a new Lebanese group
advocating for a national day to affirm life. They are soliciting the
support of religious leaders before presenting their initiative to the
government.

Catholicos Aram I welcomed the initiative and described it as a theological
and an ethical imperative. For Christians, he said, life is a God-given gift
that has to be protected and respected; it concerns human beings, of course,
but also the whole of the environment and the principles of justice, peace
and freedom. Therefore, he concluded, “It is not enough to affirm life once
a year, but to organize activities during the year to build awareness among
the population.”

Remote US Base at Heart of Drone Wars Revealed in New Report

Published on Friday, October 26, 2012
by Common Dreams

US base has ‘crowded the skies over the Horn of Africa’ with drones
– Common Dreams staff
Deadly US drone attacks in the Middle East and Northern Africa have
greatly escalated in the past few years, thanks largely in part to a
quickly expanding, yet remote, US base in the Horn of Africa,
according to military documents obtained by the Washington Post.

“This Predator MQ-1B crashed while trying to return to Camp Lemonnier,
the U.S. military base in Djibouti, on May 17, 2011. It landed in a
vacant lot near a residential area of Djibouti city, about 2.7 miles
short of the runway.” (Photo: Washington Post/U.S. Air Force) Camp
Lemonnier in Djibouti has operated as a central command for US attacks
in the region for ten years, but in the past two years it has become
the pinnacle centerpiece of drone operations in the region, “the
busiest Predator drone base outside the Afghan war zone,” and a
vehicle for the US’s expanding war in the region.

A new Washington Post exposé on the base paints a telling picture of
the increasingly deadly scenario.

“Taken together, the previously undisclosed documents show how the
Djibouti-based drone wars sharply escalated early last year after
eight Predators arrived at Lemonnier. The records also chronicle the
Pentagon’s ambitious plan to further intensify drone operations here
in the coming months,” the Post reports.

Camp Lemonnier, is home to over 1,666 drone and F-15E Strike Eagle
fighter jet flights per month, doubling that of two years ago,
according to Defense Department contracting documents obtained by the
Post.

In an Aug. 20 letter to Congress from Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton
B. Carter, Carter explains that 16 drones and four fighter jets take
off or land at the Djibouti airfield each day on average. Such flights
are expected to increase.

The Defense Department delivered a master plan to Congress in August
showing expansions of the base over the next quarter-century. Roughly
$1.4 billion in construction projects are now planned, including a
massive housing compound holding up to 1,100 Special Operations
forces.

These documents “point to the central role played by the Joint Special
Operations Command (JSOC), which President Obama has repeatedly relied
on to execute the nation’s most sensitive counterterrorism missions,”
the Post reports, and represent the “clearest example” of how the
United States via AFRICOM is “laying the groundwork to carry out these
operations overseas,” for years to come.

Dijibouti sits between Yemen, on the Arabian Peninsula, and Somalia to
its Southeast, two of the countries facing the most incessant US drone
attacks as of late.

“The drones and other military aircraft have crowded the skies over
the Horn of Africa so much that the risk of an aviation disaster has
soared,” the Post reports. Drone accidents have skyrocketed, including
multiple software malfunctions that lead to nearly fatal crashes in
residential areas of Djibouti. Last year, drones were involved in `a
string of near mid-air collisions’ with NATO planes off the Horn of
Africa, according to a safety alert discovered by Post reporters.

The base is also home to over 3,000 U.S. troops, civilians and
contractors, including highly secretive “task force” special ops who
plan raids and coordinate drone flights. “Most of the special ops
commandos work incognito, concealing their names even from
conventional troops on the base,” the Post reports. Personnel in the
camp collectively refer to themselves as the “East Africa Air
Pirates.”

The remote-control drones, however, are flown via satellite by pilots
at the Creech Air Force Base in Nevada and Cannon Air Force Base in
New Mexico.

The Post’s exposé on the previously obscured destination comes as the
last part on a three part investigative series, showing the Obama
administration’s ongoing development of a complex database now known
as the `disposition matrix,’ and a classified `playbook,’ which maps
out US drone strikes and targeted killing missions for the next
decade.

La Montagne, France
Vendredi 26 Octobre 2012
Montlucon Edition

Le public sous le charme d’Aram Sedefian

Sous le charme avec Aram Sedefian. Nathalie Pasquier, présidente de
l’association Par d’ssus la bouchure, a présenté à la quelque
soixantaine de personnes présentes, l’auteur-com- positeur-interprète,
Aram Sedefian, venu donner un récital, à la Font au cochon.

Le public, sous le charme de sa voix de crooner, très chaude, l’a
écouté interpréter une quinzaine de chansons. Certaines provenaient de
son dernier disque, d’autres étaient plus anciennes, telle son premier
titre « Shéhérazade », ou encore « Photos ». Cette dernière reprise
par Hugues Aufray dans son album « Hugh », sorti en 2007.

Il y avait aussi quelques chansons relatives à ses origines
arméniennes. De celles-ci, il a gardé des rythmes et des accords de
guitare, mais aussi la mémoire de ses parents, chassés de leur pays,
qui parlaient de leurs terres à l’est de l’actuelle Turquie, Erzeroum,
titre d’une chanson de son précédent album.

Après un rappel, l’assistance est restée longtemps pour discuter avec
Aram, afin de prolonger encore un peu autour d’un verre cette douce
ambiance qu’il avait su installer dans les murs de la Font au cochon,
et dédicacer son disque.

Après une période d’interruption, Aram Sedefian envisage, maintenant,
de reprendre ses tours de chant.

è Rendez. La prochaine manifestation de Par d’ssus la bouchure sera
une foire à tout, les samedi 27 et dimanche 28 octobre, de 14 heures à
18 h 30, en son local de la Font au cochon.

Sous le charme avec Aram Sedefian.