Author: Kalantarian Kevo

VENTURE FUND TO FUNCTION IN ARMENIA – EXPERT

news.am
April 16, 2012 | 13:06

YEREVAN. – A venture fund will be established in Armenia this year,
and it will provide its first funding by the year’s end, Enterprise
Incubator Foundation Executive Director Bagrat Yengibaryan told
Armenian News-NEWS.am.

In his words, Armenia’s banks generally do not enter the high
technology sector, whereas the technology companies do not have
collateral for a loan. And in this case the Venture Fund is an
alternative to financing by the banks.

The new fund will initially have a US$ 6-million capital, which will
be equally allocated by the World Bank and Armenia’s state budget. The
Fund is open for private investors, too.

In the preliminary phase, the Venture Fund will finance projects
worth $200-500 thousand.

According to Bagrat Yengibaryan, the Fund will not finance extremely
risky projects. That is, “ideas will not be funded.”

The Venture Fund will have an independent, professional administrator.

“The [Armenian] Government will not manage the Fund, but rather it will
create a stimulus. At Venture, what’s important is professionalism,”
Yengibaryan noted.

9 MORE SUSPECTS DETAINED IN TURKISH COUP PROBE

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 16, 2012 – 11:08 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Nine more suspects who testified to prosecutors
on Sunday, April 15 after being held in the probe of the Feb. 28,
1997 unarmed military intervention in politics, including retired Gen.

Cevik Bir, were arrested early on Monday.

According to Today’s Zaman, Bir and other eight suspects who were
sent to jail are among the 31 suspects for whom detention warrants
were issued on Thursday as part of the probe of the 1997 military
intervention into politics, which eventually forced the government
to resign in what is widely referred to as the “postmodern coup.”

The suspects were among 12 people who testified to prosecutors at the
Ankara Specially Authorized Prosecutor’s Office, which is overseeing
the investigation, on Sunday and were referred to a court for arrest.

The Ankara 11th High Criminal Court ruled to arrest nine of them,
including Bir early on Monday. The nine suspects were sent to the
Sincan Prison while the court imposed a travel ban on the three who
were released.

With Monday’s arrests, the number of suspects arrested a part of the
1997 coup probe now stands at 18. Nine suspects who appeared before a
judge after testifying to prosecutors were sent to jail pending trial
early on Sunday morning, while seven others were released. Retired
Rear Adm. Abdullah Kılıcarslan was among those sent to jail.

On Feb. 28, 1997, an unarmed military intervention that resulted in
the fall of the coalition government led by Necmettin Erbakan of the
now-defunct Welfare Party (RP) occurred under the leadership of Gen.

Bir. In reference to the coup attempt, which was termed a “soft coup,”
Gen. Bir has said on several occasions that they “made a balance
check for democracy.”

JUDGE KRISTINEH MKOYAN: “REFUSING BRIBES COMES EASY”
Marine Madatyan

s-easy.html
10:06, April 16, 2012

Kristineh Mkoyan is one of a rare breed of judges in Armenia. She
doesn’t accept bribes from litigants.

Named the “Best Judge” in Armenia this year, Judge Mkoyan says she
has no difficulty refusing bribes when offered.

“I receive a relatively good salary, I wouldn’t call it very high,
and I think that any rational person wouldn’t take such risks.”

Judge Mkoyan graduated from the Yerevan State University’s Faculty of
Law in 1999. One day the Deputy Director called her into his office
and said that there was an opening for a judge’s assistant at the
Arabkir and Kanaker-Zeytun Administrative Court.

Mkoyan says that many at the school could only dream of such
advancement and believed that the only way to achieve it was through
nepotism or having a friend on the inside.

But the future judge had no such connections and made the grade
through constant study and gaining legal experience by working at
various organizations.

She worked at the Arabkir Court till 2003, first as a judge’s assistant
and later as chief of staff.

Mkoyan was attracted to the judgeship by the picture she had received
of a judge’s responsibilities while attending the university.

“It seemed to me that a judge is supposed to serve as an example for
all citizens, that everyone could learn something from him or her,”
Mkoyan says.

While she doesn’t go into details about what type of judge she worked
for at the start, Mkoyan confesses that the experience was a rewarding
one. The newly graduated law student realized that she no longer wanted
to be a mere assistant but to hold the judge’s gavel in her hand.

Her next career move up the ladder saw her working at the president’s
office from 2003 to 2008 in the personnel department.

Later on, she transferred to the Department of Legal Affairs as
a socialist.

“It’s funny in a way, but I believe that to be the best one mustn’t
focus solely on advancement. I don’t sit down and program who to be
and how. That’s just who I am,” Judge Mkoyan says.

In 2008, Mkoyan was appointed an Administrative Court judge.

She says that when ones conscience and the law work in tandem, what
results is a very beneficial mixture.

Judge Mkoyan confesses, however, that she has handed down decisions
that have gnawed at her conscience even while being lawful.

“You really have to control yourself,” she calmly smiles. “For
instance, it’s very taxing to have to adjudicate family related issues;
those between a mother and her son. The son has kicked the parents
out because he is cleverer than they are and has used the law to
his advantage.”

When no laws have been violated, it’s not within the purview of a
judge to evaluate the degree of cleverness of a citizen.

Mkoyan says that to make one remorseful before the law remains one
of the most difficult jobs she faces.

Named the “Best Judge” in Armenia this year, Judge Mkoyan says she
has no difficulty refusing bribes when offered.

“I receive a relatively good salary, I wouldn’t call it very high,
and I think that any rational person wouldn’t take such risks.”

Judge Mkoyan graduated from the Yerevan State University’s Faculty of
Law in 1999. One day the Deputy Director called her into his office
and said that there was an opening for a judge’s assistant at the
Arabkir and Kanaker-Zeytun Administrative Court.

Mkoyan says that many at the school could only dream of such
advancement and believed that the only way to achieve it was through
nepotism or having a friend on the inside.

But the future judge had no such connections and made the grade
through constant study and gaining legal experience by working at
various organizations.

She worked at the Arabkir Court till 2003, first as a judge’s assistant
and later as chief of staff.

Mkoyan was attracted to the judgeship by the picture she had received
of a judge’s responsibilities while attending the university.

“It seemed to me that a judge is supposed to serve as an example for
all citizens, that everyone could learn something from him or her,”
Mkoyan says.

While she doesn’t go into details about what type of judge she worked
for at the start, Mkoyan confesses that the experience was a rewarding
one. The newly graduated law student realized that she no longer wanted
to be a mere assistant but to hold the judge’s gavel in her hand.

Her next career move up the ladder saw her working at the president’s
office from 2003 to 2008 in the personnel department.

Later on, she transferred to the Department of Legal Affairs as
a socialist.

“It’s funny in a way, but I believe that to be the best one mustn’t
focus solely on advancement. I don’t sit down and program who to be
and how. That’s just who I am,” Judge Mkoyan says.

In 2008, Mkoyan was appointed an Administrative Court judge.

She says that when ones conscience and the law work in tandem, what
results is a very beneficial mixture.

Judge Mkoyan confesses, however, that she has handed down decisions
that have gnawed at her conscience even while being lawful.

“You really have to control yourself,” she calmly smiles. “For
instance, it’s very taxing to have to adjudicate family related issues;
those between a mother and her son. The son has kicked the parents
out because he is cleverer than they are and has used the law to
his advantage.”

When no laws have been violated, it’s not within the purview of a
judge to evaluate the degree of cleverness of a citizen.

Mkoyan says that to make one remorseful before the law remains one
of the most difficult jobs she faces.

ARMENIAN COMPOSER’S SYMPHONY TO BE PERFORMED AT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 16, 2012 – 11:50 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Moscow will host the Festival of the World’s
Symphonic Orchestras on June 1-21, which will feature Armenian composer
Aver Terteryan’s 5th symphony performed by Russian Yaroslavl Academic
Symphonic Orchestra.

Renowned Armenian kamancha player Hakob Khalatyan will participate in
the performance as soloist, by invitation of Yaroslavl orchestra’s
artistic head and chef conductor Murad Annamamedov and with support
of the Armenian Ministry of Culture.

Aver Terteryan’s son Ruben Terteryan will also attend the festival
as musical consultant.

“WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN 1915; THIS PAIN IS OURS, THE SORROW: OF US ALL!”

news.am
April 16, 2012 | 00:04

The “Let Us Say No to Racism and Nationalism” Movement will hold
a commemoration, in Istanbul’s Taksim Square on April 24 at 19:15
(7:15 pm), to honor the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

“The eradication of the Armenians in Anatolia started with April 24,
1915. It is the human duty of us all to remember our Armenian citizens
who were forcibly taken out of their homes and were killed.

In connection with the 97th anniversary, we invite everyone to mourn
our losses, since this pain is OURS, the sorrow: OF US ALL!”, reads
the Movement’s statement.

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

April 16, 2012
_______________________________________________

ACYOA Day Observed Across Diocese

Parishes throughout the Eastern Diocese observed ACYOA Day as part of their
traditional Palm Sunday celebrations on April 1. Members of the ACYOA
Central Council visited local communities across the Diocese, where they
gave presentations about the organization’s recent projects and met with
youth leaders.

Central Council chair Danny Mantis gave a presentation at the Church of the
Holy Translators in Framingham, Mass., where he reflected on the
longstanding tradition of observing ACYOA Day on Palm Sunday. Following his
talk, the local ACYOA chapter organized a church trivia game called “Are You
Smarter than a Sunday School Student?”

Karen Dardarian, Central Council vice chair, visited Sts. Vartanantz Church
in Chelmsford, Mass., where she met with the local ACYOA Juniors-the
subgroup for middle school students. She spoke to the young people about her
involvement with the organization, described programs run by the ACYOA, and
encouraged them to make the transition to the ACYOA Seniors once they reach
high school. Dardarian later addressed the entire parish on how her
experience in the ACYOA has impacted her personal growth.

At the Church of the Holy Resurrection in New Britain, Conn., Central
Council secretary Armen Terjimanian also began his visit with a meeting with
the local ACYOA Juniors. He later gave a presentation to the parish on the
importance of the ACYOA to future generations of young Armenians, and urged
everyone to support the organization’s mission.

Olivia Derderian, programming coordinator, spoke at the Church of the Holy
Martyrs in Bayside, N.Y. In addition to a personal reflection on her
involvement in the ACYOA, Derderian gave an overview of the Central
Council’s recent accomplishments and highlighted upcoming programs.

Alex Ouzounian, public relations coordinator, visited St. Sarkis Church in
Dallas, Texas, where he gave a presentation on the history of the ACYOA, its
current structure, and its programming objectives.

George Macarian, treasurer, spoke at his home parish of St. David Church in
Boca Raton, Fla., where he gave a brief overview of the history of the
ACYOA, and went on to highlight this year’s programming successes.

At St. James Church of Watertown, Mass., Adrienne Ashbahian spoke about her
spiritual journey and encouraged ACYOA members to seek God’s guidance in
their daily lives. The program also included remarks by ACYOA Juniors chair
Allen Ackan and ACYOA Seniors chair Karina Bekelian. A Palm Sunday dinner
was prepared and served by the ACYOA to some 350 parishioners.

###

Photo attached: Alex Ouzounian (second from right), public relations
coordinator on the ACYOA Central Council, with ACYOA members at St. Sarkis
Church in Dallas, Texas.

HACHIKIAN: POLITICAL POWER
By Kenneth V. Hachikian

April 17, 2012

You deserve political power.

Kenneth V. Hachikian Armenia needs it.

Artsahkh depends on it.

Our homeland’s enemies fear it.

And the Armenian Cause depends on it.

Armenian American political power is surely vital for our future,
but, as we all know, it sure doesn’t come free.

Especially in Washington, D.C.

Some buy it. Others rent it. A few steal it.

We earn it.

Family by family, community by community, chapter by chapter.

For more than a century, we’ve invested in our greatest national
treasure: Our people.

Education.

Inspiration.

Mobilization.

Through experience and example, we’ve trained generations of Armenian
Americans to give voice to the spirit in their hearts. To translate
their feelings into action, and their actions into results. To instill
a rock-solid ethic of teamwork toward our shared aims.

Bank-accounts and buildings are important, but it’s people – boys and
girls, who become the men and women who serve and lead our community
and cause – who make the real difference.

Our people – working through, with, and for the ANCA – have built
a powerful culture – envied around the world – of civic grassroots
activism. Add world-class, highly-sophisticated advocacy operations
and non-stop hard-work, and you’ve got a powerful combination.

We have, during the hard-earned progress on our long national journey,
been blessed by the deep well-spring of devotion of our community.

The proud ethic of service. The selfless love of justice. The
willingness to serve. These are all a great tribute to our families,
our churches, and youth groups. And they are the source of our
greatest strengths.

We have, as well, been fortunate to have a community supporting us
that has a sophisticated understanding of the challenges we face
and a real-world appreciation of the practical steps we need to take
within the American political process to address and overcome these
obstacles to our shared aims. The success of our Capital Gateway
Program in placing young Armenians in career-track jobs in Washington
is a testament, first and foremost, the talented, highly-educated
Armenian men and women being raised in families across America.

And, most importantly, we wield power today because our community
has pride in itself and the faith that, together, we can make a real
difference for our cause.

– Fighting for justice for the Genocide, a stronger Armenia, a free
and secure Artsakh, and a safe and sustainable Javakhk.

– Assisting a new wave of young Armenian Americans to start careers
in government, foreign policy, and the media.

– Dramatically increasing Armenian American grassroots civic
participation, as informed voters and effective community activists.

– Generating expanded U.S. and international media coverage of Armenian
issues, from CNN to the front pages of the New York Times.

We’re using technology, new media, and social networking to push back
against the forces of assimilation and dispersion, and to foster
new and powerful ways for our increasingly diverse but also deeply
devoted community to communicate and cooperate on the things that
really matter.

We’re already doing all this, and more, but we need your financial
help to take our results to next level. That’s why I’m asking you today
for your generous gift for the ANCA Telethon. Here’s the secure link:
Each dollar you give represents a personal
vote of confidence in the Armenian Cause.

Every dollar you donate, an enduring investment in our future.

With your generous support, we can continue: – Fighting denial,
advocating recognition, and promoting broader American public awareness
of the Armenian Genocide through schools, coalitions, and the media.

– Pressing for progress in developing mutually beneficial U.S.-Armenia
economic ties.

– Educating the general public and our elected leaders about the
independent Nagorno-Karabagh Republic and the Javakhk region of
Georgia.

In each of these areas, we are facing new and increasingly powerful
opposition. On every front, Turkey and Azerbaijan are pushing back
hard, as are their allies here in Washington.

Our will is being tested, as is our strength.

We have the smart solutions in place to meet these tests, but need your
funds to put them into practice and take our cause to the next level.

Please invest today in Armenian American political power by making a
secure on-line donation right now in support of ANCA Telethon 2012:
Kenneth V. Hachikian is the chairman of
the ANCA.

U.S. SPENDS MILLIONS TO HELP ACTIVISTS BRING DOWN THEIR GOVERNMENTS – REPORT

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 17, 2012 – 14:02 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The U.S. government is spending millions to help
activists communicate and bring down their governments.

As TechEYE reports citing the Sydney Morning Herald, the project,
called Commotion Wireless, has been putting the fear of god into
the spooks of various authoritarian regimes. The project is aimed at
undermining internet censorship in countries such as Iran and Syria.

The project is run by Sascha Meinrath and despite the fact it is
getting shedloads of U.S. money, it is based on some of the better
ideas of internet community access. It is designed to allow a
smartphone to connect with other smartphones, forming a “mesh network.”

All good stuff and totally at odds with what is going on in the U.S. –
with the FBI trying to shut down such activity among its own citizens.

In fact there are some pretty good reasons why western governments
would not like to see such technology deployed in their countries. The
UK for example wants to monitor every email just in case it happens
to mention terrorist activities. However, if this sort of technology
becomes available it means that the only people who are in the
database are the ordinary people. There is no doubt that Meinrath’s
hidden internet will be a major headache for anyone who wants to stop
anything on the net, the report says.

Issuing the technology in Iran, Syria and China will allow opposition
groups the freedom to talk to one another. However it will also weaken
regimes backed by the US such as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Egypt and Libya had internet coups and these resulted in regimes
that the U.S. did not like either. Meinrath does not seem to have a
problem with that, but it looks like his ideas really will cause a
commotion or two, the report concludes.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 15 2012

Specters as remnants of the 20th century

by MARKAR ESAYAN

The greatest advantage of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party)
has been the fact that the Enverist-Kemalist and neo-nationalist
circles have done everything wrong throughout the 20th century. If you
take the Sublime Porte (Babı Ali) raid as a reference point and start
of the pro-coup tradition in the country, this means that we have been
subjected to the brutality and arbitrary decisions of this tradition
for a century.
It should be acknowledged that the Kemalists have observed the
principle of equality in brutality and repression. They have repressed
and persecuted the Muslims, the Alevis, the Armenians and all others
without discrimination. And even when these circles and social
segments came to represent a large majority of the nation, out of
arrogance the Kemalists failed to realize that those they
discriminated against could not be discounted.

There are so many wrongs and errors done by this tradition that
despite its pragmatism and reluctance, every single step that it takes
improves the AK Party’s popularity. Like it or not, the AK Party is
the only party that promotes change. And when the Republican People’s
Party (CHP) strongly opposes change and reform, the AK Party’s
popularity grows even further. The greatest mistake that the CHP and
its supporters hold is their belief that the Kemalist rule represented
a true success. Yes, Kemalism has created a new type of human being.
You and I are of this type. We will never know the alternate outlook
this country would have had if its history had been shaped otherwise.
But there is one thing that we know: Kemalism has left indelible
imprints on our identity.

But from another perspective, Kemalism is a dramatically failed
ideology because it has been promoted in the absence of popular
support and it has moved forward by oppressing the people. As a
result, the people have developed negative sentiments and opposition
to it, and this opposition ended this engineering project. From a
Foucauldian approach, a rule that is not internalized cannot be
sustained. The rule needs to be adopted, conveyed and reinterpreted by
the governed. Kemalism failed to realize that it has been able to
survive because of fascism in Europe and the circumstances of the Cold
War up to the 1990s. Kemalists thought that their survival was due to
their success. Because of this, Kemalism has repressed civilian
administrations viewed as being in opposition to its policies by
reliance on military coups. While it was a country that executed its
prime minister and ministers, Turkey was still able to receive
external support due to the oppressive political ideologies of the
time.

That support has disappeared with the collapse of the Soviet Union and
end of the Cold War era. Instead, a huge information revolution is
taking place, globalization is declaring all dictatorships enemies to
global markets, and as a result it seems that any dictatorial regime
that is unable to integrate with the world economic system will not be
able to survive. China’s transition to state capitalism and subsequent
global tolerance of its antidemocratic practices is a good example of
this. Had China not adopted this stance, it would have become a
country was struggling with insurgencies that would have attracted
global support. And let us call this one of the unethical impacts of
globalization.

For this reason, the military did not stage a conventional coup on
Feb. 28, 1997. It could be said that then-Chief of General Staff Gen.
Ismail Hakkı Karadayı served as a balancing actor between those who
wanted to stage a conventional coup and those who favored a postmodern
coup. Former Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ã-zkök’s subscription to
democracy is being praised because of his opposition to the coup
attempts by the junta within the army in 2003 and 2004. But this is a
false view. Even if the junta wanted to carry out a coup, they would
not have achieved it in 1997 and 2003. Even if they had attempted to,
this would not have been successful; and in that case, Turkey would
have pursued the reform process more strongly. I am telling you, if
there had been a conventional coup on Feb. 28, the reforms in the last
decade would have been more radical, and we would have made our new
constitution. Some hold that Turkey is immune to developments in the
world, but this is not the case.

In sum, we are still dealing with a number of problems as remnants of
20th-century issues including the Kurdish issue, the Armenian issue,
the Cyprus problem, the coup constitution and coup institutions and
laws. They are like paper tigers. They could be destroyed by a single
fist. But our hesitation does not allow us to do this.

Movie Review
Loving, and Maybe Exploiting, Armenia

Braden King’s `Here’ Raises Questions of Philosophy
NYT Critics’ PickThis movie has been designated a Critics’ Pick by the
film reviewers of The New York Times. Strand Releasing
Lubna Azabal and Ben Foster, as lovers and antagonists in Braden King’s `Here.’

By STEPHEN HOLDEN
Published: April 12, 2012 Recommend

There are vistas in Braden King’s metaphysical road movie, `Here,’
that are so beautiful you want to step through the screen and
disappear into the Armenian landscape where much of it was filmed. In
the most evocative scene, the camera slowly pans across pastures
framed by distant mountains in which cattle graze amid a sprawling
grid of power lines.

More About This Movie
OverviewTickets & ShowtimesNew York Times ReviewCast, Credits &
AwardsReaders’ Reviews In another startling juxtaposition of pastoral
and technological images, a traveler in Armenia uses a Google map to
go from outer space to the heart of San Francisco in seconds. What
does it imply that nowadays you can bask in an Armenian field and
visit an American city at exactly the same moment? The trains of
thought stirred up by the film’s contemplation of what is here and
what is there – and where you are – are endless and stimulating. And
the movie is embellished with spectacularly beautiful, enigmatic
bursts of abstract imagery.

More problematic is an intermittent narrator (Peter Coyote) who
meditates in poetic language on the conflicting aesthetics of science
and exploration and on the notion that `truth is conjecture.’ If what
he says is helpful in deciphering the film’s aesthetics, it also
sounds grandiose. And as the movie advances, you discover that the
ideas voiced by the narrator are embedded in scenes that need no
further explication. This is a film that begins with a printed
announcement: `The story is asleep. It dreams.’ Whatever that means.

The scientist and the artistic explorer are embodied by Ben Foster
(`The Messenger’) and Lubna Azabal (`Incendies’), an attractive couple
with chemistry. Mr. Foster plays Will, an American satellite-mapping
engineer whose job is to match objects on the ground to satellite
photos. Ms. Azabal’s character, Gadarine, is an Armenian expatriate
photographer who has returned to her homeland from abroad following a
successful Paris exhibition of her Polaroid snapshots.

After they meet by chance in a restaurant where she translates his
breakfast order into Armenian, Gadarine becomes Will’s traveling
companion on a quest to photograph the rapidly changing country that
she left behind. She also serves as Will’s de facto interpreter, and
the two become lovers.

Both are searchers, she for her past, he for the future. Remembering
his childhood growing up in a Northern California vineyard, Will
recalls taking long walks in which he tried to get lost. `I wanted to
find the edge of the world,’ he says.

In a toast while drinking homemade vodka with some locals, he is
saluted for creating maps that `bring wisdom to the world.’ But do
they? And is wisdom the right word? Gadarine, upon returning to her
peasant family, is treated as a prodigal daughter who is wasting her
life by not settling down and doing `real’ work.

With its layers of weighted dialogue, `Here’ has a lot in common with
Abbas Kiarostami’s `Certified Copy,’ a film whose intellectual
superstructure didn’t preclude the emergence of vivid, quirky
personalities. The same can’t be said of `Here,’ where the ideas are
more implied than stated, and Will and Gadarine never completely break
out of their symbolic shells.

They ultimately clash, when Gadarine accuses Will of skimming the
surface of the world while gathering geographic data that will be used
for corporate exploitation of Armenian resources. In her pictures she
is trying to preserve the moment and the sense of place that his work
is helping to erase.

`Here,’ to its detriment, never builds its ideas into a cohesive
vision. The screenplay by Mr. King and Dani Valent too often wanders
off into poetic vagueness. But visually, `Here,’ filmed by Lol
Crowley, is still a stunner. Flawed as it is, I admire it immensely.

Here

Opens on Friday in Manhattan.

Directed by Braden King; written by Mr. King and Dani Valent; director
of photography, Lol Crowley; edited by David Barker, Andrew Hafitz and
Paul Zucker; music by Michael Krassner; production design by Richard
A. Wright; costumes by Amanda Ford; produced by Lars Knudsen and Jay
Van Hoy; released by Strand Releasing. At the IFC Center, 323 Avenue
of the Americas, at Third Street, Greenwich Village. In English and
Armenian, with English subtitles. Running time: 2 hours 6 minutes.
This film is not rated.

WITH: Ben Foster (Will Shepard) and Lubna Azabal (Gadarine Najarian).