Author: Kalantarian Kevo

THE ARMENIAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND THE FRENCH AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA MET WITH THE FRENCH-SPEAKING STUDENTS OF YEREVAN UNIVERSITIES

23.03.2012

Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian on March 23 visited the French
Embassy to Armenia on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the
establishment of the relations between Armenia and France, where
took place the meeting of the Armenian Foreign Minister and the
French Ambassador to Armenia with the French-speaking students of
the Armenian Universities.

Congratulating the attendees on the occasion of the anniversary,
Edward Nalbandian noted, “The Armenian-French relations are based
on the centuries-old traditions of the friendship existing between
the Armenian and French peoples, and in the recent twenty years
we, by our joint efforts, succeeded to post a new dynamics to
the relations – a high-level political dialogue was established,
the numerous reciprocal visits of Presidents took place, a solid
legal framework was developed by signing around 30 agreements, the
close ties were established between the Parliaments, the expanded
decentralized cooperation is underway and partnership agreements were
signed between around thirty regions and cities, the economic volume
is growing – 155 French companies are functioning in Armenia, and the
French investments are the second in Armenia’s economy. Regarding to
education, the French educational institutions have their unique place
in the educational system of Armenia, the bright and successful example
of which is the French University in Armenia. The cultural ties were
given unprecedented impetus in 2006-2007 by holding Armenia’s year
in France in the frames of which more than 1000 event were organized
in around 100 French cities.

The high-level of the relations of 20 years was marked by the
reciprocal visits of Presidents Sargsyan and Sarkozy. In this regard,
I would like to single out Charles Aznavour’s concert in Olympia Hall
held in the presence of the Presidents of the two countries in the
frames of the visit of the RA President to France and dedicated to
the 20th anniversary of Armenia’s independence and establishment of
the Armenian-French relations.”

On his part, the French Ambassador to Armenia underlined that the
Armenian-French warm relations are as sensitive as reasonable, and
Armenia is one of the fewer countries which has its special and unique
place in the French society.

During the meeting Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and French
Ambassador to Armenia Henry Reno answered numerous questions of the
students on the Armenian-French relations.

Responding to one of the question, Minister Nalbandian said, “France
is the country which as a OSCE Co-Chair had and is still having an
important role in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. France
is the country which gave a shelter and became a second fatherland
for a dozen of our compatriots who survived the Medz Yeghern (Great
Calamity). France was the first country wich recognized the Armenian
Genocide by law. France is the country whose people believe in the
punishment of the denial of crimes against humanity. And I would like
to present our deep gratitude for all that.”

March 25, 2012
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

PRELATE RETURNS FROM LEBANON

H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, has returned from
Lebanon, where he was participating in meetings at the Catholicosate,
presided over by H.H. Catholicos Aram I.
The meetings between His Holiness, Prelates, Central Religious and
Executive members, and Executive Council representatives of each Prelacy
took place from March 13-17, 2012. The Prelates and Executive Council
members from each Prelacy also had the opportunity to meet with His Holiness
and Central Executive members to discuss issues pertaining to their specific
regions and collaborative efforts in our homeland.
Joining the Prelate in the meetings were Central Executive member
Mr. Khajag Dikijian and Mr. Vahe Yacoubian, and Executive Council members
Mr. George Chorbajian and Mr. Toros Kejejian.
In his welcoming speech, His Holiness summarized in five points his
long-term expectations from the church bodies: (1) Our church is the church
of the people. Therefore, it can only fulfill itself by serving the people.
(2) Because the Catholicosate of Cilicia’s essential vocation is to serve
the people, the decision-making bodies must always seek to understand and
respond to their changing needs and plan accordingly. (3) The renewal of the
Church is conditioned by the collaboration between the clergy and laity. (4)
Transparency and accountability are core values of our Holy See. (5) The
Catholicosate is one body, formed through the close cooperation between the
Centre in Antelias and the Dioceses.
After meeting in plenary and in committees, the participants
proposed the following priorities for implementation at all levels of the
church: Responding to the concerns of dioceses, Religious Education and
Armenian Identity, The Youth, Monitoring the spiritual movements in the
community, Translation of the Bible into Western Armenian, The Seminary,
Married Priests, Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations, Cooperation with
the Armenian Catholic and Evangelical Churches, The Armenian Cause,
Armenia-Diaspora Relations, Collaboration between the Catholicosate of All
Armenians and the Catholicosate of Cilicia, New Cilicia Project in Karabagh,
Protecting the Western Armenian Language, A Human Resource Registry,
Registration of Lebanese Armenians in the Diaspora, Renaming and Harmonizing
Diocesan Committees, 100th Anniversary of the Commemoration of Armenian
Genocide, Balance the Budget of the Catholicosate.
The Next National Assembly will be held in May 2013, in Antelias.
His Holiness also appointed three committees to deal with the
reorganization of the internal life and the work of the clergy at the
Catholicosate, to harmonize prayers and rituals and propose guidelines for
and to plan the next Assemblies of the Monastic and Married Priests.

PRELATE TO PRESIDE OVER DIVINE LITURGY AT
ST. GARABED CHURCH IN HOLLYWOOD

On Sunday, March 25, 2012, the Prelate will preside over Divine
Liturgy and deliver the sermon at St. Garabed Church in Hollywood.

CASPS LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

The Committee for Armenian Students in Public Schools (CASPS), which
serves under the auspices of the Prelate, has organized a leadership
conference which will take place on Saturday, March 24th, at the Prelacy
“Dikran and Zarouhie Der Ghazarian” Hall.
By the ordinance of the Prelate, Fr. Ghevont Kirazian will conduct
the opening prayer and deliver the Prelate’s message.
High school seniors from Glendale public schools will participate in
the seminar.
Members of the CASPS board will be in attendance, as well as Prelacy
representative Dr. Hagop Der Megerdichian and Glendale Unified School
District members.

PRESS RELEASE
National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR)
395 Concord Ave.
Belmont, MA 02478
Tel.: 617-489-1610
Email: [email protected]

CARLA GARAPEDIAN TO SPEAK ABOUT DIGITIZATION
OF GENOCIDE SURIVIVOR ACCOUNTS AND THE SHOAH FOUNDATION

Acclaimed filmmaker Dr. Carla Garapedian will give a lecture
entitled “The Digital Revolution: Armenian Genocide Survivor Testimonies
and the Shoah Visual History Archive,'” on Friday, April 13, at 8:00
p.m., at the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research
(NAASR) Center, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478. The lecture will
be co-sponsored by the Armenian Film Foundation (AFF), of which
Garapedian is a Board Member, and NAASR; and it will be in memory of Dr.
J. Michael Hagopian (1913-2010), founder of the AFF and NAASR’s First
Board Member for California (1959-65).

Dr. Garapedian will discuss new and exciting developments in
the way Armenian Genocide survivor and witness testimonies are being
made available to universities around the world via the Shoah Foundation
Institute’s Visual History Archive. The Shoah Foundation, founded by
filmmaker Steven Spielberg, contains 52,000 Holocaust survivor video
interviews. It is now including testimonies from other genocides,
including the Armenian Genocide. Dr. J. Michael Hagopian’s 400 filmed
survivor interviews will be the first of the Armenian Genocide
testimonies to be included in this digital collection. Dr. Garapedian,
the Project Leader for the Armenian Film Foundation’s digitization
effort, will give a demonstration of the powerful search engine, as well
as discuss the challenges of presenting survivor information via the
internet.

Garapedian is the director of the film Screamers, which was
widely credited with helping to change the public debate on recognition
of the Armenian Genocide in 2006 and 2007. Other films include Lifting
the Veil, about the brutal treatment of women in Afghanistan, and Iran
Undercover, about the underground student movement in Iran, which won
the Edward R. Murrow Award in 2005 as part of the PBS Frontline World
series. She worked closely with J. Michael Hagopian on his Witnesses
trilogy.

Garapedian earned a Ph.D. in international relations at the
London School of Economics and Political Science before working as a
producer, director, and correspondent based in London. She is the
recipient of the Armin T. Wegner Humanitarian Award, the ABGU Generation
Next Community Hero Award, and was recently given the Clara Barton Medal
of Gratitude from the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute.

More information about Garapedian’s lecture or NAASR and its
programs for the furtherance of Armenian studies, research, and
publication may be had by calling 617-489-1610, faxing 617-484-1759,
e-mailing [email protected], or writing to NAASR, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont,
MA 02478.

Belmont, MA
March 22, 2012

NAREK HAKHNAZARYAN TO JOINT THE SPRINGFIELD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA FOR A CONCERT ON MARCH 31

armradio.am
24.03.2012 15:16

Armenian cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan will join with Springfield Symphony
Orchestra, at Kuss Auditorium, Springfield, MA, on March 31.

“When the Springfield Symphony Orchestra booked the winning cellist
of the International Tchaikovsky Competition before the competition
had even been held, it was sort of like agreeing to go on a blind date.

The SSO knew it could trust the Tchaikovsky Competition, but even your
best friend can misjudge someone’s character every once in a while,”
the Springfield News Sun writes.

“Luckily, the mystery cellist, Narek Hakhnazaryan, is turning out to
be Prince Charming. A true rising star,” the paper added.

ARMENIAN GIRL BECAME A VICTIM OF BLACKMAIL BY TURKISH BROTHERS

ARMENPRESS
MARCH 24, 2012
ISTANBUL

ISTANBUL, MARCH 24, ARMENPRESS. “21- year -old Armenian citizen
Narine Lazarian became a victim of blackmail in Turkey and committed
suicide,” Armenpress reports citing Hurriyet daily.

Narine was living with her step father and brother, found a job in
one of the Istanbul silversmith companies and went to work. Short
time later the girl fell in love with a Turkish young boy Orhan,
living in the same district. The Turk had a sexual relationship with
Narine; secretly taking the video. Orhan passed the naked photos
to her brother Bagsh. The brothers threatened the girl to continue
sexul relations with Baghs and get money from him; later giving the
money to them. In the condition of refusal the photos will be loaded
to the Internet and shown to Narine”s brother Jora.

Narine, refugee in Turkey was not able to turn to police. Not bearing
the threats of the brothers she committed suicide by drinking poison.

The prosecutor”s office launched an investigation on Narine Lazarian
suicide case.

ADOLF HITLER ADVERTISES SHAMPOO FOR REAL TURKISH MEN

March 24, 2012 | 12:02

The ad of Bio-man shampoo is shown on one of the Turkey’s commercial
TV channels. Adolf Hitler advertises shampoo for “real men”.

One of documentary records of Hitler’s speeches was used for the video,
MIGnews reports.

Hitler advertising the shampoo says “Why do use shampoo for women,
if there is a Bio-man 100% shampoo for men. A real man needs Bio-man.”

LES JEUNES ARMENIENS DU CANADA MANIFESTENT DEVANT L’AMBASSADE D’AZERBAIDJAN A OTTAWA
Krikor Amirzayan

armenews.com
samedi 24 mars 2012

ils accusent Bakou de mener une politique de haine a l’encontre
des Armeniens

A Ottawa (Canada) un groupe d’association des Jeunes Armeniens du
Canada a manifeste devant l’Ambassade d’Azerbaïdjan pour protester
contre les ” agressions repetees ” de Bakou a l’encontre des
Armeniens. Les jeunes Armeniens ont invite l’Azerbaïdjan a changer
” leur politique hostile qui maintient un climat de haine contre
les Armeniens “. Les manifestants ont evoque la destruction par
l’Azerbaïdjan des centaines de khatchkars armeniens au Nakhitchevan.

Des khatchkars pourtant reconnus comme partie integrante du patrimoine
mondial de l’UNESCO. L’association des Jeunes Armeniens du Canada,
fondee en 1934 est l’une des plus anciennes associations du pays.

ARMSWISSBANK ENTERS NASDAQ OMX ARMENIA CREDIT MARKET

PanARMENIAN.Net
March 22, 2012 – 17:43 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – On March 21, Armswissbank CJSC, member of NASDAQ
OMX Armenia, was granted the right to participate in credit resources
market of the Exchange.

“From now on Armswissbank will benefit from participation in all the
markets of NASDAQ OMX Armenia,” press service of NASDAQ OMX Armenia
reported.

Armswissbank CJSC is one of the leading universal banking institutions
in Armenia combining the advantages of corporate, investment and
private banking.

As of today overall 32 banks and investment companies are members
and market participants at NASDAQ OMX Armenia, 26 out of which are
members, while the rest 6 are market participants.

DELUXE HOTEL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM TO BE INTRODUCED IN ARMENIA

/ARKA/
MARCH 22, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, March 22. /ARKA/. The Armenian government decided today to
make a set of amendments and additions to the laws “On state duty”
and “On tourism and tourist activities,” which inter alia, call for
introduction of Delux system of hotel classification.

In USA and some other countries there are alternative hotel
classification systems like Superior Deluxe, Deluxe, Moderate Deluxe
and others instead of giving stars. Economy minister Tigran Davtyan
said at a Cabinet session that the amendments also clarify the
standards and the process of classification of hotels, resorts and
hotel complexes, as well as provide for a mechanism of control over
the process.

Armenian hotels differ in the number of awarded stars. According to
official sources, there are about 140 hotels and the average hotel
room price is 60 euros per day. The hotels offer about 10,000 beds.

THE ‘FINAL DECISION’ – TAKE 4: RUBEN HAYRAPETYAN NOMINATED AS ELECTION CANDIDATE

epress.am
03.22.2012

The ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) will be nominating
local tycoon, Football Federation of Armenia president, and MP Ruben
Hayrapetyan in the no. 1 electoral district, according to a decision
made at the HHK executive body meeting on Wednesday.

At a press conference on Mar. 15, Hayrapetyan had said he would not
be running in the May 6 parliamentary election, though two weeks
earlier he had said that ultimately his party would decide if he
would contest a parliamentary seat in this election or not. Yet,
even earlier, the notorious businessman had said he doesn’t see
himself in the National Assembly, adding it’s “not his place.”

At what was assumed to be the final decision on the matter, on Mar.

15, the reluctant lawmaker explained he would no longer engage in
parliamentary work because he is busy with football-related activity,
he is the vice-president of the UEFA and FIFA committees and is often
out of the country.

To a reporter’s observation at that press conference that the change of
plans could’ve been a PR move, Hayrapetyan responded in the negative,
saying that at one time the party actually had decided that he
should be nominated but later the party and its leader, Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan realized the extent of his busyness and
decided otherwise.

The Football Federation of Armenia president mentioned that the
country’s president has made it a point to get the Armenian national
men’s football team to the World Cup finals, and for this reason
Hayrapetyan has to focus on football (and not politics).

However, only two days earlier, local daily Haykakan Jamanak (“Armenian
Times”) reported that Hayrapetyan would be nominated after all.