Author: Kalantarian Kevo

ARTIST, SOPHIA GASPARIAN PARTICIPATES IN BENEFIT AT SKIRBALL CENTER
By Leslie Reed

Westside Today

Jan 31 2012
CA

Sophia Gasparian is one of many successful artists who have agreed
to donate their work to “Artworks for Healing” on Wednesday, February
8th at the Skirball Center.

Sophia Gasparian is known for her sociopolitical work. As an artist,
she thrives on blatant political subjects. Sophia was born in Yerevan,
Armenia.

Sophia’s work began in experimental film and later transitioned to
installation combining video, sound and painting. In 2002, Sophia
developed the installation “The Day of the Dead: Armenian Genocide
1915.” In 2005, she co-curated an international group exhibition
“Requiem for the Genocide” with Yerevan MOCA.

Constantly pushing barriers, Gasparian recently completed the
“Forced to Confront the Face of Evil” series. Her narrative paintings
intertwine childlike innocence with sociopolitical criticism and her
aesthetic approach remains apart from mainstream art, incorporating
stencils, stickers, spray paint and other nontraditional media.

This fundraiser will benefit the nonprofit organization, A Window
Between Worlds. Celebrating their 20th anniversary, A Window Between
Worlds has helped thousands of survivors of domestic violence,
through art programs.

The event is presented in collaboration with Heidi Gray and the James
Gray Gallery at Bergamot Station, as well as several other prominent
Los Angeles galleries.

Sophia talks about how she became involved with the projcect, “During
a group exhibition “Mysterious Objects: Portraits of Joan Quinn” where
my work was a part of, I was asked by the curators J. Cheryl Bookout
and Amanda Quinn Olivar to participate in “Artworks for Healing” to
help end domestic violence using art. It is an honor to participate
and be among a great company of people who care about public issues.”

Additional “Artworks for Healing” artists include: Kim Abeles, Janet
Inez Adams, Peter Alexander, Herb Alpert, Larry Bell, Janet Bothne,
Amy Caterina, Chase, Chukes, Charlie de Mar, Marie Lalanne Elfman, Ned
Evans, Shepard Fairey, Samantha Fields, Ed Freeman, Sophia Gasparian,
Curt Gunther, Gadi Hakim, James Hayward, David Hume Kennerly, Sally
Lamb, Michele Lee, Victoria Levine, Bernie Lewinsky, David Lloyd,
Don Morris, Ed Moses, Terry Romero Paul, Zandra Rhodes, Cathy Salser,
John Sexton, Rena Small, Myron Stephens, Lauren Szabo, Ann Thornycroft,
Tim Townsley, William Wegman, and Ron Zheng.

“Artworks for Healing” will be held Feb. 8th, 7:00pm – 10:00pm, at
Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda BLvd, in Brentwood. The
evening will feature an art auction, champagne, hors d’oeuvres,
and dessert.

For more information and tickets

TURKISH PM SLAMS FRANCE OVER APPROVAL OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL

Xinhua General News Service
January 30, 2012 Monday 4:25 PM EST
China

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Monday slammed France
for the approval of an Armenian ” genocide” bill by its parliament,
saying that “France was forcing the door of a very dangerous process
by trying to write history at parliament.”

The mission of parliaments was not to write history, Erdogan said
in an address to the nation, adding that Turkey is expecting French
people to raise their voices against this.

“Today, France is using the language of separatism, racism and clashes
and Sarkozy’s France was based on dogmas, prejudices and delusions,”
said Erdogan.

Noting that Turkey made its warnings to France beforehand and Turkey
proposed to leave this issue to historians and scientists, but Sarkozy
did not hesitate to crush European values just to gain a few thousand
more votes in the upcoming elections, said Erdogan.

Again he said that this bill, which was adopted at French Parliament
and Senate, is null and void for Turkey.

“We pursue our initiatives for French senators to apply to French
Constitutional Council against the bill,” added Erdogan.

Turkish government spokesman and Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc
said Monday that Turkey was following developments regarding the bill.

The French Senate voted last Monday 127 to 86 in favor of the draft
bill after hours of debate, making it illegal to deny as ” genocide”
the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915. The bill, yet to
be signed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, has been passed by the
French National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, on Dec. 22
last year.

In France, even if a bill has been approved by the Senate, it can
still be appealed to the constitutional court if a large number of
parliamentarians file for it. The decision lies with the court to
decide whether the bill is compatible with French law or not.

TURKISH MINISTER MAKES HARSH STATEMENT ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN SWITZERLAND

Vestnik Kavkaza
Jan 30 2012
Russia

Egemen Bagys, Turkish Minister for EU Affairs, made a harsh statement
in Switzerland, a state that had approved the bill on criminalization
of denial of the Armenian Genocide by the French Senate, TRT reports.

Bagys said that there was no genocide of Armenians in 1915 and said
that he was ready to be arrested for saying that.

The Turkish minister attended the World Economic Forum in Davos. He
later went to Zurich and watched a performance of Turkish singer
Sezen Aksu. He made the statement after the concert.

ARMENIANS HOPE NEW DISTRICTS GIVE THEM A VOICE ON PASADENA SCHOOL BOARD
By Brian Charles

Pasadena Star News

Jan 30 2012
CA

PASADENA – Armenian voters appear to be the big winners in the ongoing
effort to divide the Pasadena Unified School District board into seven
geographic voting districts, according to Chris Chahinian, Armenian
community leader and a member of the PUSD redistricting task force.

On two of the draft maps, a voting sub-district has been formed to
keep together the ethnic group’s coalition of voters, many of whom
live along or near North Allen Avenue. Chahinian said the concessions
to his community are long overdue.

“The Armenian community has been in Pasadena since the 1880s and to not
have a consistent voice in the school district is an outrage,” he said.

Chahinian, who ran for City Council last year, said he plans to push
for a similar Armenian heavy district on the City Council.

His overtures to the task force and the broader community about forming
a voting district for Armenian constituents along North Allen Avenue
has resonated beyond the Armenian community. Leaders in Northwest
Pasadena are paying close attention to Chahinian’s political jockeying.

“Obviously the Armenian coalition was there and they are lobbying
for the Armenian community,” said Ishmael Trone, Northwest Pasadena
business leader. “They are really reaching out to other leaders in
the city to really keep their group together.”

More than 20,000 Armenians live in Pasadena, but it is unclear how
many Armenians – and more importantly Armenian voters – live in the
proposed district carved out by the task force, according to Chahinian.

“The Armenian community has another issue when it comes to filling
out the census,” Trone said. “They are lumped in with white voters.”

So who is providing the stats?

“We are relying on the Armenian community for the numbers,” said Ken
Chawkins, PUSD Charter Reform Task Force chairman.

Yet when it comes to educational needs, the community has long said
it wants its own voice or at least one that will advocate for the
needs of the ethnic community, Chahinian said.

The PUSD endeavored to create voting wards after the threat of a
lawsuit by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. The
Bay Area voting rights advocacy group successfully sued a Northern
California school district for under-representation of Latinos
on a school board. The PUSD has one Latino school board member,
Ramon Miramontes, yet Latinos make up more than 50 percent of the
district’s students.

And while the maps give Armenians a chance to influence the PUSD board,
they also give Latinos a chance to influence multiple board seats,
Chawkins said.

“The numbers suggest you can have two Latino districts,” Chawkins said.

But Chawkins said more than race matters in the drawing of the
district’s voting lines.

“There are many more differences to account for beyond race,” he said.

The number of total residents, registered voters and socioeconomic
factors are plugged into the complex formula for creating voting
districts. The law also prevents those drawing the line from packing
a community into one district by creating a district with more than
70 percent of one ethnic or racial group. Voting laws also prevent
cracking or diluting the strength of an ethnic or racial group.

The lines are also drawn to lasso in communities of interest, which is
why Armenians – a group not protected by the 1965 Voting Rights Act –
can be drawn into one voting district.

MP’S SEPARATIST SYMPATHY PROMPTS IRE IN AZERBAIJAN

Sydney Morning Herald

Jan 30 2012
Australia

The state upper house Labor MP Walt Secord has incurred the wrath
of the government of Azerbaijan for visiting one of its disputed
territories and siding with the sovereignty claims of the separatist
Armenians.

Mr Secord, a former adviser to NSW premiers Bob Carr and Kristina
Keneally, as well as the former state treasurer Eric Roozendaal and
former prime minister Kevin Rudd, entered the upper house after the
March election.

He is the deputy chairman of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel
and the deputy co-chairman of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Armenia.

A supporter of various separatist causes, Mr Secord visited the
disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh last month as part of a self-funded
trip that also took him to Israel, the Palestinian territories and
Kurdish Iraq.

Nagorno-Karabakh is recognised internationally, including by Australia,
as part of the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan but Armenia lays
claim to the region.

Mr Secord said he was told while there that he was the first Australian
MP to visit the region.

“While official recognition of the Mountainous Karabakh Re- public
is a matter for the federal Australian government,” Mr Secord said,
“I feel I have a duty as the co-deputy chair of the NSW Parliamentary
Friends of Armenia to see Armenia and the Mountainous Karabakh
Republic first-hand.”

Officials from the Azerbaijani embassy in the Turkish capital, Ankara,
complained to the Australian mission in the same city about the visit
by the “senator of the Australian state of NSW, Walt Secord”.

An Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman, Elman Abdullayev, told
local media: “The Australian embassy told the Azerbaijani side that the
official stance of the country lies in recognition of the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan and non-recognition of any separatist regime
in its territory.”

Mr Secord said many of his colleagues had been “flooded by an email
campaign” protesting against his visit.

PUPILS’ FILM USED IN HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE

South Wales Echo
January 27, 2012 Friday
UK

A FILM made by school pupils will take centre stage in a ceremony
today to remember victims of the Holocaust and other genocides since
the end of World War II.

Students from Maesteg Comprehensive interpreted the famous Holocaust
poem First They Came as part of their peer mentoring project.

It builds on the council’s Speak Up Speak Out campaign which
urges communities and individuals to express their opposition to
discrimination.

The ceremony will be staged in the council chamber today – Holocaust
Memorial Day.

A candle will be lit and a minute’s silence held to remember all
those lost in the Holocaust and in genocide in Armenia, Cambodia,
Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

Council leader Councillor Mel Nott, who will speak at the event, said:
“This is about learning lessons from the Holocaust and applying them
to the present day.”

ARMENIAN PRIVATE’S FAMILY: SEVAG WAS KILLED INTENTIONALLY WHILE SERVING ARMY

Today’s Zaman
Jan 31 2012
Turkey

The family of a young man of Armenian descent shot dead by another
private while serving in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) have said
they believe that he was intentionally killed, after new evidence
changed the course of the trial.

Pvt. Sevag Å~^ahin Balıkcı was killed on April 24, 2011, the date
the Armenian diaspora has chosen to commemorate the incidents of
1915, when hundreds of thousands of Armenians were killed in the
Ottoman Empire during the World War I. Officers and other privates
in his unit, which is stationed in Batman province, testified that
Balıkcı was shot accidentally while “joking around” with a close
friend, Kıvanc Agaoglu, who allegedly fired the lethal shot. They
were serving at the Kozluk GumuÅ~_göru Gendarmerie Station at the
time of the alleged murder.

However, since Halil EkÅ~_i, a private who witnessed the incident,
changed his testimony, the Balıkcı family’s lawyer has petitioned
the court to hold the hearing of the trial earlier than the scheduled
date of March 29.

During a hearing at Diyarbakır Second Air Force Commandership
Military Court on Jan. 30, EkÅ~_i, who served in the military at the
same time as Balıkcı, revised his testimony: “Kıvanc pointed his
rifle at Sevag and pulled the trigger. His family had asked me to
testify in his favor,” indicating that Agaoglu’s family pressured
him into giving false testimony.

Despite demands following the testimony by Cem Halavurt, the Balıkcı
family’s lawyer, the court has decided not to arrest Agaoglu.

“One of the judges demanded that Agaoglu be arrested, but others
refused on the basis that EkÅ~_i was put under pressure by Agaoglu’s
family, not by Kıvanc Agaoglu,” Halavurt said.

“We are still collecting evidence on how EkÅ~_i was threatened. We
have requested his phone records. We are trying to clearly discover
if there was intent to murder or not. We might again petition for the
defendant’s arrest. The trial is ongoing,” Halavurt said, adding that
they are pleased the military court has considered their demands.

Ani Balıkcı, mother of Sevag Balıkcı who was present at the
court hearing on Monday, said that EkÅ~_i indicated in court that
the defendant had aimed his rifle at Sevag.

“The judge had a rifle brought to the court for EkÅ~_i to demonstrate
the details of the incident. He showed that the defendant intentionally
killed Sevag,” she said. “We are trying to learn why.”

In the initial stages of the probe investigators were trying to
understand whether Balıkcı was the victim of a hapless accident or
an intentional murder. Based on suspicions arising from the date of the
murder, the family had earlier filed criminal charges against Agaoglu,
claiming he had wanted to kill their son and knew what he was doing
when he fired his rifle. Agaoglu’s lawyers asserted that their client
was a very close friend of Balıkcı and fired the rifle by accident.

Earlier testimony from EkÅ~_i supported this statement. However,
EkÅ~_i, who attended court once again on Dec. 27, 2011, said he wanted
to change his initial testimony.

He said he did not see the suspect playing around with the rifle
and noted that Agaoglu’s uncle, Bulent Kaya, had visited him in his
hometown and assisted him in writing his initial testimony. He gave
his first testimony to an Aydın court on Sept. 9, 2011.

In his latest account, EkÅ~_i told the judge: “I was told by Kıvanc
and his family, especially his uncle, to testify in his favor. On the
day of the incident we were installing chain-link fencing around the
station, under orders from our commanders. As we did our work, at some
point Agaoglu unlocked his rifle’s safety catch and aimed at our other
friend, Å~^ahin. Then he fired the rifle, wounding Å~^ahin. I do not
know why Kıvanc fired at Sevag.” The next hearing of the trial will
be on Feb. 13.

TURKEY NEEDS TO DEVISE A 2015 STRATEGY

Today’s Zaman
*.html
Jan 31 2012
Turkey

The recent step by France with respect to the 1915 incidents represents
a great victory for the Armenians before 2015, the 100th anniversary
of the incidents.

The rising image of France, which kept its promises to the Armenians,
may appeal to the leaders of other countries where the Armenian
diaspora has been active. Leaders who exerted efforts to attract the
support of Armenians in elections have more often than not changed
their attitude and stance after the elections; in most cases, they
failed to keep the promises they made during their election campaigns.

This situation has now been changed.

Yerevan welcomed the French move, as evidenced by joyous demonstrations
held around the French Embassy by Armenians and political party
representatives. In particular, old ladies hugged the French diplomats
and officers there and sobbed; this sends a clear message and signal
as to what sort of sensitivities should be held on the matter. Turkey,
which failed to appreciate and notice the growing French investments
in Armenia following an important visit by Nicolas Sarkozy to Yerevan
in October, was shocked by the French move and started new discussions
on French policy.

As these discussions now focus on what kind of attitude Turkey should
adopt vis-à-vis France, the Armenian side refers to this ironic
situation as surprising; it seems Turkey has been ignoring the main
points — that is to say, the 1915 and Armenian issues. Armenian
experts note that Turkey should develop dialogue with Armenia
immediately and recall that they do not understand why Turkey is
focusing on potential measures against France.

The Armenian authorities last year set up an international commission
for the remembrance and commemoration of the 100th anniversary of
the Armenian genocide; the commission has so far engaged in lobbying
activities and carried out a number of studies as well as completed
scientific research concerning 2015. Likewise, Armenia has intensified
its ties with the diaspora; to this end, they held meetings where they
decided to generate policies focusing on the link between Armenia,
the diaspora and Nagorno-Karabakh.

In fall 2011, at the Pan-Armenian Congress, where a number of Armenians
from different countries participated and which focused on the
intensification of ties with the diaspora, domestic and international
developments were discussed; the congress also discussed several
matters on youth, language and education, preparations towards the
100th anniversary of the genocide and improvement of relations with
the diaspora.

‘The diaspora should be fed by the homeland’

President Serzh Sarksyan, who said, “Our formulation is clear: We
want the maximum of the homeland opportunities for the diaspora and
the maximum of the diaspora opportunities for the homeland,” stated
the need for the diaspora and the importance attached to it at the
Pan-Armenian Congress as follows: “The diaspora and the homeland
should ensure their mutual survival. The diaspora should be fed by the
homeland in political, cultural, scientific, health and sports terms;
and the homeland should also be fed by the diaspora as well.”

The gains of Armenia and the diaspora may of course be linked to the
decision of the Jewish lobby in the West to no longer support Turkey.

However, this could only have a limited impact based on the political
reflex considering the intricate web of relations in the Caucasus,
particularly along the Israel-Azerbaijan and Iran axis. In addition,
some unexpected developments may take place with regard to the
Armenian genocide up until 2015. In this case, Turkey needs to devise a
short-term strategy on 2015 and drop its longstanding traditional and
routine policies. This strategy should complement the normalization
process with Armenia and focus on existing problems rather than
imitating the steps of the diaspora. Turkey should realize that
the publication of some books in response to thousands of scholarly
accounts on the historical aspect of the problem will not do anything
influential; instead, focusing on public diplomacy may alleviate the
fever. Considering that it is not possible to train genocide experts
in a very short time, it will be appropriate to rely on civilian
democracy and the improvement of economic relations.

Institutions which have firsthand ties with Armenia should be supported
to create a common bridge in Turkey. This should be considered in
reference to additional efforts on educational, economic, cultural
and political relations. As part of bilateral educational cooperation,
comprehensive programs may be developed to attract students in Turkish
studies departments in Armenia and Armenian youngsters who speak
the Turkish language. The Yunus Emre Institute has been pursuing a
similar strategy in a number of countries.

In order to improve commercial ties with Armenia, the relevant think
tanks focusing on economic affairs might be supported to resolve the
problems in bilateral commercial relations through joint action.

Considering that 70 percent of the Armenian people support this type
of action, it becomes apparent that immediate steps should be taken on
this matter. In cultural terms, an approach of civilian diplomacy by
which both sides would recognize each other should be advanced. The
parties and people who have never seen an Armenian or a Turk in
their whole life should be brought together. Political relations
will represent the final stage of this process, where Turkish foreign
policy will secure great achievements in this conflict-torn region.

By approaches that consider the sensitivities and demands of the
Armenian side without turning a blind eye to the reality and truth,
Turkey may gain a more prestigious place in the eyes of the Armenian
people than the one France has gained and facilitate the resolution
of common problems. An Armenia which has to buy agricultural devices
from Belarus will be able to have the chance of purchasing its needs
from Turkey after the resolution of its problems. If reconciliation
is desired, increased attention should be paid to the process of
normalization.

*Mehmet Fatih Oztarsu is a strategic outlook expert with the Yerevan
European Regional Academy.

STAY OUT OF KARABAKH, NALBANDIAN TELLS TURKEY

Hurriyet Daily News
Jan 31 2012

If Turkey wants to contribute Nagorno-Karabakh issue, it should stay
away from the process, Nalbandian says.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian called on Turkey to not
involve itself in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue if it wants to make
any contribution.

“If Turkey really wants to contribute to the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue, it should stay as far as possible from the
process,” Nalbandian said, according to the armradio website yesterday.

Responding to a question on the recent statement of Turkish Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu that France should withdraw from the OSCE
Minsk Group as it could no longer remain neutral, Nalbandian said,
“These are senseless statements. The bill adopted by the French Senate
is not directed against any concrete country.

“When Turkey says that only Armenians speak of genocide, it is the
same as to say that only Jews speak about Holocaust,” Nalbandian said,
adding that Turkey cannot keep the Armenian border closed forever. A
subcommittee on Nagorno-Karabakh under the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe (PACE) is likely to suspend, said the Armenian
delegation to PACE, according to the ArmeniaNow website.

“The newly appointed president of PACE, French Jean-Claude Mignon, is
believed to have a more pro-Armenian stance than the former president,
Turkish Mevlut CavuÅ~_oglu,” said the website, adding that Mignon
had offered to “reconsider the expediency of the subcommittee’s work.”

The PACE bureau proposed to discuss resumption of the subcommittee’s
work after discussing the issue with the delegations of Armenia and
Azerbaijan, according to the website. The subcommittee’s work on the
issue prevents the Minsk Group from having the “exclusive rights”
to the Karabakh issue settlement, according to the website.

FRENCH SENATORS APPEAL TO CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL OPPOSING GENOCIDE BILL

news.am
January 31, 2012 | 14:58

Constitutional Council of France accepted on Tuesday Senators’ appeal
against the bill criminalizing genocide denial, European Democratic
and Social Rally parliamentary group informed AFP.

Seventy-two signatures have been collected so far, although only 60
were enough, Le Figaro writes.

With a vote of 127 in favor and 86 against, France’s Senate passed
on January 23 criminalizes the denial of the genocides which this
country has formally recognized.

This bill sets a one-year prison sentence plus a 45-thousand-Euro fine
for anyone who denies these genocides. According to the regulations,
the French President will ratify it within fifteen days of the Senate’s
decision. And Turkey had announced earlier that if the bill were to
pass, it will impose a number of sanctions against France.

Constitutional Council can censor the law which it considers
unconstitutional if 60 appeals from the Senators are received.

The Council will decide whether the law is constitutional in a month.