Author: Kalantarian Kevo

CATHOLICOS ARAM I BLESSES PILBOS WALKATHON DURING SCHOOL VISIT

ASBAREZ
Monday, October 17th, 2011

Catholicos chats with students during Pilibos visit

More than $34,000 Raised In A True Grassroots Event, Proving That
“Pilibos Is Where It All Comes Together” Is A Worthy Motto!

LOS ANGELES-The Southland’s scorching heat didn’t stop over 800
students, faculty, parents and alumni of Rose & Alex Pilibos Armenian
School from walking 5 kilometers during their first ever Walk-A-Thon on
Thursday, October 13. The group, led by principal Dr. Alina Dorian and
joined by School Board Members, PTO volunteers and community leaders
and members, welcomed His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great
House of Cilicia, who after taking a brief tour of the school and
witnessing the artwork prepared for him by the students delivered
yet another inspiring and motivational message that had captivated
everyone present, He told the audience that the school is where faith
and spirituality are fostered and in reality, our schools ate the
bedrock and foundation on which our societies are built.

The organizers hoped to raise $30,000 to help offset tuition costs and
help pay for a variety of school enrichment programs. They exceeded
their goal, raising a little under $35,000, mostly via $25.00
sponsorships collected by the students.

“I am so proud of our students, teachers, parents, friends and the
whole Pilibos Team who took ownership of this Walk-A-Thon and made
it the success it turned out to be. The high spirit we witnessed
among our students today was fueled by the invigorating speech of
the Catholicos, who truly made youth empowerment the focal point of
his Pontifical visit. We are grateful to our Prelate, His Eminence
Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, who graciously obliged our request
to arrange for the Pilibos family to be graced by His Holiness’
blessings, on this important occasion ” said Dr. Alina Dorian.

Classes returned to campus only to continue the festivities with music
and dancing, following complimentary lunch served by Aslan’s catering.

“As students, we can’t wait to graduate, but once we are out the door,
we look for every little excuse to come back. I guess after all,
maybe it’s because this is where we made our first friends, this
is where we first learned the meaning of teamwork, this is where we
learned how to compete and excel, and this is where we experienced
many other “first lessons” of a life. So it was great to see our
alumni, whether spearheading the PTO, passing out water and snacks,
being major sponsors, or walking alongside our student as parents,
teachers, and supporters” President of Pilibos’ Alumni Association,
Suren Seropian said.

But without doubt, one of the major highlights of the day, was
the opportunity to “hang out” with Dr. Armand Dorian, star of many
television shows such as “Deadliest Warrior,” “Untold Stories of
the ER,” “Diagnosis X,” “Grays Anatomy,” “ER,” “Seven Signs,” &
“Extra’s Lifechangers.” When asked what was so special about Dr. Armand
Dorian, Mark Hamparsomian, a 9th grade student replied: “He is such a
great role model for us all. He is a famous actor, a very successful
physician, and a wonderful down to earth human being who finds time
to take part in community events. We are so proud to know him!”

Tazah Food Products, Closet World, Prime Vending, Carousel Restaurant,
Taleen Simon (Class of ’88), Los Angeles Protection Services, A.R.S.

Mayr Chapter, Onasis Jewelery, Kradjian Imports, Craters and
Freighters, MAC Hollywood, Novatex International, Karlubian Insurance,
Homenetmen LA Chapter, Levon Travel, and Kaiser Permanente were
generous sponsors of the walk.

ALIYEV SAYS KARABAKH CONFLICT IS UNPREDICTABLE, BIGGEST THREAT TO REGION

Tert.am
22:02 17.10.11

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is unpredictable and is the biggest
threat to the region, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an
interview with Al-Jazeera.

He said despite the achievement of the ceasefire agreement in 1994,
no peace has been achieved yet.

“That is the most dangerous conflict from point of view of
predictability. You cannot predict what will happen,” Aliyev said.

“Nagorno-Karabakh is a historic part of Azerbaijan. From legal point
of view all the international community considers Nagorno-Karabakh
as part of Azerbaijan.” Aliyev said.

Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan in 1991 which was followed
by a bloody war that left about 30,000 dead and more than a million
displaced. Currently Russia, the US and France are mediating talks
to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Ilham Aliyev further said that Azerbaijan is still hopeful that a
peaceful solution can be reached.

“But this solution must be based on international law. Territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan must be restored, Armenians should leave
all the occupied territories, Azerbaijanis should have a right to
return to all the territories of their original settlement, including
Nagorno-Karabakh,” he added.

Aliyev said the Nagorno-Karabakh can be granted the status of
autonomy. “There are good examples of autonomies in the world and in
Europe,” he said.

POLITICAL SUICIDE OF SERZH SARGSYAN

yerkir.am
17:16 – 17.10.2011

Demand of Robert Qocharyan’s return will not be even in coming years.

Member of “Inheritage” party Stepan Safaryan has this idea.

During his interview with “Yerkir” daily, the representative of the
opposition party told: “It took 10 years for Ter-Petrosyan to make
people have slightly mild attitude towards him”.

Drawing attention to the philosophy of Ter-Petrosyan’s return, Safaryan
said that Ter-Petrosyan considers himself a tool in the hands of the
authorities and not a new power, yet Qocharyan is neither a tool nor
a new power.

Talking about the demand of the society Safaryan said that first of all
our nation wants to be sure that our authorities are to be trusted and
“Qocharyan is not the one”.

“Even if there were some activation during Qocharyan’s presidency,
however the society was still not happy with it”, said the MP and
added that, surely, he can return by bloodshed, threats and scandals,
however, on the other hand, this is not 1998.

“Robert Qocharyan could have used this bluff in 1998”, said Safaryan
and added that “Although there are some positive things in second
and third presidents, but they have proven that are not able to rule
the country”.

To our question, if Serzh Sargzyan has a chance to vote either for
Robert Qocharyan or Levon Ter-Petrosyan, whom will he vote for?

Safaryan answered that by voting for Robert Qocharyan Serzh Sargsyan
will commit a suicide.

YEGPARIAN: OCCUPATION, LIBERATION
By: Garen Yegparian

Mon, Oct 17 2011

Nope, this article is not about the new movement that’s working to
take back the reins of government from Wall Street. It’s about a
strange juxtaposition, somewhat jarring, that exists in our Armenian
reality. It struck me on the two days of this past weekend.

Entrance to the “Anatolian Cultures and Food” festival I, with my
youngest brother to keep me well behaved, went to check out the
“Anatolian Cultures and Food” festival (October 6-9) held in Orange
County and the bitterness of occupation slapped me resoundingly. This
festival is a huge production. I find it hard to believe it is the
doing, exclusively, of the Pacifica Institute, whose name was plastered
all over the place. I’m convinced the Turkish government has a hand
in this (especially since a similar event has already taken place
in Melbourne, Australia). That same Turkish government currently
controls our lands, so they get away with representing the history,
reality, and culture of the region any which way they please. Hence,
that bitter taste of occupation.

Imagine, ambling down a walkway created by walls of history. One
side is written in English, the other, Turkish. Hittites, Phrygians,
Turks, and all other occupants of Asia Minor (NOT just Anatolia which,
as Richard Hovanissian pointed out recently, includes Anatolia and
the Armenian Plateau/highlands; the Turks are conflating the two for
their own nefarious reasons). Except, of course, we, the Armenians,
are largely missing. How is that possible? How is it possible to tell
the story of the Roman conquest of the Eastern Mediterranean without
ever mentioning Dikran the Great? It’s eminently possible if you’re
a liar, a historical revisionist, and a genocidal state striving at
all costs to avoid accountability.

After the walkway, on the right (the south end of the festival area),
the visitor is treated to reproductions (images printed on material
attached to framing) of parts of the Topkapi palace with pictures
of various artifacts inside. There was even a reading going on, from
what I assume was the Quran. Upon leaving this exhibit, I was struck
by the size ofthe festival area, probably on the order of at least
thrice the footprint of the Navasartian Games Homenetmen organizes
at Birmingham High School.

Continuing to the right, there was a food preparation show, with
audience participation, going on and dozens of dishes pictured on
the wall. Next door were some booths- Pacifica Institute, books, the
Turkish Journal, and the like. Then, the visitor turns right into the
food area with various vendors and some on the spot preparation in
traditional ways. Unfortunately, there was one booth with an Armenian
name. This may be good or bad, and I’ve already encountered arguments
on both sides of the issue. Regardless, it’s bad because it was not
done in consultation with our community institutions. A substantial
stage for various dance troupes and other performances bounds the
packed food area on the north.

Beyond lay the most frustrating and insulting exhibit… a
representation of Akhtamar. This is the height of cultural thievery,
despite mention of Armenians as the builders, though as minimally as
possible. Comically, the texts describing the church alternately used
its correct name or the Turkified “Akdamar”, sometimes in sequential
sentences! This is a clever Turkish revisionist tactic, essentially
saying “yeah, there are these things called Armenians, and a few of
them were around, even built a church, but they ain’t worth much
mention beyond that”. They thus insulate themselves somewhat from
criticism, but must be called out for every gimmick they use.

After Akhtamar, Constantinople, and other exhibits (all photographic
representations as I described Topkapi) are laid out on the northern
end of the festival area. Interspersed are booths with stone carving,
carpets, various locales soliciting tourism, etc. The northwest corner
was set up as a children’s playground. Finally, the western part had
numerous booths selling handcrafts, more tourism-hawking towns, and,
what might be the most interesting booth in this medley… an FBI
and DEA recruiting station!

But the festival exhibits are not the only aspects of the festival
that jarringly drove home the occupation of our homeland. The
positive propaganda garnered for Turkey is immense. I heard lots
of Farsi being spoken, followed by Arabic, three families speaking
(Western) Armenian, and I saw many East Asians and Europeans wandering,
gawking, and sampling. Add to this the lecture series proffered on
Saturday and Sunday which not only gave an intellectual veneer to
this propaganda-fest, but included a lecture by an Armenian titled
“Cultural legacy of Armenians in Anatolia and in the Ottoman Empire”.

For the same reasons as above, this presentation was out of line. It
allows Turkish propagandists to claim “even-handedness” when we appear
at their affairs. But again, I emphasize, the biggest problem with
this is that our community institutions were not consulted, while the
speaker’s biography referenced leadership posts held in some of our
organizations. This makes the organizations unwitting accomplices to
Turkish propaganda.

On the other end of the spectrum was liberation. The Artzakh
Development Group had organized a conference on Sunday at the
Glendale Public Library. Unfortunately, I could only attend the
first half. It was very informative with discussions of development,
propaganda activity by Azerbaijan in the scholarly war over that part
of our homeland, and the diplomatic front. The lineup of speakers
was impressive, as you’ve seen in media reports. But mostly, it spoke
to me of the possibilities that open up for progress towards a free,
independent, and united Armenia, when we actually control our lands
and even more importantly… when we live on them.

Next time, let’s thwart the Turks’ taking advantage of the occupation
of our lands.

UN OFFICE IN ARMENIA AND OXFAM UNITED EFFORTS TO PROMOTE POVERTY ERADICATION WORK

Noyan Tapan
17.10.2011

17 October 2011 – A photo exhibition “Eradication of Poverty after
20 years of independence” dedicated to the International Day of
Poverty Eradication, which was organized by the Oxfam and the UNDP,
UN Department of Public Information and the Food and Agriculture
Organization was opened today at the UN House.

Exhibited photos illustrated the challenges on the way of poverty
eradication, focusing on the achievements of the residents of distant
rural areas, who were supported by various charitable and development
programs.

The event was attended by the representatives of government and
international organizations, and the beneficiaries of programs held
by Oxfam and the UNDP, UNDPI and FAO, as well as the general public.

The UN Resident Coordinator Dafina Gercheva said: “October 17 presents
an opportunity to acknowledge the efforts and struggle of people living
in poverty; it’s a chance for them to make their concerns heard. UN
Institutions in Armenia will continue to support the country’s efforts
aimed to eradicate poverty. ”

Margarita Hakobyan, the director of Oxfam office in Armenia, said:
“All people in the world have the right to be fairly well-off. There
are sufficient resources in the world which are able to provide it.

Poverty is the consequence of inequality, and by overcoming it,
we will be able to eradicate poverty.”

The United Nations believes that for present and future generations
sustainable development must truly safeguard ecosystems at the same
time enabling economic and social progress. Sustainable development
will also build countries’ resilience to external shocks and protect
development gains.

The photo exhibition is organized in the framework of the series
of other joint events dedicated to poverty eradication which were
held on October 12th -17th in Yerevan and two regions of Armenia:,
Shirak and Vayots Dzor. These events were also initiated by Oxfam,
UNDP, UNDPI and FAO. The events were also supported by the network
of civil society organizations established by Oxfam, by other civil
society and international organizations.

The events were held under the slogan of Oxfam GROW global campaign
“Grow more, feed our country” aimed to promote local food production,
consumption, distribution, and management processes, as well as to
reduce disaster risks and prevent the negative impact of climate change
on agriculture as the most essential factor of poverty eradication.

***

The mission of Oxfam is to eradicate poverty and eliminate human
suffering. Since 1994, the organization, in close cooperation with
the government, dozens of local non-governmental organizations,
local and regional authorities, have implemented various humanitarian
and development programs in more than 165 remote rural communities
in Armenia.

The Commonwealth Civil Society Network celebrates its 10th anniversary
this year. The Network of 27 active member-NGOs has been established
in order to reveal and solve pressing issues and challenges related
to poverty eradication and it has ten years of success in different
fields.

Since 1992 the UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes in Armenia in
partnership with civil society and private sector, in line with
the main national development priorities, support the Government of
Armenia in its development efforts, introducing knowledge and best
practices from all over the world.

TURKEY PLANS TO OPEN NEW BORDER GATES WITH IRAN, IRAQ, GEORGIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 17, 2011 – 15:31 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Turkish Customs and Trade Minister Hayati Yazici
says the country plans to open new border gates with Iran, Iraq and
Georgia, Press TV reports.

Yazici said in Ankara that the project had already gone underway since
the volume of Turkey’s foreign trade had witnessed a considerable
growth and the available gates could not meet the demands.

The Turkish official noted that the gate with the Islamic Republic
would be set up at Dilucu region – in the eastern Turkey province of
Igdir – on the common border with Iranian province of West Azerbaijan.

The portal is expected to open up in 2013 as the fourth crossing
between the two countries.

Turkish and Iranian officials are planning a joint field visit soon
to decide on the exact location of the crossing, Yazici stated.

He added that the value of Iran-Turkey trade had surpassed USD 11
billion over the past eight years. Iranian and Turkish officials
have repeatedly voiced determination to enhance the volume to USD 30
billion in the coming years.

Yazici added that Ankara also planned to open four such gates with
Georgia and another four with Iraq.

The official noted that the past eight years had also seen a five-fold
rise in the amount Turkey’s trade with Georgia, while taking the
volume of bilateral trade with Iraq to USD 8 billion.

EMPORIO ARMANI PRO-ARMENIAN PROPAGANDA

Aysor.am
Monday,October 17

Turkish columnist of “Taraf” daily Roni Margulies told a very
ridiculous case in his story that happened in the Turkish island of
Avsha. According to the source a group of tourists who had visited the
island were arrested as they were wearing shirts from “Emporio Armani”.

The visitors were accused of making Armenian propaganda.

In some Turkish cities, including the island of Avsha, “Emporio Armani”
is translated as “Armenian Empire”. Police called three translators
who have also translated the famous brand name as “Armenian Empire”.

The columnist describes the scene of the tourists apologizing for
the incident and saying that they bought the shirts only because
“Emporio Armani” is a worldwide famous brand.

GERMAN SHEPHERD IS MOST POPULAR DOG IN ARMENIA

arminfo
Monday, October 17, 12:52

German shepherd is the most popular dog in Armenia, President of the
Association of Dog Breeders of Armenia Vanik Hakobyan told ArmInfo’s
correspondent during a dog exhibition in Yerevan on Sunday.

The other popular dogs are Rottweiler, Shar-Pei, pugdog, Yorkshire
terrier and chihuahua.

Hakobyan said that dog breeding is not a very lucrative business in
Armenia. “Our dog breeders lack experience and are unable to carry
out systematic work to improve the qualify of dogs,” he said.

It was the second dog exhibition in Armenia.

FRANCE ASSISTS SETTLEMENT OF THE NK CONFLICT WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF OSCE MINSK GROUP

ARMENPRESS
13:54, 17 October, 2011

France and the EU are for the continuation of the process of settlement
of the NK conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group,
Ambassador of France to Armenia Henri Reynaud told a news conference
today, adding that it is necessary to resume the dialogue in that
format.

He noted that every conflict has solution and it may be testified by
the French-German reconciliation after the World War II.

“It is a complicated path but it is the only one that promises
peace and prosperity, economic growth and dialogue in the region,”
the ambassador noted.

Referring to the initiative of the Azerbaijani side to build a
wall in the line of contact, Henri Reynaud said this example shows
the necessity of resuming the dialogue and searching ways for
reconciliation.

“The future of the region are open borders, dialogue and cooperation,”
the ambassador said.

AZERBAIJAN IS BEING DEFEATED WITH THE POLICY IT IS CONDUCTING

ARMENPRESS
14:59, 17 October, 2011

Azerbaijan is in chaotic situation, member of the Republican party’s
faction Hovhannes Sahakyan told a news conference today. “If we pay
attention to the policy of Azerbaijan we will see that it is being
defeated in all respects from the diplomatic viewpoint,” Sahakyan said,
adding that days ago Azerbaijanis stated that they are building a
wall over Nagorno Karabakh. “If building a wall Azerbaijan is trying
to solve the issue in military way, it cannot do it, and if with it
that country tries to point out the existing border, we will agree
with it,” the parliamentarian expressed opinion.

Speaking about the concessions by Azerbaijan and Armenia in the NK
issue, Sahakyan said that in every documents signed in the negotiation
process there were ways of concessions. “Saying concessions, it
is necessary to understand bilateral concessions. But we know that
Azerbaijan is not ready or does not want to do it agreed with the
inner and foreign political factors,” he said.