Author: Kalantarian Kevo

HOW AN ARMENIAN IN EGYPT DONATED A RARE COPY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT TO ISRAELI FILMMAKER

17:17, 12 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

A rare copy of the Tanach (Old Testament) that reached Israel in a
circuitous fashion and was donated to the University of Haifa by the
late film producer and well-known Israeli director Micha Shagrir, was
reunited with its “twin,” a copy of the same edition that was already
in the Rare Books Department of the University of Haifa’s library,
reads an article by Anav Silverman published by The Jewish Press.

When Shagrir informed the staff of the Younes and Soraya Nazarian
Library that he wanted to donate a 350-year-old copy of the Tanakh,
the staffers welcomed the idea, pleased that they could add another
antique edition of the Book of Books to the library’s collection. But
they were quite surprised to discover that the volume, which had
been printed in Germany in 1677, was a near-duplicate of a Tanach
the library already had.

While the two volumes were very similar, they were not identical. The
copy the library owned was narrow with almost no margins, the new
copy had wide margins, in which there were numerous notes written
in Latin, in tiny handwriting, by no less than 10 different readers
in the 17th and 18th centuries. The editor of the edition and source
of the commentary that accompanies the printed text was David Clodil
(1644-1684), a theologian and Hebraist – a Renaissance-era scientific
discipline in which Christian scholars studied the Hebrew sources of
Christianity in depth.

How the volume made its way from a 17th-century Frankfurt printing
press to finding its twin in Haifa is a fascinating story. As Shagrir
told it, a month after Egyptian President Anwar Sadat came to Israel
in November 1977, Shagrir and a group of other Israelis made a
secret trip to Egypt. Towards the end of the visit, as he was walking
through the streets of Cairo, he found himself in a store that sold
antique books. It turned out that the proprietor was not Egyptian,
but Armenian, and he was a big fan of a film Shagrir had recently
released about the Armenian genocide.

When the shopkeeper discovered that he was speaking to the producer
of that film, he gave Shagrir a wrapped copy of a book, but made him
promise not to open it until he returned to Israel. When he returned
and opened the package, he was stunned to find the ancient volume. So
nearly 350 years after it was printed, and 37 years after it arrived
in Israel, the volume of the Tanach was reunited with the copy held
by the University. Shagrir passed away last month on February 4 at
the age of 77.

VTB BANK (ARMENIA) SELLING HRAZDAN CEMENT PLANT

YEREVAN, March 12. / ARKA /. VTB Bank (Armenia) is negotiating
currently the sale of a cement plant in the town of Hrazdan, the bank’s
chief executive Yuri Gusev said in an interview with a local newspaper
‘Golos Armenii’ (Voice of Armenia).

The Russian-owned bank became the owner of the plant after its previous
owner Mikhail Baghdasarov declared the bankruptcy of Armavia airline,
which he also owned.

In 2014 the bank provided the plant with a loan that was instrumental
in resuming its operation. The plant’s products are sold in Iran,
Iraq, Europe and the Russian Federation.

According to Gusev, VTB Bank (Armenia) wants the plant to continue its
operation because the town of Hrazdan is actually a single-enterprise
town.

‘VTB Bank (Armenia) feels its social responsibility for the fate of
its residents,’ Gusev said. He said the bank will be assisting the
new owner of the cement plant in attracting international investor.

VTB Bank (Armenia) is a 100% subsidiary of Russian VTB Bank. It runs
67 branch offices throughout Armenia, more than any other local bank.

The bank’s assets in late 2014 stood at 379.6 billion drams (a 25.6%
year-on-year increase); its liabilities were worth 334.8 bln drams
(26.3% growth), total capital stood at 44.7 bln drams (20.2% growth),
loan investments – about 244.3 bln drams (11.6% increase). The 2014
profit of the bank amounted to 777.14 mln drams, as compared to 5.6
bln drams in 2013. ($1 – 479.54 drams).M.M.-0-

WELL-KNOWN POLITICAL PARTY MEMBERS IN AZERBAIJAN HAVE RECRUITED EXTREMISTS TO GO TO WAR IN SYRIA

11:16 12/03/2015 ” SOCIETY

As part of the program of fighting crime, the law enforcement
agencies of Azerbaijan have carried out their subsequent special
operation in Terter district unmasking an organized criminal group
of extremist nature, whose members propagate religious intolerance
and discrimination, as well as recruit the citizens of the country,
Azerbaijani information agency APA reports.

According to the article, a resident of the district has turned to the
Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan saying that his underage
son had been recruited by the members of radical religious movements
and sent to Syria where he fought for illegal armed groups.

With joint efforts, the Special police, the employees of General
Directorate for Combating Organized Crime in Azerbaijan, Terter
district police and the prosecutor’s office detained 4 members
of that organization: previously convicted Zulfugar Ibrahimov,
Mubariz Mirzaliyev, Shamseddin Abdullazade and Vugar Aliyev, the
agency reports.

According to the article, a machine-gun with two magazines, 800
grams of explosives, 9 hand grenades with fuses, 170 cartridges, a
significant amount of religious literature and discs which are banned
to spread, as well as other evidence was found and confiscated during
the search of their flats.

In its turn, Azerbaijani news outlet Haqqin.az highlights that two
of the above-mentioned four detained people are the comrades-in-arms
of well-known Azerbaijani MPs. Detained Vugar Sabiroglu Aliyev was a
deputy representative of the international affairs of the party Umid
headed by the MP Iqbal Agazade. Zulfugar Ibrahimov was the head of
the Terter branch of Great Establishment party, whose leader is the
Azerbaijani MP Fazil Mustafa.

Note that Azerbaijani terrorists are fighting in the ranks of various
terrorist groupings that operate in Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

According to the Azerbaijani news outlets, over the past three years
almost 200 Azerbaijani terrorists have been killed in Syria alone. The
outlets have more than once reported the liquidation of commanders
among Azerbaijani terrorists.

The relationship between international terrorist groups and Azerbaijan
originated in the early 1990s. That time, the Azerbaijani army, having
failed in the aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR),
retreated with losses. Trying to save the situation, the Azerbaijani
leadership, headed by Heydar Aliyev, attracted to the war against the
Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh international terrorists and members of
radical groups from Afghanistan (groupings of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar),
Turkey (“Grey Wolves”, etc.), Chechnya (groupings Basayev and Raduyev
etc.) and some other regions.

Despite the involvement of thousands of foreign mercenaries and
terrorists in the Azerbaijani army during the war, the Azerbaijani
aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh Republic failed, and the Baku
authorities were forced to sign an armistice with the NKR and Armenia.

However, international terrorists found ties in Azerbaijan, and used
them in the future. Recruitment was conducted among Azerbaijanis,
who then were sent to Afghanistan and the North Caucasus, where
participated in the battles against the forces of the international
coalition and Russian organizations. In recent years, the citizens of
Azerbaijan are actively involved in terrorist and extremist activities
in Russia, Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.

UN CONCERT LORS DU FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL > A BEYROUTH (LIBAN) DEDIE AU 100EME ANNIVERSAIRE DU GENOCIDE DES ARMENIENS

GENOCIDE DES ARMENIENS

Le 10 mars a l’initiative de l’Ambassade d’Armenie au Liban dans
le cadre du Festival international > s’est deroule
a Beyrouth le concert du groupe symphonique des jeunes musiciens
de l’Ensemble d’Etat d’Armenie dirige par Sergueï Smbadian. Concert
dedie au 100ème anniversaire du genocide des Armeniens. L’Ambassadeur
d’Armenie au Liban, Achot Kotcharian ainsi que des personnalites
politiques, de la culture et des arts etaient egalement presents au
concert. La soiree debuta par le discours du directeur artistique
du Festival, le chef d’orchestre italien Gianluca Marciano qui a
rappele le genocide des Armeniens en 1915 par le gouvernement turc
et evoque l’importance de la commemoration du 100ème anniversaire de
ce genocide. Il a egalement rappele les manifestations artistiques
et musicales liees au genocide des Armeniens dans le cadre du Festival.

Krikor Amirzayan

jeudi 12 mars 2015, Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

CHORRORD ISHKHANUTYUN: FORMER MP RAFIK PETROSYAN QUITS RPA

10:11 12/03/2015 >> DAILY PRESS

Rafik Petrosyan, former MP, one of the old members of ruling Republican
Party of Armenia, has withdrawn from the party.

Speaking to Chorrord Ishkhanutyun, Petrosyan said that he does not
attend the party’s working meetings.

The newspaper notes that the party did not support the former MP when
his son was arrested on charges of attempted murder and this might
be the reason behind his decision.

Source: Panorama.am

WARLICK: INTERESTS OF PEOPLE OF KARABAKH WILL HAVE TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT

16:33, 12.03.2015

“The situation along the Line of Contact remains tense, but has
stabilized since the end of January. We urge the sides to strictly
adhere to the ceasefire to create a more conducive atmosphere for
peace negotiations.”

The OSCE Minsk Group US Co-Chair, James Warlick, noted the
aforementioned speaking to APA news agency of Azerbaijan.

“The Presidents [of Armenia and Azerbaijan] confirmed their commitment
to the peaceful resolution of the conflict, and they agreed to consider
proposals to strengthen the ceasefire. (…) We are hopeful that the
sides can agree to these and other measures.

“The interests of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh will have to be taken
into account in a negotiation process. This is why the Co-Chairs
travel to Nagorno-Karabakh and meet with the de facto authorities
and other members of the community.

“We hope to bring the two Foreign Ministers together at the appropriate
time, and are in close contact with them. While we believe such
dialogue is useful, it is ultimately their decision whether to meet.

“At the Paris Summit in October 2014, the Presidents committed to
intensify their dialogue this year. They reaffirmed their readiness to
meet later this year during the Co-Chairs’ recent trip to the region.

We are working with the Foreign Ministers to prepare a substantive
agenda for the Presidents’ next meeting in order to narrow differences
between the sides on the key issues of a settlement,” Warlick also
noted, in particular.

PRESS RELEASE
Date: March 10, 2015

KNIGHTS OF VARTAN
Contact: Taniel Koushakjian
Email: [email protected]
Web:

KNIGHTS OF VARTAN ANI LODGE TO HOLD FINAL LECTURE MARKING THE 100th
ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Final Lecture to take place at George Washington University Law School on
March 19, 2015

WASHINGTON, DC – As previously reported, the Knights of Vartan-Ani Lodge
in Washington, DC has begun a three-part academic series of lectures
touching upon different aspects of the Armenian Genocide. The first and
second lectures featured Professor Christopher Simpson, a professor of
Journalism from the School of Communications at American University, who
discussed `Oil, Politics, and the Genocide in Armenia: The First World War
Retrospect,’ on January 29, 2015 at American University in Washington, DC,
and on February 26, 2015, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia,
respectively.

The third and final lecture will feature Dr. Gregory Stanton, Research
Professor in Genocide Studies and Prevention, George Mason University, for
a presentation on `Why Denial Violates the Genocide Convention: The
Genocides of Armenians, Native Americans, and Tutsis in Rwanda.’ The
lecture will take place on Thursday, March 19, 2015 at The George
Washington University Law School, Michael K Young Faculty Conference
Center, 2000 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20052 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

`The Knights of Vartan and the entire Washington, DC Armenian American
community is grateful to Professor Simpson, Dr. Stanton and these esteemed
universities for advancing genocide and holocaust education in our nation’s
capital,’ stated Ani Lodge Commander Jake Bournazian. `Engaging the
American public is a critical part of genocide education efforts. It is
important to show the relationship of the Armenian Genocide to other
genocides so that we can prevent future crimes against humanity in the 21st
century,’ Bournazian said.

Professor Stanton served as a Foreign Service Officer in the State
Department from 1992 to 1999, where he drafted the UN Security Council
Resolutions (955 and 978) that created the International Criminal Tribunal
for Rwanda. In 1992, he also drafted the UN Peacekeeping Resolutions that
helped end the Mozambique civil war from 1977 to 1992

After the U.S. voted against the International Criminal Court in Rome in
July, 1998, Stanton decided to create Genocide Watch, the International
Campaign to End Genocide, the first international anti-genocide coalition,
which was launched in 1999 at the Hague Appeal for Peace. After resigning
from the State Department, Stanton served as co-chair of the Washington
Working Group for the International Criminal Court, which successfully
lobbied President Clinton to sign the Rome Treaty of the International
Criminal Court. Stanton has been deeply involved in the U.N.-Cambodian
government negotiations that have brought about creation of the Khmer Rouge
Tribunal, for which he has drafted internal rules of procedure and
evidence. Stanton served as the President of the International Association
of Genocide Scholars from 2007 to 2009 and Vice President from 2005 to 2007.

All three lectures are produced by the Knights of Vartan Ani Lodge, in
cooperation with American University, George Mason University School of
Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Washington University Law School,
and with the support of our sponsors, the Armenian Assembly of America,
Armenian Bar Association, the National Association for Armenian Studies and
Research, and Genocide Watch. Historical and archival material provided by
the Armenian National Institute.

Space is limited and RSVP is required. Online registration is available
through Eventbrite: Live webcasting will be
available online: For media inquiries please contact
Knights of Vartan Ani Lodge at [email protected].

###
PR#: 2015-03

PERINCEK LAUNCHES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIAL CAMPAIGN IN LATIN AMERICA

19:10, 11 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Turkish nationalist Dogu Perincek has left for Latin America to launch
an Armenian Genocide denial campaign.

Members of the Turkish delegation visited Mexico, where they met with
representatives of the country’s main opposition party, Ermenihaber.am
reports, quoting Ulusal Kanal.

According to the report, the steps to be taken against the
international recognition of the Armenian Genocide were discussed.

The Turkish delegates will try to turn the conference to be organized
by the Mexican opposition party into a platform for denying the
Armenian Genocide.

EUROPE TREATS ARMENIA AS AN IMPORTANT COUNTRY: POLAND’S AMBASSADOR

18:41, 11 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

The next summit of the EU Eastern Partnership Programme will take
place in Riga on May 21-22. “Clear decisions should be made at this
summit,” Poland’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to
Armenia Jerzy Nowakowski said at a discussion in Yerevan. He said
the EU aims to find out its real partners.

Will Armenia participate in the Riga Summit? What will Armenia offer
the EU and what will the EU offer Armenia?

Armenia is treated by the European states as an important country,
the Ambassador said. According to him, Armenia is comprehensible and
familiar to many Europeans.

“The Eastern Partnership is also a political program; therefore,
the countries willing to be part of the program, should beready to
come closer to political Europe,” Amb. Nowakowski said.

The Ambassador said he hopes Armenia, which is now in the stage of
discussions and negotiations, will clarify its stance with the EU
and the scope of cooperation.

According to him, it is necessary to understand that Armenia’s joining
the Eastern Partnership Programme concerns the political part, and
it cannot apply to the economic aspect.

“This is the decision of the Armenian government and people and
whatever decision is made, we will welcome and support it,” said
the Ambassador.

VIGEN SARGSYAN: “I HOPE “AURORA” WILL BECOME ONE OF MOST PRESTIGIOUS GLOBAL AWARDS”

Vigen Sargsyan
Photo: Press service of the Armenian President

Interviews | March 11, 2015 14:29
EXCLUSIVE

Mediamax’s interview with Secretary of the State Commission on the
coordination of events dedicated to the Armenian Genocide Centennial,
Chief of Staff of the Armenian President Vigen Sargsyan.

– Ruben Vardanyan, Noubar Afeyan and Vartan Gregorian announced the
launch of 100 LIVES initiative in New York on March 10. What is your
attitude to it?

– First of all, I would like to sincerely congratulate the initiators
of the program on its successful launch.

Ruben Vardanyan informed President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and
a number of members of the State Commission about the 100 LIVES
initiative back in 2014. The head of state and the members of the
commission welcomed it.

In my opinion, it’s a large-scale program, which links the past,
present and future in an interesting way and which is an important
component of the efforts taken by global Armenians this year. We wish
the program to attain the set goals, and the Armenian authorities
stand ready to render all relevant support for it.

-“Aurora” Prize for Awakening Humanity has been established within
the program, and it will be co-chaired by Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel
and actor George Clooney. How do you assess the involvement of such
figures in the program, which is rooted in the remembrance of the
Armenian Genocide Centennial?

– The involvement of celebrities and recognized experts in the
sphere of human rights and prevention of crimes against humanity
is another proof that the recognition of the Armenian Genocide –
the first genocide in the 20th century – is an international issue
and more and more people start pondering over how our world would be
had the extermination of Armenians been duly condemned. It has been
long obvious that all attempts of Turkey to “localize” the Armenian
Genocide topic are doomed to failure, and over the years this topic
does not lose it relevance, but on the contrary, draws the attention
of as many people as possible.

The co-chairs and members of the jury of “Aurora” prize will award
those people and organizations who commit efforts to save human lives,
and the fact the ceremony will be annually held in Yerevan on April
24 is highly symbolic. I hope that over the years “Aurora” will become
one of the most prestigious humanitarian prizes in the world.

Ara Tadevosyan talked to Vigen Sargsyan