Author: Kalantarian Kevo

Daily Sabah, Turkey
Jan 9 2015

Pro-Assad photo exhibition at UN headquarters draws criticism

Hagop Vanesian, an Armenian-Syrian, opened photograph exhibition in
the U.N.’s Headquarter in New York. The photos, according to the
claims of the opposition groups, were pro-Assad as the photographer
allegedly has been embedded with the regime forces in Aleppo at the
time of taking the photos. The U.N. representative of the opposition
Syrian National Coalition Najib Ghadbian called the photographer a
propagandist. “I just photograph the suffering of the people,”
Vanesian told the Associated Press in response to Ghadbian’s remarks.
However, the exhibition is sponsored by the Syrian regime. The
exhibition was displayed yesterday including the photos of the ruined
Aleppo, including captions that mention “terror groups.” The Syrian
regime calls the opposition ‘terrorist.’ The photographer, Vanesian,
also said some of the groups, fighting in Aleppo against the regime,
were labeled as terrorist also by the Western countries. However, the
opposition group’s representative was frustrated and called the U.N.
to “correct this grave mistake.” A spokeswoman for Ghadbian, Katie
Guzzi, said they had not had an official response from the U.N.
Ghadbian said the photos paint Syria’s government as a victim, not an
aggressor. In the letter sent by the opposition representative to the
U.N. it was said that “The Syrian Mission uses Mr. Vanesian’s
photography to whitewash the regime’s war crimes and perpetuate its
narrative: that it is a victim rather than the primary perpetrator of
death and destruction in Syria. Indeed Mr. Vanesian has praised Syrian
dictator Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma al-Assad and uses his
photographs to tell a false story of the Assad’s self-proclaimed
humanitarianism. In thanks for his pro-regime activities, Mr. Vanesian
is awarded access to and is at times embedded with Syrian regime
forces in Aleppo. Mr. Vanesian’s photographs include images of the
destruction and suffering in Syria, the undeniable consequence of the
Assad regime’s brutal war on the Syrian people. The “My Homeland”
exhibit perpetuates a pro-Assad narrative; it is shameful that the
U.N. Headquarters will be host to this. By agreeing to host this
Syrian-regime sponsored exhibition, the U.N. violates the policy
governing the United Nations Exhibit Committee, which demands that
“all exhibits must be compatible with the aims, purposes and
principles of the U.N.” There is no question that the proposed “My
Homeland” event is incompatible with the principles of an institution
dedicated to international peace and security. On behalf of the
National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces and all
of those Syrians working for a democratic, peaceful future for their
country, I ask that you cancel the “My Homeland” exhibit.”

The fighting in Syria that began with protests against Assad in 2011
has killed more than 200,000 people and forced millions to flee. U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has accused both the Syrian government
forces and opposition forces of targeting civilians, though former
U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay last year said atrocities by the
Syrian government “far outweigh” crimes by opposition fighters.

Vanesian, who was born in Aleppo and has been a volunteer photographer
with the aid group Syrian Arab Red Crescent, said he left the divided
northern city eight months ago. Last summer, he posted photos of
Facebook of him shaking hands with Syria’s ambassador to the U.N., as
well as black-and-white portraits of the ambassador, Bashar Ja’afari.
“The war in Syria changed my life but not my principals,” Vanesian’s
Twitter profile says. The U.N. officials have not made any immediate
comment on the issue.

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Jan 9 2015

Turkish nationalist committee barred from entering Athens

ANKARA

The Talat PaÃ…?a Committee, a Turkish nationalist organization aiming to
counter recognition of the 1915 events as the “Armenian genocide,” has
been refused entry to Athens, where it had gone to issue a statement
in protest at a recently approved Greek bill.

The members of the committee left for Athens on Jan. 9 with the aim of
making a statement in front of the Greek Parliament, but returned by
the Greek authorities.

The committee wanted to protest and demand the withdrawal of a
controversial bill approved by Greece’s parliament in September that
stiffens penalties for racially motivated crime and criminalizes the
denial of genocide and war crimes.

The delegation of 13 people was intercepted by police at the airport
and prevented from entering the city for `security reasons.’ They were
sent back to Turkey on the next flight.

Speaking to reporters in a news conference, Turkish Foreign Minister
Mevlüt ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu said anyone must be able to hold peaceful
demonstrations, while refuting allegations that Ankara had tried to
block the committee’s visit to Greece.

Perinçek case

ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu also commented on a European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
case between Switzerland and Turkey’s Workers’ Party (Ä°P) Chairman
DoÄ?u Perinçek.

He said he would prefer Perinçek, who is banned from going abroad in
relation to an ongoing coup case, to be able to attend an ECHR appeal
hearing on an Armenian genocide denial-related case.

ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu said he had expressed the same view in a phone conversation
with Perinçek, but noted that the local court in Turkey would make the
final decision.

Perinçek was found guilty by a Swiss court on March 9, 2007, after his
participation in a number of conferences in Switzerland in 2005,
during which he publicly denied that the Ottoman Empire had
perpetrated the crime of genocide against the Armenian people.

Following the Swiss court’s decision, Perinçek appealed to the ECHR in
2008 in Strasbourg, arguing for `freedom of expression.’

However, Perinçek is currently prevented from leaving Turkey after
being jailed in connection with the `Ergenekon’ coup plot case.

`The process is in the [Turkish] Supreme Court’s hands now,’ ÇavuÃ…?oÄ?lu said.

The foreign minister also stressed that Turkey would `defend its
thesis in the best way possible’ in the upcoming months.

January/09/2015

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Jan 8 2015

Israel denies so-called “Armenian genocide”

8 January 2015, 23:31 (GMT+04:00)
By Sara Rajabova

Israeli ambassador to Baku says his country does not intend to
recognize the so-called “Armenian genocide”.

Rafael Harpaz was commenting on some Israeli politicians’ calls to the
government to recognize the so-called “Armenian genocide”.

“Israel is a democratic country, everybody has two opinions, not one
opinion. The government has a very clear opinion,” he told Trend
Agency.

He said Israel never recognizes and does not intend to recognize the
so-called “Armenian genocide”.

“But regarding the government, its policy is very clear and it was
earlier stated by foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman,” Harpaz said.

He also expressed hope for improvement of relation with Turkey
touching upon the unsatisfactory political relations between Tel-Aviv
and Ankara.

“There are enough common interests and issues in the world for us to
cooperate. I would like to take an example of Turkish Airlines.
Turkish Airlines is the biggest foreign airline which is active in
Israel. Istanbul is the biggest hub for Israelis. The same goes for
tourism, trade which is up. We hope that our political relations with
Turkey will improve,” he said.

Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that Turkey’s predecessor, the
Ottoman Empire has allegedly carried out “genocide” against Armenians
living in Anatolia in 1915.

Armenia commemorates the alleged genocide on April 24 each year. The
Armenians are going to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the myth in
2015.

Strengthening the efforts to promote the so-called “genocide” in the
world, Armenians have achieved a recognition for its empty claim by
the parliaments of some countries.

Turkey supports the creation of a joint historical commission to
investigate the events of 1915, but Armenia is unwilling to disclose
its archives as it fears revealing what the archives may hold.

Albany Times Union, NY
Jan 9 2015

David Bournazian, Mohonasen’s renowned music teacher and band leader, dies

By Brittany Horn

In David Bournazian’s 41-year tenure at Mohonasen Central School
District, his office was rarely empty.

Students would pack into the music director’s office at the far end of
the school over the lunch hour, talking to him and waiting to hear
Bournazian’s well-known refrain, “Attitude is the key to success.”

“There would be 40 kids in there eating lunch with him at a time when
teachers are saying they can’t reach the kids,” said John Murray, a
longtime friend, student and fellow band staff member. “It didn’t
matter what year or generation they were. It happened all the time.”

Editor’s note: Read a remembrance from Mike Guzzo, Mohonasen Class of
1995, who invites readers to share their memories of “B.”

Bournazian, who died at his home at the age of 86 Thursday, leaves
behind a strong musical career and an even greater legacy of success
with Mohonasen students. Since the announcement of his father’s death,
his son, George Bournazian, said he has received upwards of 800 emails
from former students and friends offering condolences and quoting his
father. The longtime educator is survived by his two sons, George
Bournazian, of Cary, N.C., and Jacob Bournazian, of Washington, D.C.,
and four grandchildren.

But the community that will remember him stretches far beyond the
confines of family, George Bournazian said.

In April 2014, alumni of the Mohonasen jazz band returned from various
locations around the country for a “Tribute Concert to Mr. B” that
packed the First Unitarian Society of Schenectady Church to capacity.
Current and former students, their parents, band bus drivers, friends
and family all came to see what would be Bournazian’s last show.

George Bournazian remembers that night vividly, as former band members
— most not professional musicians, he added — spent less than 24 hours
preparing for a concert expected to last about an hour and a half and
performed at the standard his father expected. True to form, the
concert stretched from 7:30 p.m. until 10:15 p.m., and yet, no one was
moving from their seats, George Bournazian said.

“Dad turned to the audience and said ‘You know, there’s this one tune
we didn’t get a chance to rehearse at all. What do you say we find out
how good these guys are?’ ” George Bournazian said, laughing. They
finished the song, and then a few more encores before a saxophone
player called up The Stockade Inn and asked the staff to stay open
late for the huge crowd.

“No one wanted to go home yet,” George Bournazian said. His father and
brother didn’t return home from “the high school reunion on steroids”
until about 1:30 a.m. that night.

Though his musical talents and expertise are what many will remember
him for, George said it’s impossible to forget the kindness and
compassion his father showed to students of all walks of life. He said
it wasn’t uncommon for a student to spend a Friday or Saturday night
hanging out with Bournazian’s family, especially if Bournazian
believed a kid was “heading down the wrong road.”

His compassion and spirit drew people to him like a magnet, his son said.

“Dad always had a way of getting the best out of anybody,” he said.
“He didn’t treat his kids any differently either. It was tremendous.”

The family will receive visitors from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday at
the Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Church, 255 Spring Ave., Troy and
will hold a memorial service at 10 a.m. Monday at the church. The
family asks that memorial donations be made to Holy Cross Armenian
Apostolic Church or the David Bournazian Memorial Scholarship Fund,
which provides support for two Mohonasen Central School District
seniors to study music privately.

Bournazian originally funded the scholarship with his own money in
order to help local students with natural talent pursue their musical
careers.

“He was old school,” Murray said, “and old school is alright.”

Medical Xpress
Jan 9 2015

Study IDs two genes that boost risk for post-traumatic

Why do some people develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while
others who suffered the same ordeal do not? A new UCLA discovery may
shed light on the answer.

UCLA scientists have linked two gene variants to the debilitating
mental disorder, suggesting that heredity influences a person’s risk
of developing PTSD. Published in the February 2015 edition of the
Journal of Affective Disorders, the findings could provide a
biological basis for diagnosing and treating PTSD more effectively in
the future.

“Many people suffer with post-traumatic stress disorder after
surviving a life-threatening ordeal like war, rape or a natural
disaster,” explained lead author Dr. Armen Goenjian, a researcher at
the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. “But
not everyone who experiences trauma suffers from PTSD. We investigated
whether PTSD has genetic underpinnings that make some people more
vulnerable to the syndrome than others.”

In 1988, Goenjian, an Armenian American, raced to Spitak, Armenia,
after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake devastated the country. The temblor
leveled entire towns and cities, killing more than 25,000 Armenians,
two-thirds of them children.

With support from the Armenian Relief Society, Goenjian and his
colleagues helped establish a pair of psychiatric clinics that treated
earthquake survivors for 21 years. A dozen multigenerational families
in northern Armenia agreed to allow their blood samples to be sent to
UCLA, where Goenjian and his colleagues combed the DNA of 200
individuals for genetic clues to psychiatric vulnerability.

In 2012, his team discovered that PTSD was more common in survivors
who carried two gene variants associated with depression. In the
current study, Goenjian and first author Julia Bailey, an adjunct
assistant professor of epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of
Public Health, focused on two genes called COMT and TPH-2 that play
important roles in brain function.

COMT is an enzyme that degrades dopamine, a neurotransmitter that
controls the brain’s reward and pleasure centers, and helps regulate
mood, thinking, attention and behavior. Too much or too little
dopamine can influence various neurological and psychological
disorders.

TPH-2 controls the production of serotonin, a brain hormone that
regulates mood, sleep and alertness–all of which are disrupted in
PTSD. Antidepressants called SSRIs, or selective serotonin re-uptake
inhibitors, which were designed to treat depression, target serotonin.
More physicians are prescribing SSRIs to treat disorders beyond
depression, including PTSD.

“We found a significant association between variants of COMT and TPH-2
with PTSD symptoms, suggesting that these genes contribute to the
onset and persistence of the disorder,” said Goenjian. “Our results
indicate that people who carry these genetic variants may be at higher
risk of developing PTSD.”

The team used the most recent PTSD criteria from the American
Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic manual to measure genes’ role in
predisposing someone to the disorder. The new criteria increased
estimates of a person’s predisposition for PTSD to 60 percent;
estimates based on older criteria reached only 41 percent.

“Assessments of patients based upon the latest diagnostic criteria may
boost the field’s chances of finding new genetic markers for PTSD,”
said Goenjian. “We hope our findings will lead to molecular methods
for screening people at risk for this disorder and identify new drug
therapies for prevention and treatment.”

Still, Goenjian cautioned, PTSD is likely caused by multiple genes and
studies should be continued to find more of the genes involved.

PTSD affects about 7 percent of Americans and became a pressing health
issue for a large percentage of war veterans returning from tours in
Iraq and Afghanistan.

“A diagnostic tool based upon PTSD-linked genes would greatly help us
in identifying people who are at high risk for developing the
disorder,” Goenjian said. “Our findings may also help scientists
uncover more refined treatments, such as gene therapy or new drugs
that regulate the chemicals associated with PTSD symptoms.”

Conservative HQ
Jan 9 2015

So Much For “The Religion Of Peace”

In the aftermath of 9/11, President George W. Bush used the phrase
“religion of peace” to describe Islam and attempted to sell the idea
that the terrorists who perpetrated that crime were perverting the
religious beliefs of the great majority of Muslims.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

As the authors of “Catholic Answers” explain, “The usual meaning of
Islam in Arabic is not ‘peace’ but ‘submission.’ And if the terrorists
were so far outside the mainstream, why did Muslims all over the world
burst into joyful, spontaneous celebrations when the hijacked
jetliners slammed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon? Why
are Islamic governments afraid to show ‘too much’ public support for
the war against terrorism?”

Indeed why did our alleged ally Pakistan harbor bin Laden for years
and why does it continue to harbor other Muslim terrorists?

The fact of the matter is that the great Armenian Genocide of the
early 20th century, the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran
in 1979, the fatwa condemning author Salman Rushdie to death for
blasphemy, the attack on the USS Cole, the 1998 embassy bombings in
Kenya and Tanzania, 9/11, Major Nidal Hassan’s terror attack at Ft.
Hood, Texas, the reign of terror unleashed by the Islamic State in
Syria and Iraq, the atrocities committed in Africa by Boko Haram and
the murder of the journalists of the French satirical magazine Charlie
Hebdo are all very much within the mainstream of Muslim thought.

Americans are uniquely unqualified to be engaged in a religious war.
The very idea of a religious war goes against our history as a
sanctuary for the religiously oppressed – the Pilgrims coming to New
England and Catholics coming to Maryland to find religious freedom –
and it goes against the Constitution that enshrined that history in
the very law that governs our government.

Yet, the very religious tolerance that is enshrined in the
Constitution is exactly what radical Islamists use to inflame passion
in their followers and recruit new jihadis.

What’s more, this opposition to religious freedom and freedom of
speech is becoming a worldwide movement among Muslims – it is not just
limited to a few Islamist radicals out on the fringes of society.

As the Associated Press reported, “At the al-Azhar mosque in Cairo,
which is considered to be the primary seat of Sunni Muslim learning
and a traditional voice of ‘moderation’, Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb is
calling for an international law that ensures respect for religions
and criminalizes blasphemy.”

As AP writers Hamza Hendawi and Lara Jakes noted, “…even the voices of
moderation on the issue [of freedom of speech] are in agreement with
the militants that… the latest French cartoons demeaning Muhammad and
the Danish caricatures before them cannot be tolerated as freedom of
speech.”

So, it is time to ask the question, can the curbing of free speech and
free expression through violence or threats of violence happen here in
America?

The answer is it is already happening — even in the aftermath of the
Charlie Hebdo massacre in France, major news outlets in America,
including FOX, refused to publish the cartoons that allegedly
“blaspheme the Profit.” (Kudos to The Washington Post for not engaging
in that kind of self-censorship.)

In France entire towns and neighborhoods in France are de-facto
Islamic mini-states practicing Sharia Law. They are also no-go zones
for non-Muslims. The same is true in Holland, Denmark, Sweden, the UK,
Belgium and Germany.

It is naive to believe that could not (and is not) happening in America.

Muslims using food stamps in Minnesota are demanding that the welfare
program be required to meet the stringent requirement of the Islamic
diet, which does not allow pork products to be eaten. Proto-no-go
zones already exist in New York, Michigan, California, Texas, New
Jersey, Maryland, Minnesota and Virginia. The Islamic radicals are
mostly biding their time, waiting to achieve critical mass.

Islam, as it is today practiced by millions of Muslims across the
globe, is inimical to the separation of church and state and
government based on constitutional liberty. We are in a war of ideas,
not just with radical Islamists, but with concepts deeply embedded in
Muslim culture. And as long as mass legal (and illegal) immigration
from Muslim countries continues unabated we are losing that war.

EUobserver.com
January 6, 2015 Tuesday 10:33 AM GMT

[Opinion] Eastern partnership countries: Democracy in limbo

As we enter 2015 it is worth taking another look at the political
developments in the EU’s neighbourhood.

A glance shows us that democracy progress in the Eastern Partnership
countries EURO ” Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and
Belarus EURO ” has been uneven.

There are big differences between the six countries, although they are
governed by the same EU policy EURO ” the Eastern Partnership Initiative.

Nevertheless, looking at the trends in the past years, it seems the
countries of the region can be divided into two groups.

Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine – which signed Association Agreements
with the EU last summer – show higher standards of democracy than the
other three countries; Armenia, Belarus, and Azerbaijan.

Moldova

In the past years Moldova has clearly been the frontrunner, showing
higher standards of conduct of elections, political freedoms and human
rights. It tops the latest European Integration Index for Eastern
Partnership countries.

The pro-European coalitions that have been running Moldova since 2009
demonstrated political will to reform and have achieved a lot.

In the recent parliamentary elections, the pro-European parties again
won a majority, though the vote was close this time.

Moldova was also the first country in the region to adopt
anti-discrimination legislation in line with EU requirements. It also
made significant progress in fighting corruption and reforming the
judiciary.

Georgia

Georgian political elites have also demonstrated willingness to
integrate with the EU. Despite significant democracy shortcomings
during Mikhail Saakashvili EURO ™s presidency, the country implemented
certain reforms successfully and has begun to tackle corruption and to
reform the judiciary and the public service.

The pro-European coalition that has been in power since 2011 is
continuing this course despite the most recent internal turmoil.

In the latest edition of the Bertelsmann Stiftung EURO ™s Transformation
Index (BTI), which analyses transformation processes towards democracy
and a market economy in 129 developing and transition countries,
Georgia made the largest gains in political transformation in the
Eurasian region since 2011.

Ukraine

Ukraine, however, has been rocked by turbulence in recent years. The
inability of the EURO ~Orange EURO ™ political elites to institutionalise
democratic achievements led to the consolidation of authoritarian
trends during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych between 2010 and
2014.

It was only due to the Euromaidan protests that that opportunities for
reform arose.

In October 2014 Ukraine managed to hold free and fair elections. Yet
it remains a highly dysfunctional state which has to overcome
corruption and promote the rule of law.

Armenia

In 2008, Armenia saw a brutal crackdown on peaceful protests against
alleged electoral fraud yet it has since seen an improvement both in
the conduct of elections and media freedom.

The country also managed to make some progress on reforming the
judiciary, fighting corruption and improving public administration.

Armenia actively pursued rapprochement with Brussels until September
2013 when President Serzh Sargsyan announced that closer ties with the
EU was no longer on his agenda.

In October last year, Armenia became a member of the Eurasian Economic
Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Azerbaijan and Belarus

Azerbaijan and Belarus remain highly authoritarian states where human
rights and political freedoms are suppressed.

According to some estimates, there are around 142 political prisoners
in Azerbaijan yet its position as an exporter of oil and gas allows
the country to ignore criticism coming from the West.

While Belarus is subject to EU sanctions, Azerbaijan enjoys extensive
cooperation with the EU in the field of energy.

Azerbaijan negotiated an Association Agreement with the EU but then
dropped the idea and proposed an alternative strategic modernisation
partnership. Brussels EURO ™ leverage in both countries is limited and the
prospects of democratisation remain gloomy.

Civic engagement

Political will and a strong civil society combined with pro-EU public
opinion appear to be key factors for successful democratisation.
Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine serve as good examples.

Where the survival of the regime is at stake, however, democracy has
no chance of succeeding. Azerbaijan, Belarus, Armenia and Ukraine
during the Yanukovych presidency demonstrate this very clearly.

The political elites in these countries have sustained their power
through clientelistic networks, corruption, and elimination of
political freedoms. Liberalisation of the political environment would
undermine the pillars that uphold the regime.

Only a strong push from within such a system can challenge it.

Eastern partnership countries and democracy

There is also an interesting relationship between the Association
Agreements (AAs) with the EU and the state of democracy in the Eastern
Partnership countries.

Commitment to European integration and the political will to implement
reforms seem to go hand-in-hand. The AAs serve both to recognise the
reforms that have taken place in some of the eastern neighbourhood
countries, and as a tool to push for further change.

Georgia, Moldova and post-Euromaidan Ukraine have taken this path.

>From this perspective the gap between the three countries that have
signed the AAs and the other three, which have opted for other
arrangements, might grow over time.

Iryna Solonenko is a DAAD/Open Society Foundations Scholar at the
European University Viadrina, Frankfurt/Oder. She is also part of the
Bertelsmann Stiftung EURO ™s Transformation Thinkers network.

Mathieu Madénian, the French Armenian columnist, who escaped the
Charlie Hebdo attack

20:39, 08 Jan 2015

French Armenian comedian and columnist Mathieu Madénian escaped the
Wednesday attack on the French Charlie Hebdo magazine.

Mathieu Madénian, comedian and columnist at Charlie Hebdo since
September, attended “The new edition of Canal +” Wednesday afternoon.
Very moved after the attack that hit the magazine that morning, he
shared his impressions, the Huffington Post reports.

“Every Wednesday, we met at 10 am for brainstorming, it’s a way to
drink. But this morning I sent a message to Charb (Charlie Hebdo
editor killed in the attack) at 9 am to tell him that I would not come
because I take kings’ cake next week, but do not worry, there is a
restaurant this weekend,” said Madénian, one who narrowly escaped the
attack.

Of Armenian descent, Madénian grew up in Saleilles, a town in the
suburbs ofPerpignan, southern France, where he earned his scientific
baccalaureate with honours, then a university degree in criminology,
then became a lawyer. When he was 25 he left the law profession to
follow a career in comedy.

He landed his first role in Un gars, une fille where he performed
variousvoiceovers alongside Jean Dujardin and his wife Alexandra Lamy.
He then wrote several one-man shows staged by Kader Aoun, many of
which were performed at the thétre du Point-Virgule.

>From September 2010 has been a part of the French television
showVivement dimanche prochain, presented by Michel Drucker. Since
September he has been doing a column at Charlie Hebdo every week.

Sergey Parajanov commemoration meeting in Tbilisi

16:39 * 08.01.15

The National Library of Georgia in Tbilisi will host a commemoration
meeting on the occasion of the 91st anniversary of film director and
artist Sergey Parajanov, newsgeorgia.ru reports.

The Union of Armenians of Georgia has organized the meeting.

“We have organized a meeting in cooperation with the Ministry of
Culture and Sergey Parajanov museum in Yerevan. An exhibition of
photos by Yuri Mechetov and paintings by Artem Alabunyants will
feature the opening of the meeting. Actors of the Armenian Drama in
Tbilisi will recite Sayat Nova,” says Mariam Arakelova, Chairperson of
the Union of Armenians of Georgia.

Gyumri Painter: “People don’t have money so they buy those Chinese imports”

Yeranuhi Soghoyan
13:48, January 8, 2015

Natural landscapes and Armenian churches dominate the oil paintings
hanging from the walls of the Gyumri living room of 82 year-old
Aleksandr (Shoura) Zhamakochyan.

The room reminds a visitor of a small art gallery.

Mr. Zhamakochyan confesses that like many others the 1988 Spitak
earthquake has divided his life into pre and post-earthquake concepts
and that the disaster has also influenced his artistic works.

The atheist communist saw the light and became a devout Christian
while cowering under the panels of a building that collapsed around
him. He was baptized at the age of 56 and made it his life’s mission
to eternalize all Armenian churches by painting them.

Even though Mr. Zhamakochyan gets around with the aid of a cane, one
glimpses a nimbleness of step in the artist. He sits in an armchair
and suggests that I take a seat on the couch. Tamara, his daughter,
rushes to the kitchen to make some coffee.

He speaks clearly and his memory remains unclouded by time.
Nevertheless, the artist senses my unease and responds with a laugh.
“On occasion my hearing fails me and my feet hurt. Other than that, I
have no deficiencies,” Mr. Zhamakochyan says, explaining that his
humor has been inherited.

Mr. Zhamakochyan’s grandfather was known in Gyumri circles by the
moniker “Tapak Seto” – a man who liked to joke and entertain friends
at a snack bar he ran near the Gyumri bus station. People visited not
just to eat but to hear Seto’s unique sense of dry wit.

Aleksandr says he inherited his humor and artistic tastes from his grandfather.

“I would have surely become an ambassador if allowed. But my father
was a man of position and he wanted me to become a doctor. Of course,
it wasn’t for me. My world was painting. My brother became the doctor.
I lasted two months at a medical school before leaving. I then
enrolled as a corresponding student at the Novosibirsk Kuybyshev
Engineering and Construction Institute. I figured it would be alright
to become a draftsman and that at least it was akin to painting,” the
artist tells me.

Mr. Zhamakochyan has inherited his talent for painting from his
mother, a member of the Narimanashvili family, who were famous artists
in Georgia.

“My mother was a Georgian who married my father when she was
seventeen. She could prepare delicious meals, both Armenian and
Georgian. My only child, Tamara, is a pianist. Her three kids are all
good painters but they pursued medicine and became dentists,” says Mr.
Zhamakochyan.

Shoura started painting as a young child and his talent was discovered
by a friend who was enrolled at Gyumri’s Merkurovi Art School. The
friend, upon seeing some of Shoura’s paintings, suggested that he
visit the school as well. The principal placed a piece of paper and a
pencil in the young boy’s hand and told him to sketch. He was admitted
to the school on the spot.

In 1963, while taking classes at the Novosibirsk institute, Mr.
Zhamakochyan also worked at the Leninakan (former name of Gyumri) “Hay
Reklam” advertising company as a drawer.

“My boss was Khachik Vardbaronyan. We worked together for thirty
years. And what years they were. I met some fabulous artists. We all
know that painters like to have a good time, so we’d get together
often. We’d frequently go to Moscow. Back then, you could buy a ticket
in the morning, fly out, and return that same night,” the painter says
with a grin, leaning his white-haired head to one side. “You don’t
believe me? It’s the truth. Travelling to Moscow was easy. Now it’s
expensive and time consuming.”

He recounts those parties where artists like Minas Avetisyan and Hakob
Hakobyan would show up. Mr. Zhamakochyan even had an opportunity to
work with John Papikyan, an artist awarded the title Meritorious
Painter of the USSR, who was teaching at Leningrad’s Ilya Repin
Academy of Arts at the time.

Mr. Zhamakochyan tells me life was good back in the day. He made
700-900 rubles a month at the advertising company and painted when he
had the time. The artist recounts that on the occasion of the 100th
anniversary of Lenin’s birth he won a 1,200 prize and spent it all on
a piano for his daughter.

Today, Mr. Zhamakochyan receives a 48,000 AMD (US$102) monthly
pension. He also sells some of his paintings for additional revenue.

“I have no paintings left for sale. Whatever is left can be used for
an exhibit. I sell copies of the original. I used to take them to a
salon on Rizhkov promenade in Gyumri. The life of a painter has
gotten much more difficult today. People now prefer to buy those
Chinese imports that are less expensive. I’m not saying that the
numbers who appreciate real art have decreased, it’s just that people
don’t have money. So they buy those Chinese imports and hang them on
their walls.”

Mr. Zhamakochyan hasn’t been able to stand before his easel for a few
months now. His legs hurt and his walks around his beloved town of
Gyumri have become rarer. Currently, he’s trying to finish older
sketches. He’s painted for his grandkids and now paints for his great
grandkids.

Tamara and her father Aleksandr Zhamakochyan

In his heyday, Mr. Zhamakochyan participated in numerous group
exhibitions. The artist laments that he hasn’t painted his beloved
Gyumri all that much.

“I’ve never had the desire to live anywhere else. I’ve only stayed in
Yerevan for a few hours at most. This town is in my being,” he
exclaims, complaining about a recent bout of memory loss. “It’s mostly
names that I can’t immediately recount. They come to me later.”

Tamara says that her father loves football and is a big Chelsea fan.
“When he forgets the Chelsea name, he immediately phones my husband.
‘Ashot, those gunsmiths are playing.'” Tamara says with a grin.