Author: Kalantarian Kevo

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Chris Zakian
Tel: (212) 686-0710 or (973) 943-8697
E-mail: [email protected]
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June 10, 2014

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New Classrooms for St. Vartan Armenian School

By Florence Avakian

Newly refurbished classrooms for the St. Vartan Armenian School were blessed
by Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America (Eastern), during an official opening ceremony on
Saturday, April 12. The school meets every Saturday morning at the Diocesan
Center in New York City.

Also present for the ceremony were the Very Rev. Mamigon Kiledjian, dean of
St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral; the Rev. Fr. Bedros Kadehjian; school
principal Diramayr Shakeh Kadehjian; members of the school board; teachers,
parents, and students dressed in their sparkling school uniforms.

Removing a purple drape from the dedication plaque, the Primate blessed the
generous benefactors Alvina and Dr. Kevork Niksarli, as those present sang
the hymns “Oorakh Ler” and “Hayr Mer.” All then surveyed the classrooms
equipped with new desks, chairs, bookcases, computers, blackboards, and
closets.

On the walls hung paintings by youngsters of the Fund for Armenian Relief
Yerevan Children’s Center-made especially for this school.

Following the opening of the classrooms, a special program and reception
were held in an adjacent hall. Treasurer of the school Arto Vorperian
related: “Today we are here to celebrate our renovated school through the
motivation and hard work of Archbishop Barsamian and Fr. Kiledjian, and the
generosity of Alvina and Kevork Niksarli, as well as all our parents who
have stood like strong columns to help us.”

Glorious History

The St. Vartan Armenian School is now 81 years old, having started its noble
goal of educating young Armenians students in 1933.

The selfless and devoted teachers and principals who have worked without
any, or negligible, remuneration during those early years, included Ashkhen
Avakian (more than 30 years) , and Nubar and Anahid Kupelian (more than 10
years); other administrators and teachers included Zarmine Boghosian, George
Haroutunian, Seta Kantarjian, Alice Khachmanian, and Theresa Venedikian,
among others.

Diramayr Shakeh Kadehjian-the dedicated school principal since
1982-expressed appreciation to those who in 81 years “were responsible for
keeping our ancient language, history, and culture alive, including the
teachers and parents. We are grateful to the Niksarlis that we can continue
this glorious tradition.” She also thanked Fr. Kiledjian, Arto Vorperian,
and “especially Archbishop Khajag” for their dedication.

A beautiful bouquet of flowers was presented to Mrs. Niksarli by 7th-grader
Ariana Pamoukian.

Two bright-eyed students Sarine Zeitlian and Ani Aslanian recited poems of
welcome to the Primate and to the benefactors. A special song written for
the St. Vartan School, with words composed by longtime and devoted head of
the Armenian Language Lab and Resource Center, Sylva der Stepanian, was
robustly sung by the pre-school students conducted by Anahid Boghosian, and
accompanied on the piano by Jeannette Chirikdjian.

Thanking Archbishop Barsamian for blessing the classrooms, Dr. Kevork
Niksarli called the event “a very happy occasion” and recounted that the
renovation project had started a year earlier when Fr. Kiledjian, Arto
Vorperian, and Michael Halajian had asked him for his assistance.

“Our children have been happily coming and learning in this school for four
years,” he said. “All the students needed clean and efficient classrooms,
and Alvina and I were very happy to bring it to reality.”

Fr. Kiledjian, in thanking the benefactors and teachers, praised the
dedication of the teachers “who come every week and give their lives and
hearts for our children. They treat them like their own family. Today is
also your day,” he said, addressing the teaching staff comprised of Fr.
Bedros Kadehjian, Sirvart Arakelian, Lucia Vorperian, Ani Essayan, Heghine
Mirzoyan, Anahid Boghosian, Arax Shamamian, Jeannette Chirikdjian, Sona
Simonyan, and Krikor Torosian.

In his address, the Primate reminded those present: “As spring is a new
beginning, this also marks a new beginning of our school.”

Offering words of tribute to Diramayr Kadehjian, Fr. Kiledjian, the
Niksarlis, and the teachers, parents, and students, the Primate said that
“we must approach with a new relationship to inspire our young generation
about their Armenian religion, history, culture, and language. And we must
continue to work for our future.”

###

Photos attached.
Photo 1: Archbishop Barsamian blesses one of the new classrooms.
Photo 2: Dr. Kevork and Mrs. Alvina Niksarli at the classroom dedication
ceremony.

AFTER ATTACK FROM AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA RATTLES SABERS

EurasiaNet.org
June 10 2014

June 10, 2014 – 5:15am, by Joshua Kucera

The deaths of two Armenian soldiers on the border with Azerbaijan
has led to predictions that Armenia will carry out a “substantial”
attack in retaliation.

On June 5, Armenia’s defense ministry reported that two of its
soldiers had been killed along the border with Nakhcivan, the exclave
of Azerbaijan cut off from the rest of Azerbaijan and bordering Turkey,
Iran, and Armenia.

“Azerbaijan has shown its true face and prompted us to be prepared
for a war,” said deputy speaker of parliament Eduard Sharmazanov,
according to BBC Monitoring. Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian told a
representative from the OSCE that “ongoing escalation in the current
operational environment is prone to entail unforeseen consequences
for the Azeri side.”

And a retired Armenian general, Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan, in an interview
with RFERL, said he had “specific information” that Armenia is
preparing a “substantial strike” on Azerbaijan in retaliation for
the two soldiers’ deaths. “If we don’t carry out counterattacks soon,
the Azerbaijanis will conclude that we’re weak. We just need to attack,
and the attack needs to be noticeable. I don’t only expect, but I know,
that such an attack is being prepared.”

And there are reports that Armenia has already counterattacked. Again
via BBC Monitoring:

On 8 June, opposition Azadliq paper quoted unidentified local social
media users as saying that Armenian troops attacked from the direction
of Lakataq village in Naxcivan’s Culfa District bordering Armenia,
adding that the enemy captured “several heights” in the area.

On the same day, opposition Yeni Musavat paper quoted Hakimeldostu
Mehdiyev, a correspondent of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom
and Safety in Naxcivan, as saying that “serious” fighting occurred
in Heydarabad village of Sadarak District bordering Armenia. He added
that the situation became stable as of 7 June.

Azerbaijan’s defense ministry has denied the reports, saying that
“Armenia is interested to spread provocative information and cause
confusion within the Azerbaijani society.” (One Azerbaijani website
didn’t get that memo, and reported that Armenia was planning a chemical
weapons attack on Azerbaijan.) And for whatever reason there seems
to be no reaction from Yerevan. How much of this is misinformation,
and how much real?

LE KARABAKH EST UNE PARTIE DE L’ARMENIE DIT LE PORTE PAROLE DE KOTCHARIAN

POLEMIQUE

L’ancien president Robert Kotcharian decrit le Haut-Karabakh comme > du mouvement
populaire de 1988 pour la reunification du Karabakh avec l’Armenie.

FAMOUS TURKISH SINGER SINGS IN ARMENIAN AND CRIES ON STAGE

June 10, 2014 | 00:04

Famous Turkish singer Sezen Aksu performed Armenian, Kurdish, and
Turkish songs during a concert in Munich, Germany.

During the concert, Aksu also performed late Kurdish singer Ahmet
Kaya’s song, “As You Cry,” whose music was written by Armenian musician
Ara Dinkjian, reported T24.com of Turkey.

At the end of the song, however, Sezen Aksu could not control her
emotions, and she cried and said: “Love people for being a people!”

The audience, in turn, responded to the singer by singing her song,
“Don’t Cry!”

Sezen Aksu’s Armenian-language performance can be viewed above,
and starting from the 3:48 minutes into the video.

TURKISH NURSE WRITES BOOK ABOUT GENOCIDE-SURVIVING ARMENIAN GRANDMOTHER (PHOTOS)

June 10, 2014 | 08:08

Aysel Karsli, who works as Senior Nurse atLokmanHekimEtlikHospital
inAnkara, Turkey, has introduced her book about the life of her
Armenian grandmother.

Karsli held her book’s official presentation with active participation
of readers, and she sold the book with her autograph, reported Milliyet
daily of Turkey.

Karsli noted that in her book, which is titled Ali of Vartanush, she
presented the life story of her Armenian grandmother named Vartanush.

It is also noted that, in the coming days, Aysel Karsli will attend
presentations in the Turkish cities of Istanbul, Bursa, Malatya,
and Giresun, during which likewise she will sell the book with her
autograph.

ARMENIE
Elections syriennes : Les Arméniens susceptibles de soutenir le président Assad

En Arménie, près de 11 000 ressortissants syriens d’origine arménienne
ont participé aux élections le 28 mai dans l’enceinte mise en place à
l’ambassade syrienne à Erevan. La plupart des Arméniens ne cachent pas
qu’ils préfèrent Assad. Ils croient que les élections vont mettre fin
à la guerre et conduire le pays vers la stabilité.

>
a dit Shahe Abélian de Kessab, une zone peuplée d’Arméniens dans le
nord-ouest de la Syrie qui a vu une incursion des militants d’Al-Qaeda
en provenance de Turquie en Mars dernier.

Vazgen Iskandarian, un Arménien d’Alep, dit aussi qu’il soutient
Al-Assad et ne voterait pas pour quelqu’un d’autre.

Selon le ministère syrien de l’Intérieur, il y a plus de 15 millions
d’électeurs à l’intérieur et à l’extérieur des frontières de la Syrie.
Un total de 9 601 enceintes ont ouvertse à 07h00 heure locale et ont
fermé à 19h00.

Avant la guerre, il y avait environ 80 000 Arméniens en Syrie.
Actuellement 11 000 syriens Arméniens ont déménagé vers Arménie et
5000 sont au Liban. On estime que 80 Arméniens ont été tués en Syrie
depuis que le conflit interne a commencé en 2011.

dimanche 8 juin 2014,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

Bleacher Report
June 7 2014

5 Things We Learned from Germany’s Win Against Armenia

By Cristian Nyari , Featured Columnist

Germany concluded their final test match before taking off to the
World Cup in Brazil in dominant fashion, beating Armenia 6-1 in Mainz.

A subdued first half gave way to a late flurry of goals in the second
with Germany scoring five goals in the final 18 minutes of the match.

There were no shortage of talking points in this game. It was coach
Joachim Low’s final chance to see the team before they fly to Brazil
on Saturday, and it was also a landmark game for Miroslav Klose who
became Germany’s all-time record goalscorer with his goal.

The biggest talking point, however, was the injury to Marco Reus who
may just miss out on the World Cup due to an ankle injury picked up in
the game.

Overall the game gave Low much to think about heading to Brazil,
including not only thinking of a potential replacement for Reus but
also making some key personnel decisions ahead of their game against
Portugal in a little over a week.

Let’s look at the most notable takeaways from Germany’s final test
before Brazil.

Turan Information Agency, Azerbaijan
June 6, 2014 Friday

Court of Appeal dismissed another complaint from R. Mirkadirov

Baku/06.06.14/Turan Baku Appeals Court today dismissed the complaint
by the journalist Rauf Mirkadirov due to restriction of his right to
meetings and telephone conversations with his family, as well as his
receiving media at his choice in jail. The lawyer Elmar Suleymanov
told Turan.

According to him, the defense applied for recognition of falsification
of decisions of the investigator and the investigator’s signature
handwriting expertise. As explained Suleymanov, the decision of the
investigator Ibrahim Lemberansky does not include his signature.

When the case was heard in the Sabail court, the prosecution was
represented by another investigator, and he said that the decision on
the criminal case is signed by Lemberansky. When he offered to show
this document, the investigator left and after 15 minutes presented
the decision allegedly signed by Lemberansky.

“It is unrealistic for 12-15 minutes to drive from the Sabail court to
the Investigation Department for Serious Crimes and get the signature
back. Obviously, the investigator forged Lemberansky’s signature, the
more so because it is not like the signature of Lemberansky under
other documents,” said Suleymanov. Therefore, the defense insisted on
holding handwriting expertise.

The spurious document itself cannot be a ground for restricting human
rights of Mirkadirov, said the lawyer. However, the court rejected the
defense motion.

On Friday afternoon the Nasimi District Court held a further
consideration of the complaint by Mirkadirov about not allowing him a
notary to transfer power of attorney to Turkish lawyers. The need for
the involvement of Turkish lawyers was caused by the infringement of
Mirkadirov’s rights at his deportation from Ankara. According to the
defense, he was actually extradited and not deported.

* Mirkadirov was arrested April 19 immediately after the deportation
from Turkey. He was charged with spying for Armenia. On April 21 the
court ordered against him a preventive measure of arrest for three
months.

The journalist denied the charge, considering it absurd and refusing
to testify. But yesterday he decided to testify investigation to
provide clarity on some issues. -16B06 –

FILL OTHER MOSQUES FIRST, PM RESPONDS TO AYA SOFYA CALLS

Cihan News Agency, Turkey
June 6 2014

ISTANBUL

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that it is the public’s
duty to fill mosques all around Turkey, speaking on Friday at a
ceremony for the reopening of Ä°stanbul’s Ortaköy Mosque, which has
been under renovation for the last three years,

During Erdogan’s speech, someone from the crowd shouted, “Let the Aya
Sofya open [as a mosque],” to which Erdogan responded by saying that
the Blue Mosque must be filled first.

“Our duty is to fill our mosques. The Ortaköy Mosque is small,
so we should [concentrate on] filling the Blue Mosque, Suleymaniye
Mosque and Fatih Mosque first,” Erdogan said.

Erdogan also paid tribute to Nigogos Balyan, the architect of the
Ortaköy Mosque, who was of Armenian origin.

“Ortaköy Mosque has a special place among our national monuments.

Therefore, we should commemorate all those who worked toward the
construction of this beautiful site,” Erdogan added.

(Cihan/Today’s Zaman)

ALIYEV THANKS NAZARBAYEV FOR SUPPORTING AZERBAIJAN

Interfax, Russia
June 5 2014

Azerbaijani and Kazakh Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Nursultan Nazarbayev
note that a good potential exists for further cooperation expansion
between the two countries, the Azerbaijani presidential website
reported on Thursday.

During the meeting, which took place between the two leaders in Turkey,
satisfaction was expressed with the developments in bilateral relations
in political, economic and other spheres.

Wide exchanges of opinions were shared in regard to the Nagorny
Karabakh conflict settlement during the meeting.

Aliyev said he thanked Nazarbayev on his behalf and on behalf of
Azerbaijani people for supporting Azerbaijan’s stance on Armenia’s
membership in the Customs Union at a Supreme Eurasian Economic
Council meeting.

During the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting held in Astana
on May 29 Nazarbayev read a letter of the Azerbaijani president
saying that Armenia joining the Customs Union with Nagorny Karabakh
was unacceptable.