Author: Kalantarian Kevo

ARMÉNIE
Communiqué des amis et de la famille de Vardan Petrosyan

Le célèbre chansonnier et humoriste Vardan Petrosyan (dit Vartan
Petrossian) est victime d’une terrible tragédie et injustice qui se
déroule en ce moment même en Arménie. Il figure parmi les cinq
personnalités les plus aimées d’Arménie.

Victime le 20 octobre 2013 à 22:10 d’un horrible accident de voiture,
où deux adolescents ont trouvé la mort, Vardan y a échappé de
justesse. Opéré plusieurs fois, plongé dans le coma, il a subi
l’ablation de la rate et une chirurgie au foie. Sorti de ce combat
contre la mort par miracle… il se retrouve incarcéré !

Selon les médecins, Vardan, totalement sobre, conduisait à la vitesse
règlementaire, lorsqu’une petite voiture transportant 6 personnes sans
ceinture de sécurité, a fait une marche arrière au milieu de
l’autoroute non éclairée !!

Le 9 novembre, Vardan, malgré son grave état de santé, a été retiré de
l’hôpital pour être présenté devant le tribunal, alors que son avocat
était là pour le représenter. Incarcéré en violation de plusieurs
articles du code pénal, notamment de la présomption d’innocence, il a
été arrêté sans présentation de mandat, sans lecture de ses droits,
sans être informé des chefs d’accusations.

Le dossier instruit à charge par le bureau du Procureur est un tissu
de mensonges, sans aucun fondement ni valeurs juridiques. L’audience
s’est déroulée à huis clos. 5 chefs d’accusations ont été soulevés,
tous tombés face à la défense, l’assistant du procureur ayant lui-même
reconnu le non fondement de ses accusations. Bien que l’on présageait
la relaxe, après une délibération de 4 h 30, un verdict d’à peine 4
lignes est tombé : le juge a refusé la libération de Vardan, même sous
caution, ordonnant sa détention préventive pour deux mois selon `le
Code des valeurs morales’. C’est le seul argument trouvé par le Juge,
suite au décès des deux adolescents. Bien que la loi prévoit le
contraire, la lecture du verdict s’est déroulée à huit clos.

Vardan est resté 12 h sans manger, assis sur une chaise en bois et
surtout sans les soins médicaux appropriés à son état de santé. Il est
maintenu en détention depuis le 9 novembre à l’hôpital pénitentiaire
d’Erevan où les équipements médicaux sont précaires.

VARTAN EST EN DANGER DE MORT, SON ETAT NECESSITE DES SOINS INTENSIFS
ET SPECIFIQUES DANS UN HOPITAL CIVIL A EREVAN. SA SANTE SE DEGRADE
D’HEURE EN HEURE. IL NE POURRA PAS SURVIVRE LONGTEMPS A LA VIE
CARCERALE.

C’est pourquoi nous demandons d’URGENCE :
– le retour IMMEDIAT de Vardan dans un hôpital habilité à lui donner
les soins nécessaires ;
– sa libération sous caution de garant(s) ;
– la contestation de la validité de l’audience ayant abouti à son
incarcération ;
– la reprise de l’enquête par un nouvel inspecteur neutre ;
– le respect des droits fondamentaux de Vardan ;
– une justice juste et impartiale.

L’Ambassade de France en Arménie et le Ministère des affaires
étrangères sont informés. Vardan Petrosyan a la double nationalité,
arménienne et française.

Soyons TOUS SOLIDAIRES AVEC VARDAN et sa famille. Partageons cette
information pour que le monde entier découvre l’injustice qui se
déroule en ce moment même à Erevan.

Tout le pays est en effervescence : au travers de pétitions, de
déclarations officielles et de manifestations, intellectuels, artistes
et partis politique, engagent leur nom et se portent garant, prêts à
payer la caution, mais les autorités ne bougent toujours pas.

REJOIGNEZ sa page de soutien Facebook où prochainement des
informations seront également données en français :

Vous pouvez également rester informés en suivant les publications de
son avocat à l’adresse suivante :

MERCI A VOUS TOUS POUR VOTRE SOUTIEN ET L’AIDE QUE VOUS POUVEZ NOUS APPORTER

La famille et les amis de Vardan Petrosyan
[email protected]

samedi 16 novembre 2013,
Ara ©armenews.com
‘856

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIER JUSTIN MCCARTHY TO SPEAK AT PARLIAMENT HOUSE

ABC News, Australia
Nov 16 2013

By national defence correspondent Michael Brissenden

One of the world’s most vocal Armenian genocide deniers will make an
address at Parliament House in Canberra next week.

The ABC has learnt that a committee room in Parliament House has
been booked by Labor backbencher Laurie Ferguson for a special
invitation-only address titled “What happened during 1915-1923?”

The address will be given by Professor Justin McCarthy, an American
history professor who many Armenians view with the same disdain as
Jews view Holocaust denier David Irving.

The ABC has seen an invitation to the presentation to be delivered
by Professor McCarthy, who campaigns around the world against the
recognition of the Armenian genocide.

April 2015 will be a significant month for several nations. While
Australia and Turkey commemorate the centenary anniversary of the
Gallipoli landing, Armenians will mark a centenary since the start
of the darkest chapter of their history.

Genocide scholars say that from 1915 to 1923 more than 1 million
Armenians lost their lives at the hands of the Ottoman empire.

Although it is known as the Armenian genocide, thousands of Assyrians
and Pontian Greeks were also killed.

Turkey has long denied the charge and only recently pledged to ban
the entire New South Wales Parliament from Gallipoli ceremonies after
they unanimously passed a motion recognising the genocide.

A total of 22 nation states, including Canada, France, Germany,
Italy, Netherlands, Russia and the Vatican, and dozens of state and
provincial legislatures around the world, including New South Wales
and South Australia, have formally recognised the genocide by Turkey
between 1915 and 1922.

International bodies such as the World Council of Churches, the Council
of Europe, the European Parliament and the International Association
of Genocide Scholars have also recognised the genocide.

Bid for Australian parliament to recognise genocide

Despite some ferocious lobbying from the Turks, there has also
been pressure from time to time from some in the Australian Federal
Parliament to formally recognise the Armenian genocide.

Photo: An invitation to Professor Justin McCarthy’s lecture. (Supplied)

Treasurer Joe Hockey is of Armenian descent and has on numerous
occasions urged the parliament to do just that.

In 2011 he was joined by a handful of others, including Malcolm
Turnbull and Labor’s Michael Danby.

Mr Turnbull told the parliament that the Armenian genocide was one of
the great crimes against humanity and resulted in “the elimination,
the execution, the murder of hundreds of thousands – of millions of
people – for no reason other than that they were different”.

“In this case it was they were not Turks, just as the Jews were
eliminated by the Nazis because they were not Germans,” Mr Turnbull
added.

Mr Hockey told the parliament: “This is not an issue of definition.

Any systematic eradication of a race is genocide, regardless of the
political or social unease it may bring.”

Genocide scholar Panayiotis Diamadis says the local Armenian, Assyrian
and Pontian Greek communities will be alarmed that such an address
is being held in Parliament House.

“Anger, disgust that an official forum – such an official forum as
Federal Parliament – is being given to a man who denies the memory
of the victims, who denies that this genocide occurred,” he said.

‘No evidence, no proof’, says controversial professor

Professor McCarthy’s views are all over YouTube.

He says those who claim there was genocide have “no evidence, no proof
that the Turks wanted to act in this way. What is said is based on
emotion in this case and a desire to prove there is genocide instead
of first looking at the facts”.

Photo: Historian and renowned Armenian genocide denier Professor
Justin McCarthy. (YouTube: UMCLONDON)

The ABC approached Mr Ferguson’s office for comment but he is yet
to respond.

None of those who have spoken in the parliament on this issue in the
past, including both Mr Hockey and Mr Turnbull, wanted to add to what
they have already said.

However, they certainly stand by the views they have already expressed.

It is clear the sensitivities surrounding Australia’s relationship with
Turkey is in focus as Gallipoli’s centenary anniversary approaches.

However, it is understood another attempt will be made to get the
Federal Parliament to recognise the genocide – after April 2015.

A ballot to win attendance to the centenary Anzac commemorations in
Gallipoli opens today.

Watch the Video at

AUSTRIA CHAIRS CE MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Nov 15 2013

15 November 2013 – 10:33am

Armenia passed over the chairmanship of the CE Ministerial Committee
to Austria yesterday, Trend reports.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian congratulated Michael
Spindelegger, Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister of Austria, and
assured that Armenia will assist Austria during its chairmanship.

Nalbandian presented a reports and a roundup of six months as the
chairman at the CE Ministerial Council. He noted that Armenia had
actively been cooperating with the Council of Europe, secretary
general, secretariat, Parliamentary Assembly, European Court of
Human Rights, commissioner for human rights, Congress of Local and
Regional Authorities.

Armenia passed over the chairmanship of the CE Ministerial Committee
to Austria yesterday, Trend reports.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian congratulated Michael
Spindelegger, Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister of Austria, and
assured that Armenia will assist Austria during its chairmanship.

Nalbandian presented a reports and a roundup of six months as the
chairman at the CE Ministerial Council. He noted that Armenia had
actively been cooperating with the Council of Europe, secretary
general, secretariat, Parliamentary Assembly, European Court of
Human Rights, commissioner for human rights, Congress of Local and
Regional Authorities.

RESIDENTS ARE TENSE BECAUSE OF ELECTRICITY, WATER PROBLEMS AND DAILY BLASTS IN ALEPPO

20:40, 15 November, 2013

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS: The situation continues to be tense
in Aleppo. Our source of Aleppo informed about it to “Armenpress”
adding that though great incidents did not take place in Aleppo on
November 15, the strong explosions in the central district of Mush
on November 14 in the result of which dozens of people died and were
injured, shocked the residents of the city.

There was also one Armenian among the victims Gevorg Poghosian born in
1966. The source informs that the residents are in uncertain standby
condition. Besides blasts, the absence of electricity is concerning in
the city, as the electricity cables are again damaged by the attacks
of armed people.

“RESEARCH AT THE COSMIC RAY DIVISION OF THE YEREVAN PHYSICS INSTITUTE”

The Armenian Engineers and Scientists of America
Presents

by
Anahid Yeremian

Friday, November 15, 2013
at 7:00 pm

Armenian Society of Los Angeles – Library
117 South Louise Street, Glendale, CA 91205

ABSTRACT:

High-energy cosmic rays offer a window for the exploration of the
dynamic and forceful processes in the far corners of the universe
and close to the Earth. The Aragats Space Environmental Center
(ASEC) of the Comic Ray Division (CRD) of the Yerevan Physics
Institute (YerPhI) in Armenia conducts research in the fields of
galactic cosmic rays, solar physics, space weather, and high-energy
phenomena in the terrestrial atmosphere. The two research stations,
at elevations of 3200m and 2000m on Mt. Aragats, are equipped with
scientific and technical infrastructure, laboratories, a conference
center, and living accommodations. Particle detectors located at the
research stations on Mt. Aragats operate 24 hours per day, year-round,
uninterrupted, and CRD scientists live at the stations in three-week
shifts to gather data.

The strategic geographic coordinates of the CRD research stations,
the particle detectors there, as well as the particle detectors
developed by Armenian scientists and deployed throughout the world as
part of the Space Environment Viewing and Analysis Network (SEVAN),
allow Armenian scientists to develop space-weather forecasting
services, research high-energy phenomena due to thunderstorms,
and explore the universe. These detectors coupled with detectors
in space deployed by the international community, taken with CRD’s
state-of-the-art data analysis methods and the data accumulated over
the past seventy years of CRD’s existence, allow Armenian scientists
to make new discoveries and lead the world in ground-based cosmic
ray and thunderstorm research.

The CRD is a contributing partner in several international scientific
collaborations and the leader of two of them: the Aragats Space
Environmental Center (ASEC), and the Space Environmental Viewing and
Analysis Network (SEVAN).

CRD’s strong presence at international conferences, as well as the
international conferences held at the CRD, attract the attention
of eminent global scientists from NASA, the European Space Agency,
the Japan Space Agency, and science laboratories from around the world.

The research on Mt. Aragats provides an outstanding platform for
graduate-student research theses and the training of young postdoctoral
researchers. CRD has a strong working relationship with the local
universities in Yerevan, as well as with universities abroad.

Under the leadership of Prof. Ashot Chilingarian, the Yerevan Physics
Institute (CRD’s parent organization), continues to undergo major
organizational reforms to better facilitate the evolving scientific
mission and the productivity of the talented scientists there. Prof.

Ashot Chilingarian is an energetic and visionary leader, committed
to scientific excellence. He has been the head of the CRD since 1993
and the director of the Institute since 2009.

The presentation will cover the mission, science, and most recent
achievements of the Cosmic Ray Division of the Artem Alikhanyan
National Laboratory, and the strategic steps taken towards the
reorganization of the national laboratory.

Anahid Yeremian is a Particle Accelerator Physicist at the SLAC
National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, California. She is
the chair of the Support Committee for Armenia’s Cosmic Ray Division.

Copyright © 2013 AESA, All rights reserved.

This message was sent via the “Armenian Engineers & Scientists of
America”.

Our mailing address is:

AESA, 117 S. Louise St #306, Glendale, CA 91205

REVEREND MICHAELYAN. “THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH THROUGHOUT EUROPE WOULD BE REPROACHED, DO YOU WANT IT?”

November 15 2013

“Tearing up from 4 sides is going on. It is a hard time for the
Apostolic Church, today. I do not know why many people think that the
church should act as self-defense. It is a wrong position. Yes, there
is a mistake, but we have to be next to them, the Armenian nation,
to be able to resolve every issue. We must support the church, and not
take a stance and say, they must do this, they must do that. What shall
we do? The church is for people, isn’t it? The church is the people,
not just the Catholicos. Imagine there’s no man in the church, will
there be a Catholicos? Whom is the Catholicos for? For the people.” –
so commented Rev. Armen Mikaelyan, Head of Aragatsotn office of the
Armenian Missionary Association, pastor of the Armenian Evangelical
Church, in the conversation with Aravot.am with regard to the criticism
to the Catholicos. According to him, people should have a respectful
attitude toward the Catholicos and the clergymen, in general, “On
seeing mistakes, it should not bring charges. The Apostolic church
is not a power structure. Yes, we have given a lot into their own
hands, we have given, and we require, but it does not have a serious
leverage over Missionary, Evangelical, Jehovah’s Witnesses or over
the other one. Today, I have a more powerful lever than the apostolic
church. Today, I can speak freely, to blame, but it has no right to
do so. If it blames, the relevant European Commission will come and
they will answer for it. They have signed agreements…

this is complicated, do you understand? We are a church of the
21st century. And you should clearly realize that there is Venice,
the Venice Commission, there are committees, there is a signature,
there is Europe. Even if they oppose to many things, they can not. Of
course, they can not. This should be gradually, it is not a daily
thing. Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, if the Apostolic church
did not make a reasonable step, the Apostolic Church in all over
the Europe, all over the world will be blamed, do you want it?” To
our question, in other words, we must not talk about mistakes, not
to voice them to avoid diminishing the role of our church in the
international arena, he replied, “Indeed, we need to remain in the
international role and move our righteousness and justice forward.”

Hripsime JEBEJYAN

Read more at:

EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN INSTITUTE DISMISSES AZERBAIJANI MISINFORMATION

November 15, 2013 | 16:16

YEREVAN. – The European Ombudsman Institute’s office refuted
misinformation spread by Azerbaijan as a result of cooperation of
Armenian and KArabakh ombudsmen.

The European Ombudsman Institute issued a statement[
] dismissing article on the Innsbruck incident posted on the website
of Azerbaijani Ombudsman.

The statement says that “it was not correct, that Mr. Yuri Hayrapetyan
was removed from the conference.”

“The EOI informs to this website-article, that it is not correct,
that Mr. Yuri Hayrapetyan was removed from the conference. Mr. Yuri
Hayrapetyan has not been removed from the conference. Correct is
that the Secretary General in the official meeting of the Genaral
Assembly has not allowed political statements. Mr. Yuri Hayrapetyan,
Human Right Defender of Nagorno Karabakh is an official “INDIVIDUAL”
member of the EOI – European Ombudsman Institute since many years,”
reads the statement responding to the Azerbaijani reports.

DON’T LOSE THE BALL IN THE SEA

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Nov 14 2013

TANIL BORA

Last year in June, I wrote about the Cyprus national team that was
made up of Greeks, Turks and Armenians in the 1950s. And also, that
the Cypriot Turkish football was desperately seeking to be isolated.

There was an important development last week; the Cyprus Turkish
Football Association (KTFF) “joined” the Cyprus Football Association
(KOP). Expectation: To open doors of contact for Turkish Cypriot
teams and football players.

In an inquiry from the daily Yeni Duzen, 12 of the 14 presidents of
the teams playing in the Super League of Northern Cyprus said they
supported this initiative in principle. Only one said he would consult
the executive committee and Lefke was against it. Teams of the first
and second league also supported this move unanimously. Chair of the
Kucuk Kaymaklý team Ali Baþman said the sustainability of Turkish
Cypriot football was in question otherwise. Mormenekþe club’s poetic
chair Metin Menekþeli and head of Genclik Gucu team Mehmet Yenice
both refer to “belonging to the world.” Head of team Cihangir,
Karavezirler said, “We are fed up with playing internally.” Head
of Bostancý Baðcýl team Besim said the football they were playing
internally was no longer motivating.

Researcher Okan Daðlý, Ph. D., said, “Sports fans, players and the
clubs are all fed up with the status quo. They are giving messages that
they would consent to everything.” He added that people are totally
outraged, especially when Turkish teams are playing with Greek Cypriot
teams, saying “Why are we the spectators all the time?” They believe
that, in football, if the status quo is overcome, this will bring us
one step closer to realizing the hope that “Greek and Turkish Cypriots
achieve something together one day.”

As can very easily be guessed there is a nationalist reaction
against this development. Daily Volkan published a headline,
“Political treason.”

Okan Daðlý mentioned the expectation arising from the cooperation
between KOP and KTFF could create a platform for inter-club relations.

When I hear this I remember that in Cyprus, football has developed
into a politicized network.

APOEL and Anorthosis were the teams of nationalists. Omonia of
the Communist Party played with a mixed squad of Turks, Greeks and
Armenians. You can still see today the swastika in the stands of one
and the hammer and sickle in the other.

This divide also existed among Turkish society. Doðan Turk Birliði
and later the real Cetinkaya were the national teams of the Turkish
“partitionists.” Turk Eðitim Kulubu and Limasol Turk Ocaðý were left
inclined. The Turk Ocaðý was even raided by the Turkish Cypriot
counterinsurgency because its roots were from a dock worker-labor
union base. It was relegated from the Super League last year. I don’t
know their current inclination. The world of hope: Would the newly
formed political friendships and solidarity be reflected among the
clubs as was done so previously?

Serkan Seymen, who I owe my interest and knowledge of the history of
Cyprus football, told me a little anecdote: when the British rule ended
in 1960 in Cyprus, one of the colonial administrators was consoling
himself, saying, “This island is so small to play football that we
always lose the ball in the sea.”

I hope the Cypriots are able to see that they can play without losing
the ball.

Tanýl Bora is a columnist for daily Radikal in which this piece was
published on Nov. 13. It was translated into English by the Daily
News staff.

JAZZ PIANIST BLENDS GENRES AT SOHO

Daily Nexus, Univ. of California in Santa Barbara, CA
Nov 14 2013

Posted by Robert Johnson on November 14, 2013 at 5:00 am

On Nov. 11, Armenian-born jazz pianist Tigran Hamasyan played SOhO
in Santa Barbara as part of his first major U.S. tour. Hamasyan,
commonly billed and referred to just as Tigran, was backed by bassist
Christopher Tordini, drummer Arthur Hnatek and vocalist Areni Agbabian,
who also played the synthesizer.

Tigran, who was born in Armenia in 1987 and lived there until he was
16, bases a large portion of his music off of his country’s native
folk music. He often uses musical scales and modes native to Middle
Eastern and Southeast Asian music not generally found in Western music.

Walking into SOhO, I found myself in a dim and intimate setting that
quietly whispered “jazz.” Even though the band took to the stage 15
minutes later than expected, their opening number was one of the
most spectacular things I’ve ever seen. Having never listened to
any of Tigran’s music before, I was not sure what to expect beyond
Armenian influences.

The character of Tigran’s native country was unmistakable, and yet
it was well blended with elements of jazz and pop that kept the sound
out of a single genre. As the opening number continued, it gradually
got heavier until suddenly the band transitioned into a heavy metal
groove reminiscent of bands like Meshuggah and Opeth. As the 25-minute
long tune ended, I realized that Tigran isn’t your grandfather’s jazz
pianist, but rather a musician firmly influenced by the 21st century
who blends together genres old and new to create jazz like nothing
you’ve heard before.

For the second tune of the set, Tigran invited the band’s vocalist to
the stage. Agbabian vocalized melodic lines instead of singing lyrics.

This, combined with her soprano vocal range, made her sound like a
cross between Enya, Bjork and Sigur Ros frontman and vocalist Jonsi
Birgisson. Even with Agbabian creating vocals, there still was a
definite metal feel that pervaded the atmosphere, blending with the
pop and Middle Eastern influences.

The show continued along a similar vein of jazz amalgamation, with
Tigran’s melodic lines expertly vocalized by Agbabian over metal
grooves played by Tordini and Hnatek while Tigran improvised over
the wall of sound like a true virtuoso.

After their set, the band left the stage but returned again for an
encore. Tigran took center stage and began playing a tune similar to
Indonesian gamelan music while the band played a techno groove. After
some Armenian lyrics by Tigran and Agbabian, the band went into
overdrive and finished off the night with 10 minutes of dubstep,
amounting to a rich, 15-minute long encore.

At the end of the night, the band’s one-hour 48-minute Santa Barbara
debut was a clear demonstration of jazz’s status as a cultural mixing
pot of a musical genre. As much as he is touted as an Armenian jazz
pianist, Tigran irrefutably fuses together multiple disjunctive genres
to create music that proves that jazz is not only a tradition but an
ever-fluctuating force that will continue to adapt to, and inspire,
the tastes around it.

Photo Courtesy of Tigran Hamasyan

A version of this article appeared on page 8 of the Thursday, November
14, 2013 print edition of the Daily Nexus.

UKRAINE ‘SAVED’ ARMENIA’S FACE: ARMENIAN MP ON CUSTOMS UNION AND 2014 BUDGET

11.14.2013 20:01 epress.am

During discussion of the 2014 state budget in Armenia’s National
Assembly today, MP Alexander Arzoumanian opined that it is a
“hypothetical budget” because it’s not yet known whether the
international loans included there will be provided to Armenia or not.

The MP’s concern was associated with Armenia’s decision to join
the Russian-led Customs Union and the wish to “whip up in a frenzy”
the harmonization of Armenian legislation with the Customs Union.

“We know that our economy is more liberal and our customs duties are
lower. Now we buy what we what; soon, we’ll be forced to buy what
they put before us. By the way, I want to congratulate all of us,
that Ukraine has postponed signing the [EU] Association Agreement –
it makes us save face a little bit. Calculated in your budget are
anticipated European investments, but we can sure only of the funding
of current programs,” he said.

In response, Chair of the Standing Parliamentary Committee on Financial
-Credit and Budgetary Affairs Gagik Minasyan said that the 2014 draft
budget is, after all, only a draft. “Regarding the loans, I can’t
agree. I strongly believe that our European partners place importance
not on form but on content; therefore, they won’t stop funding [us]
after our decision.”

According to him, the constant refrain of either Customs Union
or European integration (that is, the implication that they are
irreconcilable) doesn’t help the task at hand.