Author: Kalantarian Kevo

ANOTHER BARRIER DOWN BETWEEN TURKS AND ARMENIANS

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Nov 19 2013

YAVUZ BAYDAR

I was handed by the postman some weeks ago a mid-size package.

It contained the Turkish translation of a monumental work titled
“A Reference Guide to Modern Armenian Literature 1500-1920,” by
Professor Kevork Bardakjian, who I had the pleasure of meeting years
ago at the University of Michigan.

As the social awakening here proceeds below the surface about
the crimes of humanity at the end of the Ottoman Empire, with the
immense tragedy that brutally wiped out massive proportions of its
Armenian subjects from Anatolia, so do the activities to help raise
the awareness. Books on various aspects of the genocide are appearing,
as well as others on Armenian culture and politics.

New ground was also broken by the recent conference at Bosporus
University on the forced conversion of Christian Armenians to Islam,
with heart-wrenching narratives now coming to the surface.

“You cannot imagine the mental blocks now coming unstitched in the
Anatolian social fabric,” a hardworking civilian activist told me
recently. “Wherever we go and meet people, in villages or towns,
in eastern or western Anatolia, the stories just pour out of them,
about the past kept under the carpet.”

This is very good news.

Another historic threshold was passed the other day, on Nov. 18,
as part of the reconciliation process — albeit seemingly slow
motion, but irreversible. A few members of the Yerevan-based
Civilitas Foundation opened an office in the heart of Istanbul,
in a well-attended ceremony. It is the first time a purely Armenian
organization has now cemented — officially — its active visibility
in a step that was totally unimaginable, say, 10 years ago.

A non-profit organization established in 2008 by Armenia’s former
minister of foreign affairs, Vartan Oskanian, Civilitas has been
focused on projects to strengthen civil society, promote democracy and
facilitate dialogue between Armenia and the international community.

The importance of the event was underlined by an emotional inauguration
speech by Salpi Ghazarian, director of the foundation, who is a good
friend for all of us engaged in the reconciliation process over the
years. For her, it was a dream fulfilled, with an extremely loaded
agenda ahead.

When I asked what it meant to her personally, Ghazarian told me:
“I was born a librarian, I believe in satisfying the need to know. We
all have that need, and that right. Armenians about ourselves, our
roots here in this city. The people of Turkey about themselves and
their part in our history. This is a part of that process of seeking
answers. We want to focus not just on helping each country’s citizens
better understand what’s going on across the border, but also to
demonstrate to the international community that we are able to speak
to each other, even about the difficult issues. It is possible to
tackle and overcome [these issues].”

Not so far ahead, the unresolved burden of the unspeakable atrocities
of 1915 looms; in two years, its 100th anniversary will be marked. At
this stage, question marks and hopes about a closure are intertwined.

Yet, as Ghazarian pointed out, it will not be the focus of the
center’s work; dialogue on memories and loss will matter more than
anything else.

“The closed border between the two countries presents both a physical
and a psychological barrier. It’s a barrier to replacing old memories
with new ones, to unrestricted access to today’s Armenia and today’s
Turkey,” she added, underlining the vital role of enhanced dialogue.

“This can in no way replace the political work that must be done by
governments. Nor is this a second track attempt at reconciliation.

Instead, this is a civil society effort to support the work being
done on the ground. It is also an effort to share information about
Armenia’s [and the diaspora’s] organizations and NGOs.”

It is all a work in progress. Anything that helps a closure is
welcome. As a reminder of that, on my way out of the ceremony, I was
handed by the owners of Aras Publishers, located in the same building,
another new book in Turkish, by Levon Surmelian, on the tragedy of
his family in Trabzon, in 1915. The more we learn, the closer we are.

AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN PRESIDENTS DISCUSS NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Nov 19 2013

19 November 2013 – 4:29pm

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Serzh
Sargsyan, who met today for the first time in two years, discussed
the ongoing conflict surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh.

The presidents started with a face-to-face discussion and then held
a meeting attended by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

The parties made no official statement after the talks. It’s reported
however that the Minsk Group co-chairs are going to issue a statement
later.

Content-Type: MESSAGE/RFC822; CHARSET=US-ASCII
Content-Description:

MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
From: Katia Peltekian
Subject: Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents discuss Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Nov 19 2013

Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents discuss Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

19 November 2013 – 4:29pm

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Serzh
Sargsyan, who met today for the first time in two years, discussed the
ongoing conflict surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh.

The presidents started with a face-to-face discussion and then held a
meeting attended by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

The parties made no official statement after the talks. It’s reported
however that the Minsk Group co-chairs are going to issue a statement
later.

INTERNATIONAL FOCUS: ARMENIA: ROMANCING HISTORY & SCINTILLATING BEAUTY

TravelBizMonitor
Nov 19 2013

A relatively unexplored paradise, Armenia is blessed with three UNESCO
World Heritage Sites. The country is a tourist’s delight because
of its wide array of wines, number of festivals, and pre-historic
Christian monuments, taking one back in time and its beautiful
landscape. TravelBiz Monitor takes a closer look at the country’s
potential in the Indian market

Armenia is a country of miracles…if you ask me where on earth you
can find more miracles, I would say, first of all Armenia…It is
involuntarily amazing that in such a small corner of the world you
can find such monuments and such people – R. Kent Huges, Author, USA.

Armenia, a country steeped in history and culture, has a lot to offer
to Indian tourists, with its capital, Yerevan being one of the world’s
oldest continuously inhabited cities. The country has been developing
and modernising since its independence in 1991 from the Soviet Union,
though it still maintains some traces of its past.

The joint familiarisation trip was conducted by Air Arabia and Marriott
International to Armenia. Air Arabia has introduced three flights
a week from Sharjah to Yerevan making it easier and convenient for
travellers to experience the dazzling city; all the more ideal for
passengers travelling from India, since the connecting time from
India to Sharjah and Sharjah to Yerevan is perfect. Air Arabia also
offers a range of value-for-money holiday packages, including hotel
accommodation and visa assistance, in addition to providing service
to Yerevan. This new flight destination is undoubtedly going to add
value to all Air Arabia passengers travelling to and from India.

With about 300 rivers and rivulets, Republic of Armenia is situated
at a cultural, historical, and religious intersection. Located at the
crossroads between Europe and Asia, in the Southern Caucasus, Armenia
is now connected by Air Arabia’s bi-weekly flights from their hub
in Sharjah. It is a great mid-haul destination for Indian travellers
and has the potential to become a leisure and MICE hub for passengers
from India with outdoor activities and scenery as its prime attraction.

Since 2000 Armenia has seen an increase in tourist footfall, and
with introduction of these flights it is expected to grow in the
coming years.

Under the majestic backdrop of Mount Ararat, or at the millennia-old
church of one’s choice, spending a vacation in the most special places
of Armenia can be a refreshing idea for the next vacation. With
Armenia recently celebrating its 1700th anniversary as the first
nation to embrace Christianity as a state religion, the country will
surely satiate the needs of a world traveller looking for the ideal
mix of religion, culture, adventure, and relaxation. Armenia has a
population of 3,238,000 and is the second most densely populated among
all the former Soviet Republics. It attracts people with its sense of
adventure and history. There are also some objects in Armenia that are
in the official list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, like Monastery
of Haghpat and Sanahin, Cathedral and Churches of Echmiadzin, and
the Archaeological Site of Zvartnots and Monastery of Geghard and
the Upper Azat Valley.

Presently, the country is landlocked and has no navigable waterways,
in contrast to historic Armenia, which at its peak under King Tigran
the Great, stretched from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea,
and was more than ten times the current size of the present day
Republic. Armenia shares borders with Georgia to the North, Turkey to
the West and South, with Azerbaijan to the East and South West, and
Iran to the South. Looming above the Yerevan skyline as an ominous
reminder to its glorious past and as a beacon to a future of hope
rises the majestic Mount Ararat. Located South West of the capital
city of Yerevan in present day Turkey, Mount Ararat dominates the
national landscape, psyche and character. Mount Aragats, the highest
point within the Republic’s boundaries (4,090 mts at its summit)
is a less-explored paradise for hikers. The people of Armenia, old
and young, stand in concert and with open arms welcoming first-time
visitors, the investor community, or those looking to call Armenia
their permanent home.

The capital city Yerevan is surrounded by the magnificently
imposing Mount Ararat, which lies in the neighbouring country,
Turkey. The country has a historical heritage spanning the Stone
Age era to modern-day Armenia. It offers a variety of religious
sites, primarily beautiful churches that dot the vast countryside
landscape. An unexplored destination, Yerevan offers visitors an
unforgettable getaway with pleasant weather almost throughout the
year, popular handicrafts, jewellery and Soviet memorabilia for the
ardent shopper, delicious food, which mixes fresh salads, spiced
meats and lavash-a chewy flat bread and a mystical feel to it-all of
which form a part of the country’s USP. Moreover, the exchange rate
between the Indian rupee and the Armenian Dram is low, so it benefits
a cost-conscious/frugal Indian traveller on his first visit to the
country who are keen on not burning a hole in their pockets while
exploring an exotic location like Armenia.

Situated along the River Hrazdan, Yerevan, which was named as 2012
World Book Capital by UNESCO, is the administrative, cultural, and
industrial centre of the country. It has been the capital since 1918,
the 13th in the history of Armenia. With the growth of the economy
of the country, Yerevan has been undergoing major transformation as
many parts of the city have been the recipient of new construction
since the early 2000s, and retail outlets such as restaurants, shops
and street cafes, which were rare during Soviet times, have multiplied.

Amongst other attractions in Armenia is Tsaghkadzor, historical name
Kecharis, which is a spa town and a popular health resort located
North of Hrazdan in the Kotayk Province (marz). Tsaghkadzor means
valley of flowers in Armenian. The city is located 50 kms North of
Yerevan, on the South-Eastern slope of Teghenis Mountains, at a height
of 1,750 mts above sea level, surrounded with alpine meadows. The
infrastructure of tourism is highly developed in Tsaghkadzor, with
many luxurious hotels, resorts and amusement facilities.

Voskan Kokanyan, Director, Sales and Marketing, Tsaghkadzor Marriott
Hotel, said, “Our hotel comprises 100 luxurious guest rooms (including
the rooms in seven villas) featuring a work desk with a lamp, data
ports at the desk, cable/satellite TV, in-room safe, high-speed and
Wi-Fi access. The seven villas comprising stylish four deluxe rooms and
one junior suite are best for small groups of 15 people. We have five
restaurants and bars each featuring a unique design and cuisine. For
our business travellers we have three well-equipped, state-of-the-art
meeting rooms, as well as a ballroom to host events and for those
who like to rejuvenate we have a health club, a fitness centre, a
swimming pool, sauna, the Turkish bath Hamam, our luxurious spa and
a multifunctional field for team sports, making your stay memorable.”

‘India is an emerging market for Armenia’ – Mikkel Krantz, Director,
Sales and Marketing, Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan

Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan is looking at creating awareness about
the property in the Indian market to tap MICE and leisure travellers.

Mikkel Krantz, Director, Sales and Marketing, Armenia Marriott Hotel
Yerevan, speaks to TravelBiz Monitor about the potential of the
Indian market and how the hotel is geared up to receive visitors from
the country

Q. What is the USP of your hotel?

A. Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan is ‘The place to be in Yerevan’,
with best and unmatched location in Yerevan right on the Republic
Square. It has the largest hotel ballroom in town, Tigran Mets covering
585 sq mts of area. The first well-established international hotel
brand in Yerevan, Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan offers the highest
standard of service and safety/security. It offers a choice of four
outlets in the same building.

Our hotel features nine floors in two wings, a total of 226 guest
rooms specifically designed for both leisure and business travellers,
spanning from standard deluxe rooms to presidential room. We offer
free Wi-Fi facility at all the four outlets. The hotel is well
established as a meeting and social event venue and can accommodate
up to 700 people.

Q. How are you geared up to host the Indian clientele?

A. We always stay flexible in terms of our guest requests and undertake
utmost care to ensure we maximise their travel experience when staying
with Marriott. As India seems to become a new market for Armenia,
it is crucial that we listen and act on these needs. Our dedicated
personnel are dealing with the Indian market so that we become
experts in terms of understanding their travel behaviours better. We
are training our people on diversity and inclusion, which is a key
focus at all Marriott hotels worldwide. When we receive requests for
Indian chefs/cooks, we are flexible in terms of bringing the service
from outside to the hotel for the requested period.

Q. Currently, what is the composition and percentage of Indian guests
at your property?

A. The Indian market has recently started to show an increased interest
in Armenia/Yerevan for both leisure and MICE, so it is too early to
comment. However, we are working closely with the local agencies as
well as with Indian agencies/corporate entities directly, and also
with our own Marriott Global Sales Office in New Delhi in India to
attract Indian travellers.

Q. What would be your marketing strategy to tap the Indian market?

A. At this stage, we want to reach out to the Indian market and ensure
that they not only get to know about the fantastic Marriott hotels we
have here in Yerevan/Armenia, but also all that this interesting and
beautiful country can offer them. Being a part of the Marriott family,
we have several ways of reaching out to that market. We are growing our
hotel portfolio within India, especially with brands like Courtyard by
Marriott, JW Marriott and Marriott Hotels & Resorts, which means we
are already well established there and well known. We can therefore,
on a daily basis, be in contact with a wide network of businesses in
India. We will participate in Marriott Sales Missions in India and
will also be inviting Indian travel representatives and media for
FAM trips to Armenia. Furthermore, we obviously also support what
our local tourism institution is doing for promoting our country in
the Indian market.

Nadeem Kohari, General Manager- MICE, Thomas Cook “Armenia is an
amazingly beautiful, unexplored and untapped destination. It is a
must-visit and ideal for small groups and FITs.

However, the challenge is availability of Indian restaurants and
flight connectivity. Tsaghkadzor and Yerevan are the two beautiful
destinations in Armenia, and the country is tourist-friendly and safe.”

Abhik Dutta, Director, Wanderers Leisure Pvt Ltd.

“Armenia is a perfect destination for three-four days for MICE
travellers and honeymooners. It is a new and untapped destination with
good hotels, and Yerevan and Tsaghkadzor are the two important tourist
destinations. Armenia has a brandy factory and is the only country that
can use the name cognac (after France), but in the local language.”

Dhawal Bhute, Divisional Head – Corporate Tours, Orbitz Corporate &
Leisure Travels (I) Pvt. Ltd.

“Armenia is a good destination for leisure and incentive groups. It
has good nightlife and fantastic hotels. The destination has beautiful
sightseeing options and four- to five-star hotels under international
and local brands. It can easily accommodate a group of 50 people
(with three-four day itinerary). For more people, logistics could be
a problem.”

AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA ‘AGREE TO DISCUSS PEACE SETTLEMENT’

Agence France Presse
Nov 19 2013

(AFP)

Vienna – The presidents of arch-foes Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed
Tuesday to discuss a peace settlement over the disputed region of
Nagorny Karabakh, the European security body OSCE said.

“The presidents agreed to advance negotiations toward a peaceful
settlement… They agreed to meet again in the months ahead,” the
OSCE said in a statement after the two leaders met in Vienna.

Armenia’s Serzh Sarkisian and Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev met in the
Austrian capital Tuesday for the first time in two years, hosted by
the OSCE’s so-called Minsk Group, which has been spearheading attempts
to negotiate a solution to the conflict.

The foreign ministers of the two countries will now work with the
heads of the Group — the ambassadors of Russia, France and the United
States — “to build on the work to date with the aim of intensifying
the peace process,” the OSCE said.

Working sessions will be held on the sidelines of an OSCE conference
in Kiev on December 5-6. The Minsk co-chairs were also to visit the
region this year.

Armenia and Azerbaijan are locked in a festering decades-long feud
over the breakaway region of Nagorny Karabakh and frequently exchange
sniper fire across the volatile frontline.

Armenia-backed separatists seized Nagorny Karabakh from Azerbaijan
in a war that killed 30,000 people in the 1990s.

Despite years of negotiations since a 1994 ceasefire, the two sides
have still not signed a peace deal.

The last meeting between the two leaders took place in January 2012
in the Russian resort of Sochi.

Azerbaijan has threatened to take back the disputed region by force
if negotiations do not yield results, while Armenia has vowed to
retaliate against any military action.

DUBIOUS METTLE OF THE MEDALS

[ Part 2.2: “Attached Text” ]

By Edmond Y. Azadian, The Armenian Mirror-Spectator (p.14), 16
November 2013

The Russian novelist Anton Chekhov once wrote a satirical
short [nubar_pasha.jpg] story about the significance of medals in
19th-century Russian society. The story dwells on the predicament
of a poor teacher who is invited to a dinner party in high society
circles. To prove that he deserves the honor, he decides toborrow a
medal from a friend. Upon arriving at the party, however, he encounters
an acquaintance, who knows that he has not received such an honor. The
teacher tries to hide the medal, devising many ruses which eventually
spoil the dinner and the evening. But before taking his leave, he
discovers that his acquaintance is also in the same boat, trying to
hide his own borrowed medal.

Chekhov ridiculed characters chasing such vanities. He died in 1905
and yet, since then, not much has changed in that part of the world
when it comes to tributes.

The Soviet inheritors of the Russian Empire also stressed the
significance of those medals, to the point that many anecdotes
and jokes were cracked about Leonid Brezhnev, a particular devotee
of medals. As the chevrons on his lapel extended, Armenians were
wondering that they had never seen hyphenated chevrons.

Today, those coveted medals can be bought at the Vernissage, the
glorified flea market in Yerevan, for pennies. But, on the other hand,
the tradition seems to be entrenched in Armenia so much so that pretty
soon no tourist will return from Yerevan without a medal awarded by
an authority or agency in Armenia.

The same may apply also to the church. It looks like soon the
recipients of medals will outnumber Armenians who have been deprived
of such honors.

In the past, the people who were awarded such medals were few and
far between. But today, the abundance of such medals leaves everyone
baffled and devalues the honor. Some recipients even wonder what good
deed they have done for Armenia in order to deserve such honors.

It looks as if the time has come to revise the value system in Armenia,
where they seem to be banking on the naivete of Diasporan Armenians. It
is true that for some people, those medals serve as an effective bait
to get them to make some contributions. But, as time goes on, with
the proliferation of those honors, the value system is undermined
and deserving people cannot be distinguished from the ones who have
taken the bait and been elevated to a rank to which they don’t belong.

There is a saturation point where the law of diminishing returns
is activated.

Yet another group in the diaspora is critical of generous distribution
of those questionable honors, that is, until their turn arrives. At
that point, they believe that unlike undeserving honorees, they are
meritorious and have fully earned the honors.

But eventually, they are bundled in the same batch of people who had
been wearing those medals, whether they deserved them or not.

Come to think, by the unrestricted dispensation of those medals, the
authorities, eventually, insult the intelligence of the Diasporan
Armenians, believing that those methods can buy influence, loyalty
and sacrifice.

Any contribution to or sacrifice for Armenia loses its value the moment
the motivation becomes reciprocal compensation. And unfortunately,
our poor homeland has not much more to offer than those pieces of
metal to reward those contributors. It is really very difficult to
differentiate who is more naïve: the people who shower those honors
or those who get the medals? Maybe both.

When those medals were awarded sparingly, the recipients were
distinguished members of the community and they stood above the
multitudes. But today, when the spigot of those awards has been turned
loose, the value of those medals is dead on arrival.

Individuals with self-esteem need to think seriously if the medals
they have received truly signify an appreciation for a righteous deed
or whether they have been decorated with an ulterior motive.

Of course, the generous distribution of medals needs to be
distinguished from the prizes awarded to the writers, scientists,
scholars and performers by the government or by other organizations,
since the latter come with monetary compensation, which will go a
long way to inspire new pieces of literature or composition, or new
volumes of academic work.

Now that there is a large army of medal bearers, where do we begin
to raise our value system?

Of course, the change has to begin from the top. But before adopting
a new system, there has to be a change in our people’s mentality and
attitude. Brezhnev is dead and his medals have been buried with him;
we cannot buy them at the Vernissage anymore.

Once we change our mentality, it would be rather easy to
come up with a new value system. Committees of unbiased and
qualified[Mesrop_mashtots.jpg]  scholars may be assigned with the
task; people who truly are familiar with the face (and the heart)
of the diaspora and Armenia. They can come up with a short list of
candidates who should be vetted properly, before being nominated for
the awards. That way, no recommendation can be smuggled on the list
of nominations if all they have done is treat a minister to lunch or
given a lavish present.

During the last 21 years, from the ashes of the ragtag fighters
an effective army was formed in Armenia. Legislative and executive
branches of government were put in place.

Therefore, Armenia’s value system should also correspond to those
developments. If fewer people from the diaspora are medaled, the
Diasporan-Armenians will feel more honored, not less, if and when
their turn comes.

If today Anton Chekhov were to be resurrected, I have no reason to hide
my own medals. But, in my soul searching, I will always wonder where
I stand in the value system of those who have awarded the medals to me.

Note: This article is dedicated to the memory of my dear friend,
the late Arsen Demerjian who motivated me to write about this topic
before his untimely death.

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT HAILS UPCOMING AZERBAIJAN-ARMENIA MEETING

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Nov 1 2013

18 November 2013, 13:10 (GMT+04:00)
By Sara Rajabova

The U.S. State Department hailed the upcoming meeting of the
Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents.

Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents have it in their power to launch
comprehensive settlement talks, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for
European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland said in her speech at
the Atlantic Council in Washington on November 14.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Armenia Serzh
Sargsyan agreed to meet in late November to discuss the settlement
of the long-lasting conflict.

Nuland called the upcoming meeting of the two countries’ presidents
a positive development.

Nuland said that the U.S. would continue to cooperate with Russia on
solving the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“Russia has long been a partner of the United States on a number of
issues where we can work together. I think our overall approach remains
to try to cooperate with Russia as much as we can on as many issues
as we can that we share, whether they`re bilateral issues, whether
they`re regional issues like Nagorno-Karabakh, or whether they`re
global issues like Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, et cetera,” Nuland said.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made
territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early
1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed
forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally
recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent
regions.

The UN Security Council’s four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal
have not been enforced to this day.

Peace talks, mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. through the OSCE
Minsk Group, are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed
by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles. The
negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.

ARMENIAN, AZERBAIJAN LEADERS TO HAVE FIRST MEETING IN TWO YEARS

Hurriyet Daily news, Turkey
Nov 18 2013

YEREVAN – Agence France-Presse

The presidents of arch-foes Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet in
Vienna Nov. 19 for the first time in two years in a bid to restart
stalled negotiations over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh,
mediators said. Armenia’s Serzh Sargsyan and Azerbaijan’s Ilham
Aliyev will meet along with mediators from the Organisation for the
Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) Minsk Group, which has
been spearheading attempts to negotiate a solution to the conflict.

“The Armenia-Azerbaijan Summit will take place in Vienna on November
19,” James Warlick, the American co-chairman of the Minsk Group, wrote
on Twitter. The press service for the Armenian president confirmed in
a statement that the meeting would happen and said that Sargsyan would
fly to Austria later on Monday. “A meeting will take place November
19 in Vienna between President Sargsyan and President of Azerbaijan
Ilham Aliyev,” the statement said.

There was no immediate confirmation from the Azerbaijani authorities.

Aliyev is currently in Ukraine on an official visit.

Armenia and Azerbaijan are locked in a festering decades-long feud
over the breakaway region of Nagorny Karabakh and frequently exchange
sniper fire across the volatile frontline.

Armenia-backed separatists seized Nagorny Karabakh from Azerbaijan
in a war that killed 30,000 people in the 1990s.

Despite years of negotiations since a 1994 ceasefire, the two sides
have still not signed a peace deal.

The last meeting between the two leaders took place in January 2012
in the Russian resort of Sochi, the Armenian foreign ministry said.

Azerbaijan has threatened to take back the disputed region by force
if negotiations do not yield results, while Armenia has vowed to
retaliate against any military action.

November/18/2013

SOMBRE ECUMENICAL SERVICE FOR FOUR CHILDREN KILLED IN DAMASCUS ATTACK

[ Part 2.2: “Attached Text” ]

AS ARABS AND CHRISTIANS GATHER TO PRAY, THE SERVICE IS PUNCTUATED BY
SIRENS OF AMBULANCES CARRYING CASUALTIES OF THE DAILY MORTAR ATTACKS

“A hymn, soft as a breeze, wends its way across the street from St
Sarkis Armenian church, circles round the Roman columns of the gate,
and rises over the heads of armed soldiers lolling beside a sandbagged
position.” Photograph: Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Images

“A hymn, soft as a breeze, wends its way across the street from St
Sarkis Armenian church, circles round the Roman columns of the gate,
and rises over the heads of armed soldiers lolling beside a sandbagged
position.” Photograph: Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Images

Michael Jansen

* Topics: * News * World * Middle East

Mon, Nov 18, 2013, 01:00

First published:Mon, Nov 18, 2013, 01:00

* * * *  

A flurry of mortars falling in the embattled countryside and the Old
City shakes Bab al-Sharqi, the Eastern Gate, putting to flight a flock
of pigeons roosting on rooftops of houses and shops ranged around
the small green park where youngsters in jeans and sweatshirts are
taking the sun. A merchant standing in the door of his shop warns:
“Don’t stay in the street. It’s very heavy today. Four children and
a driver of their school bus were killed here a week ago.”

A hymn, soft as a breeze, wends its way across the street from St
Sarkis Armenian church, circles round the Roman columns of the gate,
and rises over the heads of armed soldiers lolling beside a sandbagged
position.

Mortars, bombs and bullets are commonplace here. This neighbourhood
is mourning Venicyia Mikho (9) and Hovanis Autokanian, Majd Shehada
and Munir Sehoun (6), students at the Reosaleh school.

A Greek orthodox bishop in tall hat, a pectoral cross suspended from
a heavy chain on his chest, strides into the church. The service is
ecumenical, connecting the Arab and Armenian Christian communities
living in this place of peril.

They are being repeatedly targeted by radical Muslim fundamentalists
seeking to topple the secular Syrian government. Another five children
at St John of Damascus school died the same day as the four here.

Full church The church is filled with men and women, most in black,
as an Armenian cleric, in pointed black hood and purple robe presides
over solemn Communion taken by a few, men in suits and women hurriedly
covering their heads with scarves.

The Armenian Catholic bishop comes down the aisle, fresh from the
service at his church at Bab Touma, St Thomas’ Gate.

Mounted photographs of the dead children surrounded by paper roses
are placed before the splendid dark red velvet curtain, a simple
cross in gold and white embroidered at its centre, that veils the
altar but is opened and closed during the service.

The cleric reads out the names of the children in Armenian and Arabic
and speaks of their common Syrian “watan”, homeland, but when he
intones the word, “salam,” peace, mortars crash, loud, flat and
metallic into the fields beyond the gate. The choir in the balcony
strives mightily to sing above the din.

We file out of the church into the hall to convey condolences to the
parents of the children. Amira Hannah, a distraught distant relative of
Venicyia, can hardly speak. “I blame the terrorists, the armed groups.”

Antonis Mikho, Venicyia’s uncle who went to the hospital after the
strike, chokes. “I cannot describe by words . . . I saw children
completely covered in blood, mangled.”

Venicyia’s little sister Vergine holds out her hand, too shy to speak,
as several Muslim clerics, led by Ahmed Badreddin Hassoun, the grand
mufti of Damascus in his wide white turban and robe, sweep into the
crush of mourners. He speaks to each set of parents , sharing their
grief and shock. His 18- year-old son died violently 13 months ago.

Assassination threat Beyond the gate in the street, his heavily armed
escort waits. He has been threatened with assassination. No one is
safe here in Syria, great or small.

Today’s mortar toll in Damascus is eight: one slain outside Farouk
school at Bab al-Sharqi, three at Bab Touma, two in Baghdad Street
in the new city, and six near a bus garage in al-Abbassiyeen. None
of these places is a military site.

Ambulances carrying the dead and wounded shriek along the streets
until stopped and stymied in dense, seemingly immovable traffic jams.

or-four-children-killed-in-damascus-attack-1.1598023

YOUSUF KARSH’S STRIKING HISTORIC IMAGES AT THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

Washington Post
Nov 18 2013

The first of two exhibits of the Armenian photographer’s work at the
National Portrait Gallery includes images of Winston Churchill and
Ernest Hemingway.

Photo: Sir Winston Churchill by Yousuf Karsh, 1941. The legendary
photograph is famous for its pure visual power as well as its
historical impact, according to Post art critic Philip Kennicott.

Karsh took the photo immediately after the prime minister delivered
a speech to the Canadian parliament. Karsh also plucked a cigar from
Churchill’s mouth, giving way to a scowl.

“That pique read as defiance, and the
image . . . helped define
Churchill’s reputation as a pugnacious and heroic last
bulwark against Hitler,” Kennicott writes. ” />

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Churchill by Yousuf Karsh, 1941. The legendary photograph
is famous for its pure visual power as well as its historical
impact, according to Post art critic Philip Kennicott. Karsh took the
photo immediately after the prime minister delivered a speech to the
Canadian parliament. Karsh also plucked a cigar from Churchill’s mouth,
giving way to a scowl. “That pique read as defiance, and the image
.â~@~I.â~@~I. helped define Churchill’s reputation as a pugnacious
and heroic last bulwark against Hitler,” Kennicott writes.

View the photo gallery at

IT’S NOT A CRIME TO DESCRIBE SOMEONE AS A DENIER

The Daily Telegraph, Australia
Nov 18 2013

by: Sassoon Grigorian

ON Monday Andrew Bolt claimed “no debate is allowed” concerning a
visiting academic who disputes the Armenian genocide. The Armenian
genocide, which started on the eve of Anzac Day 1915, resulted in
the deaths of 1.5 million people.

Bolt goes on to say “time we thought with our brains” – well, on that
point I couldn’t agree further.

Justin McCarthy will speak at an event in the Australian parliament
this week. McCarthy is professor of history at the University of
Louisville and his area of focus is the history of the late Ottoman
Empire.

McCarthy’s view on the events of 1915 are killings which took place
on both sides as part of a civil war, rather than an intent to destroy
the Armenians.

READ ANDREW BOLT’S ARTICLE

The Turkish government, which denies the genocide, has a similar
point of view.

That puts him at odds with scholars who actually matter in this field,
the International Association of Genocide Scholars.

Australian Geoffrey Robertson QC, who published his opinion on the
matter in 2009 based on British documents, concluded the events
in 1915 were genocide, and said of McCarthy: “I do not regard his
analysis either as legally correct or as factually excluding a finding
of genocide.”

In Bolt’s blog (November 16) he says: “I do not know who is right. But
I do know who is wrong: those who try to shut down debates with the
most vile abuse.”

As far as I know McCarthy has been given the opportunity to air
his views.

In Turkey, Article 301, a controversial article of the Turkish
penal code, makes it illegal to insult Turkey, or Turkish government
institutions, and has been used to stifle debate and used against
writers and Nobel Prize recipient like Orhan Pamuk for stating the
truth in relation to the genocide.

What is Bolt’s view on that? Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term
genocide in 1944, based the term on what happened to the Armenians
in 1915 – nothing can be clearer than that. It’s not an abuse to
describe a denier – the public have a right to be informed.

What has this got to do with Australia? Many are unaware that one
of Australia’s first major international humanitarian relief efforts
was to help Armenian orphans from the genocide. There are literally
hundreds of examples.

This is not a distant issue.

Sassoon Grigorian was a senior adviser to former NSW premier Bob Carr