Author: Kalantarian Kevo

” LA FORMATION CHRETIENNE DE LA NOUVELLE GENERATION EST UN IMPERATIF URGENT ” A AFFIRME SA SAINTETE ARAM 1ER
Stephane

armenews.com
jeudi 24 mai 2012

Une reunion a ete organisee par la prelature de Teheran entre Sa
Saintete et les etudiants des Ecoles du dimanche. Plus de 500 elèves
et leurs enseignants et parents ont suivi la reunion. Après un bref
programme culturel presente par les elèves, le primat a accueilli
le Catholicos Aram 1er et a souligne l’importance de cette reunion
et en particulier l’interaction de Sa Saintete avec les elèves des
Ecoles du dimanche.

Dans son message adresse aux elèves Sa Saintete a fortement apprecie
le rôle des Ecoles du dimanche et de tous ceux qui soutiennent d’une
manière ou d’une autre la contribution des Ecoles du dimanche a
l’education chretienne de nos enfants. Dans cette structure il s’est
felicite de l’interet grandissant de la prelature et de ses efforts
pour donner une nouvelle vitalite aux activites des Ecoles du dimanche.

En ce qui concerne la mission confiee aux Ecoles du dimanche Aram 1er
a dit que ” cet etablissement educatif est dans un sens une autre
expression du rôle missionnaire de l’eglise. En fait, l’education
Chretienne et la formation sont un aspect essentiel de la mission de
l’eglise. C’est pourquoi le Catholicosat armenien de Cilicie, qui a
fonde les Ecoles du dimanche en 1930 continue a faire des Ecoles du
dimanche une priorite. Un large reseau d’Ecoles du dimanche fonctionne
dans la juridiction du Catholicosat dans differents diocèses. Nous
croyons en l’education Chretienne dans un monde dans lequel on menace
la foi Chretienne et son identite, la formation Chretienne de la
nouvelle generation est un imperatif urgent “.

À la fin du programme officiel Sa Saintete s’est approchee des enfants
et leur a donne sa benediction paternelle, appreciant leur presence
aux cours et aux programmes organises par les Ecoles du dimanche.

Cinq Ecoles du dimanche fonctionnent dans Teheran sous la surveillance
du Père Magar Ashkarian et d’un comite.

AZERBAIJANI EMBASSY IN FRANCE TO INVESTIGATE INFORMATION ABOUT VISIT OF FRENCH SENATORS TO OCCUPIED NAGORNO KARABAKH REGION

APA
May 23 2012
Azerbaijan

Elman Abdullayev: “If the fact is confirmed, we would give an adequate
response to it”

Baku. Victoria Dementieva – APA. Ministry of Foreign Affairs instructed
Azerbaijan’s Embassy in France to specify the information on visit
of the members of the French Senate to the occupied territories
of Azerbaijan, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Elman
Abdullayev told APA.

He noted that sometimes the mass medias of Armenian pervert or
inflate information: “That’s why our diplomatic mission in Paris
is investigating the above-mentioned issue. If the fact confirmed,
we would give an adequate response to it.”

The mass medias of Armenian issued statements on visit of French
Senate to the occupied Nagorno Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and
meetings with the leadership of separatist regime.

ARMENIA SIGNS BORDER SECURITY AGREEMENT WITH US

Trend
May 23 2012
Azerbaijan

Armenia has signed a border security agreement with the United States,
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

The agreement, signed by Deputy Foreign Minister Ashot Hovakimyan
and US Ambassador John Heffern, promotes “collaboration between
the Armenian National Security Service and the U.S. Department of
Defense in the field of border security,” the ministry said, China
Daily reported.

The ministry said the agreement aims to identify, prevent and exclude
the transfer of weapons of mass destruction, illegal materials and
technologies through Armenian territory.

Under the agreement, the United States will provide relevant equipment
and technology required for the identification of illegal weapons
and materials.

IS AZERBAIJAN’S NEW AIR DEFENSE PROTECTING AGAINST IRAN OR ARMENIA?
by Joshua Kucera

EurasiaNet.org
May 23 2012
NY

When news broke a couple of years ago that Russia was selling S-300
air defense systems to Azerbaijan, the immediate assumption was
that this had to do with Armenia. The sale suggested a huge shift in
Russia’s military policy toward the south Caucasus: Russia has a big
military base in Armenia and provides Yerevan with weaponry. So why
would it be arming the other side? There were all sorts of theories:
it was done to intimidate Armenia into signing a long extension of
the base agreement with Russia, or that it was pure mercenary motives.

Some noted that the range of the S-300s was enough to cover Nagorno
Karabakh (over which a war will presumably be fought) but not Gyumri,
Armenia, where the Russian base is.

But what if we were all looking in the wrong direction for the threat,
to the west rather than to the south? That’s what analyst Anar Valiyev
today told The Bug Pit in Baku. He says the S-300 is in fact one of
the weapons that Baku has been buying to protect against an Iranian
attack. He argues that a war over Karabakh would be fought only on
the territory of Karabakh, that Armenia (under pressure from Russia)
would not to expand the war into Azerbaijan proper, like an attack
on Baku’s oil and gas installations (which the S-300s are protecting).

Therefore, there’s no need to protect Baku from an Armenian attack.

So, by process of elimination, it’s Iran.

This makes a lot more sense today, as Iranian-Azerbaijani tensions are
on the rise, than it would have two years ago. So Valiyev says that
the S-300s should be grouped along with the anti-ship missiles and
air defense systems it just bought from Israel, that are directed more
to the Iranian threat than to a potential war over Karabakh. This is
just a theory, but it would explain a lot, like how this squares with a
Kremlin policy favoring Armenia and how Armenia’s government downplayed
the news. Of course, any information in the public about this is likely
to be the result of psy ops on top of info ops on top of more psy ops,
so who knows. But it’s a plausible theory worth keeping in mind.

This reporting was made possible by a grant from the Pulitzer Center
on Crisis Reporting

ARMENIAN HERITAGE PARK DEDICATED

Boston Globe

May 23 2012
MA

By Alejandra Matos Globe Correspondent / May 23, 2012

Hundreds of residents braved the pouring rain Tuesday morning to
witness the dedication of the Armenian Heritage Park, the newest
addition to the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. But US Representative
Edward Markey and other officials welcomed the rain, calling it
tears of joy from generations of Armenian immigrants. The park,
located between the North End and Faneuil Hall, includes a sculpture
surrounded by a reflecting pool, and is meant to honor Armenians who
immigrated to the state.

JERUSALEM: FOR NO ONE AND FOR EVERYONE
by Joharah Baker

Media Monitors Network

May 23 2012

“What Israel does not yet realize is that people who love Jerusalem
will not go down without a fight. It is not only about politics and
declaring east Jerusalem and the capital of a future Palestinian
state; even that is lacking in honoring the universal significance
of the city. This should be a city for all to adore, to worship in
and to interpret in their own way.”

Yesterday was the dreaded “Jerusalem Day”. Tens of thousands of
belligerent right-wing settlers marched through the city, in the
narrow alleys of its Old City, singing, dancing and carrying huge
Israeli flags, pledging their undying loyalty to a Jewish Jerusalem.

Some wore t-shirts with the words “Jerusalem Forever” embossed on
them and all of them pranced through the Palestinian areas of the
city pompously claiming it as their own. Unfortunate Palestinians who
found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time were made to
stand for hours behind a police barricade as the obnoxious marchers
made their way towards the western wall, taunting the Palestinians
with their flags and their loud singing and just waiting to pick a
fight. One did break out at Damascus Gate between settler youths and
Palestinians who organized a counter demonstration with Palestinian
flags. Pictures later posted on media websites show Israeli police and
soldiers arresting and attacking Palestinian youths including children.

Anyway, this year was no different from the years before. The actual
march is nothing more than a manifestation of Israel’s official
policies in Jerusalem and its racist philosophy that Jerusalem is
exclusively Jewish. This premise alone is absolutely absurd. For any
faith, government or political movement to exclusively lay claim to
a city like Jerusalem is not only racist, it goes against the most
fundamental principles of civilized and democratic society. Jerusalem
is a city that embraces so much more than just the physical
representation of God’s three religions. It is a city of history,
of civilizations come and gone and of peoples who have called it
their home for hundreds of years.

The Old City walls tell so much. Where I live, in the
African-Palestinian neighborhood of the Muslim Quarter, the very homes
were used as prisons during the Ottoman Empire. The house, which is
meters away from the Aqsa Mosque Compound, is the property of the
Muslim Waqf and leased for extended periods to its tenants. Inside the
700 year old room originally built to house African pilgrims coming
to the Aqsa, the large stone arches still show the faint indents of
prison bars.

This is just one example of history in Jerusalem, which is home to a
myriad of ethnicities and religions. The Armenians, one of the oldest
and smallest ethnic groups of Jerusalem, have been in the city before
the birth of Christ. Today, the Armenian Quarter, adjacent to what
is now the Jewish quarter (previously the Moroccan quarter prior
to 1967) is known by its beautiful pottery, one of the group’s most
prominent trademarks.

The significance of Jerusalem lies not only in its Christian, Muslim
and Jewish history but in the history of the people who have lived
there for centuries. It is a city full of beauty and contradictions
but if it is anything, it is universal. A cave underneath the Old
City walls is reportedly used by spiritualists to meditate, a rock is
revered because it is said Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven from
it, another tucked away cave in a majestic church is said to be the
spot where Jesus was buried and then resurrected three days later.

But Jerusalem is also the spot where my great grandfather was born
and raised, in a little home in Sheikh Jarrah. It is where Abdel Qader
Husseini fought for the city in the Battle of Qastal, not because he
wanted to be a hero but because Jerusalem coursed through his veins.

He was not fighting for an idea, for a supposed promise from God but
for the land of his forefathers.

This is not to say that Jews cannot hold Jerusalem dear. Jewish history
is also present in Jerusalem but what Israel must accept is that it
is not only Jewish history which is valid. Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday on the occasion of Jerusalem Day,
“We come with a united government to a united Jerusalem.” It’s
alleged ‘Jewishness’ has been accepted as fact by Israel alone, its
exclusive claim to the city apparent in the policies implemented on
the ground. Israel works night and day to transform Jerusalem into a
purely Jewish city, hoping to change the very architecture that may
point to the contrary.

What Israel does not yet realize is that people who love Jerusalem
will not go down without a fight. It is not only about politics and
declaring east Jerusalem and the capital of a future Palestinian
state; even that is lacking in honoring the universal significance of
the city. This should be a city for all to adore, to worship in and
to interpret in their own way. Palestinians who were kicked out of
their homes from what is now west Jerusalem will not easily forget
the orange groves or the cactus plants that marked their land. The
African-Palestinians will continue to pledge their loyalty to the Aqsa,
which they have defended for hundreds of years, and Armenians will
continue to fire up their pottery in the Old City’s ancient stoves.

Israel cannot erase that truth from the city no matter how many
settler marches it hosts or how many times Netanyahu or [Avidgor]
Lieberman say Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jews. Narrow
minded philosophies – regardless of the brutal measures that accompany
them – have never thrived for long. Israel’s expansionist policies
in Jerusalem may continue unabated for a long time to come. But
not forever.

COMMUNITY CELEBRATES ACTIVIST MANAS BOUJIKIAN’S 80TH BIRTHDAY

asbarez
May 21st, 2012

Manas and Donalee Boujikian with Archbishop Mardirossian after
receiving the Cilician Knight medal

Community activists-old and young alike-gathered on Thursday at
Phoenicia Restaurant in Glendale for surprise 80th birthday party
for long-time community activist, leader and advocate of Hai-Tahd,
Manas Boujikian.

In another surprise of the evening, Western Prelate Archbishop Moushegh
Mardirossian bestowed the Knight of Cilicia Medal on behalf of His
Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilcia to Boujikian,
for his years of service and leadership in the community.

Boujikian, who was surrounded by family, relatives and friends,
was accompanied by his wife, Donalee.

Throughout the evening, well-wishers in attendance made donations to
the ANCA 2012 Telethon in lieu of gifts.

Asbarez will have extensive coverage of the event in future editions.

Look for it online at asbarez.com.

CHICAGO NATO SUMMIT 2012: ARMENIAN PRESIDENT ADDRESSES MESSAGE TO RUSSIAN COUNTERPART

tert.am
22.05.12

By not participating in the Chicago NATO Summit 2012, Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan addressed a message to his Russian counterpart
Vladimir Putin.

In an interview with Tert.am, political scientist Edgar Vardanyan
noted that the Armenian leader is thus showing his agreement on
foreign policy with his Russian counterpart.

“Putin boycotted the event, and Serzh Sargsyan addressed a message to
Vladimir Putin, suggesting he agrees with official Moscow’s position
on the key foreign policy issues. I do not think that, if Putin had
gone to the summit, Sargsyan would have refused to participate,”
the expert said.

With respect to Armenian FM Edward Nalbandyan’s arguments that the
Armenian president did not participate in the summit because a draft
resolution adopted at the summit contained a generalized provision
on Karabakh, which conflicts with the approaches of the Minsk Group
co-chairs, Vardanyan disagreed with the arguments that the draft
contained anti-Armenian wordings.

“To tell the truth, I did not find any wordings not in Armenians’
favor in the draft. It contains clear references to the legal basis the
West has always referred to, and neither the international community
nor Armenia objected,” Vardanyan said.

As to the draft resolution mentioning the fact of NATO admitting the
territorial integrity of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Russia,
it does not mean that NATO states the conflict must be settled on
the basis on territorial integrity.

“The mention has nothing in common with this. Otherwise, what is the
sense of mentioning Armenia’s territorial integrity? It is absurd
to mention Armenia’s territorial integrity in the context of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and such a thing has never been done,”
Vardanyan said.

Both NATO and the international minority say they view territorial
integrity as a fundamental principle, without confronting it to the
settlement of the conflict.

In its draft resolution, NATO showed this principle. So it would
be wrong to say that the draft resolution is an anti-Armenian one,
Vardanyan said.

TURKEY’S CHANGING ROLE IN NATO

Hurriyet Daily News
May 22 2012
Turkey

A two-day NATO Summit in Chicago was concluded May 21 with the
adoption of a new “Smart Defense” strategy, just as it had been
announced in advance.

The 28 members agreed to coordinate use of their military resources
under dire circumstances of global economic difficulties to overcome
global threats together.

In an environment where the United States is in the process of shifting
its focus from the Atlantic-Europe zone to the Pacific-Asia zone,
the new NATO strategy fits into American needs to entrust interests
in the Atlantic-European zone to their allies there by providing
them new ways, means and tools to do that. And lessening the burden
on its shoulders is one of the reasons behind all that smart defense
resource sharing thing.

The missile shield is an important part of that strategy. The shield
project, which NATO said yesterday was officially in active use,
consists of five units: The command center in Ramstein, Germany,
the intercepting missiles on board the U.S. missile ships off the
Spanish coasts, land-based missile batteries in Poland and Romania,
as well as an early warning radar site in Kurecik, Turkey. A White
House Fact Sheet yesterday revealed that only the Kurecik radar, an
AN/TPY-2 type one (which has been effectively in use since January)
has been transferred by U.S. President Barack Obama from U.S. to NATO
operational control; the others will remain U.S. sites.

There is a detail here. Israel has the same radar on its soil, and if
that radar would fully satisfy the U.S.’ needs, it would be hard to
find any reason why Washington would ask Ankara to hear their needs
and demands in return. NATO control, of course, gives a different
hand to Turkey vis-a-vis its relations with northern neighbor Russia
and eastern neighbor Iran; both are not very happy because of the
presence of the radar as they feel like the targets.

Turkey comes into this picture in a different way. When the U.S. focus
was on the Atlantic-Europe zone, Turkey was on the eastern fringe
bordering Russia and the energy basins of the Persian Gulf and the
Caspian Sea; now in the Pacific-Asia focus, Turkey remains in the
picture at the western fringe and with the capabilities to have an
influence on the Islamic political geography. Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in Pakistan yesterday to discuss their
future role in Afghanistan on behalf of the Western alliance while
the Western leaders were discussing the same issue in Chicago some
ten thousand miles away.

These qualities bring an upgraded role to Turkey in the NATO system
as well and are not limited to a new (Land Forces in Ä°zmir) command
and more officers. It is a political one and in order to enhance it,
the U.S. and major European allies are seeking two improvements in
two main fields: Upgraded democratic standards which are expected
to come with the new constitution that is being prepared and better
relations with the neighborhood – that usually means Israel, Cyprus
and Armenia nowadays. If the new coalition in Israel comes closer to
an apology over the killing of nine Turks in the 2010 Mavi Marmara
flotilla tragedy, that could be a good start for the process.

LIVING LANGUAGES AND THE POLITICIZATION OF KURDISH

Today’s Zaman
*.html
May 22 2012
Turkey

It had been only four years since the transition to the Latin alphabet
in Turkey. It was a state of mobilization and transition; the people
were unable to adapt to the new alphabet and former scholars were
trying to learn Latin letters as though they were new students.

This revolution in the Turkish language inspired Jaladat Ali Bedirhan,
a Kurdish intellectual. In Damascus, where he was in exile because of
his family, he started a Kurdish magazine, named Hawar, on May 15,
1932. Jaladat Ali Bedirhan, grandson of Bedirhan PaÅ~_a, the head
of the district of Botan, published Hawar in both the Arabic and
Latin alphabets. This dual alphabet system was a stage for Bedirhan,
who thought that Kurdish should adapt the Latin alphabet. From its
24th issue onwards, Bedirhan decided to publish Hawar only using the
Latin alphabet. The alphabet change which was imposed by a top-down
revolution in the Turkish language was carried out silently via a
humble magazine in Kurdish.

It has been 80 years since this story. During this period, Kurdish
has been transformed from a prohibited language to a language whose
publication and use is being encouraged by the state. Had this change
in the state’s approach and the transformation that this language
has gone through taken place 80 years ago, Kurdish would have become
a respected instrument and language among linguists; but would it
still have become a tool for a political separatist ideology?

Unfortunately, the Kurdish language has become part of political
and ideological polarizations. Relying on the inherent problems of
the Kurdish language and the right to use of native language, this
language has been made part of uprisings and of violent resistance.

This unfair treatment towards Kurdish is no different than the attempts
of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) to use children in street
demonstrations, knowing that the police will not take action against
them. Sadly, like symbols of childhood and motherhood, the Kurdish
language is being used to legitimize violence in Kurdish society. To
secure social and popular support, children and young people are
turned into militants and Kurdish into a language of separatism.

Issues leading to politicization of Kurdish language

There are some major issues that have led to the politicization of the
Kurdish language: the origin, alphabet, dialect and dictionary. Even
though these four areas are perceived as problems relevant to
literature and history at first sight, when such matters as ideology,
politics, security, conflict and freedoms are involved, the fervor
associated with the political discussions becomes more visible.

One of the discussions on the Kurdish language relates to its origin.

Even though it is argued that the Kurdish language is part of the
Indo-European linguistic family, in the subgroup of Indo-Iranian
languages, there is no generally accepted argument on this matter. For
instance, some argue that the Kurds were originally Pishdadians and
that therefore the Kurdish language is originally based on the Pahlawi
language which the Pishdadians used. Pahlawi was originally the Avestan
language, the language in the holy script of Zarathustra. And once
Avestan is referred to as the origin of Kurdish, and the Pishdadians
as the ancestors of the Kurds with Zoroastrianism as their initial
religion, the bases for building a nation are identified.

When building a nation and laying down the groundwork for separatist
views, in addition to imagining a history and future, it is also
essential to ensure that the members of that nation believe that
they belong to a culture and a civilization that is distinct from
other cultures and civilizations. The association of the Kurds with
the Turks, Arabs or any other race poses a problem for those who
imagine a separate nation. At this point, the approach suggesting
that Avestan or the Pishdadian language is the origin of Kurdish is a
great opportunity for the politicization of language. It should also
be noted that supporters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the
KCK subscribe to this idea and base their policies on this assumption.

The second problem with the Kurdish language is relevant to the
alphabet, which also concerns the current discussions. Some refer to
nine different alphabets that the Kurds have used; the most common
of those today are Latin, Arabic and Cyrillic. The Kurds live in
four different countries plus small communities of Kurds in former
Soviet republics. For this reason, the Kurds are unable to properly
communicate in the written language. For instance, the popular dialect
in northern Iraq is based on the Arabic alphabet. The dialect used in
the Turkish lands is based on the Latin alphabet. The Kurds in Armenia
were allowed to use an alphabet other than Cyrillic in August 2010. To
address the difference between the alphabets, the Democratic Society
Congress (DTK) sponsored a meeting in Diyarbakır in March 2012. The
purpose of this meeting was to reach an agreement on a common alphabet
and to ensure unity among the Kurds in different locations. At this
point, an agreement on the Bedirhani alphabet, which could be referred
to as the Kurdish alphabet in Turkey, could make constructive and
positive contributions towards unification among Kurds.

It is meaningful that the Bedirhani alphabet is the alphabet of
the Kurds in Turkey; the PKK/KCK, which is uncomfortable with this
alphabet, argues that it is inadequate and that five more letters
should be included. With this move, they actually want to get rid of
the influence of Turkish on the alphabet and make it controllable by
the PKK. Turkey’s concerns about the alphabet are focused on three
letters. In fact, the difference is on five letters rather than three.

There is no g in the Kurdish alphabet; and the Turkish alphabet does
not have Ä”, q, x and w. And if the three letters that Turkey refuses
to accept (x, w, q) are left out, the remaining is the Latin alphabet
used in the Turkish language; in the frequently used Latin alphabet,
the letters x, w and q are used. The approach taken in which these
three letters are rejected creates an image of the cult hypothesis
that the Kurds are actually Turks. In reality, the fact that Kurdish
is spoken perfectly well with the addition of the three letters to
the Turkish alphabet is an indication that the Turks and Kurds have
similar sounds and emotions even if their languages are part of
different linguistic families.

Disputes over dialects

Thirdly, the current discussion on the different Kurdish dialects
should be addressed. The existence of different dialects in the
Kurdish language is not a problem; it is in fact a sign of diversity.

Kurmanji, Sorani, Gorani and Lorani are the main dialects of the
Kurdish language. It is also possible to extend the list; but what
matters is the survival of the dialects. It is known that Kurmanji
is the most frequently used dialect. The development and survival of
Kurmanji, which could also be referred to as Kurdish in Turkey, is
essential for the use of Kurdish, an indispensible right of Kurdish
citizens in Turkey. The problem with a dialect is the attempt to make
one specific dialect dominant over others. Zaza, which is argued
to be a Kurdish dialect, is the obvious victim of the politics of
imposition. Those who would like to see the Zaza people on their
side in the Kurdish issue argue that the Zaza language is a Kurdish
dialect and that the Zaza people are actually Kurdish. By this, they
actually rely on political pragmatism. This policy of imposition
would culminate in the disappearance of the Zaza language.

Fourthly, the issue of a dictionary should be discussed. In a country
of multiple languages, the actual source of the languages other than
the official one is a dictionary. A dictionary is the reflection of
the attempt by the Turkish people to communicate with the Kurdish
people. Without a dictionary, you cannot understand the Kurds, the
Zazas, the Circassians and the Georgians. At a time when people are
trying to understand each other in the world, it is a shame that the
state has not yet sponsored a dictionary of a language that many people
speak in this country. The void is being filled by ideology-based
dictionaries which make the language a tool of separation and
division. Those who conclude that the Islamic faith among the Kurds
is the real reason for their rejection of separatist views and the
main source of politicization of these four issues believe that the
Kurdish language would become independent if the Islamic notions and
structures were removed from the language. The structures and entities
that destroy all opposing and critical voices to become the one single
representative of the Kurds pursue the same policy for hegemony in the
language as well. The current goal is to build a Kurdish nation through
a language as the outcome of a new religion that was visibly detached
from Islam under the hegemony of the Avestan and Pishdadian languages.

In the final analysis, despite all attempts to politicize the
cultural minority rights in the Kurdish issue, the actual matters
should be addressed regardless of violence and politics. The cultural
minority rights include the attempt to promote and sustain Kurdish
and other languages. The best response to those who claim to be
the true representatives of the Kurds would be the realization and
implementation of new and constructive policies to ensure the use
and survival of the Kurdish language.

*Engin Gulbey is a researcher with the Ankara Strategy Institute.