Author: Kanayan Tamar

THE FEAST OF ST. SARKIS TO BE CELEBRATED ON JANUARY 4

armradio.am
03.02.2012 17:11

The Commemoration Day of St. Sargis has been declared the Day of
Blessing the Young. Tnis year it will be celebrated on February 4.

The feast day honoring St. Sarkis is movable. It occurs between
January 11th and February 15th. Each year it follows the five-day
Fast of Catechumens.

Captain St. Sarkis is one of the most beloved saints among the Armenian
nation. Together with his 14 soldiers-companions he was martyred for
the sake of Christian faith.

During the period of reign of the king Kostandianos the Great (285-337)
St. Sarkis, being very courageous, was appointed the prince and
General in chief of the region of Cappadocia bordering Armenia.

When during the period of reign of the king Julianos the Betrayer
(360-363) the persecutions against Christians started by God~Rs will
St. Sarkis and his only son ~V Martyros, came to live in Armenia,
and the Armenian king Tiran, grandson of Tiridates, received them
very well.

>>From Armenia St. Sarkis and his son went to Persia, and started
serving in the army of the Persian king Shapouh as the captain of
regiments. Become aware of the fact that Sarkis was Christian the king
Shapouh ordered him to worship the fire and offer sacrifice to the
heathen gods. But the captain immediately refused to obey the order
saying, ~SWe should worship one God – the Holy Trinity, which has
created the earth and the heaven. Whereas fire or idols are not gods
and the human being may destroy them.~T After these words the saint
destroyed the temple. The annoyed crowd fell on the saint and his son.

First the son of the saint was martyred. The saint was put into prison
and remaining unshaken in his faith was beheaded. After the martyrdom
of the saint light appeared over his body. 14 soldiers-companions of
the saint also were martyred for the sake of Christian faith.

Later St. Mesrop Mashtots brought the relics of the saint to the
village Karbi and the Church of St. Sarkis was built over his relics.

According to one of the folk stories upon return of their victorious
battle Captain St. Sarkis and his 39 soldiers-companions celebrated
their victory in the royal palace, When all of them were drunk and
went to sleep, the king ordered 40 young women to kill the brave
soldiers. 39 of the women obeyed the order and killed the soldiers,
whereas one of them seeing the handsome and peaceful face of sleeping
Sarkis fell in love with him and instead of killing kissed him.

Getting up and seeing what had happened St. Sarkis straddled his
white horse and taking the young woman with him smashed the gates
of the city, brought up violent snow-storm and left the city. It is
because of this folk story that people in love started to consider
St. Sarkis their intercessor and protector. St. Sarkis always helps
and supports all young people asking his help and support.

According to the studies of Academician Karapet Melik-Ohanjanyan, St.
Sarkis was the patron of David of Sassoon and all heroes of Sassoon
not only in the field of battle, but also in love.

The feast of St. Sarkis the Captain and his soldiers-companions is
celebrated not only by means of church rites and prayer, but also
folk traditions.

Wonders are worked by the mediation of St. Sarkis. On the day of the
feast young people pray asking the saint to make their prayers audible
to God. The day before the feast young people eat salty cookies and
relate the appearance of their future bride or bridegroom in their
dream to eating of the salty cookie. After eating the salty cookie
they eat nothing else and pray waiting for the dream. Seeing future
bride or bridegroom in the dream is the result of the wonder worked
thanks to sincere faith.

There are many miracles and folk traditions related to the saint. On
the night preceding the feast of St. Sarkis the faithful people place
a tray full of gruel before the door believing that while passing
near their door at dawn St. Sarkis will leave his footprint on the
gruel symbolizing the fulfillment of their dreams.

People in love present each other cards, flowers or sweets on the
occasion of the feast.

ARMENIAN MP DESCRIBES ADOPTION OF BILL BY FRENCH SENATE AS RESTORATION OF JUSTICE

ARMENPRESS
FEBRUARY 3, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, ARMENPRESS: The adoption of bill penalizing the
denial of the Armenian Genocide is restoration of justice almost after
a century since it was committed, member of the RPA party’s faction
Karine Atchemyan told a news conference today, stressing that many
in Europe first learnt about it during the debates and adoption of
the bill by the French Senate.

“Using pressure Turkey is trying to present the adoption of bill in
a way convenient to it. It is being explained with the geo-political
and personal pre-electoral interests, but the fact remains that as a
result Turkey is being presented to the community with its real face,”
the MP said.

PRESS RELEASE
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF ARMENIA
40 Baghramyan Ave.
Yerevan 0019, Republic of Armenia
Email: [email protected]
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AUA e-Bulletin

AUA Low Cost Student Loan Program featured on CivilNet.TV Segment

Chief Financial Officer Gevorg Goyunyan was recently invited by
CivilNet.TV to talk about AUA’s affordable alternative to the high cost
of student loans in Armenia. AUA has led the charge to make high quality
education affordable by offering a low cost Student Loan Program, the
first of its kind in Armenia, which has been embraced by hundreds of
students over the years.

AUA Alum Elected to Chair Presidential Commission on Ethics of High
Ranking Officials

AUA Alumnus Emil Babayan, who is also a Senior Lecturer in the Law
Department, was recently appointed to head the Commission on Ethics of
High Ranking Officials. The Commission, established by Presidential
decree, aims to “raise society’s confidence in public institutions
functioning in Armenia” and create a more transparent public domain.
Previous to this appointment Babayan served as Deputy Minister of
Justice of the Republic of Armenia. Babayan served as AUA’s 2011
Commencement Speaker.

AUA Alum leads Seminar on Challenges and Opportunities for Better Health

AUA Alumnus Dr. Tatul Hakobyan, Public Health Adviser in the World
Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, led the Public
Health seminar at the College of Health Sciences on December 20, 2011.
Dr. Hakobyan’s talk was devoted to “Challenges and Opportunities for
Better Health in Europe.”

READ MORE…

Anti-Smoking

College of Engineering Developing Innovative Solar Space and Water Heater

The College of Engineering’s Engineering Research Center (ERC) has
initiated “Development of a Solar and Natural-Gas Driven Hybrid Hot
Water and Space Heating System,” a project funded by Industrial
Technologies Co. (ITC), an Armenia-based engineering and
product-development company. ERC will develop an optimized design for
the unit and provide product schematics and specifications.

READ MORE…

Anti-Smoking

Center for Excellence in Negotiation hosts Seminar

The Center for Excellence in Negotiation (CEN), a program of AUA’s Legal
Resource Center, hosted a seminar led by Boston-based Bridgeway Group
negotiation expert Arthur Martirosyan on the role of values and
environment on negotiation processes. The discussion aimed to help the
CEN set its agenda for the coming year. The CEN’s work is comprised of
three components: (1) training, (2) analytics/research, (3)
consultation/interventions.

READ MORE…

Anti-Smoking

Mane Beglaryan Joins SBM Faculty

The School of Business and Management (SBM) announces the appointment of
Mane Beglaryan as Coordinator of Internship Program and Instructor of
Management. Ms. Beglaryan comes to SBM with a background in
international development having worked for private consulting companies
in Washington, D.C. Beglaryan is not new to AUA as she taught
Organizational Behavior in the School of Political Science and
International Affairs in Spring 2011, and designed and taught Effective
Communications at SBM last fall.

READ MORE…

Anti-Smoking

Faculty Member named Deputy Minister of Justice

AUA Law Adjunct Lecturer Yeghishe Kirakosyan has been named Deputy
Minister of Justice. Mr. Kirakosyan is teaching Public International Law
this winter in the Law Department. Over the past year, he has organized
and led a number of round tables at AUA on emerging issues in
international law in conjunction with International and Comparative Law
Center of which he is a co-founder. Mr. Kirakosyan holds his doctorate
in public international law from Yerevan State University and has
completed the Foreign Ministry Training Program at the Fletcher School
of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. We congratulate Mr. Kirakosyan
on his appointment and wish him all the best as he undertakes this
important public service.

Anti-Smoking

AUA and Northeastern University: Study abroad this summer

AUA will once again host Northeastern University’s Dialogue of
Civilizations Study in Armenia program which offers students an
opportunity to study Armenia’s history, politics, and culture while
earning college credit. This year the program will be held from late May
to late June 2012 and will include field trips to Armenia’s various
historical sites. The application deadline is February 15, 2012. For
more information please see:

Anti-Smoking

Faculty Research and Scholarship

College of Health Sciences Associate Dean Varduhi Petrosyan was recently
appointed Associate Editor of the International Journal for Equity in
Health, “an open access, peer-reviewed, online journal presenting
evidence relevant to the search for, and attainment of, equity in health
across and within countries.”

Dr. Syuzanna Vasilyan, Assistant Professor, Political Science and
International Affairs, recently participated in the round-table
conference “Democracy promotion East and South after the Arab Spring:
Re-evaluating the EU’s Engagement with Authoritarian Regimes,” organized
jointly by Maastricht University (the Netherlands), the Trans-European
Policy Studies Association (Belgium) and the Institut für Europäische
Politik (Germany). Dr. Vasilyan presented a talk on “The European Union
(EU) as a ‘Moral Power’ through its Democracy Promotion Policy in the
South Caucasus.”

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MORT D’UN SOLDAT ARMENIEN PRES DE HORADIZ
Krikor Amirzayan

armenews.com
samedi 4 fevrier 2012

Un soldat armenien a ete mortellement blesse le 2 fevrier vers
17 heures dans la region de Djabraïl sur la ligne frontalière au
sud-est du Haut Karabagh. Le soldat Karlen Baghdassarian (28 ans) de
Stepanakert servait au sein d’une unite armenienne de defense près
de Horadiz. Grièvement blesse, il mourrait lors de son transfert
a l’hôpital. Neanmoins d’après les premiers elements de l’enquete,
il semblerait que K. Baghdassarian s’est donne la mort.

ROMAN BEREZOVSKI TRANSFERE AU ” DYNAMO ” DE MOSCOU
Krikor Amirzayan

armenews.com
samedi 4 fevrier 2012

Le gardien de la selection d’Armenie, Roman Berezovksi (37 ans)
qui jouait dans le championnat de Russie a ” Khimki ” vient d’etre
transfere au ” Dynamo ” de Moscou. Roman Berezovski a signe un contrat
d’un an avec le club moscovite. Dès mars, il devrait prendre sa place
au sein du ” Dynamo ” de Moscou en remplacant le gardien titulaire
Anton Chounine, blesse. Le ” Dynamo ” de Moscou occupe actuellement
la troisième place au classement du championnat de Russie.

DELEGATION COMPRISING FRENCH SENATORS COMPLAINING TO CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF FRENCH SENATE’S LAW TO VISIT AZERBAIJAN

APA
Feb 3 2012
Azerbaijan

Baku-APA. Azerbaijani official authorities, parliament and society
condemned the French parliament’s adoption of draft law criminalizing
denial of made-up “Armenian genocide”.

The State Committee on Work with Religious Organizations told APA
that the Azerbaijanis living in various parts of the world protested
this decision of the parliament. More than 60 Azerbaijani Diaspora
organizations condemned the French parliament’s abovementioned
decision, underlined that this law infringed the freedom of speech
and expression, as well as didn’t serve to establishment of peace,
tranquility and mutual confidence in the region.

Official Ankara positively assessed Azerbaijan’s support to Turkey
on this issue. Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan noted
that Azerbaijan rendered necessary support to Turkey on this issue
and underlined that “Azerbaijan is our brother and fraternal shoulder
is always near us”. Turkey said that Azerbaijan played a significant
role in French senators’ appeal to the French Constitutional Council
in abolition of the abovementioned draft law.

The Republic of Azerbaijan completely continues its efforts for the
abolition of this law. A group of the senators who appealed to the
French Constitutional Court will arrive in Azerbaijan on February
5 by the invitation of the State Committee on Work with religious
Organizations. The delegation includes senators Nathalie Goulet,
Sylvie Goy-Chavent, Jean-Marie Bockel, Herve Maurey, Andre Reichard,
Jeanny Lorgeoux. They senators will hold meetings in the Parliament
as well as several ministries. The French Seantors will also meet
with the refugees and IDPs suffered as a result of Nagorno Karabakh
conflict, will familiarize with their living conditions. The visit
will end on February 10.

OFFICIAL NOTES “ATTEMPTS” TO DAMAGE AZERI-TURKISH TIES

ANS TV
Jan 30 2012
Azerbaijan

[translated from Azeri]

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has reacted to the critical reports
carried by some Turkish media that Azerbaijan holds a weak position
with regard to the law passed by the French Senate. It should be
recalled that some leading Turkish media outlets wrote that Azerbaijan
is not doing enough to protest against the French Senate’s [“genocide”]
bill.

The head of the press service of the [Azerbaijani] Foreign Ministry,
Elman Abdullayev, has said that Azerbaijan expressed its protest
against the draft law when it was being discussed in the lower chamber
of the French Senate. Azerbaijan was the first state to express a
strict position with regard to the law , which prohibits the denial
of the so-called [Armenian] genocide, after it was adopted by the
French Senate, he said.

[Elman Abdullayev, spokesman for Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry]
I believe that the dissemination of these kinds of articles and
information in Turkish media are simply an attempt by some persons
to damage or cast a shadow on relations between the two fraternal
countries. Azerbaijan approaches problems concerning Turkey as its
own problems.

ARE TURKEY AND ISRAEL GETTING CLOSER?
by Asli Aydintasbas

Milliyet
Jan 30 2012
Turkey

[translated from Turkish]

There is no normalization or secret agreement between Turkey and
Israel. At the most, there is a “pact of non-aggression” and a policy
of detente. As for an agreement, it still seems to be too far.

Successive reports caused speculations in the public that a new
process had started between Turkey and Israel.

In fact, one cannot say that there have been gigantic steps. Turkey
chose a young musician of Jewish origin from Izmir, Can Bonomo, to
represent it at the Eurovision song contest. He is a sympathetic
youngster, and the decision is right, but, neither the decision
on Bonomo nor the broadcasting of the film on the Jewish genocide
during World War II, Shoah, on the documentary channel of the TRT
[Turkish Radio and Television] means that Turkey and Israel are
secretly getting closer.

It is obvious, however, that the relations are not as tense as
they were.

For instance, the fact that among those who objected to the Armenian
bill in France there were people of Jewish origin, did not slip
Ankara’s notice.

A few weeks ago, the Israeli Foreign Ministry immediately intervened
and stopped an attempt to recognize the Armenian genocide at
the Israeli Parliament, Knesset. In Washington also there is an
interesting situation. The Jewish lobby that has a significant weight
on US Congress no longer works like Turkey’s lobby as in the past,
but it does not work against it either. The Jewish lobby seems to have
suspended its critical approach against Turkey that it had adopted
following the Mavi Marmara incident.

More importantly, we no longer see the “crossfire” style harsh
statements that we had witnessed last year. Israeli Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu has instructed his cabinet “not to respond to
Turkey no matter what.” As for the Turkish prime minister, he has not
made a single statement against Israel since his address at the UN in
September. If you do not count the standard Mavi Marmara statements
that justify Turkey’s stand, Ankara seems to have abandoned its policy
of swinging its fist at Turkey at every possible opportunity.

What is happening then? Have Ankara and Tel Aviv started a secret
negotiation process, or signed a secret peace agreement in a flash?

No, not exactly. In fact, the state of affairs between Turkey and
Israel has not changed within the last six months. We are still far
away from the point of shaking hands or reconciliation.

If there is an “agreement” that needs to be mentioned, then it is not
about “normalization” but only an unofficial and tentative “mutual
non-aggression” agreement between the two countries.

US President Barack Obama had made a special request in a 90
minute-meeting in New York with Tayyip Erdogan, to prevent the
bilateral relations from “worsening further.” In summary he had said:
“My job here will get more difficult, and it will be hard for us to
defend you.” He repeated the same request to Israeli Prime Minister
Netanyahu who was very eager to mend the relations.

The two countries are refraining from steps that would create the
speculation or possibility of a “military clash” in the eastern
Mediterranean. More importantly, the leaders in both countries refrain
from making provocative or aggressive statements against each other.

The secret and indirect contacts held in New York in order to
“mend” the bilateral relations that reached a breaking point with
the release of the Palmer Report at the end of the summer, did not
yield any results. Ankara is insistent on its demands for an apology
and reparations, moreover it is in a comfortable position due to the
honeymoon phase in its relations with Washington because of the Arab
spring. It has no intentions of making concessions. Israel agrees,
albeit unwillingly, to apologize and to pay reparations, but it has
certain demands in return. In return for an apology and reparations,
Israel wants guarantees that the bilateral relations will really
normalize, in other words, that they will go back to their state in
1990 in all senses, military and political.

This is where things break off. Israel’s demand is not something
Ankara is willing to meet particularly when it is feeling so much at
ease. At a time when there is no peace between Israel and Palestine,
when there is a possibility that Israel may attack Iran, and when
Turkey’s image in the Arab street has reached a peak, Ankara does
not want to bring the relations to their former state and lose the
moral weight it has gained in the Arab world.

Those who try to mediate between the two, keep walking back and forth
in this vicious circle.

[translated from Turkish]

AZERBAIJANI BLOGS TALK ABOUT ARMENIANS: INTRODUCING HATE 2.0
Arzu Geybullayeva

Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso

Feb 3 2012

International Alert, an NGO based in London working on conflict
resolution, did a study on how people on opposite sides of the
conflicts in the South Caucasus perceived each other. Our correspondent
focused on how Armenians were depicted in online discourse in Baku. An
insiders’ look into the dark side of the Azerbaijani blogosphere

A group of scholars, researchers, and specialists was selected to
examine a range of sources, from history textbooks, to the media and
blogosphere, as well as speeches made by politicians to understand
better the dynamics behind the conflicts in the South Caucasus. The
aim of this research, “Myths and conflict”, was to identify key words,
narratives, and other innuendos that reference the concept of “us vs.

them” or “friend vs. enemy”. I was part of the research team. In my
research, I looked at the Azerbaijani blogosphere in order to identify
systemically-used stereotypes and propaganda to dehumanize Armenians
and Armenia. The results of this research will be released in early
2012 and should be available through International Alert’s website.

Dehumanizing the ‘other’ The tone used to talk about Armenians in
the online media – possibly even more than in traditional media – is
clearly one of hate. This is part of a process of dehumanization of the
enemy that is characteristic of conflicts in general. Communication
and media analyst Karim Karim suggests that “hate-mongers can then
‘justify’ acts of violence and degradation because they have denied
the humanity of their victims”.

This definition fits the rhetoric of hate-oriented blogs in
Azerbaijan. In fact, dehumanization is at times combined with
belittling, name-calling and other degrading comparisons in the
majority of posts targeting Armenia and Armenians. As a result one can
clearly see the extent of bitterness, anger, and adverse attitudes that
exist between the two countries not only in traditional outlets but
also in the parallel world of online content. In this parallel world,
hate 2.0 is taken to a completely different level with no strings
attached and no responsibility taken for what is said, illustrated,
and written.

Azerbaijani blogosphere Though the Azerbaijani blogosphere is barely
a decade old, blogging has become more popular in Azerbaijan only in
the last two to three years. According to the most recent Freedom
House report, there are in total about 27,000 blogs operating on
various blogging platforms.

Topics vary extensively with authors writing about art, movies, food,
society, tradition, politics, social issues, and more. Of course,
among the most widely-discussed themes in blogs and popular blogs
are the Karabakh conflict, relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan,
and negative perceptions of Armenians. Let us call them “hate blogs”.

The most common theme for hate blogs is mutual perceptions. It is
also the most explicit and acute theme in terms of the language used,
analogies made, and the overall attitude. Being a blogger myself
who works in the conflict resolution field, reading these blogs
was unpleasant to say the least. The appalling descriptions used in
reference to the “other” – such as descriptions portraying “them” as
thieves, liars, drunks, prostitutes, and cave propagandists – later
appeared to be “kind” when compared to some of the analogies that
were simply beyond my ability to comprehend. It was almost as if the
authors were reassuring themselves and their readers that the “other”
was no longer a human and that it was ok to humiliate them, belittle
them, kill them, let them die, and get rid of them all together.

In a post about the shooting death of an Armenian civilian – a shepherd
– by the Azerbaijani military forces on the border, an Azerbaijani
blogger concluded “In any case, there is one less Armenian and this
is the happiest part of this news story” [Post originally written in
Azerbaijani]. The post expressed no regret about the actual death,
and even championed the incident.

In another post, the author compared Armenia to a disease that should
be eradicated. “Yeah, almost forgot, the worst flu I am referring to
has a similar name to that of bird flu and swine flu, in our language,
we call it “Armenian flu”. The symptoms of this flu include hypocrisy,
fraud, and double standards” [Post originally written in Azerbaijani].

In an additional spin to the post, the author proudly added: “We are
sick with this Armenian trash! […] Hypocrisy they have, terror they
have it […] Now I think, will we even find a vaccine against this
dangerous flu? Let’s not forget: to find a vaccine is written only
in our destiny.”

These and other examples that were used for the purpose of this
research indicated an important factor: youth are also becoming deeply
affected by the negative relations between the two countries that
are reflected in the media, general political statements, and the
overall attitude of the government. The clear annihilation messages,
the overall tone of the posts, and the bloggers’ hostile attitudes
were in no way creations of these bloggers but rather the results
of decades-long policy and measures taken by the local government to
further embed anger and hatred.

Future of hate 2.0 No doubt, this research only reveals the tip of
the iceberg. This is just another example of the fact that in spite
of its extremely powerful liberating potential, the Internet is not
intrinsically good.

It can be used to strengthen stereotypes and can contribute to shaping
public opinion in the favour of conflict.

As the research shows, many young people in Azerbaijan have very strong
positions regarding the conflict that are unsupportive of the peace
process to say the least. It also indicated the amount of work that
needs to be done as well as the pressing need to take concrete steps
in gradually shifting these negative attitudes, building positive
relationships, fostering dialogue and creating space for mutual
understanding rather than hatred between Armenia and Azerbaijan. More
importantly, the research underscores the need to start this work to
promote mutual understanding among youth in particular.

Perhaps, hate 2.0 in Azerbaijan is here to stay. But there is a chance
that online communities with access to first-hand accounts of the
‘other’ will instead mostly contribute to changing attitudes for the
positive in the region as a new, tech-savvy generation grows. Sure
enough, alternatives to “hate 2.0” exist and are possible. The online
world is the world of opportunities, after all…

TEMPLETON HIGH SCHOOL REPORTER TALKS TO KATCHO

Atascadero News

Feb 3 2012
CA

BY: Benton Lowerison, The Aerie

Many constituents can identify our state assemblyman, Katcho Acahdjian,
but few know his story. Over an hour-long lunch, I got an insider’s
take on the politician’s life.

Born in Lebanon to Armenian parents, Katcho grew up speaking both
Turkish and Armenian.

“Lebanon was very pro-American where I grew up,” he said. “If you
drove an American car, you had it made. If there was an American
movie in the theatres, everybody went.”

In 1971, Katcho decided to pursue the American dream by moving to
California. He worked at a Shell gas station in Arroyo Grande to pay
for his college education, graduating from Cuesta in 1973 and from
Cal Poly in 1976 with a degree in international business.

Initially, he hoped to pursue a career that would utilize his fluency
in three languages. After his former employer offered to sell him
the Shell station he had worked at for so long, though, he decided
to stay local.

Before self-service at Shell, Katcho would wash customers’ windows
for them.

“I would always get the sides and the mirrors, and they [the customers]
would always come back,” he said.

As his business enterprises grew, he became more and more involved,
finding ways to serve the community that had helped him make his way.

He served as a volunteer on the French Hospital and Arroyo Grande
Community Hospital boards and has been an active member of the Arroyo
Grande Chamber of Commerce for more than 30 years.

His extensive involvement in Arroyo Grande and the surrounding area
led many to support his bid for County Board of Supervisors in 1998.

After serving three terms, he ran for the state assembly and won.

“I came from a place where you couldn’t even pronounce the [American]
cities and now I get to make decisions in the capitol,” he said,
looking off into the distance before adding, “two oceans away.”

With the state assembly in recess, Katcho has been enjoying another
aspect of his job: visiting constituents to hear their take on assembly
bills and local issues.

“If you get beyond the politics of politicking, you can help people
out,” he said.