Author: Kanayan Tamar

BIG SHAME

yerkir.am
18:56 – 17.10.2011

2012 is announced the international book day. One can use all the
fingers to count the book stores that are available in Yerevan.

Who was ever worried about the fact that bookstores are closing?

Neither the minister of Culture and nor the ministry of education of
science cares about it.

But God forbid the fate of books becomes similar with the one of our
education and culture has today.

Although people know that there’s no such thing as a book business,
they still open book stores and close them for that very reason.

I wonder what the ministers of Education and science and of Culture
think when they see people selling books in the streets? Or maybe
they are too busy to notice it? Who knows?

I wonder how they presented Armenia to UNESCO and from which point
of view are they going to call us residents of the book capital of
the world?

Nowadays, literary figures do their best to return the tradition of
reading back to our life.

Dear ministers, be careful counting the closing book stores to not
miss one.

AZERIS ACQUIRE ISRAELI-MADE DRONES

asbarez
Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

Israeli Aerostar Drone

BAKU (UPI)-Azerbaijan is expected to acquire 60 small Israeli-designed
unmanned aerial vehicles built under license in the oil-rich former
Soviet republic that’s moving closer to the Jewish state as the Baku
government modernizes its military.

The burgeoning military and intelligence alliance between the countries
is causing growing concern in Iran, Azerbaijan’s southern neighbor,
and in nearby longtime rival Armenia.

The Israeli Aerostar and Orbiter 2M UAVs are being manufactured by
Baku’s Azad Systems Co., a joint venture between Azerbaijan’s Defense
Ministry and Aeronautics Defense Systems of Israel.

That’s the country’s third largest UAV manufacturer after Israel
Aerospace Industries and Elbit Systems.

Around 70 percent of the components are produced in Israel, the rest
in Azerbaijan.

Sixty of the drones are to be delivered to Azerbaijan’s armed forces
by the end of the year, primarily for intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance missions.

Azerbaijan’s military already operates Elbit Systems’ Hermes 450 and
IAI’s Searcher reconnaissance drones, as well as some of Aeronautics
Defense Systems’ Aerostar and Orbiter craft.

Azerbaijan Minister of Defense Industry Yavar Jamalov told the
Azerbaijan Press Agency earlier this month that Baku is considering
the production of missile-armed UAVs within the next two years,
a development guaranteed to deepen Iranian and Armenian concerns.

The UAV deal with Azerbaijan allows Israeli manufacturers to pick
up some of the slack that appeared when Israel’s strategic military
alliance with Turkey collapsed in 2010.

APA reported that Aeronautics Defense Systems beat out several Turkish
defense firms, including TAI, Baykar Makina and Global Teknik, for
the UAV venture set up in March.

Azerbaijan, which lies in the energy-rich Caspian Basin, has oil
reserves of more than 1.2 billion barrels as well as 4.4 trillion
cubic feet of natural gas. It is one of Israel’s largest suppliers
of crude oil.

Earlier this month, Israel’s air force marked the 40th anniversary
of the formation of its first UAV unit, Squadron 200 at the Palmachim
Air Base on the Mediterranean coast south of Tel Aviv from where IAI
satellites are launched.

NEW ISSUE OF ‘GENOCIDE STUDIES AND PREVENTION’ RELEASED

Aremnian Weekly
Tue, Oct 18 2011

Now in its sixth year of publication, “Genocide Studies and Prevention”
Volume 6.2 features in its latest issue a diverse mix of original
articles that cover a wide range of topics related directly to
the field of genocide studies. This issue features articles by the
Zoryan Institute’s chairman, Roger W. Smith, its associated scholar,
Bedross Der Matossian, and a graduate of the Genocide and Human Rights
University Program (GHRUP), Regine King from Rwanda.

“The African Standby Force, Genocide, and International Relations
Theory” by Stephen Burgess, a professor at the U.S. Air Wave College,
examines the proposal to create an African Standby Force (ASF) to
intervene when genocide threatens the continent. In launching the
ASF, African leaders over-promised to stop genocide, given their
lack of political will, the weak capacity of their states, and the
weak military capability of the Force’s subregional brigades. Burgess
notes that the leaders of various countries have failed to come close
to meeting the 2010 deadline and questions an “African solution for
African problems,” reinforcing the international responsibility of
its prevention.

Regine King, a Ph.D. candidate at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of
Social Work at the University of Toronto, and a graduate of GHRUP,
writes about “Healing Psychosocial Trauma in the Midst of Truth
Commissions: The Case of Gacaca in Post-Genocide Rwanda.” Writing as
a Rwandan community-based mental health researcher and practitioner
concerned with the mental wellbeing of individuals and communities
that survive mass violence and genocide, she critiques the exclusive
use of community-based truth commissions, regardless of their emphatic
endorsement by post-conflict governments and multilateral organizations
since the end of the Cold War. She concludes by suggesting that other
models should be adopted to supplement gacaca.

In “From Bloodless Revolution to Bloody Counterrevolution: The
Adana Massacres of 1909,” Dr. Bedros Der Matossian writes that the
historiography of the Adana Massacres of 1909 are represented by two
diverging views: While some Turkish scholars deny the involvement
of local government officials in the massacres and put all of the
blame on the Armenians who revolted as part of a conspiracy to
establish a kingdom in Cilicia, some Armenian scholars, whose work
is overshadowed by the Armenian Genocide, accuse the Committee of
Union and Progress (CUP) of acting behind-the-scenes to destroy the
Armenian economic development in the area. By breaking free from the
existing historiography, the present article contends that the Adana
Massacres should be viewed as part of the revolutionary process that
led to the erosion of social and political stability in the region,
the creation of weak public institutions, and the intensification
of existing economic anxieties, all of which led to the enactment of
violence against the vulnerable Armenian population of Adana.

The fourth contribution to the volume, “Did ‘Newsnight’ Miss the
Story? A Survey of How the BBC’s ‘Flagship Political Current Affairs
Program’ Reported Genocide and War in Rwanda Between April and July
1994,” examines the role of the news media in exposing or ignoring
an ongoing genocide. It is authored by Georgina Holmes, a scholar
of international relations theory and media, currently writing a
book on the gendered politics of mediatised conflict in Rwanda. She
writes that at the time of the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, the
BBC’s late-night political discussion program, Newsnight, was one
of the few media political spheres within which representatives of
the British government, opposition parties, the United Nations, and
international non-governmental organizations could comment on British
foreign policy. Since 1994 the British media have been charged with
failing to report genocide; yet, a focus on print media has created a
void in understanding how BBC’s Newsnight covered events. The present
article analyzes how the BBC framed the genocide in a specific way
until July 31, 1994. Holmes concludes that Newsnight missed the story
and “failed to hold British politicians to account.”

The final selection in this issue is authored by Roger W. Smith,
professor emeritus of government at the College of William and Mary
and chairman of the International Institute for Genocide and Human
Rights Studies (IIGHRS), a division of the Zoryan Institute. In his
article, “George Steiner and the War Against the Jews: A Study in
Misrepresentation,” Smith critiques the work of Steiner, finding it to
be misleading in its interpretations, explanations, and implications.

He contests Steiner’s claims that the Jews brought their
near-destruction upon themselves, that they had invented the practice
of genocide, and had created such moral demands upon ordinary human
beings that the tension became unbearable and resulted in a revolt
against the tyranny of conscience and perfection. In his own writing,
Smith works to correct these assertions and directs the reader to
the shortcomings in Steiner’s work as it relates to the Holocaust.

“Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal” was
co-founded by the International Association of Genocide Scholars
(IAGS) and the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights
Studies. The journal’s mission is to understand the phenomenon of
genocide, create an awareness of it as an ongoing scourge, and promote
the necessity of preventing it, for both pragmatic and moral reasons.

It is the official journal of the IAGS and is published three times
a year by the University of Toronto Press.

For more information, contact the IIGHRS by e-mailing
[email protected] or calling (416) 250-9807.

NALBANDIAN CALLS GOTTEMOELLER’S ATTENTION TO AZERBAIJAN’S VIOLATION OF CFE

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 18, 2011 – 18:44 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian met with
the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification,
and Compliance Rose Gottemoeller.

As Nalbandian stressed during the meeting, Armenia welcomes development
of cooperation with the U.S. in the sector of arms control.

Ms. Gottemoeller, in turn, stressed the U.S. appreciation of Armenia’s
efforts in preservation of regional safety.

The Minister further characterised the Treaty on Conventional Armed
Forces in Europe (CFE) as one of the main documents to regulate
security issues. In this context, Nalbandian called Ms. Gottemoeller’s
attention to Azerbaijan’s continued violation of CFE conditions,
Foreign Ministry press service reported.

HAYPOST MARATHON. ANOTHER POST OFFICE REOPENING IN KOMITAS

hetq
14:38, October 18, 2011

The final stage of “Haypost Marathon 2011” is in its final stage.

Almost every day official reopening of one postal office takes place.

On October 18 official reopening of 0051 postal office (Komitas 41)
took place.

Management of “Haypost Trust Management” and “Haypost” CJSC as well
as inhabitants partook in the ceremony.

Director General of “Haypost Trust Management” Juan Pablo Gechidjian
drew employees’ attention to the necessity of providing better service.

In his turn “Haypost” CJSC acting CEO Haik Avagyan noted in his speech
that not only the program of post offices renovating is implementing
but also a thorough program of improving the quality of services of
postal offices is started.”

By “Haypost Marathon 2011” Program it is envisaged to reopen 50 postal
offices not only in Yerevan, but also in marzes in Armenia.

By the Program of Haypost Trust Management it is planned to increase
the number of renovated post offices up to 250 for the next 5 years,
and to augment the services-including commercial ones- specific to
nowadays postal operators.

“Haypost Trust Management” B.V.

“Haypost” CJSC

MAJORITY OF ARMENIANS WOULD BREAK CONTACT IF FOUND OUT FRIEND, RELATIVE WAS GAY: NEW STUDY

epress.am
10.18.2011

According to a recent study conducted in Armenia, 18.6% of respondents
view a “non-traditional sexual orientation” as an “illness,” while a
whopping 55.3% of respondents would break contact with an acquaintance,
friend or relative if they found out he or she was gay.

The joint study by PINK Armenia and Socioscope Societal Research and
Consultancy Center looked at public attitudes toward LGBT people in the
cities of Yerevan, Gyumri and Vanadzor. Researchers interviewed a total
of 1,156 residents, who were divided equally among the three cities.

The findings, presented today by Mamikon Hovsepyan (pictured,
right) of Public Information and Need of Knowledge (PINK Armenia)
and Arus Harutyunyan (pictured, left) from Socioscope, unfortunately
demonstrated a lack of awareness and, according to the report,
showed that what respondents knew about LGBT people was largely
“stereotypical and outside the scope of scientific explanations.”

A higher number of respondents believed there are “not so many” LGBT
people in Armenia (37.2%) as compared to those who responded “yes,
they are many” (33.6%), “they are few” (26.7%) and “there are none
in general” (2.4%). Out of the three cities, Yerevan respondents more
so believed that yes, there are many LGBT people in Armenia (44.6%),
while those in Vanadzor had the highest percentage of respondents
who believed there were no LGBT people in Armenia at all (5.1%).

As to the distribution of LGBT people between the sexes, a higher
percentage of respondents (49.5%) believed that there are more gay
men than lesbians in Armenia – except for in Gyumri, where respondents
believed there were more lesbians than gay men (49.4% as compared to
28.7% in Gyumri who believe there are more gay men than lesbians).

Study findings report cover

Interestingly, though 9.9% believed that having a “non-traditional
sexual orientation” was the result of “online interaction in modern
conditions,” in actual fact, more respondents (53.6%) received
information about LGBT people from television than any other media. By
comparison, only 15% cited the Internet is as a source of information
on LGBT matters.

Speaking to Epress.am after today’s press conference, PINK Armenia
President Mamikon Hovsepyan was, actually, happy to have these figures.

“I quite liked [this last figure] – it can be used as a fact for
when they say that the Internet is spoiling or ruining [our youth,
for example] but it turns out that… 53.6% receive information
from TV entertainment and news programs, and we know that they are
total homophobes there, those programs more so label and ridicule
[LGBT people]; on the other hand, only about 10% get LGBT information
from the Internet. Consequently, the stereotype that the Internet is
damaging completely dissolves,” he said.

Asked about his expectations from the survey findings overall,
Hovsepyan said that, delving into the project, he was a bit concerned
that public perception upon finding out about the results would be
“yes, that’s how it should be.”

“That’s why we emphasized the proposals [at the end of the report].

Perhaps journalists didn’t appreciate these proposals but for a
democratic country, they are necessary… to take the right steps so
that everyone is protected,” he said.

As to their next steps, Hovsepyan said they would use the findings
as the basis for their future work.

“We more so now want to… work with experts to develop
guidelines… to develop LGBT rights. For example, we want to do the
same work with mass media, how to do this work, what to pay attention
to… to work in the area of human rights protection, as well as what
needs to be done at the government level. We want to begin work on
these guidelines probably by next year,” he said.

PAROS FOUNDATION TO IMPLEMENT 100 PROJECTS IN COMMEMORATION OF THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Anna Balyan

“Radiolur”
18.10.2011 15:33

The Paros Foundation based in Berkeley, California, launches the
project “Paros 100 for 100” and intends to implement 100 projects
in Armenia in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide. The foundation has been implementing different programs in
Armenia since 2006 and cooperates with six local companies.

Armen Alaverdyan, Director of the Unison NGO, which addresses the
problems of peoples with disabilities, attaches importance to the
“Paros” investments in their projects.

“In cooperation with Paros we want to encourage people with
disabilities to live a normal active life in Armenia,” he told a
press conference today.

The Vanadzor Art School is also among the beneficiaries. Its Director
Gohar Israelyan says their school has become one of the best ones in
the city thanks to reconstruction, and many of their 265 pupils are
winners of respected international competitions.

On its website Paros Foundation has posted the projects that need
financing. Sponsors of the project will be invited to Armenia to
participate in the events, commemorating the 100th anniversary of
Armenian Genocide in 2015.

FRENCH PRESIDENT’S VISIT TO ARMENIA ON INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY TO HAVE SPECIFIC MEANING – AMBASSADOR

news.am, Armenia
Oct 17 2011

YEREVAN. – The visit of the French President was organized and took
place within the frameworks of Armenian-French relations, French
Ambassador to Armenia Henri Reynaud said in a press conference
on Monday.

French President’s visit was succeeded by the official visit of the
Armenian President to France.

“The fact that the visit coincided with the 20th anniversary of
Armenia’s independence gave a special meaning to it. French President
had a chance to congratulate Armenia on its anniversary. France is
ready to cooperate with Armenia in future and support it in various
spheres. Besides, Nikolas Sarkozy has stated once again that Turkey
should face its history and recognize the Armenian Genocide,” the
diplomat stated.

Responding to the report on 20th anniversary, the French diplomat
said that it was a good chance to conclude results gained during those
years. He believes that Armenia implements it with pride and trust.

According to him, Armenia has achievement such as the new political
system, integration into democratic culture, and transfer into market
relations. Moreover, Armenia gained its position in international
arena, among other things by becoming participant of the European
Partnership and European Council.

CATHOLICOS CONSECRATES CHAMLIAN GYMNASIUM FOUNDATION

asbarez
Monday, October 17th, 2011

Catholicos pours soil at the foundation of the gym as part of the
consecration ceremony

One of the main themes of the Pontifical Visit of His Holiness Aram I,
Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, is the further strengthening
of Armenian Schools, and His Holiness has repeatedly through his
messages emphasized the unique importance of the Armenian School.

In this regards, during his Pontifical Visit to the Western United
Schools, His Holiness will be visiting a number of Prelacy Schools.

The first of these visits took place on the morning of Wednesday,
October 12, 2011, when His Holiness visited Vahan and Anoush Chamlian
School in Glendale. His Holiness was accompanied by Western Prelate
Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Archbishop Yeprem Tabakian, staff
bearer Very Rev. Fr. Mesrob Sarkissian, and clergy members. In
attendance were Glendale City Council members Rafi Manoukian and
Frank Quintero, Central Executive member Vahe Yacoubian and Executive
Council members, Board of Regents and ARF Zavarian Gomideh members,
school administration, faculty, and parents.

At the entrance of the school, students were lined up to welcome His
Holiness. After conducting the traditional salt and bread ceremony,
His Holiness conveyed his blessings to Principal Vazken Madenlian,
administrators, and students. The Directors of Tavlian and Tufenkian
Pre-Schools were also in attendance, and students arrived later for
the cultural program in the school auditorium.

In his welcoming remarks, Principal Vazken Madenlian touted the
Pontifical Visit of His Holiness to Chamlian as a historic day,
especially given that His Holiness would be consecrating the foundation
stones of the school~Rs new gymnasium, a dream that was years in the
making. He then invited the Prelate to introduce His Holiness.

The Prelate stated that the visit of His Holiness to Chamlian was
an occasion of great joy and pride, reminding that one of the main
focuses of the visit is to further strengthen our schools. He lauded
the teachers and parents for their invaluable role in the development
of our youth, which also serves to strengthen our schools. He then
invited His Holiness to deliver his message.

The sun illuminates and warms the earth and mankind. Without the sun,
there is darkness. The sun of Armenian life is the Armenian School,
and without our schools our national life would be left in darkness,
said His Holiness. Addressing the students, His Holiness said that
they are called to be the sunshine of our lives. In an Armenian
School, you receive the warmth of our cultural and national spirit,
you are enriched with our religious and national treasures, and when
you grow up you will illuminate our collective lives with that spirit
and ideals. His Holiness commended all the parents who have entrusted
their children to the Armenian School to enrich their minds and souls,
and urged all parents to send their children to Armenian Schools. In
conclusion, His Holiness commended the Principal, Directors, and
all educators and faculty who serve for the splendor of the Armenian
Church.

His Holiness and entourage then headed to the site of the school~Rs
new gym for the consecrating of the foundation stones. After His
Holiness consecrated the stones, the Prelate, Principal, Executive
Council Chair Mrs. Rima Boghossian, and Glendale City Council members
participated in the placing of the stones.

A visit to two classrooms followed. Teacher Saro Nazarian described
a new teaching took utilized at the school called Smart Board. His
Holiness and entourage next visited the classroom of Armenian teacher
Ms. Ani Berberian, who at that moment was teaching religion class. His
Holiness asked the students questions, answered their questions,
and conveyed his blessings.

After a reception in honor of the Pontiff, His Holiness and
entourage headed to the auditorium where the students presented a
number of songs, including the Cilician and Pontifical anthems. At
the conclusion of the program Vice-Principal Mrs. Rita Kaprielian
delivered brief remarks and announced that the students had a gift
for His Holiness. His Holiness also presented the students with gifts,
and the event came to a close with this benediction.

STATUE OF ATATURK IN NAKHIJEVAN

yerkir.am
18:06 – 17.10.2011

Statue of Ataturk is to be unveiled in Nakhijevan. According to
1news.az, the consul general of Turkey Ayhan Enginar said that the
official unveiling will take place on October 29, on the Independence
Day of Turkey.