Author: Kanayan Tamar

KAREN KARAPETYAN: INDEPENDENT AND FREE STATEHOOD IS THE BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT OF ARMENIAN PEOPLE

ARMENPRESS
17:50, 21 September, 2011

Independent and free statehood is the biggest achievement of
Armenian people, Yerevan Mayor Karen Karapetyan told Armenpress. He
congratulated Armenian people on 20th anniversary of RA independence,
saying that every Armenian must be sure that our state has all the
prerequisites for building a bright future.

“Unequivocally we will have a good future. Today’s our independence
is a great value, and we must preserve it. There is nothing to compare
with independence,” Karen Karapetyan said.

The mayor noted that there are numerous challenges and economic issues,
but he expressed confidence that they all are solvable.

“I cordially wish every Armenian to be proud of independent country
and take care for it,” Yerevan Mayor said.

DER-BOGHOSSIAN “VICTIM” ARRESTED FOR DRAFT DODGING
Larisa Paremuzyan

hetq
13:51, September 21, 2011

Yesterday, the Tumanyan Police department in Lori informed Hetq that
one of the victims in the Serop Der-Boghossian pedophilia trial,
who had avoided military service and was on the run, has been arrested.

The individual was transferred to the Vanadzor Correctional Facility
on September 20. He has been criminally charged with draft dodging.

Coincidentally, Der-Boghossian is also being held at the same facility.

EUROPE-ARMENIA ADVISORY COUNCIL CONGRATULATES ARMENIA ON INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 21, 2011 – 16:36 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Europe-Armenia Advisory Council extended its
warmest and most sincere congratulations to the people of Armenia
today, September 21, as the 20th anniversary of Armenia’s independence
is celebrated.

“Armenia is now actively benefiting from the European Neighbourhood
Policy and the Eastern Partnership. Negotiations of the EU-Armenia
Association Agreement are progressing fast and will eventually lead to
stronger political co-operation, deeper economic integration with a
comprehensive free trade agreement, and easier mobility through visa
facilitation. We also welcome the Partnership for Reforms, recently
set up by the European Commission and the Armenian government, which
aims to strengthen democratisation, good governance, and the respect
for human rights and the rule of law,” the Council said in a statement.

“One of our biggest concerns is the rising tensions in the unresolved
Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Europe has shown how countries can overcome
centuries of warfare, transcend their differences through economic
and political integration, and base their relations exclusively
on peaceful means and international law. The people of Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh deserve no less. We call for the
implementation of the confidence building measures agreed at the
trilateral summit of March 2011 in Sochi without any further delay,
and align ourselves with the call of the Minsk Group Co-Chairing
countries made in May 2011 in Deauville.”

ALEXIS GOVCIYAN: COUNCIL SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED TO CEMENT DIASPORA-ARMENIA TIES

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 21, 2011 – 14:14 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – For normalization of Diaspora-Armenia ties
non-governmental council is to be established, which will coordinate
collaboration between Diaspora and Armenia, according to chairman of
Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF).

“Not all issues can be subject to governmental structures, public
initiatives are also required,” Alexis Govciyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter.

Govciyan also touched upon the recent scandal regarding Armenia’s
ambassador to Switzerland Charles Aznavour’s statements, which were
distorted by Turkish and Azerbaijani media.

“Aznavour’s each word carries too much weight and he is too influential
for Turkish politicians to be able to soil his reputation through
such manipulations,” he emphasized.

According to Turkish media reports, Armenian ambassador to Switzerland,
world-known singer Charles Aznavour has allegedly said during
a television program that “the word Genocide disturbs [me].” “A
different word should be found to reopen the Armenian-Turkish border
and to [facilitate] dialogue with Turks,” the singer allegedly said
during a TV program titled “Vivement Dimanche” and aired on France 2,
also expressing a wish to visit Turkey.

However, the shorthand record of the conversation with a French TV
journalist makes the singer’s intention clear.

SEYRAN OHANYAN: INDEPENDENCE HELPED ARMENIAN ARMY SHOW BEST QUALITIES

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 21, 2011 – 15:49 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenian Defense Minister believes the 20th
anniversary of independence to be the most significant achievement
of the Republic of Armenia.

“20 years of independence helped Armenian army demonstrate its best
qualities like it did at today’s military parade. Those 20 years gave
us a chance to better evaluate the atmosphere of safety as well as
threats to Armenia, enabling all governmental authorities to contribute
to provision of their country’s security,” Seyran Ohanyan stated.

Today, September 21, Yerevan’s Republic Square hosted a military
parade dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Republic of Armenia.

A vast range of Armenian defense weaponry was featured, with Armenian,
Artsakh and Russian defense army soldiers marching at the parade.

EXHIBITION OF ARMENIAN ARTISTS OPENS IN TBILISI

ARMENPRESS
12:39, 21 September, 2011

“Armenian Artists of Georgia” exhibition opens today at the Tbilisi
Shalva Amiranashvili arts museum, press service of the National
Museum reported.

The organizers of the exhibition are Georgia’s culture and monuments
preservation ministry, National Museum and Armenian embassy.

For the first time the visitors of the museum will see 130 samples
of works kept in a number of cultural centers.

“Armenian artists based in Georgia from the first half of 19th century
are actively presenting in their works Tbilisi and urban landscapes.

The Armenian artists integrated into local environment were actively
engaged in the creative life of the society”, the press release says.

The exhibition will last till October 4.

SERZH SARGSYAN VISITS EXHIBITION OF THE ARMENIAN JEWELERS ASSOCIATION

ARMENPRESS
14:00, 21 September, 2011

President Serzh Sargsyan visited today the exhibition of the Armenian
Jewelers Association September 21-23 in Yerevan dedicated to the 20th
anniversary of Armenia’s independence.

President’s press office reported that Armenian jewelers from different
countries including from the USA, Canada, Switzerland, Russia, France,
Italy, Thailand, Lebanon present their works in the exhibition.

Within the framework of the event a conference will be conducted the
goal of which is to create an opportunity to show the achievements
of contemporary Armenian jewelry, reinforce ties between the Armenian
jewelers all over the world.

ANC GRASSROOTS’ WORKSHOP TO ADDRESS GENOCIDE EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Tert.am
12:23 21.09.11

The Armenian National Committee – Western Region (ANC-WR) has
announced that the Genocide Education Project (GenEd), Dr. Kathy
Fundukian-Thorossian, and genocide education advocate Shant Hagopian
will serve as panelists in the ANC Grassroots workshop on activism
through school and university curricula.

According to a press release by ANC-WR, the workshop is part of the
ANC Grassroots weekend that will take place from Friday, November 25
to Sunday, November 27, 2011, at the Sheraton Universal Hotel.

Teaching junior high and high school students about this dark –
and often neglected – era of history is extremely important to the
Armenian Cause. Education is one of the most effective means of
countering genocide denial and educating teachers and students about
this historic injustice will ensure that the Armenian Genocide and
its lessons are a catalyst for social change.

GenEd is a non-profit organization that provides educators the
instructional materials, resources and educational workshops to
teach about human rights and genocide – the Armenian Genocide, in
particular. GenEd was founded by Raffi Momjian and ANC-WR activist
Roxanne Makasdjian in 1997, when they determined the Armenian Genocide
curriculum in California’s educational framework – available since
the 1980’s – had not been properly implemented.

Momjian presently serves as the Executive Director of GenEd. He and
GenEd education director Sara Cohan will be members on the educational
advocacy panel discussing how activists can work with educators to
implement lesson plans about the Armenian Genocide as part of history
curricula in the junior high and high school levels.

Dr. Kathy Fundukian-Thorossian is currently the Assistant
Superintendent of educational services for the Glendale Unified School
District. She previously served as the principal of Glendale High
School, from 2005 to 2008, and has more than 25 years of experience in
education. Fundukian-Thorossian has continuously contributed to the
Armenian- American community through various organizations including
the Armenian Cultural Foundation. Fundukian has also attended the
Principal’s Center at Harvard University and is currently on the
Board of Directors for the Character and Ethics Project.

Shant Hagopian is a second-year law student at the Southwestern
University School of Law. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley, and an ANCA
Leo Sarkisian Internship alumnus. During his undergraduate studies,
Hagopian worked closely with the ANC-SF Bay Area and GenEd. He has
conducted seminars about the Armenian Genocide for public school
students in 7th to 11th grades.

JAN. 31 IS ENTRY DEADLINE FOR BIENNIAL SAROYAN PRIZE FOR FICTION, NON-FICTION

Targeted News Service
September 19, 2011 Monday 1:05 AM EST

Stanford University issued the following news release:

Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation are
calling for entries for the fifth William Saroyan International Prize
for Writing, awarded to encourage new or emerging writers in fiction
and non-fiction.

A prize of $5,000 will be awarded in each category.

Entries must be received on or before Jan. 31,
2012. Entry forms and rules for the Saroyan Prize are available
()
online.

The fiction category includes novels, short story collections and
drama. Literary non-fiction of any length will be considered for the
Saroyan non-fiction prize. Judges will be looking for strong literary
merit that honors the Saroyan tradition, particularly in non-fiction
memoirs, portraits and excursions into neighborhood and community.

Entries in either category are limited to English language books that
are available for individual purchase by the general public.

The Saroyan Prize was last awarded in 2010, when the fiction prize
went to Rivka Galchen for her novel Atmospheric Disturbances and the
non-fiction prize went to Linda Himelstein for The King of Vodka.

Other notable winners include Jonathan Safran Foer in 2003 for his
novel Everything is Illuminated. George Hagen won in 2005 for his
novel The Laments, and Kiyo Sato won in 2008 for her memoir Dandelion
Through the Crack.

William Saroyan, an American writer and playwright, was the author
of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Time of Your Life (1939-40),
the novel The Human Comedy (1943) and many volumes of short stories,
essays and memoirs. Born in Fresno in 1908 to Armenian parents, he is
best known for his short stories about the experiences of immigrant
families and children in California. He died in 1981.

Stanford University Libraries houses the William Saroyan Collection,
()
which includes manuscripts, personal journals, correspondence,
drawings and other material.

JERSEY CITY MUSEUM OF RUSSIAN ART (MORA) IS WORTH CROSSING THE HUDSON
Lia Petridis Maiello.Journalist and editor

Huffington Post
Sept 20 2011

Do you know this feeling, when you unexpectedly stumble upon a hidden
treasure of physical or non-physical nature and it fundamentally
changes, but completes, your day? In this instance this author took
an inquisitive peek into the windows of the building that is 80
Grand Street, across from Paulus Hook Park in Downtown Jersey City,
and decided to find out what the auspiciously illuminated colors mean.

Entering the elegantly renovated rooms of the Museum of Russian Art
(MORA), the secret is revealed quickly. The pieces hanging on the
walls show a refined sense for classical painting technique, extensive
schooling, an eye for historical references, and a strong feel for
European art-symbolism. The Museum of Russian Art (MORA) is exhibiting
two contemporary Russian/Eastern European artists right now that are
taking the viewer on a stunning travel to strangely familiar places…

Voskanjan Andrey Valerevich, in artistic circles better known as
Gasoyan, was born in Yerevan, Armenia, in 1981. A former republic
of the Soviet Union, Armenia is located at the crossroads of Western
Asia and Eastern Europe. Gasoyan graduated from the Yerevan State Art
Academy in 2004 and then continued studying with the prestigious
Moscow State Art V.I. Surikov College, focusing on monumental
painting. Although Gasoyan is constantly producing artwork, he is
also passing on his skills and knowledge by teaching at the Academic
School of Design in Moscow. In 2008 he was named the laureate of the
Art-Week Moscow competition and his works are appreciated by private
collectors and galleries all over Europe and Russia.

Gasoyan noticeably received his main art schooling after the collapse
of the Soviet empire. His education made him a young Russian painter
with a strong appreciation for the great European masters of the
earlier 20th century, away from the doctrine of Socialist Realism that
influenced, voluntarily and involuntarily, generations of Russian
painters. Keeping in mind that the oppression of artistic freedom
in the Soviet Union generated an entire arts-movement. The Soviet
Nonconformist Art with formidable representatives such as Serov,
or avant-garde expressionist Anatoly Zverev.

And to create a haven for these nonconformist artists, who often fled
the Soviet Union or found collectors outside their home country,
in the U.S., the Museum of Russian Art in Jersey City opened its
doors on September 15, 1980 and has been a place of art, politics
and intellectual exchange for thirty one years.

The young, Russian artist Gasoyan borrows. The ability to express
human emotions with basic brush strokes from symbolist painter Paul
Gauguin, the sometimes frantic approach of Vincent van Gogh, Edvard
Munch’s undeniable predilection for themes such as love, fear, death
and anxiety, Wassily Kandinsky’s precision and strong intuition for
colors. What turns these elements combined into “a Gasoyan” is the
artist’s sense for space, surprising perspectives, his unconventional
use of color, and the brave ease with which he introduces loneliness
to his artwork.

The current exhibition at the Museum of Russian art is so
inspirational, because director Margo Grant understands to bring
together two different, but complementary schools of thought.

Udita Leberg-Shapiro was born in the western Ukraine city of Uzghorod
in 1955 and went through early furtherance of her obvious artistic
talent by her parents, and the Soviet government. The Soviet Ministry
of Foreign Cultural Affairs in Moscow featured her prowess in 1965
with a solo exhibition and named her a child prodigy during a press
conference. She went to art schools in Moscow, Budapest, New York
and Jerusalem, immigrated to the USA in 1974, lives now in Fairlawn,
New Jersey and is a devoted art and music teacher.

Leberg’s pieces are of profound elegance, a deep, very timeless
connection to the “old world” and an extraordinary skill to express
life and liveliness in somber colors. Talking to her at the opening,
she seems almost apologetic about the fact that she would have loved
to use more and brighter colors, earlier in her artistic career, but
the political circumstances in her home country taught her to stay
within artistic boundaries. “I would have loved to paint like Joan
Miró, the way he uses colors, but we had very strict teachers.” Leberg
portrays the story of an outstandingly gifted young woman that learned
early to follow the rules, set by an oppressive regime, and still,
“I did my own paintings on the side, but I couldn’t show them at
school,” she smiles astutely.

The exhibition is open every day from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. until September
25.

For more information: