Author: Kanayan Tamar

GEORGIANS BUILDING OFFICE ON RUINS OF ARMENIAN CHURCH
Kristine Aghalaryan

hetq
08:30, May 11, 2011

A new office building that will house the Samtskhe-Javakh Regional
Administration in Georgia is being constructed on the ruins of the
Holy Savior Armenian Apostolic Church in Akhaltskha.

Local Armenians say that the church once housed the diocese and that
Archbishop Karapet Bagratouni is buried on the grounds.

Holy Savior was built in 1883 and operated as a church till 1953 when
Russian troops were deployed in Akhaltskha. The Russian military then
erected an officers’ headquarters on the remaining church foundations.

Construction workers at the site, some who refused to give their names,
said told Hetq that they weren’t ripping down the old structure but
merely slicing off a layer or two to restore it to its original shape
when it was the officers’ headquarters.

MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC HOSTS “MUSIC OF ARMENIA” CONCERT

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 12, 2011 – 14:40 AMT

Manhattan School of Music hosted the “Music of Armenia” concert, which
started with a heartfelt performance of Makar Yekmalian’s Ov, Hayots
Ashkharh (Oh, Land of Armenia), according to the Armenian Reporter.

Sopranos Caroline Braga, Christine Price, Kim Foxen, and Caroline
Dunigan, and tenors Jose Ruiz, Robert Murphy, Dorian Balis, and Michael
Anderson – none of whom is Armenian – showed that they had put much
heart and soul into their preparation of Yekmalian’s masterpiece.

Dr. Karine Poghosyan, the concert organizer and an accomplished
pianist, served as conductor.

Next on stage was eight-year-old Zoe Pian-Chowdhury on piano,
performing Aram Khachaturian’s Folk Dance.

Two beautiful pieces by Komitas, Ay aylughs (My red handkerchief)
and Chinar es (Tall as a poplar tree) were brought to life by Sophia
Steger on violin and Christopher Tong on piano.

One of the most unusual performances of the evening was Komitas’s Kele
Kele (Walk, walk), arranged by Dr. Poghosyan for saxophone and piano.

The talented duo of David Antabian and guest soprano Talene
Tchorbajian, who studies at the Manhattan School of Music with Kelly
Sawatsky, performed the beloved Krunk (Crane).

Jack Heaphy and Stephanie Tse gave the piano duo rendition of
Khachaturian’s beautiful Adagio, the love duet from the ballet
Spartacus.

David Antabian then returned to the stage to perform Arno Babajanian’s
Elegy in memory of Aram Khachaturian and Khachaturian’s Toccata.

President Sargsyan Invited Meeting with Agro Processing Companies

Economic News (Information Agency Oreanda)
May 10, 2011 Tuesday

Yerevan. OREANDA-NEWS . May 10, 2011. President Serzh Sargsyan invited
today a meeting with the participation of the management of Armenias
largest agro processing companies. At the meeting with the leaders
of a dozen of the processing companies from the capital and marzes,
which was held at the Yerevan Beer Ltd, present were the RA Ministers
of Agriculture, Finance, and Chairman of the State Revenue Committee,
who presented problems existing in the area of agro purchases and
processing, reforms carried out in the areas of tax and customs
administration, which will touch different spheres, including creation
of favorable conditions for the development projects for the private
enterprises engaged in the area of agro processing.

At the outset, the President noted that his meetings with the major
enterprises and taxpayers are intended to discuss directly with the
businessmen their problems, talk about the present and the future of
the enterprises working in different areas, and speak about their
cooperation with the government. According to Serzh Sargsyan, at
these meetings he has been stressing the importance of working with
the State Revenue Committee and, in general, importance of the entire
process pertinent to tax collection. When I say process, I dont mean
just the entries into the state budget, but rather simplification
of the process, relieving the businesses of unduly burden with the
expectation that the entrepreneurs will consciously do their best
to fulfill their tax obligations, since we dont have other sources
of revenue to pay pensions, wages and defense expenses. Thats why,
in this process we take every precaution not to create risks related
to budget spending.

After the meeting with the leaders of the mining industry and the
bankers, I felt it would be right to hold the next meeting with the
leaders and owners of the processing enterprises because we meet every
year, talk about purchases of agricultural produce and interaction
with the farmers. However, I believe such meetings would be more
efficient if they are held not in the end of summer or beginning
of fall, when it becomes necessary to organize the entire purchase
process, when there is time pressure and it becomes impossible to
solve certain problems but rather now, when the time is right for us
to discuss the problems which your companies face.

I am well aware that youre conducting regular meetings with the Minster
of Agriculture. He was once working in your area, thus I trust hes
fully aware of the problems existing in that particular area. I am also
confident that cooperation of especially processing companies with
the government, precisely, with the Ministry of Agriculture, will be
more efficient. Our agreements are intact and the government, first
of all the Ministry of Agriculture will support you in the process.

The Ministry of Agriculture will be your willing partner on all issues,
and in fall, as we noted at our last meeting, the state will stand
by the farmers.

We have been constantly highlighting the importance of some issues,
and today I would like to articulate them once again so that we dont
forget them. First, it is unacceptable when you sign contracts with
the farmers but later, when circumstances change the quantity of the
produce, etc., start certain discussions related to the prices. It
looks somewhat odd when in two neighboring regions, which do not
differ much, we observe different prices for agricultural produce. I
dont think, its right. I believe the right approach is to start with
the contract signing, so that folks understand the price their produce
will be purchased by; it will also be easier for you to make up your
future programs.

I realize that each product has, so to speak, two prices: one for the
seller, the other for the buyer. The buyer wants to get it for less,
the seller wants to sell it for more. But in both cases, the farmers
as well as the businesses should be able to fix a reasonable price,
so that next year the farmer is interested in growing that produce,
and you, on the other hand, are able to purchase produce for the next
year and sell it with profit. This process must be a two-way street.

I believe that even if not this year, then certainly next year, we
should be able to ensure that all businesses, processing companies
have preliminary assessment of the quantities of the produce to be
purchased and consequently, have contracts. Contracts are essential. I
assure you, that if we are able to sign contracts with the farmers
on the quantity of the produce, next year the quantities of produce
will increase. The number of processing companies is growing, their
capabilities are increasing, and thank God, demand is great too.

Probably, we should be able at some point to solve the issue of
circulating assets so that the wheel spins faster. Every processing
company I spoke with says that there is no problem with selling,
save, of course, for some unforeseen force major situations and the
fact that because of the crisis, the cognac sales have dropped. But it
looks like we are approaching the highest – 2008 level of sales. What
I mean is that you also have a mission to promote the production of
agricultural products not only to process more produce, export it
and have profit but also because the production will have a dramatic
impact on inflation. And this is a significant factor.

We have agreed with the Prime Minister that he will be pursuing this
issue personally until fall. In fall, we will come together with
the Prime Minister and, of course, the Minister of Agriculture and
review the results. I trust, at that time we will be able to talk
more precisely about the conducted works and about certain results
in the context of the entire year.

Just like other meetings, our todays meeting is attended by the
Chairman of the State Revenue Committee. I believe, in his remarks Mr.

Khatchatrian will also touch upon the reforms which are being
implemented in the structure today and speak about the problems that
exist in the area you represent. As I have already noted, these changes
are aimed at the regulation of the field, are aimed at freeing you
from unnecessary red tape so that you spend less time in arranging
your relations with the Committee and spend your valuable time for
producing more goods, President Sargsyan said at the meeting with
the leaders of the major processing companies.

Afterwards, the participants of the meeting discussed with the
President of Armenia problems existing in the area which impede its
development. They also made proposals to address them.

Before the meeting, at Yerevan Beer Ltd President Serzh Sargsyan
familiarized with the working process at the factory and its
development programs, toured the agricultural produce storing,
processing and juice producing units.

BROADCASTERS SUBMIT APPEAL TO EBU

oikotimes.com

May 12 2011

Armenia’s representative at Eurovision 2011 song contest and other
four participants filed an appeal to the European broadcasters
noting that semi-final was not well broadcasted in some European
states and they failed to send messages. Armenian representative’s
manager told Armenian Newsthat the Armenian delegation will receive
a response tonight. He also said that the problem was widely covered
by German media.

As Armenian News reported earlier, Armenia’s representative at
Eurovision Song Contest 2011 Emmy did not qualify for the Grand Final.

The First Semi-Final of the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest took place
in the Dusseldorf Arena, with 10 out of 19 countries qualifying for
the Grand Final. Armenia has been participating in a song contest
since 2006.

TURKEY’S LAST ARMENIAN VILLAGE

Southeast European Times
May 12 2011

By Alexander Christie-Miller for Southeast European Times in Vakifli
— 12/05/11

On the surface, it’s hard to see why anyone would leave Vakifli.

Perched on a hill overlooking the sea, the village is a peaceful,
idyllic spot, its clean Mediterranean air infused with the scent of
orange blossom.

But its 135 inhabitants have a special reason to keep their tiny
community alive: theirs is the last Armenian village in Turkey to
survive the devastating massacres during World War One in which as
many as 1.5 million Armenians were killed.

As with many other villages across Turkey, the decline of income from
agriculture coupled with the temptations of urban life mean Vakifli
is inexorably shrinking.

“We are very few, and we are getting old,” said Berc Kartun, the
village’s mayor. “All the young people leave. Young people finish
university and now they’re looking for something else to do.”

Vakifli owes its unique survival to a mixture of bravery and luck. In
1915, the Ottoman Empire’s ‘Young Turks’ government ordered that all
Armenians in Turkey be deported to the Syrian desert.

For most, this was a death sentence, and the inhabitants of Vakifli
and five other villages in Hatay province that now lie by the Syrian
border armed themselves and took to the mountains.

Around 5,000 people held out for 53 days on the summit of Musa Dagh,
which overlooks Vakifli, resisting Ottoman forces’ attempts to
dislodge them.

Running low on food, they caught the attention of a passing French
warship by hoisting a banner, and were rescued and taken to Allied
refugee camps before returning at the end of the war when Hatay was
under French mandate.

When the province returned to Turkish rule in 1939, five of the
villages opted to migrate to Lebanon, with only Vakifli remaining.

“We’re proud of this history,” said Panos Capar, a 79-year-old orange
farmer. “We fought in the past, and now everybody has to accept us.”

Now they are fighting again. Over the past 15 years the population
declined from around 180 people to its present number, with many
moving to Istanbul.

It is a picture reflected across Turkey. In 1990, about half the
country’s population was classified as rural, but this figure had
dropped to just below 32% by 2008.

Oranges are Vakifli’s main crop, and in 2004 a co-operative was
established. All producers in the village agreed to start growing
organically to try to boost profits. A small village stall sells
locally produced wine, liquors, preserves and soap to a steady trickle
of tourists.

“I think we will survive,” said Capar. “Young people are planning to
make investments here to attract tourists — a restaurant and other
things — but it’s step by step and it won’t happen at once.”

Vakifli’s residents bear the added burden of living in a country
deeply uneasy with its religious and ethnic heritage. Starting in
1915, the large Armenian minority in Anatolia was massacred and almost
entirely driven out.

More than 20 countries recognise the killings as genocide, but Turkey
fiercely disputes the label, saying many Turks were also killed and
there was no intention to exterminate the Armenians.

Related ArticlesLoading”The culture of the new Turkish state was
based on the denial of diversity,” said Orhan Kemal Cengiz, a lawyer
and prominent human rights activist.

“They were trying to create a homogenous society, which didn’t reflect
the reality of Anatolia… Because Turkey has never confronted its
past we haven’t been able to get rid of racist tendencies.”

But in Hatay, which has a rich ethnic mix of Arabs, Turks, Alawi
Muslims, and different Christian denominations, Vakifli’s residents
say they feel at home.

“In Hatay there are many ethnicities and we have been living here a
long time,” said Cem Capar, a 33-year-old veterinarian who was born
in Vakifli but now lives in the nearby town of Samandag.

This content was commissioned for SETimes.com.

CRITICIZING EMMY FOR EUROVISION IS BETRAYAL – ARMENIAN SINGER

news.am

May 12 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Armenian singer Emmy’s failure at Eurovision 2011 was due
to poor performance of another singer who performed as back vocal,
said Armenian singer Shushan Petrosyan.

Petrosyan considers that criticism over Emmy is nothing but betrayal,
as she performed well.

“I cannot understand how one can criticize clothes, hair and such
things. That attitude is a betrayal. What do you want, the girl is
just 22,” she emphasized (Emmy was born in 1984, she is 27 – ed.).

Shushan Petrosyan stressed she advised Emmy not to participate in
the contest. She also commented on performance of Eurovision 2010
Armenian delegate, singer Eva Rivas. Petrosyan compared Rivas with
bubble gum from overseas.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am reported earlier, Armenia’s representative at
Eurovision Song Contest 2011 Emmy did not qualify for the Grand Final.

PRIME MINISTER SARKISIAN COMMENDS “USEFUL DIALOGUE” WITH RFE’S ARMENIAN SERVICE

TMC Net

May 11 2011

Publications/ContentWorks via COMTEX) — Press Releases Prime Minister
Sarkisian Commends “Useful Dialogue” with RFE’s Armenian Service
May 11, 2011 (Yerevan, Armenia) In a visit to RFE’s Yerevan bureau,
Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian praised RFE’s Armenian Service
for “exposing the country’s problems and shortcomings” and called it
“an integral part” of Armenia’s life.

“You advocate the values that prevail in the world today, such as
democracy and freedom of speech,” Sarkisian said. “You try to expose
problems that exist in Armenia, the government tries to respond to
this criticism, and this dialogue is very useful for the country.”

Sarkisian visited RFE’s Armenian Service, locally known as Radio
Azatutyun, on May 7, a holiday still marked in some former Soviet
Bloc countries as Radio Day in honor of the 19th-century Russian
radio pioneer Alexander Popov.

The prime minister said he listens to RFE’s Armenian Service programs,
but added that he hoped democratic advances in the country could one
day mean the station would no longer be needed.

A video report of Sarkisian’s visit (in Armenian) is available at

About RFE’s Armenian Service RFE’s Armenian Service has been a
consistent and trusted provider of independent information in Armenia
for over 50 years. It has won numerous awards including the “Silver
Microphone” award presented by the Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the British Council. The Armenian
Service’s website is one of the leading internet news sites in Armenia
and among Armenians abroad.

About RFE RFE is a private and independent international news
organization whose programs — radio, Internet, and television — reach
influential audiences in 21 countries, including Russia, Iran, Iraq,
Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the republics of Central Asia. It is funded
by the U.S. Congress through the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG).

OSCE MISSION CONDUCTED MONITORING IN THE HADRUT DIRECTION

Panorama
May 12 2011
Armenia

On May 12, in accordance with the achieved agreement with the NKR
authorities, the OSCE mission conducted Á regular monitoring of the
line of contact of the Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijani armed forces
in the Hadrut direction, NKR MFA press service informs.

>From the positions of the NKR Defense Army, the monitoring was
conducted by Field Assistants of the Personal Representative of the
OSCE Chairman-in-Office Hristo Hristov (Bulgaria) and William Pryor
(Great Britain).

>From the Azerbaijani territory, the monitoring mission was headed
by Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej
Kasprzyk. The monitoring group also comprised Coordinator of the OSCE
Office, Lieutenant-Colonel Imre Palatinus (Hungary) and Field Assistant
of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Antal
Herdich (Hungary).

The monitoring passed in accordance with the agreed schedule, and no
violation of the cease-fire regime was fixed.

>From the Karabakh side, the monitoring mission was accompanied by
representatives of the NKR Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs.

NSC SECRETARY DISCUSSES ARMENIAN-AZERBAIJANI RELATIONS WITH GERMAN MFA OFFICIAL

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 12, 2011 – 17:51 AMT

Secretary of the Armenian National Security Council (NSC) Arthur
Baghdasaryan received Patricia Flor, Ambassador and Special Envoy
for Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia of the German Foreign
Ministry.

Flor is on a two-day visit to participate in consultations held
between the two countries’ Foreign Ministries, as well as to discuss
matters presenting mutual interest with representatives of Armenian
state structures, international organizations and civil society.

During the meeting, the parties referred to the Armenian-Azerbaijani
relations with respect to Armenia-Turkey ties and Karabakh conflict.

Flor voiced regret over suspension of the Armenian-Turkish
normalization. Baghdasaryan noted for his part that Armenia has
always stood for a peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict
through negotiations.

Baghdasaryan also briefed Flor on the activity of NSC, specifically,
its role in Armenia’s cooperation with European structures, the RA NSC
press service reported. Flor noted that she is ready to assist in every
possible way to implementation of reforms in Armenia in compliance
with European standards. The parties agreed to discuss these matters in
detail during Armenian-German intergovernmental meetings due July 2011.

ARMENIANS IN THE USA: REFUGEE FAMILY FROM BAKU GETS A NEW LIFE OVERSEAS
By Gayane Lazarian

ArmeniaNow
11.05.11 | 10:40

“We took nothing with us. We locked the door of our apartment and
left,” says Zhanna.

In 1989 Eduard and Tatyana were perhaps the last wedding Armenian
couple in Baku amid rising ethnic violence in a city once known for
its multiculturalism.

Now Mr. and Mrs. Zalinov (Zalinian) lead a prosperous life in an
American city surrounded by the family comfort they have themselves
created thanks to two decades of hard work.

Enlarge Photo The Shirazians were one of the last Armenian families
to leave Baku amid pogroms.

Still, like many former refugee families now living in the United
States and elsewhere in the world, the Zalinovs often remember their
life in Soviet-era Azerbaijan where at one point being an Armenian
became a reason enough to be persecuted, tortured and killed.

With the husband’s surname not ending in ‘yan’ or ‘ian” that would
have immediately betrayed his ethnicity, the marrying couple was able
to somehow get to a point of a wedding party, without getting into too
much trouble over their being Armenians. Tatyana’s 75-year-old mother
Zhanna Shirazian says it was not until one of their friends delivering
a toast called it “the last Armenian wedding in Azerbaijani land”
that the waiters serving the party learned it was actually Armenians
celebrating.

Eduard Zalinov also remembers the ethnic tensions that surrounded
his wedding day – beginning from the Azeri chauffeur driving their
wedding automobile. He says the driver taking them to the marriage
registration office had so much hatred towards them that “he would
have killed us on the spot but for our wedding witnesses, both of
whom were our close friends and were Azeris.”

Members of the Shirazian family were born and raised in Baku. It
was there that they spent nearly half of their lives. For 23 years
Zhanna Shirazian had worked at the industrial construction ministry
and her husband Henrik Shirazian was a geophysicist and, they say,
in fact the only Armenian member of the National Academy of Sciences
in Soviet Azerbaijan.

The Shirazians were one of the last Armenian families to leave Baku
amid pogroms of Armenians there.

Zhanna says her Azeri neighbor, with whom she used to work in the
same ministry, had known long before that lists with Armenian names
were being prepared and that Armenians would be affronted, deported
and killed. “But he was ashamed to tell us about that… But soon my
husband was told at the Academy that it would be good if he temporarily
left the republic,” remembers Zhanna.

The family finally left Baku in August 1989. The last and most
ferocious pogroms of Armenians in Baku took place in January 1990.

>From 1988 to 1990 nearly 450,000 Armenians fled Azerbaijan, often
leaving behind all their property and belongings.

“We took nothing with us. We locked the door of our apartment and
left,” says Zhanna.

With her husband Zhanna one more time returned to Baku in November
1989, managing to take a few items from there. Then they left the
city never to go back again. During that time they say they were
helped a lot by their Azeri friends.

“Every 15 minutes they would phone and urge us to leave because they
feared for our lives. It was terrible. No one of our friends were left
there anymore, no one from Armenians, Jews or even Russians. I told my
husband I wanted to leave the place and never return to Baku again,”
says Zhanna.

After staying in Moscow for three years, the Shirazians finally moved
to the United States as part of a program facilitating refugees’
entry to the country. Now they live in the city of Charlotte in
North Carolina.

“We had applied for the program, but the authorities would not issue
us exit visas. The Soviet authorities insisted that there were no
refugees in the Soviet Union,” says Tatyana. “But the Soviet state
collapsed and soon we got permissions to leave. The U.S. Government
gave us permission to live in the country without a visa. And a year
later we got the green card.”

In 1991, the Shirazians were already the third Armenian family to have
arrived in Charlotte, now the largest city in North Carolina with a
population of some 730,000. Today the number of families like theirs
in Charlotte reaches one hundred. It is Armenians from Azerbaijan
that make the core of the local Armenian community.

“Then I was already 51 years old, my husband was 59. Tatyana was nearly
31 years old. We were provided with a home. We began a new life from
scratch. We had new goals,” says Zhanna, remembering the early 1990s.

Today the large family lives under one roof, something that is typical
of traditional Armenian families.

They say Tatyana’s good English helped her find a good job and
gradually all members of the family began to work.

“I was sorry to see my 59-year-old father get up every morning and
go to work to operate a lathe and that was after many years when he
headed a scientific research institute [back in the USSR]. But we
needed that as well,” remembers Tatyana.

Twenty years later, the Shirazians lead a prosperous live even
by American standards. Since 1995 Tatyana has been engaged in real
estate buying and selling. Her three sons were born here. Her brother,
Ashot, opened a Russian store in Charlotte and simultaneously received
medical education. Zhanna gives private piano lessons to children.

Tatiana says a hard-working person will never get lost in the United
States.

“When somebody says they were simply unlucky and that’s why they
couldn’t achieve something, it doesn’t seem true. If you work, you
gradually climb; your work will be appreciated. Armenians have been
successful here because they are hard-working,” she explains.

Now only photographic images in the album and a few items that the
Shirazians had brought with them to the United States remind them of
their past lives in Baku.

Zhanna carefully takes several tea glasses from a cupboard and says
with nostalgia: “I’ve brought them here all the way from Baku. Every
time I drink tea my memory takes me to the life left across the ocean,
the life which was ours and at the same time not ours.”