Author: Kanayan Tamar

REMEMBERING THE MAESTRO: ARAM GHARABEKIAN “SET THE BAR AT A NEW LEVEL AND CLEARED IT”

ARTS AND CULTURE | 14.01.14 | 17:12

Photolure

By Gohar Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter

Great conductor, talented musician, unique personality, wonderful
friend, caring and loving – this is how prominent Armenian conductor
Aram Gharabekian is remembered among friends and colleagues, mourning
his loss and having a hard time speaking about him in past tense.

Enlarge Photo With Tigran Hekekyan (left) Enlarge Photo With Anna
Mailyan (left)

“He stood out for his great desire to perform Armenian music; it was
due to him that I got to create numerous pieces. A great number of
composers’ creations were staged with his support. I am very sorry
that he has left us so prematurely,” composer, merited artist Ruben
Altunyan told ArmeniaNow.

Gharabekian died Saturday in Los Angeles, age 58. No cause of death has
been reported, though it is believed it might have been heart attack.

Tuesday, the RA ministry of culture told ArmeniaNow that they have
negotiated with Gharabekian’s family on transferring his body to
Armenia, received the consent to do so and are now drafting the
required documentation, after which a government commission will
be called under the culture minister’s leadership to determine the
funeral and burial details.

In his condolences extended to the great conductor’s family and
friends, President Serzh Sargsyan said that Aram Gharabekian, having
studied in the world’s best conservatories, demonstrated extreme
talent as a top and unique conductor, earning numerous prestigious
international awards, and developed also his native art of music.

Gharabekian, born in Tehran, graduated from the New England
Conservatory in Boston, then continued his postgraduate studies
at Mainz University in Germany. He studied conducting with Franco
Ferrara in Italy, and in 1979 became one of a few conducting pupils
of the famous Sergiu Celibidache in Germany. Gharabekian also studied
composition and conducting under Jacob Druckman and Leonard Bernstein
at Tanglewood Music Center in Boston, Massachusetts.

The National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia (NCOA) had the luck to
work with the prominent conductor as its Artistic Director between
1997-2009.

“Aram Gharabekian by his nature was a self-contained and a very decent
person. Coming to Armenia and assuming the artistic leadership of
the chamber orchestra, Gharabekian set the bar at a new level and
cleared it due to it his inner discipline, principality, high sense
of responsibility,” recalls Tigran Hekekyan, director of the popular
Little Singers of Armenia. “He brought radical change to the numerous
post-soviet decayed traditions in the orchestra’s inner agenda,
work-style, human relations, he set order and discipline, which,
unfortunately, is always received with hostility here.”

Hekekyan recalls the concert arranged jointly with Gharabekian,
where Hekekyan’s choir and the chamber orchestra performed together,
and earned high praise. What stood out in his memory, though, is
the atmosphere of warmth and equality, attention to details and tact
Gharabekian brought into personal and professional relations.

In late 1999, as part of Millennium Festival, an orchestra of musicians
from six countries under Gharebekian’s leadership performed Beethoven’s
Ninth Symphony in Kanchou City, China.

Years later Gharabekian would say that the Millennium Festival concert
had been one of the most memorable ones in his entire career.

“Imagine what euphoria the hundreds of talented musicians from various
countries experienced, when talent and high professionalism met to
create a musical miracle,” he said in a press event.

Gharabekian launched his own international music festival, Open
Music Fest, held between July 30, 2009, and September 21, in Yerevan,
featuring a diversity of genres. This was an unprecedented event in
the independent Armenia, aimed at “creating a tradition which would,
first of all, reaffirm the eternal renewal of Yerevan’s cultural
spirit”. Open Music fest was hailed as a unique platform for artistic
collaboration and extraordinary performances of newly commissioned
works.

Gharabekian used to say that the festival’s goal was to prepare the
next generation of great musicians in Armenia, nurture their talent
and, finally, give an opportunity to have their own input in the
world music treasury.

However, the multiple international award-winning conductor soon
resigned from his position of Artistic Director and Principal Conductor
in 2009, after having led NCOA for 12 years.

NCOA Members were unhappy with Gharabekian’s reported intention to
audition new musicians for the orchestra and addressed a letter of
complaint to the culture ministry.

“Aram Gharabekian introduced a new culture of work relations here,
which some people, I guess, did not forgive him. Aram treated with
exceptional respect and valued highly every single musician working
under his leadership. He was demanding, but also demanded special
treatment and respect from the society towards the musicians in his
orchestra,” says Hekekyan.

Gharabekian, disappointed, left the orchestra, but his genius was
too powerful to be defeated, and Gharabekian became the conductor
and artistic director of the Open Music Society Foundation,
a multifaceted arts organization dedicated to fostering musical
excellence, established in Los Angeles this month, which performed to
praise at the Space Shuttle Endeavor arrival ceremony at Los Angeles
International Airport.

Mezzo-soprano, winner of numerous local and international awards Anna
Mailyan, knew Gharabekian from his first days in Armenia and says that
the maestro with his artistic image seemed like an enigmatic creature.

Mailyan worked on numerous joint projects with him, performed in the
opening concert of the Open Music Fest, the implementation of which
had seemed like an impossible job, she says, which Gharabekian had
initiated and successfully completed.

Their last meeting was in Israel in 2012 within the frame of a concert
dedicated to Armenian composers and Armenian music.

“The orchestra was astonished by maestro’s high musical standards
and loved him at once. Maestro, in turn, skillfully and in a terribly
short time, managed to stage several major pieces with the orchestra.

In Jerusalem the concert hall was packed, it was a huge success. The
following day we continued our tour to Tel Aviv,” recalls the famous
singer, adding that the concert had to be held despite the unrest in
Tel Aviv.

“We got to our hotel, where there were notices in our rooms warning
about possible shelling and giving instructions to run and hide in the
hotel shelter as soon as a bomb alarm would be heard, which happened
frequently and every time he would come knock at my door and rush me
out. Once I was really scared and was trying to hide, but he sensed it
and told me not to be afraid with a typical manly firm tone. His words
were full of concern, which I greatly appreciated,” tells Mailyan.

She also recalls that they became rather close with Gharabekian those
days and had long talks at breakfast on various subjects, especially
religious ones, but never once, she says, he said a word of complaint
of his issues in Yerevan.

“Aram would always come up with new ideas, maybe not acceptable for
all, which gave reasons for arguments and speculations. I am shocked
and saddened by his loss. Aram Gharabekian was truly a bright spot
in our cultural life. I wish he were the last victim of indifference,
ignorance, opportunistic, narrow and low human relations and intrigues
in the Armenian reality,” says maestro Hekekyan.

Unfortunately, the first two weeks of 2014 have brought the sad news
of not only Gharabekian’s untimely death; among the eminent figures
of Armenia who have passed away early this year are 87-year-old
architect, academician Jim Torosyan, 65-year-old sculptor Norayr
Karganyan, 53-year-old film-maker Armen Mazmanyan and 58-year-old
writer Levon Khechoyan.

BAN ON FAMILY MEMBERS’ VISITING JAILED OPPOSITION PROTEST REMOVED

HUMAN RIGHTS | 14.01.14 | 12:17

The ban placed by investigators on family members’ seeing jailed
Tseghakron party leader Shant Harutyunyan has been removed, the
oppositionist’s son, Shahen Harutyunyan, wrote on his Facebook
account today.

Harutyunyan, 48, has been in custody since November 5 after being
arrested for leading a protest that resulted in clashes with police.

He and others were charged with assaulting representatives of the law
and not been allowed to make phone calls or see family members since.

The law-enforcement body explained the ban by “interests of the
investigation”.

Harutyunyan conducted a 17-day hunger strike demanding that he and
other 13 arrested activists be allowed to meet with family members,
but he had to discontinue the protest due to apparent health problems
after being hospitalized earlier this month. His family members and
supporters have also staged actions of protest and wrote letters to
world leaders complaining about the status of the prisoners whom they
regard as victims of political persecution.

“The ban on visits has been removed. We’ve got the first fruit of
our struggle,” said Harutyunyan’s 14-year-old son.

“Now I’m going to see my dad and then we will continue our struggle
in the name of their freedom. Freedom to political prisoners. Free,
independent Armenia!” added Shahen Harutyunyan.

WORLD BANK TO ALLOCATE $30 MILLION FOR IRRIGATION ENHANCEMENT PROJECT IN ARMENIA

January 14, 2014 | 13:05

YEREVAN. – World Bank will allocate $30 million for the irrigation
enhancement project in Armenia, representative of the state water
committee said.

It is the fourth WB project in the irrigation field, Adibek Ghazaryan
said during a media conference on Tuesday. The government will finance
25 percent of the project (7.5 million).

The major investment will be aimed at lowering the operating cost of
water by converting pump-based irrigation to gravity irrigation in four
systems. The proposed ISEP will finance the construction of gravity
irrigation systems in the Meghri, Gegardalich, Baghramyan-Norakert
and Kaghtsrashen.

Ghazaryan noted that over five years energy use of irrigation system
fell from 240-250 kw/h to 150-160. Thanks to this project, farmers
of mountainous areas will take water from mountain streams instead
of pumping from the lowlands.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

ARMENIAN SYRIANS DEMAND TRANSPARENT DISTRIBUTION OF ASSISTANCE

At the Ministry of Diaspora the administrators of Facebook groups
representing Armenian Syrians attended a meeting with the minister
of Diaspora.

Armenian Syrian Robert Sulahyan said, in particular, that transparency
of distribution of benefits to Armenian Syrians is an urgent issue.

“If transparency increases, the information will reach the public,”
he noted.

Hranush Hakobyan hurried to note that the government does not
distribute allowances but reaches, asks and persuades international
benevolent organizations to aid Armenian Syrians. The organizations
themselves determine who the beneficiaries of allowances, what the
amount should be and how to distribute. “We are dealing with state
issues,” she noted. The minister failed to clarify whether there will
be more transparency in the future.

“We are tired of hearing of your programs, Aleppo Armenians living in
Yerevan care about assistance distributed to Armenian Syrians,” one of
the participants noted. The same 200-500 people receive assistance for
multiple times while thousands of families have not received any aid.

“We know where assistant comes from but we don’t know where it goes,”
said a man.

He noted that the Armenian community of Aleppo does not feel the
support of the Armenian government whereas most of them are eager to
come to Armenia but cannot afford to do that.

“They can come down the same way you came. I am just the minister
of diaspora, should I become fire and light your way? I can’t find
that way for you, you must find it,” the minister of diaspora Hranush
Hakobyan answered.

“I can’t call you here because tomorrow you will tell me you don’t
like the conditions because you are used to living in a villa and here
you got a room of 12 square meters. You say you are tired of hearing.

But we have done so much, shouldn’t you know about it? This is all
that our state can afford today. I would be happy to give a villa
and a business to each of you,” the minister said.

Hranush Hakobyan noted that she would like all the benefactors to
give more assistance. But one of them said they could give 200 pair
of shoes. “I am not Christ to turn 200 pairs to 5000. The benefactors
who to distribute those 200 pairs.”

According to the Ministry of Diaspora, 15,000 Armenian Syrian refugees
have arrived in Armenia but 11,000 stayed here. Another 12,000 Armenian
Syrians left for Lebanon and 45,000 stayed in Syria, including 30,000
in Aleppo.

244 14:02 14/01/2014 Story from Lragir.am News:

Content-Type: MESSAGE/RFC822; CHARSET=US-ASCII
Content-Description:

MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
From: Mihran Keheyian
Subject: Armenian Syrians Demand Transparent Distribution of Assistance

Armenian Syrians Demand Transparent Distribution of Assistance

At the Ministry of Diaspora the administrators of Facebook groups
representing Armenian Syrians attended a meeting with the minister of
Diaspora.

Armenian Syrian Robert Sulahyan said, in particular, that transparency
of distribution of benefits to Armenian Syrians is an urgent issue.
?If transparency increases, the information will reach the public,? he
noted.

Hranush Hakobyan hurried to note that the government does not
distribute allowances but reaches, asks and persuades international
benevolent organizations to aid Armenian Syrians. The organizations
themselves determine who the beneficiaries of allowances, what the
amount should be and how to distribute. ?We are dealing with state
issues,? she noted. The minister failed to clarify whether there will
be more transparency in the future.

?We are tired of hearing of your programs, Aleppo Armenians living in
Yerevan care about assistance distributed to Armenian Syrians,? one of
the participants noted. The same 200-500 people receive assistance for
multiple times while thousands of families have not received any aid.

?We know where assistant comes from but we don?t know where it goes,?
said a man.

He noted that the Armenian community of Aleppo does not feel the
support of the Armenian government whereas most of them are eager to
come to Armenia but cannot afford to do that.

?They can come down the same way you came. I am just the minister of
diaspora, should I become fire and light your way? I can?t find that
way for you, you must find it,? the minister of diaspora Hranush
Hakobyan answered.

?I can?t call you here because tomorrow you will tell me you don?t
like the conditions because you are used to living in a villa and here
you got a room of 12 square meters. You say you are tired of hearing.
But we have done so much, shouldn?t you know about it? This is all
that our state can afford today. I would be happy to give a villa and
a business to each of you,? the minister said.

Hranush Hakobyan noted that she would like all the benefactors to give
more assistance. But one of them said they could give 200 pair of
shoes. ?I am not Christ to turn 200 pairs to 5000. The benefactors who
to distribute those 200 pairs.?

According to the Ministry of Diaspora, 15,000 Armenian Syrian refugees
have arrived in Armenia but 11,000 stayed here. Another 12,000
Armenian Syrians left for Lebanon and 45,000 stayed in Syria,
including 30,000 in Aleppo.
244
14:02 14/01/2014
Story from Lragir.am News:

DENIALISM : PETITION AGAINST THE ROGUE DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

CCAF PETITION
> SIGN HERE < to Simonetta Sommaruga Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations of France In a decision of 17 December 2013, which will remain an absolute disgrace in the history of the European Court of Human Rights, this jurisdiction which has never so little deserved its name, decided to give reason to Dogu Perincek, the zealous and determined denier of the Armenian Genocide by proposing to condemn Switzerland for its infringement of freedom of expression ! Co-founder of the Talaat Committee (the Turkish "Hitler"), a backroom created by Ankara to export the denialist theses of Turkey to Europe and beyond, Dogu Perincek had appealed against a decision pronounced by the Swiss courts, fining him twice for his denialist statements. At present imprisoned in Turkey for taking part in the attempted coup by the Ergenekon organisation (which did not prevent Ankara from defending him before the ECHR in this particular case), Dogu Pericenk had indeed claimed that the "Armenian Genocide" was an "international lie" at a series of meetings in Switzerland. These statements, offensive against the memory of the victims and defamatory against their descendants, were condemned under the Swiss law on the repression of denialism. The European Court of Human Rights, to which he had appealed, is therefore considering condemning Switzerland, in the name of an inconsequential reading of the freedom of expression and a restrictive interpretation of human dignity. This jurisdiction, in a judgement that is just as irresponsible as it is grotesque, thus gave its support to the denialist propaganda on the Armenian Genocide. And this in accordance with the following arguments* : 1) There would not be any consensus on the facts since only about twenty of the 190 States have recognised them (whereas the international community of historians having seriously dealt with this issue is unanimous on their qualification as genocide and that a number of lobbies, including that of the Turkish government, repeat that it is not for the Parliaments to legislate on history...). 2) There has not been any international judgement qualifying them (whereas the Treaty of Sèvres signed in 1920 by the European Powers provided for the Judgement of the persons responsible for this crime against humanity, treaty replaced in 1923 by that of Lausanne in which these same European Powers, in an attitude typical of Munich before its time, were to abandon any idea of rendering Justice to the Arminian people in the name of new relations with Kemalist Turkey). 3) The notion of genocide would remain unclear and therefore offer scope for debate (whereas the crime of genocide is clearly established by the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court and that the very concept of genocide was forged by Raphaël Lemkin, starting precisely from the extermination of the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire). At one year from the commemorations for the hundredth anniversary of this crime against humanity, as it was named on 24 May 1915 by France, England and Russia at a time when the word genocide had not yet been created, the ECHR has just assassinated the one and a half million victims of the "Young Turk" government for the second time. And this following an unfair trial in which only the Turkish party was able to plead, while the Arminian party and those who defend its universal just cause were not invited to the proceedings. Switzerland, which, in addition, decided on 10 October to reinforce its strategic partnership with Turkey, has until 17 March to lodge an appeal against this unfair judgement which, in sentencing it, also opens the road to an unbridled propagation of denialism. Through this petition, we should like to call on the Swiss authorities to lodge an appeal against this judgement before the Grand Chamber of the ECHR and, in so doing, allow an open debate to be held and a fair trial on a essential issue for our times and our European identity, by giving other States, including France, the possibility of being heard. Furthermore, such an appeal would allow the Arminian party, excluded from the hearing until now, to be equally represented with Turkey, which would bring a minimum balance to this "justice" which, until now, has only been based on one side of the scales. Conseil de coordination des organisations armeniennes de France * ?i=001-139276 dimanche 12 janvier 2014, Jean Eckian ©armenews.com

ROBERT KOTCHARIAN REITERE SES CRITIQUES A L’ENCONTRE DU GOUVERNEMENT

ARMENIE

Depuis qu’il est sorti de son mutisme, l’ancien president armenien
Robert Kotcharian ne se prive pas de parler pour mettre en cause
la politique economique du gouvernement de Tigrane Sarkissian et
au-dela, du president Serge Sarkissian. Lundi 13 janvier, il a ainsi
reitere les critiques qu’il avait adressees quelques jours avant, au
pouvoir en place, durcissant ainsi la guerre des mots qu’il l’oppose
depuis le debut de l’annee a T. Sarkissian, et alimentant du meme
coup les rumeurs sur son intention de revenir durablement sur la
scène politique.

R. Kotcharian a notamment reproche au gouvernement d’avoir secrètement
subventionne le gaz naturel achete a la Russie et a mis en garde contre
les effets du recent accord conclu entre avec le geant gazier russe
Gazprom dont le secteur energetique armenien pourrait devenir l’
“otage”. Il a aussi denonce la reforme très controversee en cours
du système des retraites, a l’origine de plusieurs manifestations a
Erevan. Depuis sa première intervention, l’ancien president a donc
elargi le champ de ses critiques, que T. Sarkissian avait accueillies
sur le mode de l’ironie, en reprochant a R. Kotcharian de limiter
son analyse de la situation economique a la seule crise du secteur
du bâtiment, qui avait soutenu la croissance durant son double mandat.

Dans ses nouvelles declarations postees sur son site web non officiel
2rd.am, R. Kotcharian s’est toutefois abstenu de donner quelque
indication susceptible d’eclairer les media et l’opinion sur son
intention d’effectuer son retour politique. “J’ai parle et continuerai
a parler des questions urgentes relatives au present et a l’avenir de
l’Armenie, independemment de mes eventuelles activites politiques”,
ecrit l’ancien president en ajoutant qu’il “ne peut rester indifferent
devant les problèmes croissants auxquels est confronte le pays ”
et se doit de s’ ” exprimer en toute franchise a ce sujet “.

R. Kotcharian poursuit en lancant une nouvelle attaque visant plus
particulièrement Tigrane Sarkissian, mais percue comme une pique
lancee a son successeur et ancien compagnon de route, l’actuel
president Serge Sarkissian. “Il serait vain de polemiquer avec une
personne qui a passe les six dernières annees a tenter de justifier ses
echecs en les mettant sur le compte de ses predecesseurs”, souligne
R. Kotcharian qui ajoute que “le principal critère pour evaluer le
travail d’un gouvernement quel qu’il soit est très simple : les gens
vivaient-ils mieux ou moins bien sous ce gouvernement” ?

Cette nouvelle salve de R. Kotcharian intervient deux jours après
une declaration de Tigran Sarkissian qui reiterait son analyse slon
laquelle cette croissance a deux chiffres que l’ancien president se
flatte d’avoir ete l’artisan durant son double mandat de 1998 a 2008
s’appuyait sur le seul boom du secteur du bâtiment qui s’est avere etre
une ” bulle ” speculative. Se sentant personnellement attaque dans son
bilan, R. Kotcharian, qui ne s’etait pas exprime publiquement depuis
janvier 2013, a la veille d’elections presidentielles auxquelles on
avait d’abord cru qu’il se porterait candidat, avait reagi avec colère
a des critiques similaires le 30 decembre, en accusant le gouvernement
de mener une politique economique desastreuse.

Dans une declaration diffusee par l’un de ses porte-parole le 11
janvier, le premier ministre armenien a persiste dans ses critiques,
affirmant que l’eeconomie armenienne etait devenue “très vulnerable”
en 2004-2008 parce que trop etroitement tributaire du secteur de
la construction. “Le vrai visage du secteur de la construction en
Armenie a ete revele par la crise financière mondiale”, indique
le texte de cette declaration, en soulignant la chute de 14% de la
croissance enregistree en 2009 en Armenie, au plus fort de la crise. La
declaration du premier ministre rappelle aussi qu’en depit du declin
continu du secteur du bâtiment, les credits a l’emprunt immobiliers
ont augmente considerablement et sont devenus plus accessibles.

Des arguments balayes par R. Kotcharian qui designe les banques
comme les principales beneficiaires de cette augmentation des credits
locatifs, qui ne correspondent pas selon lui a une realite marquee par
une baisse massive de l’activite dans le secteur. L’ancien president,
âge de 59 ans, a egalement critique les recents accords conclus par
le gouvernement avec la Russie concernant les modalites de livraison
du gaz naturel russe. Il lu a ainsi reproche d’avoir garde secret
le prix du gaz russe revise a la hausse en 2011 jusqu’aux elections
presidentielles de fevrier 2013.

Le gouvernement a ainsi pu effacer la dette de 300 millions de dollars
due a Gazprom en cedant les 20 % de parts qu’il detenait encore dans
le reseau armenien de distribution de gaz au geant russe, qui sevoyait
par ailleurs garantir une situation de monopole sans precedant pour les
trente prochaines annees. Un accord en ce sens avec Gazprom avait ete
signe lors de la visite en Armenie du president russe Vladimir Poutine
le 2 decembre 2013. Les termes de cet accord avaient ete vivement
denonces par les grands partis d’opposition armeniens, qui ont accuse
le gouvernement d’avoir menti a l’opinion publique concernant les prix
du gaz a seule fin de renforcer les chances du president Sarkissian
et de son Parti republicain de remporter les elections.

Les autorites armeniennes ont bien sûr recuse de telles allegations.

R. Kotcharian a juge les explications du gouvernement “extremement
peu convaincantes”. “Il aurait ete preferable qu’il s’excuse tout
simplement”, ajoute R. Kotcharian, en accusant l’equipe de S.Sarkissian
d’avoir saborde les “derniers elements de confiance de l’opinion”
dans le gouvernement. “La societe est habituee au comportement
denue de principles de nombres de responsables politiques, mais une
telle manipulation de l’opinion par les institutions de l’Etat est
choquante”, indique l’ancien president.

Celui-ci exprime aussi ses inquietudes concernant les droits exclusifs
dont jouira Gazprom jusqu’en 2044, estimant que le gouvernement
armenien n’aura plus dès lors qu’un statut de simple “observateur”
sur la marche national du gaz. “J’ai en vain cherche des exemples
d’accords similaires ” dans le monde poursuit R. Kotcharian qui se
demande si ” le secteur energetique du pays va devenir l’otage de
cet accord” ? Rappelons que l’ancien president lui-meme avait essuye
des critiques durant son mandat pour avoir accorde a Gazprom et a
d’autres compagnies russes des droits exclusifs sur des secteurs cles
de l’industrie energetique armenienne.

mardi 14 janvier 2014, Gari ©armenews.com

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
Contact: Taniel Koushakjian
Telephone: (202) 393-3434
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
Date: January 8, 2014

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA DISPLAYS ARMENIAN ORPHAN SISTER RUG, CALLS ON
WHITE HOUSE TO DISPLAY COOLIDGE RUG

Boston, MA – Last month, the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly)
displayed the Armenian Orphan `Sister Rug’ at its annual holiday reception
and briefing, reported the Assembly. Hosted by the Assembly’s New England
Regional Council, the annual event was held at the Armenian Cultural
Foundation and was widely attended by members, friends, and supporters from
across New England. The program provided a new perspective and a unique
storyline to a century-old issue: the 1915 Genocide of Christian Armenians
by Ottoman Turkey and the Republic of Turkey’s state sponsored global
campaign of intimidation and genocide denial ever since.

Assembly board member Lu Ann Ohanian welcomed the audience and thanked them
for their continued support. Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny gave
an update on the organization’s activities in Washington, D.C. including
efforts to properly display the Coolidge rug held by the White House.
Ardouny highlighted the efforts of Congressmen David Valadao (R-CA) and
Adam Schiff (D-CA), lead sponsors of a letter signed by over 30 Members of
Congress urging President Obama to display publicly the iconic carpet.

Ardouny told the audience that the Assembly has urged successive
administrations, dating back to President Bill Clinton, to release the rug
for an official display and has worked with the Armenian Caucus to have the
carpet displayed, not just at the Smithsonian, but also at the White House
and in the U.S. Congress. In a timely development, Rep. Adam Schiff has
written to President Obama to release the Coolidge rug for an upcoming
event he is planning on Capitol Hill.

Ardouny also shared with the audience a letter from National Security
Advisor Antony Blinken to Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA), who was among
the first to write to President Obama in October urging release of the
carpet. While Blinken repeated the Administration’s reasoning not to
release the rug to the Smithsonian, Blinken indicated it `doesn’t preclude
the possibility of the rug’s display in the future.’

Assembly board member Van Krikorian gave remarks and introduced Shant
Mardirossian, chairman of the board of directors of the Near East
Foundation. Mardirossian took the audience through the life and times of
Armenian genocide survivors, the noble American rescue and relief effort
and a look at some of the orphans rescued by the Near East Foundation, then
called Near East Relief. He also brought to life the story of the Ghazir
orphanage and the selfless sacrifice of its director Jakob `Papa’ Kunzler
by showing clips of a 1920’s era film made by the German missionary
Johannes Lepsius, depicting life in Near East Relief orphanages and refugee
camps. The Ghazir orphanage was built and operated by the Near East
Foundation and still exits, today functioning as a school. The presentation
was emotional and inspiring, particularly when Mardirossian emphasized how
proud Armenian Americans should be in the Near East Foundation, an
organization that saved tens of thousands of Armenian orphans, and one that
is currently chaired by an Armenian American descendant of one of the
orphans it helped save.

Mardirossian’s presentation laid the foundation for the keynote speaker,
Dr. H. Martin Deranian. The author of several books, most recently of
`President Calvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug’ fame, Dr. Deranian
presented the Sister Rug and explained how he came upon the story of the
carpet and its personal significance. `The story was first brought to my
attention over forty years ago by Alice Jernazian Haig,’ he writes in the
aforementioned book, where he goes on to share the `intimate relationship
which my mother, Varter, had with Alice’s parents, Rev. and Mrs. Jernazian,
during the Genocide in Urfa, Turkey, during World War I.’ `It was also
in
Urfa that Jakob `Papa’ Kunzler, remembered as `The Father of the Armenian
Orphans,’ saved my mother in 1916 and helped her to reach Aleppo and
safety,’ Deranian writes. Audience members then had a chance to engage with
Dr. Deranian in a question and answer session and were all invited up to
examine the `Sister Rug’ and appreciate its symbolism.

`The Assembly strongly urges the Administration to proudly and promptly
display this treasured piece of American history as this historic rug
symbolizes America’s proud chapter of humanitarian intervention and the
enduring bonds between the American and Armenian people,’ stated Assembly
Executive Director Bryan Ardouny.

Photographs from the Assembly’s Annual Holiday Briefing and Reception can
be found on the Assembly Facebook page here.

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest
Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and
awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3)
tax-exempt membership organization.

###

NR# 2014-01

Photo Caption 1 (L-R): Shant Mardirossian, Anthony Barsamian, Van
Krikorian, Dr. Martin Deranian, Lu Ann Ohanian, and Bryan Ardouny with the
Armenian Orphan ‘Sister Rug’

Photo Caption 2: The Armenian Orphan ‘Sister Rug’

Available online:

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Chris Zakian
Tel: (212) 686-0710
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

January 14, 2014
___________________

Christmas Celebrated at St. Vartan Cathedral

It was a cold, wet morning in New York as worshippers gathered at St. Vartan
Armenian Cathedral to celebrate the Feast of the Nativity and Theophany of
Our Lord Jesus Christ on Monday, January 6. Inside the sanctuary, candles
burned bright and the warm smell of incense blunted the icy wind rushing
through the cathedral doors.

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern), celebrated the Divine Liturgy. Individuals as well as
families, young and old alike, took time off from work or school to worship.
Some 500 people took part in the Christmas celebration over the course of
the day’s events.

In his homily, Archbishop Barsamian said that the birth of Christ was a new
beginning for mankind, and stressed that Christmas is a time of renewal and
looking ahead. Spiritually, it is a time to strengthen our connection with
God and with fellow human beings-a time to share our goodwill with others,
he said.

In today’s age of social media, Archbishop Barsamian went on, opportunities
to reach out to others have increased, but the new technology also has
introduced unproductive, even dangerous, practices. Ultimately, it is
through our connection with Christ that we can avoid being led astray and
satisfy the human hunger for a deep, lasting, and real bond to something
greater.

The Primate was surrounded on the altar by a number of clergymen, deacons,
and seminarians. Archbishop Yeghishe Gizirian; the Very Rev. Fr. Mamigon
Kiledjian, dean of St. Vartan Cathedral; cathedral priest the Very Rev. Fr.
Sooren Chinchinian; and visiting priests Rev. Fr. Bedros Kadehjian and Rev.
Fr. Gomidas Zohrabian participated in the service.

In Armenian tradition, January 6 commemorates not only the birth of Christ,
but also His baptism by John the Baptist. The latter is remembered through
the “Blessing of Water” ceremony, which followed the Divine Liturgy on
Monday.

Hratch Nersessian served as godfather (gunkahayr) of the “Blessing of Water”
service. He took up the ornate hand-cross after it was immersed in water by
Archbishop Barsamian, and held up the cross for the faithful to kiss as
they walked up to receive the water blessed with the Holy Muron (holy oil)
at the conclusion of the service.

The sacred music of the Divine Liturgy was rendered beautifully throughout
the service by the St. Vartan Cathedral Choir, under the direction of
Maestro Khoren Mekanejian. Accompanying on the organ was Florence Avakian.

After the service on January 6, a reception was held in Haik and Alice
Kavookjian Auditorium, where a traditional home-blessing ceremony was led by
Archbishop Barsamian. The faithful then stepped forward to receive blessed
nushkhars. A colorful dance performance was offered by the Akh’tamar
Armenian Dance Ensemble, under the direction of Sylva Assadourian.

Armenian Christmas Eve was observed with service on the evening of Sunday,
January 5. The celebrant was Fr. Mamigon Kiledjian. The Christmas Eve
service featured scripture readings by students from the Diocese’s Khrimian
Lyceum and St. Vartan Armenian School.

Many parishes across the Eastern Diocese also held Christmas services on
January 5 and January 6, with some performing the Blessing of Water Service
on Sunday, January 12.

###

Photos attached.
Photo 1: Archbishop Khajag Barsamian performs the “Blessing of Water”
service.
Photo 2: Hratch Nersessian receives the cross during the “Blessing of Water”
service.
Photo 3: Members of the Akh’tamar Armenian Dance Ensemble perform at the
Christmas reception.

Photo 4: Very Rev. Fr. Mamigon Kiledjian celebrated the Divine Liturgy on
Christmas Eve.

Ouest-France
mardi 7 janvier 2014

Der Zakarian va repasser la 2e couche

par Loïc FOLLIOT

Une nuit de sommeil n’a pas atténué la colère de l’entraîneur nantais
qui va appuyer là où ça fait mal.

La matinée risque de sembler interminable à la Jonelière. Pour
certains, elle aura un air de série Z, aussi palpitante et enlevée que
le plus frénétique des épisodes de Derrick… Bref, un véritable
pensum. Hier matin, Michel Der Zakarian a déroulé le programme qui
précède la réception de Lorient. Cette semaine, le mardi est
incontestablement la journée la moins sexy pour les Canaris. Aux
prises de sang prévues tôt ce matin succédera un petit-déjeuner en
commun qui risque fort d’être le seul moment de détente. Car après les
prélèvements sanguins, c’est une piqûre de rappel qui attend les
partenaires de Papy Djilobodji.

Administrée par Michel Der Zakarian, la séance vidéo post-café et jus
d’orange s’annonce acide. Car le technicien a décidé d’appuyer là où
ça devrait théoriquement faire mal et d’apporter la preuve par
l’image. Les Canaris vont s’infuser leur triste production dominicale
face à l’OGC Nice (0-2). Comme si les joueurs avaient besoin de
ralenti ou d’arrêt sur image pour prendre conscience de l’indigence de
leur prestation. « Il faut qu’ils voient leur exploit. Des fois, ils
n’ont pas le même avis que toi après un match. Ils sont dans la
Playstation », objecte MDZ.

« Le ciboulot qui gonfle »

Un peu moins de vingt-quatre heures après le couac azuréen,
l’entraîneur nantais n’avait toujours pas desserré la mchoire hier
matin, après avoir dirigé un court décrassage en compagnie des
éléments pas ou peu sollicités dimanche après-midi. Son analyse – ou
plutôt son constat – n’avait pas non plus varié d’un iota. « Il y en a
certains auquel il faut bouger le cul. Il faut qu’ils se réveillent. »
Et, en dépit des dénégations apportées à la sortie de la Beaujoire par
les intéressés, Michel Der Zakarian n’a pas revu son jugement sur la
crise de «melonite aiguë » qui aurait contaminé son escouade. « Quand
tu as le ciboulot qui gonfle, le plus difficile, c’est de le
dégonfler. »

Les explications minimalistes du Franco-arménien ne favorisent pas non
plus le décryptage du fiasco. Passées les critiques sur « la première
période catastrophique » et « les passes latérales », MDZ n’a pas
développé ses griefs de technicien. Ni son obstination à maintenir sa
confiance en des éléments, dans toutes les lignes, qui ont bien
siphonné leur boîte à bons points. S’il a ouvert des portes dimanche,
ce n’est pas par dogmatisme. « Je ne tends la main à personne. » Et
encore moins parce que la perspective d’une élimination allège un
calendrier fourni en janvier (cinq matches). « Ils ont eu dix jours de
vacances. Ce n’est pas le cas de toutes les équipes… » Pour le coach
des Canaris, la thèse des cadences infernales a du plomb dans l’aile.

BASQUES AND ARMENIANS

December 26, 2013

The founders of Basque national historiography Esteban de Garibay,
Andres de Posa and Baltasar de Echave considered Armenia as homeland
of Basques. The Armenian origin of Basques was strongly supported by
several prominent researchers, such as Joseph Karst Gaspar Eskolano,
Edward Spencer Dodgson, and Bernardo Estornes Lasa

By the end of 19th century the English lingust Edward Spencer Dodgson
absolutely accidentally made a very interesting discovery. Being
already a well-known basqologist, Dodgson studied Armenian in
Parisian `Ecole Special’, in the class of the famous philologist Ogust
Career. The result was highly unexpected: already after 2 months
studies, Dodgson noticed that many Armenian and Basque words are
practically identical. Dodgson published an article `Basque words in
Armenian’ in the journal `Euskera’ (`Basque language’), in 1884. The
list mentioned the parallels between more than fifty words. It was
like thunder in the clear sky for the scientists, who long maintained
the hypothesis of Georgian origin of Basques.

For example, (with transcriptions) BS- char «bad, evil» – ARM. char
«bad, evil», BS. anti «from there» – ARM. anti «from there», BS. ais
«wind» -ARM. ais «wind», BS. zati «separate» – ARM. zati «separate»,
BS. tegi «place» – ARM. tegh «place» …..

The second important discovery on this subject was made later. In
1920s Basque philologist Bernardo Estornes Lasa, a prominent scientist
and academician, was collecting Basque folklore items in Rapcal
valley, in the eastern part of province Navarra. In the village Isaba,
Estornes Lasa wrote down a local legend according to which the village
Isaba was founded by the Armenians, the first inhabitants of Navarra
and the ancestors of Basque people.

The legend says that the leader of Basques was called Haytor who
arrived from Armenia with his seven sons and in their honour founded
seven settlements in Navarra. It also said that the ancestor of
Basques knew the secret of processing metal. Later, an ancient
manuscript was found in the archives of the village, an ancient
historical chronical, which confirmed the spoken legends. Highly
notable that in Basque language Isaba is translated as `The trace of
ancestors’. Although this can seem absolutely incredible, but the fact
remains the fact, in village Isaba exists a road, which has the name
Erminia (Armenia), in honour of the first colonizers of Navarra.

In Basque language the name of their ancestor Haytor means `Received
from Haya’ which correlates to Armenian ‘hay tor’ (`a Grandson of
Armenian’). Joseph Karst also mentioned this fact. The ancestor of
Armenians, Hayk, indeed, had a grandson, whose name was Pask (in some
Armenian dialects Bask). The first time the possible relationship
between Armenian name Pask and etnoname of Basques was indicated by N.
Marr. It’s interesting that the Basque term for thoroughbred
`haytoren seme’ means `the son of Haytor’.

All these facts were only the top of iceberg of the greatest secret of
the European civilization. The theory of the Armenian origin of the
oldest people of Europe has its deep roots in the historical
collective memory of Basques and found its reflection in their written
sources. As far back as XVI-XVIIcc., the founders of Basque national
historiography Garibay, Andres de Posa and Baltasar de Echave
considered Armenia the prehomeland (or original homeland) of Basques
and tried to prove this on the basis of Basque-Armenian toponymic
parallels… Araks (the name of a river in Armenia and in the Land of
Basques), Apalar, the mountain in the land of Basques and biblical
Ararat, the symbol of Armenians. Moreover, de Posa insisted that
Basques are from Armenia. He mentioned that the city Taragona meant
`commune of shepherds’ and compared it with Armenian Taron, the
ancient form of which is – Tarawna.

A spanish historian of 17th century Gaspar Eskolano, in his book about
the history of Valencia (1610), wrote that after the Worldwide flood
the patriarch Tubal and his people disembarked on the coast of Spain
and they spoke Armenian.

Besides, Gaspar Eskolano described the place, where, according to the
legends, Armenians – the first inhabitants of Spain were buried.
Today, on those locations, mainly in modern Catalonia, churches can be
found, indicating that the they have been considered sacred for
centures.

All this information was defied because the subject wasn’t discussed
and made out with the help of Armenian language. When German linguist
Joseph Karst undertook the detailed study of Basque-Armenian
parallels, the hypothesis about Georgian origin of Basques was firmly
motivated. Georgian words in Basque language were obviously
borrowings from Armenian, this was indicated by Basque academician
Bernard Estorence Lasa.

In 1928 Joseph Karst published the results of his studies which caused
resonance in the scientific world. He presented more than 300
Basque-Armenian lexical, phonetic and grammatical similiarites,
including a shared systems of declension, conjugations and others.
Karst came into conclusion that Basque and Armenian languages are two
varieties of one linguistical type, which he named Alarodian. Besides,
Karst handled the ethnography and the anthropology of Basques and
Armenians; new data and proofs shed light on this matter .

In 1993 Armenian centre of Yerevan state university founded
Armenian-Basque international scientific journal `Araks’, which is
edited by armenologists and basqologists from different countries of
the world.

Some examples on Armenian – Basque similarities

BS.’elki'(exit)-ARM.’elk'(exit)
BS.’ete'(if)-ARM.’ete'(if)
BS.’jaraunsi'(to inherit)-ARM `jarangel'(to inherit)
BS.’muruncha'(snarl)-ARM.’merenchots'(snarl)
BS.’murtsa'(fist)-ARM.’murts'(fist)
BS.’orma'(wall)-ARM.’vorm'(wall)
BS.’tegi'(place)-ARM.’tegh'(place)
BS.’toil'(weak)-ARM.’tuil'(weak)
BS.’laino'(size,breadth)-ARM.’lain'(broad)
BS.’irurden'(third)-ARM.’erordn'(third)
BS.’astadun'(weighty)-ARM.’hastatun'(strong, steadfast)
BS.’astatu'(to prove)-ARM.’hastatel'(to prove) .

In the Armenian Highlands and in the land of Basques there are
enourmous amounts of toponyms, which sometimes get to the level of
simple repetition, such as

Ashtarak (a town in Armenia) – Astarak (a settlement in south of France).

Goris (a city in southeast Armenia) – Goris (a settlement in Gascony).

Deba (a river in north Armenia) – Deba (a name of a river in Gascony).

Shubria (the ancient name of Sasun province) – Shuberoa (tha name to
Basque province in France).

Araks (a famous river in Armenia) – Arakses (a famous river in Gascony).

Aran (the name of terrain in Armenia) – Aran (Wide-spread toponym in
Gascon-speaking part of Catalonia).

Karkar (area in Western Armenia) – Karkar (famous toponym in Gascony), etc.

Basques call themselves `euskaldun(ak)’, which derives from the root
word `eusk’, in different dialects it has different forms – eusk, usk,
esku, asketic. The word is etymologically linked with Armenian word
`voski’ `gold’, with the variations: iski, veske, aske, ioski. The
Armenian word voski `gold’ is the root of the proper name `Voskan’,
which means `one who owns gold’ and it reminds the ethnic name of
Basques `baskon’, and in latin sources fixed as `Vaskon’. In Armenian
– Araratyan Kingdom (`Urartian kindom’), the southeastern coast of the
lake Van, which was the crandle of Armenian people, is called
‘Khubushkia’ which means `valley of usks’ that is to say `valley of
gold `. In medieval Armenian sources Khubushkia, `valley of usks’ or ‘
golden valley’ was renamed into `Hayots dzor’ which means `Armenian
valley’. On the other hand, the Ushkiani mountains are mentioned in
`Urartian’ inscriptions on the northeastern coast of lake Urmia. In
the time of Strabo, the Ushkiani mountains were already identified as
`Armenian mountains’, but in Armenian sources they are known as
`Voskean’ -‘golden’.

All these facts allow us to conclude that for our ancestors the
notions `gold-miner’ and `Armenian’ were synonymous, which is also
evidenced by Basque legends.

In conclusion, there was a genetic study done in different regions of
Armenia, that detected that the characteristic genetic code prevalent
in Welsh, Basques and Irish, called the Atlantic Modal Haplotype, is
also present in Armenian population of Syunik and Artsax. These are
two Armenian provinces predominantly isolated in the mountains, which
precluded genetic admixture with neighboring ethnic groups and
nations». The Armenian modal haplotype is also the modal R1b3
haplotype.

For a proximate examination of European affiliations to Armenians, you
may also refer to a study done by Michael E. Weale, Rolf F. Jager and
Neil Bradman in 2001 called `Armenian Y chromosome haplotypes reveal
strong regional structure within a single ethno-national group,
revealing prevalent link between Welsh, Basques and Irish to the
Armenian populace in Syunik and Karabakh. You may access this study by
contacting:

Departments of Biology and Anthropology,
University College London, University of London,
Darwin Bdg, Gower St, London WC1E 6BT, UK
e-mail: [email protected],
Tel.: +44-207-4043040, Fax: +44-207-4042081

Another fact: Ireland is an Armenian term, which is derived from the
word Eyre, meaning to burn, he burns and any other variation, and it
was associated with the Celtic God Eyre. You can also see the
similarities between Armenian and Celtic stone carvings, which no
other similarity is present anywhere else in the world. Also, is not a
coincidence that the word Spain, is a Basque-derivative term of
Espanna.

Anyone claiming these are coincidental suppositions are more claims of
an inferiority complex rather than strict examinations of their
unlikely coincidences and due to mere probabilistic terms, a
coincidence is astronomically unlikely. Remember what Robert Ellis, a
British scholar once declared, `Armenian conquests of Europe were
during pre-historic and pre-traditional times.’ Think about it…

According to the papers published by Vahan Sargsyan and Vahan Setyan