Author: Kanayan Tamar

BYURAKAN OBSERVATORY TO HAVE AN INFRARED TELESCOPE

ARMINFO
Tuesday, March 26, 20:27

During our last meeting with the secretary of the presidential
Security Council we discussed the possibility of installing an infrared
telescope at our observatory, Director of the Byurakan Astrophysical
Observatory Hayk Harutyunyan told journalists on Tuesday.

He said that the observatory is going to offer Russia to carry out
this project jointly under an inter-governmental agreement.

“In the Soviet times the Russians had such telescopes in Central Asia
but today they can no longer keep them there for political reasons.

So, they may consider placing one in Armenia. They have both desire
and money for such a project. This will help us to develop our
cooperation in studying the Sun and discovering new space objects,”
Harutyunyan said.

ARMENIAN GEOPHYSICAL MONITORING STATION TO BE MODERNIZED

Xinhua General News Service, China
March 25, 2013 Monday 11:25 AM EST

Secretary of Armenia’s National Security Council Arthur Baghdasaryan
on Monday visited the geophysical monitoring station in Garni which
has been undergoing improvements.

“This is an important initiative by the Armenian government and the
Ministry of Emergency Situations, as the operation of this station
will give us the chance to monitor earthquakes and their magnitude
in a radius of 12,000 kilometers and share this information with
neighboring countries,” Baghdasaryan said.

The station will be modernized and put back into operation in the
nearest future.

Armenian Minister of Emergency Situations Armen Yeritsyan said it
will conduct more accurate research, estimate deformation processes
of the earth core within the territory of Armenia, and make long-term
forecasts on earthquakes.

The station built in 1977-1982 was equipped with the most modern
technology at that time.

In 2011, 15 earthquakes were registered in Armenia, with no death
reported, according to Yeristsyan.

NEXT ELECTION IS OLIGARCHY’S LAST CHANCE
Siranuysh Papyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

11:57 26/03/2013

Interview with ethnographer Aghassi Tadevosyan

Aghassi, what do you think about the post-electoral and political
situation?

The latest elections were held in an essentially different situation.

First, the civil background of the political processes was different.

In 2008, the movement occurred after the elections and the intellectual
and civil discourse during the last five years influenced the civil
potential of the society. The next important thing is the internal
change of the authorities. If during 2008 elections, the oligarchic
system had another authority to replace Robert Kocharyan, now there
is no individual in the oligarchic clan ready to substitute Serzh
Sargsyan. This is a serious issue for the government which may lead
to a crisis, the first signs of which are already visible.

The oligarchic capitalism and the Republican Party which represents
the oligarchy’s interests face serious challenges. The main
issue in Armenia is transformation of oligarchic capitalism into
liberal-democratic one, which is a serious process and I’m sure that
Serzh Sargsyan and reasonable Republicans are interested in it too.

The situation is interesting: in case Serzh Sargsyan realizes the
necessity of the transformation, he won’t be able to avoid rough
policy in relation to his allies – the oligarchs. For this, he
needs an alternative source of rough force against the oligarchy. If
Republicans and Serzh Sargsyan realize the importance of this issue,
the politicization of the activities of the Republican Party will enter
the political agenda. Dwelling on the politicization of activities
of a political party may sound strange, but it is not a secret that
the application of the clan principle is of key importance in the
activities of this party. But the situation is changing and this
approach won’t be enough. Without internal transformations, the
party will be unable to be adequate to the new situation and play a
serious role in the formation of power. The main aim of politicization
of the party is to become an actor in the solution of transitive
political-economic issues of the country.

I suppose those forces which will be constructive participants of
this process will be the country’s future influential political
forces. The political sector of the Republican Party can’t resolve
this issue alone. As a majority party, it needs the support of an
opposition that enjoys public respect, even cooperation with it. In
all the developed countries of the world, the opposition and the
government cooperate and don’t dream about eliminating each other. I
think, for the sake of further development of Armenia, and in order
to avoid clashes and civil unrests, Serzh Sargsyan needs to carry
out reforms to resolve the aforementioned issue. In order to do that
and to avoid strong resistance of the oligarchy, Serzh Sargsyan will
need to rely on a different force rather than the oligarchy. This
force can be the society, and here Serzh Sargsyan will need Raffi
Hovannisian. I think their cooperation at this moment would be the
best way of solution of the urgent issues facing Armenia.

The issue is the following: Serzh Sargsyan will either have to
carry out changes, or his party will face serious issues regarding
reproduction. Otherwise, the upcoming elections are fraught with
serious consequences for Armenia, if Serzh Sargsyan is certainly able
to keep the office of the president until the next elections. If the
situation does not change, the government will run into a crisis.

Raffi Hovannisian acts very cleverly and takes calculated steps. In
reality, Raffi Hovannisian’s tactics is substantial and the proposals
he made to Serzh Sargsyan stem from the challenges Armenia is facing.

Transformation of oligarchic capitalism into liberal-democratic
capitalism is in line with the interests of the leaders of both the
opposition and the government. I shall repeat that Serzh Sargsyan
is responsible for the solution of this issue, and in order to be
able to counteract resistance of the oligarchy he needs the society,
which can be consolidated by Raffi Hovannisian.

WHY ARMENIA IS MORE LIKELY TO ENGINEER SUPER-CHILDREN THAN CHINA

09:33 26.03.2013

Seems like everybody’s talking Chinese genomics and the art of
engineering genius babies these days. But the nation that’s more
likely to breed a generation of super-smart, problem-solving kids
isn’t the global economic giant currently engaging in a complex,
sinister-sounding genetics program-it’s Armenia, a tiny landlocked
nation, pop. 3,000,000, that’s still mired in the shadow of a
devastating genocide. And it’s going to do it with chess, the
Motherboard writes.

Beijing Genomics Institute is essentially looking for a way for China
to breed more intelligent children. And it’s the largest such effort in
the world. More specifically, BGI Shenzen has “collected DNA samples
from 2,000 of the world’s smartest people and are sequencing their
entire genomes in an attempt to identify the alleles which determine
human intelligence.”

“But there’s probably a better, less terrifying and Gattaca-reminiscent
way to make an entire generation of kids smarter with already extant
technology and no hint of scary eugenics: Make playing chess mandatory
in school,” the article reads.

While China may be paving the way for genetically-optimal brainiacs
in giant genomics labs, Armenia is modifying its youth’s intelligence
the old fashioned way-with smart policy and good education. As such,
Armenia’s actually more likely to boost its youth’s IQ than China-using
gaming technology that’s been around for over a thousand years.

“Aremenia is the only nation in the world where chess is a compulsory
part of school curriculum, thanks to a $3 million initiative passed in
2011. Beginning two years ago, chess has been a mandatory in the third
and fourth grades-students play chess two hours a week every week for
two years. Part of the program’s aim is to improve children’s logic
and reasoning skills. But, as with China’s more sci-fi approach, part
of the aim is to engineer a generation of smarter, savvier children.

The article posted on motherboard.vice.com continues that “There is
a decent body of scientific evidence that suggests that learning and
playing chess can actually raise a child’s IQ-no test tubes required.

University of Sydney professor (and chess grandmaster) Dr. Peter
Dauvergne has long argued that chess has significant educational
benefits, and that a raised IQ is chief among them.”

SERJ TANKIAN DEDICATED A SONG TO ALL THOSE IN ARMENIA FIGHTING FOR POSITIVE CHANGE

11:19, 26 March, 2013

YEREVAN, MARCH 26, ARMENPRESS: A singer, poet, songwriter, activist,
and composer Serj Tankian recently recorded a beautiful song in
Armenian called Garuna by Komitas, with Tigran Hamasyan on piano. As
reports Armenpress referring to Serj Tankian’s official website, it
will be released on our Jazz-iz-Christ record this summer. “I want
to dedicate it to all those in Armenia fighting for positive change,”
said Tankian.

A collaborative effort, JAZZ-IZ-CHRIST has 13 tracks that weave in
and out of the jazz genre, infusing elements of traditional jazz,
electronic music and other non-traditional jazz elements. Besides
Serj, this album features Tigran Hamasyan, a notoriously talented
pianist signed to Verve Records, trumpet player Tom Duprey (From the
Prometheus Bound band), flute player Valery Tolstov, violinist and
actor David Alpay, and a host of other musical guests. The album is
mainly instrumental, but does have 3 tracks with Serj singing vocals.

LEUR MORALE ET LA NôTRE, PAR ARA TORANIAN

Ainsi, le gouvernement turc et les Kurdes du PKK se seraient-ils
entendus ces derniers jours sur un accord qui entrainerait quelques
réformes, la libération de prisonniers politiques et un arrêt
des hostilités. Même en faisant abstraction des considérations
géostratégiques ayant conduit a ce résultat, toute évolution
de la situation en Turquie, en particulier si elle se traduit par
une plus grande prise en compte de la diversité culturelle de ce
pays, ne peut laisser les Arméniens indifférents. Pour autant ces
progrès soulignent également, par contraste, l’inexistence de toute
avancée officielle sur la reconnaissance du génocide des Arméniens
et d’une manière générale de tout pas en direction d’une initiative
de justice a l’égard de ce peuple annihilé. Physiquement absent du
paysage démographique ( ils ne représentent plus que 0,01% de la
population de la Turquie), ils le sont aussi de la scène politique. Et
hormis quelques bonnes volontés turques et kurdes qui ont pris le
risque, de-ci de-la, de s’exprimer en leur faveur, ils ne disposent
d’aucun relais pour s’inscrire dans les mécanismes politiques internes
de ce pays. Et d’y défendre leurs droits les plus élémentaires.

Les morts sont la proie des vivants disait Sartre, et les descendants
des victimes doivent s’en remettre a d’autres pour protéger
leur mémoire a l’intérieur de la Turquie. Leur propre parole,
venue de diaspora ou d’Arménie, est percue comme une pression
extérieure. Elle provoque d’abord un réflexe de résistance,
avant que de pouvoir seulement songer a recueillir quelque chance
d’être entendue. Effacés de la terre qui a vu naître leur peuple,
devenue pour elle des étrangers, les fils des rescapés du génocide
le sont aussi encore un peu dans leur pays d’accueil. N’était-ce pas
ce que sous-entendait Maître Robert Badinter quand il se demandait
en substance, au moment de la loi pénalisant le négationnisme du
génocide arménien, ” en quoi ce problème qui s’est produit loin
dans le temps et l’espace regarde-t-il la France ” ? â~@~I Comme
si le principe de fraternité n’induisait pas que ce qui touche une
partie de la population concerne aussi le reste. Comme si la notion
de crime contre l’humanité devait s’arrêter la où commencent les
frontières de l’Hexagone. Et comme si le négationnisme n’était
pas en soi un fléau.

Inexistant sur la terre de leurs ancêtres, devant encore essuyer
90 ans après leur arrivée en France ce genre de remarques des ”
autorités morales ” de leur nouvelle patrie, assis sur un volcan
géopolitique dans leur petite république du Caucase, les Arméniens
font-ils partie des peuples maudits des temps modernes ? Une population
gênante, errante et surtout qui crée des problèmes avec un Etat
réputé important : la Turquie. Un Etat certes génocidaire et
négationniste, mais a propos duquel Shimon Perès, en baisant la
main du Sultan Erdogan, vient de déclarer qu’IsraÔl avait mille
raisons d’être l’ami… oubliant ainsi sans doute les mots malheureux
prononcés par ce dernier il y a 3 ans a Davos, ainsi bien sÔr que le
génocide arménien. Comme si ce type de considérations ne revêtait
aucune espèce d’importance ni de signification d’aucune sorte.

Quel est donc l’étrange message sous-jacent a cette situation globale
? S’agit-il de dire que les peuples exterminés feraient mieux de
prendre leur perte, comme a la Bourse, et de passer a autre chose ?

Qu’une bonne fois pour toutes ils devraient faire leur deuil de leurs
droits et de leurs idéaux de liberté ? Qu’ils comprennent enfin
que la raison du plus fort est toujours la meilleure ? Et qu’ils se
résignent a l’idée que, oui, décidément, le crime est payant ?

Si les choses ne sont pas dites avec autant de brutalité, n’est-ce
pas tout de même l’enseignement qu’il convient d’en tirer ? A
cette morale, nous en opposons une autre. La nôtre. Un peuple qui a
survécu a 1915 survivra a tout. Il le doit a lui même. Et surtout,
il le doit a une certaine idée de la justice et de l’humanité dont le
combat qu’il mène au nom de tous les siens pave la route et magnifie
la portée.

Ara Toranian

mardi 26 mars 2013, Ara ©armenews.com

ZACH BOGOSIAN PROUD OF BEING FIRST ARMENIAN IN NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

21:08, 25 March, 2013

YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS: Winnipeg Jets defenseman Zach Bogosian
is proud to be the first Armenian in NHL. As reports Armenpress, in
an interview with New York Hockey Journal, Bogosian told about his
Armenian heritage. “It’s just a hard-working family from a small town.

I mean, if I can do it, anyone can do it. As far as being the first
Armenian, obviously I’m very proud of it. But it’s not just on me; it’s
on my parents and everyone who helped me throughout my whole career.”

COMPULSORY CHESS LESSONS MIGHT BE MAKING ARMENIA’S KIDS SUPERSMART

MSN Now
March 25 2013

In 2011, Armenia made chess a mandatory class at every public school.

You might laugh at the idea of every Armenian kid being a chess nerd
– until the day their superior strategizing skills enable them to
checkmate us. Ruben Aghuzumstyan, who’s leading a team of psychologists
testing the effect of chess on budding minds, says preliminary results
indicate that chess-playing kids show stronger individuality, creative
thinking, reflexes and comparative analysis.

Chess is wildly popular in Armenia, where grandmasters are celebrities
who score freebies such as cars from the government. But before you
start fearing the Eurasian nation’s chess-enhanced intelligence,
remember it’s also the country partly responsible for the Kardashians.

[Source]

KING CONGRATULATES ARMENIAN PRESIDENT ON HIS RE-ELECTION

Petra News Agency, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
March 25 2013

Amman, March. 25 (Petra) – His Majesty King Abdallah II on Monday
[25 March] sent a cable to President Serzh Sargsyan congratulating
him on his re-election as president of the Armenian Republic. The
king wished the president continued good health and happiness and
the people of Armenia further progress and prosperity.

“ATTEMPT TO IMITATE POLITICAL PROCESSES”

16:23 25/03/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

The proposals of the leader of Heritage Party Raffi Hovannisian to
the authorities are not understood because it is illogical to demand
that the authorities resign, said Stepan Danielyan to Lragir.am.

Raffi Hovannisian proposes that Serzh Sargsyan resign shortly and
dismantle his system. I think Serzh Sargsyan is not ready for this,
the political scientist says.

Dwelling no Serzh Sargsyan’s reply to Raffi Hovannisian, Danielyan
noted that both are trying to imitate political processes, as if there
is a dialogue. I think the dialogue is about nothing, said Danielyan.

Stepan Danielyan thinks that the maximum Serzh Sargsyan will do is
to give some levers to Raffi Hovannisian but all will be an imitation.

We should admit that Raffi Hovannisian’s team is not perceived as
such, they are people with different approaches. Will the levers
that Hovannisian will receive be used for the sake of the society? We
can’t be sure, said Stepan Danielyan.