Author: Kanayan Tamar

EUROVISION 2013
L’Arménie en demi-finale de l’Eurovision 2013 le 16 mai

L’Arménie sera de retour à l’Eurovision 2013 qui se déroulera le 18
mai à Malmö en Suède. La Turquie en revanche a décidé de ne pas
participer au concours européen de la chanson, tout comme le Portugal,
la Bosnie Herzégovine et la Slovaquie. Les deux demi-finales se
dérouleront le 14 et 16 mai. L’Arménie sera dans la seconde
demi-finale le 16 mai dans un groupe comptant 17 pays dont
l’Azerbaïdjan. Les représentants de l’Arménie passeront en 16e
position dans l’ordre des passages. L’Azerbaïdjan est en 2e et la
Géorgie 14e.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 19 janvier 2013,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

Some Syrian Armenians hope learning Russian will help them to better
integrate into Armenian society

Education | 18.01.13 | 12:43

Garabedian’s family- Diranouhi and Hovig with their son Setraq attend
Russian language courses

By Julia Hakobyan
ArmeniaNow Deputy Editor

Diranouhi Garabedian diligently pronounces: “Ya lyublyu russkii yazik”
(I love Russian language). The teacher corrects her, praises, asks a
new question.

Enlarge Photo
Victor Krivopuskov

Garabedian is 42, but this is not the surprising part of her
attendance to the Russian language courses. Garabedian is an Armenian
refugee from Syria who says she wants to learn Russian because she
realizes it comes in handy for better adaptation in Yerevan. She also
hopes that some day she will be able to read some classic Russian
literature in the original language. Her husband and son also attend
the same classes.

The family moved to Armenia a year and a half ago, because of the
ongoing conflict in Syria, which has been going on for 2 years. They
say that in the beginning it was hard to adjust to the life in
Yerevan, but by now, when they get used to life in a new country, they
are thinking of staying in Yerevan forever.

“The Russian language is the second language in Armenia, and we
thought, since we stay here, we have to learn it, because it is being
widely practiced in Yerevan. Russian words are heard in everyday
speech and can be seen in markets, in streets, in restaurants. I think
if we acquire basic knowledge it will be very helpful to us,’ says
Garabedian, who herself is a teacher of Armenian language at Yerevan’s
Cilician school. (The school was opened last year for the Syrian
Armenian students, who study a Syrian curriculum in Arabic.)

Garabedian is one of nine Syrian Armenian students who attend the
newly opened Russian courses organized specially for them at the
Russian Training Center of the Rossotrudnichestvo agency in Armenia
(The Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States).
Russian classes for Syrian Armenians started two weeks ago and are
held three times a week, the length of each – 80 minutes, the courses
will last for two months with a monthly fee of $25.

Victor Krivopuskov, the head of the Culture and Science center of the
agency says they were ready to organize the classes for free, but
Syrian Armenians said they prefer to pay for it.

`Learning language requires consistency and it was their desire to pay
in order to treat to it seriously. I am not surprised that a group of
Syrian Armenians, even a small one, wants to learn Russian, because
the language is in high demand in Armenia. Though they are some
opponents of the Russian language use in Armenia, it is obvious that
Russian language is very important to Armenia, since it has its
biggest Diaspora in Russia (about 2 million) and therefore, many ties.
Russian remain the major investor in Armenia, and Russia currently
fully or partially owns many enterprises in fuel and energy,
metallurgical and construction sectors. In Armenia, there are about
1,500 Russian companies, and of course, people who work there have to
know Russian very well. ”

(The use of Russian language from time to time becomes a matter of
controversy in Armenia, being determined not by philological aspects,
but rather political. In 2010 the Ministry of Education drafted a bill
on the opening of foreign schools in Yerevan which provoked hot
debates and was sharply criticized by those who believed that leaning
in a foreign language would affect an Armenian child’s identity.
However the parliament adopted the bill in the first reading which
caused an opinion that the bill was imposed on Armenia by Russia.)

Meanhile Krivopuskov says the agency will soon organize classes for
another group of Syrian Armenians, and now the agency is considering
the possibility of employment of Syrian Armenians, since many of them
are well educated and can be engaged in Russian-Armenian companies.

Thousands of ethnic Armenians fled the bloody conflict in Syria and
about 5000 of them came to Armenia through 2011-2012. While about 2000
lately left Armenia for another country others try to adjust to the
life in Armenia, waiting to the conflict’s end, while others, like
Garabedian’s family who learn Russian, regards the possibility of
staying in Armenia on a permanent basis even after the conflict ends.

The family of Garen Balkhian, another student in the Russian classes
also intends to stay in Armenia. The 17 year old Balkhian is a student
of the Cilician school.

`For the first time I heard Russian speech in movies and decided to
learn it, because many of my Yerevan friends speaks Russian,’ says
Balkhian, who indents to study business and economy.

As for Garabedian, moving to Yerevan pushed her to think on acquiring
another profession, and now she is a first grade student of the
Romano-German philology at Yerevan State University.

`I know Armenian, Arabic, Turkish and I know a little French. As many
languages a person knows, the more advantages she has,’ she says.

Armenians of Syria, like representatives of other Armenian Diaspora in
Middle East, the U.S. and Western Europe, speak Western Armenian. It
differs from Eastern Armenian spoken in Armenia; however the speakers
easily understand each other.

Whether the Russian language will be of help to Syrian Armenians
depends on what kind of job they will manage to find, since
unemployment is the most serious problems the Syrian Armenian faces.
Only a small group of Syrian Armenians managed to launch business in
Yerevan and only 150 of them have found jobs through the assistance of
the Ministry of Diaspora in Armenia. In 2012, 494 citizens of Syria
out of 565 applied for asylum in Armenia according to the State
Migration Service.

Artist Spotlight: Maro Hagopian

Crisp but gritty. Sexy and a little scary. Maro’s celebs and club kids
have an edge. Then there are the cats.

Advocate.com
January 19, 2013

By Christopher Harrity

Maro is a celebrity, lifestyle, and portrait photographer. Born in the
suburbs of Detroit and having spent her teens in Las Vegas, she
incorporates both the pop, glitzy influence of Las Vegas and the
gritty industrial landscapes of Detroit into her images. She has been
the official photographer for several premier New York City parties
and a regular contributor to New York’s Village Voice for over seven
years. Her work has also been published in The New York Times, Time
Out NY, the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone magazine, Us magazine,
and Spin among others. Recently, Maro’s “Nine Lives” project,
featuring nine iconic felines, made it to Time magazine’s editor’s
blog.

The Advocate: The cats are so psychedelic. What inspired you to
photograph them?

Maro: The cat project was a long time coming – being a subscriber to
Cat Fancy at a young age, it was bound to be. It came out of an
accidental photo I took of my cat Razzy Starr. I was shooting a model
on a red backdrop. and during a break my cat walked on to the
backdrop. I grabbed my camera and quickly caught her walking toward me
– her expression is priceless. The photograph captures her
intensity. She is an extremely sensitive, emotional cat. The use of
color is a trademark in my nightlife photography. I thought, Why not
make cats just as iconic as the people I photograph? They have
distinct personalities, and I wanted to convey that in images that
pop. Cats have attitude, after all.

Favorite celebrity you have photographed?

Lady Gaga. I photographed her after her first national appearance on
Logo’s New Now Next Awards. I loved shooting her, as she was so open
to the camera and so interactive. She obviously embraced the attention
and knew exactly what pose she wanted and served it. She’s super
passionate about her craft, which I completely respect and relate to.

Who are some photographers,(or artists, writers, etc., that have
influenced you and your work?

I intentionally never studied other photographers because I wanted to
find my own style first. Once I developed myself, I would come across
work and realized I had a lot in common with some photographers. When
I saw some of William Eggleston’s work, I realized that I was on the
same page in the sense of this intense attraction to color and
suburban landscape.

I find that I get a lot of inspiration and influence from music and
films: early Duran Duran, Prince, Brian De Palma, Steven Spielberg,
and Andy Warhol all have had a huge impact on me as an artist.

See more of Maro’s work at her website ().

What did the candidates declare? Arman Meliqyan has only 440.000 AMD

Sat, 01/19/2013 – 23:06

The candidate to the upcoming presidential elections, the civil
council of `The refuges and International law’ NGO, non-partisan Arman
Meliqyan has no real or movable property, income, securities and other
investments.

In the declaration of his income and property from January 1, 2012 to
January 1, 2013, posted on the website of CEC, the candidate only
mentioned 440.000 AMD.

So, the Income and property declarations of 6 out of 8 candidates are
available on the CEC website.

The final date for the submission of the declarations is January 1.

Photo by Photolure
Author:
Factinfo

Russian media says Azerbaijani criminal suspected of ”Grandpa Hassan’s’ murder

NEWS.AM
January 16, 2013 | 16:35

Russian law enforcers are considering the suspects in assassination of
Russian mafia boss Aslan Usoyan `Grandpa Hassan’.

One of the main enemies was a criminal kingpin Rovshan Janiyev who had
recently been engaged in a conflict with Usoyan, Moskovskiy
Komsomolets reported.

The previous assassination attempt was also masterminded by Rovshan
Janiyev, the leader of Azerbaijani criminal gangs engaged in criminal
activities in Moscow and Russian regions, Utro.ru reported.

Georgian MFA urges Pres. Saakashvili to recall Georgian Ambassador to Azerbaijan

Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze urged President Mikhail
Saakashvili with a letter to dismiss the heads of a number of
diplomatic missions in accordance with the submitted list. As
Azerbaijani media inform referring to Georgian sources Teimuraz
Sharashenidze – Georgian Ambassador to Azerbaijan has been included in
the list. The minister requires recall Ambassadors to Azerbaijan,
Turkey, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Bulgaria,
Kazakhstan and China, as well as Permanent Representatives of Georgia
to the UN, European Union and Council of Europe.

“New candidates for the heads of these diplomatic missions will be
named as soon as the request is granted,” Maia Panjikidze’s letter
said. However, the ambassadors whose terms have expired will be
recalled.

According to the Constitution of Georgia ambassadors are dismissed by
the President at the request of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. New
ambassadors are submitted for approval of the parliament by the
president at the recommendation of the Minister.

15.01.13, 17:37

Novruz Mammadov: “The Armenian authorities are ready to sacrifice the
nation for their own benefits”

[ 20 January 2013 11:10 ]

Baku. Mubariz Aslanov – APA. “The Armenian authorities use
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to extend their term and always put the
blame on Azerbaijan for the protraction of the resolution. But the
international community understands that Armenia is to be blamed for
the protraction of the conflict”, the Deputy Head of the Presidential
Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Chief of Foreign
Relations Department Novruz Mammadov told reporters, APA reports.

He noted that Yerevan bears responsibility for the conflict:
“Azerbaijan always tried to solve the conflict peacefully and
demonstrated it to the international community and co-chairs.
Armenia’s pretexts will not last long. With the statements accusing
Azerbaijan, Serzh Sargsyan simply wants to gain votes on the eve of
the presidential elections. His step will pave the way for future
tragedies for his nation. The president loving his nation, country,
will not take such steps. But unfortunately, the Armenian authorities
are ready to sacrifice the nation for their own benefits.”

Envoy: Continued Dispute over Karabakh Harmful to Region

11:43 | 2013-01-20

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Iranian diplomat cautioned that continued
dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Karabakh region will leave
negative impacts on the region.

Speaking on Saturday, Tehran’s Envoy to Baku Mohsen Pakayeen said
foreign powers are using the dispute as a tool to pursue their
objectives in South Caucasus, and stressed that continuation of the
conflict will harm regional countries.

Trans-regional powers do not seek solution to the Karabakh dispute,
the Iranian diplomat added.

Meantime, Pakayeen stressed Tehran’s readiness to mediate between
Azerbaijan and Armenia in Karabakh dispute.

Earlier this month, Baku’s Ambassador to Tehran Javanshir Akhoundov
appreciated Iran for its readiness to help resolve territorial
disputes among the regional nations, and said his country supports
Iran’s mediation in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Azerbaijan
and Armenia.

“On the first days of my mission in Tehran, the Iranian side urged me
(to inform my government) to hold a meeting to settle the Karabakh
issue, I conveyed the proposal to Baku and my country announced that
we are ready for talks but unfortunately the Armenian side didn’t
accept (to attend in talks),” Akhoundov told FNA.

He appreciated Iran for its readiness to mediate in the Karabakh
dispute, and said Tehran and Baku enjoy good bilateral ties and enjoy
abundant commonalities.

“In today’s world, we cannot find any two countries like Iran and
Azerbaijan which are so close to each other in cultural, religious,
traditional, historical and even geographical fields,” Akhoundov said
at the time.

In November 2010, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also voiced
Tehran’s readiness to help resolve the territorial dispute between
Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

“We believe that the Karabakh issue will be resolved through dialogue
and the commitment of both sides to justice, and Tehran is ready to
negotiate with them within this framework,” Ahmadinejad said in a
joint press conference with his Azeri counterpart at the time.

Despite facing strong international pressure, the Armenian and
Azerbaijani leaders have failed to agree on the basic principles of
ending the Karabakh conflict put forward by Russia, the United States,
and France in 2011.

Armenia and Azerbaijan remain officially at war over Karabakh and the
dispute is a major source of tension in the South Caucasus region
wedged between Iran, Russia and Turkey.

No country – not even Armenia – officially recognizes Karabakh as an
independent state.

The rebel region has been controlled by ethnic Armenians since it
broke free of Baku’s control after a fierce war in the early 1990s
that killed 30,000 people.

The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, MA)
January 15, 2013 Tuesday
ROP Edition

A GOOD AGE;
Rockland resident Dorothy Hammer, 89, doesn’t just relate stories
verbally, she also does it with her paintings;
STORIES TO TELL

by Sue Scheible, The Patriot Ledger

ROCKLAND

Dorothy Hammer always has a story. That’s the first thing people say
about her. She’s quick to agree. “I like to joke and talk to people,”
she says. “I’m not a real smart aleck, but I just like people. And I
love to do all sorts of things.”

Some of the stories are about her life. Growing up in Boston and
Whitman with parents who escaped the Armenian genocide. The wartime
years, working at the Hingham Ammunition Depot, where she met her late
husband, Clifford. Getting married at age 24 and raising three
children. Teaching kindergarten at the Pussycat Private School.
Working with children at Brockton Hospital. Teaching driving for 25
years, until she was 72.

At 89, she has hardly slowed down. Each morning, she dresses up,
matching her clothes for colors, putting on earrings and jewelry and
lipstick, and she plans her day.

“I have to get a job,” she says. “I’ve always had a job.”

What she really would like to do is teach other elderly people how to
drive, “so they wouldn’t be afraid to go out to the grocery store.”

She chuckles at the improbability.

Some of her liveliest tales are about her art.

Hammer began taking art lessons when she was 7. She was a bit of a
tomboy, playing marbles with the boys, and her cobbler father (“a real
happy guy”) thought she was getting into too much mischief. He sent
her for drawing lessons. The diversion worked and art became a
lifetime hobby. Dozens of her paintings are on permanent display at
the Piano Mill in Rockland Center.

Her calling card reads “Paintings by Dorothy Hammer: seascape,
landscape, still life and portraits, oil, watercolor, pastel & mixed
media.”

“I like to make stories with my pictures, you know,” she says. “I see
something and I have to feel, ‘How did it happen? What is behind it?’
I attach myself to it.”

We are standing in the main gallery at the Piano Mill. Kim Engel, a
teacher and salesperson, calls Hammer “an extraordinary woman. Miss
Dorothy has such a breadth of mediums and subjects.”

Later, we stop by her home, where paintings fill her walls and dolls
line her chairs and sofas.

“I never had a doll as a child,” she explains.

On a hook by the entrance is a hat: “Senior Moment Survival Hat.
Caution. Frequent senior moments.”

Hammer, who’ll turn 90 on July 26, isn’t about to rest on her laurels.

“When my husband was alive, I was always doing things for him, for
others,” she says. “He wouldn’t travel. I want to do things, go
places. I’ve come to a point where I want to be me, myself and I.”

Turan news agency, Azerbaijan
Dec 26 2012

Georgian premier’s remarks cause mixed reaction in Azerbaijan

Remarks by Georgian Prime Minister Bedzina Ivanishvili questioning the
importance of building the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway has caused a
mixed reaction in Azerbaijan.

Recalling that as a businessman Ivanishvili made his billions in
Russia, ANS reported on 23 December that Russia is one of the most
interested side in halting the construction as the project will
isolate Armenia and hurt Russia’s interests in the region.

The issue has become a matter of concern for Azerbaijan which has
undertaken almost all construction expenditures. In addition, the
railway bypasses Armenia and is very important for Azerbaijan both
politically and economically, said the TV report. Moreover, Azerbaijan
has arranged a 775-million-line of credit to Georgia to cover the
construction of the railway corridor.

ANS TV quoted Ivanishvili as saying to the Georgian newspaper
Rezonansi that “the construction of the Kars-Akhalkalaki railway
raises a set of questions”.

“It is kind of a dangerous policy, because if they call Azerbaijan a
political and strategic ally, then they should stick to the policy,
but such questions and statements cast a shadow on this alliance.
Georgian President Enhanced Coverage LinkingGeorgian President
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DaysSaakashvili is loyal to this strategic and political alliance,
while Ivanishvili is trying to humiliate Saakashvili by forgoing the
projects that Saakashvili gave the green light. As a result, it goes
beyond the scope of personal relations and may negatively affect
bilateral relations between the two countries,” political expert Elxan
Sahinoglu told ANS TV.

Earlier last month, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov
offered NATO to transport military hardware and troops from
Afghanistan in 2014 via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway which will be
put in operation by early 2014.

Before his visit to Azerbaijan Ivanishvili should seriously think,
whether the dream he is planning to realize is Georgian or Russian.
Otherwise, the Georgians who do not sympathize with Russia and who
have become quite democratic under the Saakashvili’s tenure can give a
present to the current prime minister by depriving him of power, ANS
TV reported.

Experts

Commentator Rauf Mirqadirov wrote in the Zerkalo newspaper on 25
December that Ivanishvili is trying to cleanse bilateral relations
that were marred by corruption at the highest level. He pointed out
that the Georgian segment of the railway was expected to cost 220m
dollars in 2007 when the project started and reached the “astronomical
sum of 775m dollars in 2012” as Baku footed the bill.

According to Mirqadirov, Ivanishvili will manage to reduce the price
to the reasonable level and return money to Azerbaijan. Old agreements
will be reviewed and new ones will be struck, he said. “The new
reviewed accords will show that a new era is dawning in
Georgian-Azerbaijani relations without the element of corruption
imposed by some officials in Baku,” Mirqadirov said.

He added that Ivanishvili will still capitalize on Azerbaijan’s need
for Georgia as a transit country. “Ivanishvili is simply trying to use
this dependency of Azerbaijan to charge Baku for some expenses to
implement his own pre-election promises to improve social and economic
situation of citizens,” Mirqadirov said.

In its report on 27 December, Turan news agency said that during his
visit to Baku Ivanishvili will also discuss the sales of Azerbaijani
oil products in Georgia. Turan pointed out that Azerbaijan’s state oil
company, SOCAR, controls 38 per cent of the market for car fuel in
Georgia.

“In years 2007-2011 SOCAR Georgia paid to the Georgian state budget
some 470m dollars in taxes and fees. Over the last three years, it was
the biggest tax payer in Georgia,” the report said.

In an interview with Azadliq newspaper on 25 December political
analyst Vafa Quluzada said that many matters will be resolved in a
normal way once Ivanishvili visits Baku.

“I believe that after he visits Baku and conducts talks, all problems
will be resolved normally. I do not believe that Ivanishvili is able
to turn Georgia towards Russia. This is an impossible task and he does
not intend to do so. Therefore, money is the main issue here. When it
comes to money, if it were me, I would help Georgia. Azerbaijan has
money and large oil and gas income. With Georgia in this difficult
situation both Azerbaijan and Turkey have to help it so that Georgia
does not sink and chaos does not ensue,” Quluzada said.

Political analyst Zardust Alizada told the Baki Xabar newspaper on 26
December that Ivanishvili’s remarks are natural for politics and
business, and pursue the goal of obtaining more from Azerbaijan. “Even
under Saakashvili some agreements about large projects that went
through Georgia were later amended. Back then Saakashvili managed to
obtain extra funds from Azerbaijan for transit. Now the new prime
minister is using various means to get more money from Azerbaijan,”
the analyst said. “Ivanishvili is a billionaire and he knows business
very well,” he added.

Baki Xabar quoted anonymous experts as saying that Georgia may be
seeking some concessions in Azerbaijan regarding border delimitation
issues. “However, since Baku so far ignores blackmail from Russia and
the West gives grounds to say that the ‘efforts’ of Bidzina
Ivanishvili will be in vain as well,” the newspaper said. It noted
that Ivanishvili’s policies can lead the Georgian government to a
crisis. “The overt attacks of this person against Saakashvili are
growing increasingly radical,” the report said.

Web user comments

Azerbaijani web users offered different takes on Georgia’s policies
under Ivanishvili. In a comment posted on azadliq.org, the website of
the Azeri Service of Radio Liberty, on 25 December, user “Aga”
suggested that Ivanishvili was Moscow’s man. “Not only we, but
Georgians too can see this. For Georgians to cast doubt on projects
with Azerbaijan means axing the tree they are sitting on”.

User “Emil”: “Reviewing Azerbaijan’s projects in Georgia or seeking
some provisions in contracts serves only one goal: let us see what
more concessions can we obtain from our generous neighbour Azerbaijan.
I believe that Azerbaijan has to give a stern reaction to these
statements and if there is enough confidence should threaten Georgia
with an international court”.

In comments posted on Azadliq.info, the website of the major
opposition newspaper Azadliq, user “Azad” wrote: “It is regrettable
that Ivanishvili came to power in Georgia. This is against
Azerbaijan’s interests. In general, Ivanishvili is pro-Russian. He
will make Georgia dependent on Russia without realizing this himself”.

User “karal”: “Raise the gas price to 400 dollars and they will shut up”.

User “Ulvi”: “These Georgians are very ungrateful. They will know
Saakashvili’s worth later”.

[Translated from Russian]