Author: Khondkarian Raffi

PRESS RELEASE
UCLA Armenian Graduate Students Association
c/o Armenian Graduate Students Association
Kerckhoff Hall, Room 316
308 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Tel: 310-206-8512
Email: [email protected]
Web:

Andrew S. Behesnilian
President, UCLA AGSA
UCLA School of Medicine

Dearest AGSA Members and Friends,

This Friday, Feb 19th marks UCLA AGSA’s 8th Annual International
Colloquium in Armenian Studies. I strongly encourage everyone to
attend at some point during this day long event, located on our
beautiful UCLA campus at Royce Hall. Graduate students are flying here
from all around the world (literally) to speak and present here at
UCLA. Come and be enlightened!

Many thanks to the Colloquium Committee who has put in countless hours
organizing the event!

—

The Armenian Graduate Students Association at UCLA invites the public
to the eighth annual Graduate Student Colloquium in Armenian Studies
at UCLA on Friday, February 19, 2010. This day-long academic event
will begin at 9:30 AM and be held in the famous Royce Hall, room 314.

This year, the organizing committee has set out to continue the fine
tradition that began in 2003 with the launching of the first-ever
international colloquium in Armenian Studies developed specifically
for graduate students by graduate students. UCLA, a premier
institution in the growing field of Armenology and a leader in
interdisciplinary studies, is hosting this event to further foster the
development of Armenian Studies, facilitate interaction between
graduate students and faculty from various institutions, provide a
medium for the exchange of ideas, and contribute to the professional
and academic advancement of graduate students.

Papers from multiple fields will be presented, including history,
linguistics, comparative literature, theology, anthropology, and art
history. Presenters are graduate students coming from universities and
countries all around the world including University of Michigan, MIT,
Bilkent University in Ankara, Polish Academy of Sciences, Yerevan
State University, Yerevan Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography,
University of Pisa, California State University, Northridge and Queens
University in Kingston, Ontario.

This year, the organizing committee was led by Doris Melkonian, a
doctoral student in Social Research Methodology in Education. She was
joined by a number of graduate students, as well as faculty advisor
Dr. Peter Cowe. Graduate students from across many disciplines were
responsible for the individual aspects of planning the event. This
ranged from financing to program scheduling, facilities and
refreshments to travel and accommodations, as well as both academic
and media public relations.

Armenian Studies at UCLA began in 1960. The discipline was augmented
in 1962 with the appointment of Dr. Richard G. Hovannisian, current
holder of the Armenian Educational Foundation Chair in Modern Armenian
History. In 1965, language and literature was established on a
permanent footing with the arrival of Dr. Avedis K. Sanjian, who
guided the expansion of this area over the next three decades. The
Narekatsi Chair, founded in 1969 through the efforts of National
Association for Armenian Studies and Research, has the distinction of
being the oldest endowed chair at UCLA. The first chair-holder was Dr.
Sanjian and in July 2000 Dr. S. Peter Cowe was appointed as successor.
Since 1997 regular instruction in East Armenian has complemented
teaching in West Armenian: currently Dr. Anahid Keshishian is lecturer
in the former and Dr. Hagop Kouloujian in the latter. In 1998,
Armenian Studies was officially recognized as an undergraduate minor
and currently proposals are underway to institute the major.

The Graduate Student Colloquium in Armenian Studies is yet another
step in the development of the rich tradition of Armenian Studies at
UCLA. Organized by graduate students, for graduate students, it
provides an opportunity for students to actively and significantly
contribute to the academic environment on campus.

The colloquium is made possible, in part, by the financial
contributions from the Friends of the UCLA Narekatsi Chair of Armenian
Language and Culture Studies, the UCLA Center for Near Eastern
Studies, the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research,
and the departments of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures and Art
History at UCLA. The committee also received financial support from
the Campus Programs Committee of the Program Activities Board.

The event is free of charge and open to the public.

San Francisco Chronicle, CA
Feb 14 2010

USF student competing in Olympic slalom
John Crumpacker, Chronicle Staff Writer

Sunday, February 14, 2010

As it turns out, father does know best, at least when the father is
Dr. Armen Serebrakian of Novato.

The exercises and drills that the good ear, nose and throat doctor put
his son and daughter through as children led, in due time, to daughter
Ani making it to the Winter Olympics as a member of Armenia’s
four-member team.

"It’s kind of funny," 21-year-old Ani Serebrakian said. "My classmates
said this day was coming."

It’s here. Ani marched in Friday night’s Opening Ceremonies at BC
Place Stadium with her three teammates, the sixth country in a roll
call of 82 countries to have their moment in the indoor spotlight.

Serebrakian, a sophomore at USF and a Marin Catholic High graduate,
will race under the colors of Armenia in the women’s giant slalom on
Feb. 24 and the slalom on Feb. 26 at Whistler. Her Armenian parents
were born in neighboring Iran and emigrated to the U.S. more than 30
years ago.

Armenia, competing as an independent nation since 1994 after the
dissolution of the Soviet Union, has never won a Winter Olympic medal.
Serebrakian does not expect to be the first.

"I’m kind of still in awe that I’m here," she said. "I’m not
surprised, but it hasn’t hit me yet. I’m just really enjoying the
whole thing. My whole goal was to make it to the Olympics. Qualifying
for it, I feel I’ve achieved so much already. I’m excited to ski with
the best in the world and do my best."

Reaction to tragedy
Like other athletes in Vancouver – and, really, anyone involved in the
Olympics – Serebrakian was saddened to hear of the death of Georgian
luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died Friday in a training accident.

"We were so upset and sad when we heard," she said. "It was great that
they even came to the ceremonies. We’re going to go over to their team
and offer our condolences."

After marching into the stadium and taking her seat, Serebrakian said
she was so moved by the events of the day that "I sat down and cried."

Serebrakian’s two slalom events are considered safe by skiing
standards as they require technical skill in negotiating around the
gates with proper form and efficiency, rather than a healthy dose of
courage.

"Slalom is my favorite," she said. "I just really enjoy the whole
thing. It’s very quick. You’re hitting the gates. It’s very
therapeutic to me. It’s almost like boxing, because you’re hitting the
gates as you go downhill. Just like boxing with any kind of aggression
or anger, you want to win, so you put it out there."

Starting early
The young woman seen smiling and holding a small Armenian flag in the
Opening Ceremonies has been preparing for this moment since she was 2
years old, when her father put her and her brother Armon, now 22, on
tyke skis at Northstar-at-Tahoe. Dad had his kids racing when they
were 5.

Once she mastered the kids’ hill at Northstar, Serebrakian moved on to
Squaw Valley, where she continues to train.

"My dad got my brother and I skiing as soon as possible," she said.
"He himself was a skier. He’s a very athletic person. One of the
things he liked about skiing was it was for the whole family.
Eventually, he saw we were good enough learning to ski that we started
racing at age 5."

As kids, Ani and Armon were running up a hill outside their elementary
school at their father’s urging and later going through drills in
their middle school gym before the first bell rang.

"They would open it specifically for us so we could use it," she said.
"We’d whine, but we’d go. He’d get us doughnuts afterward."

Armenian roots
Serebrakian grew up American in every sense, a Marin County girl
excelling in school and on the tennis courts. However, a recent visit
to the old country kindled in her a sense of what it is to be
Armenian.

"The whole idea to go for the Armenian team began two years ago when
we visited the country for the first time," she said. "We kind of fell
in love with it. That brought us to qualifying for the Olympics and
here I am."

Serebrakian said her brother, who lives in Boulder, Colo., is also an
accomplished skier. He fell short of qualifying for the Armenian team,
however, spoiling what would have been a great story of skiing
siblings.

"I’m very privileged. Very privileged," Serebrakian said.

=/c/a/2010/02/13/SPSQ1C1CQ1.DTL

Hillary Clinton to Meet with Erdogan in Qatar Today

Tert.am
13:31 – 13.02.10

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a visit to Doha, the capital
of Qatar, reports Trend News agency, quoting Anadolu Ajansi.

The meeting will take place within the forum U.S-Islamic World, which
begins today.

The Erdogan-Clinton bilateral meeting will discuss the situation in
the Middle East and Iran.

Hackers attack Turkey-based Armenian newspaper

armradio.am
13.02.2010 12:48

The Web site of Turkey’s leading Armenian newspaper was hacked in the
early hours on Friday. Hackers also attacked the Web sites of two
Turkey-based foundations, Hurriyet Daily reports.

Hackers identifying themselves as "AK Hacker" overtook the Agos Web
site and put up an image of Ogün Samast, the alleged murderer of the
former editor in chief of the daily, Hrant Dink. The image was
accompanied by a text that criticized opposition to the ruling party
and stated the act of hacking was "an action that will go on to spread
like poison to others who oppose the current powers."

The International Hrant Dink Foundation and the Art for Peace
Foundation were also hacked around the same time. An official from the
Hrant Dink foundation told the Hürriyet Daily News that they were
uncertain if the site was attacked by the same hackers.

The note on the Agos site also made a chilling threat given the murder
of Hrant Dink: "If you do not fix your reporting in the way we see
fit, there will be new Ogün Samasts and new Hrant Dinks."

ARMENIA REVIEWS DEAL TO NORMALISE TIES WITH TURKEY

Agence France Presse
Feb 12 2010

YEREVAN — Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian on Friday submitted two
protocols on normalising ties with Turkey after decades of hostility
to parliament for ratification, his office said.

"The presidential administration has already sent the protocols to
parliament for ratification," presidential spokesman Samvel Farmanian
told AFP.

Sarkisian announced this week that he would soon be sending
the protocols on establishing diplomatic ties and reopening the
Armenia-Turkey border to parliament for approval.

But he added that the accords must be voted on by the Turkish
parliament before Armenia’s parliament will approve them.

Parliament spokesman Goar Pogosian confirmed that the assembly had
received the protocols and said that within two days a commission
would be established to study them.

Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols in October to establish
diplomatic ties and reopen their shared border in a historic step
towards ending decades of hostility stemming from World War I-era
massacres of Armenians under Ottoman Turks.

The protocols must now be ratified by both countries’ parliaments but
the process has stalled as the two sides have traded accusations of
trying to modify the landmark deal.

Ankara has accused Yerevan of trying to set new conditions after
Armenia’s constitutional court said the protocols could not contradict
Yerevan’s official position that the Armenian mass killings constituted
genocide — a label Turkey fiercely rejects.

Armenia, for its part, is furious over Ankara’s insistence that
normalising Turkish-Armenian ties depends on progress in resolving
the conflict between Armenia and Turkish ally Azerbaijan over the
disputed Nagorny Karabakh region.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with
Azerbaijan after ethnic Armenian forces wrested Nagorny Karabakh from
Baku’s control in a war that claimed an estimated 30,000 lives.

The conflict remains unresolved despite years of international
mediation.

World’s biggest stage for Novato Skier

By Bruce Meadows
Contributor
Novato Advance

Published: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 2:04 PM PST

Ani Serebrakian, a 20-year-old from Novato, will be marching in the
Opening Ceremonies Friday night at the 2010 Winter Olympics in
Vancouver, B.C.

But if you plan on watching them on ABC, you may have to look quickly
. . . Serebrakian, an athletic standout at Marin Catholic and now
attending USF, is not part of the 216-member U.S. team, but will be in
the comparatively tiny four-person ski team from Armenia.

Serebrakian, who earned a reputation for excellence among the top
American juniors, could have tried to make the U.S. team, but opted to
ski for Armenia. Her parents, Armen and Anita Serebrakian, are
Armenian and were born in neighboring Iran.

`I feel honored to be on the Armenian team,’ said Serebrakian, who
will compete in women’s slalom and giant slalom events Feb. 24 and
26. `I’ve been to Armenia and it really hits home to ski for that
country.’

Serebrakian, majoring in exercise and sports science at USF, started
skiing at age 2, racing when she was 5. Calling herself and her
22-year-old brother Arman `weekend skiers,’ she spends most winter
weekends at Squaw Valley.

She has competed in numerous national and international ski events,
including one a few years ago at the Whistler Cup, where Olympic
Alpine skiing will be contested. She has been ranked as high as ninth
in Junior World Cup.

Ani excelled as a tennis player, earning All-MCAL honors her junior
and senior years at Marin Catholic and was named Marin Grand Prix
Player of the Year.

She could have tried to qualify for the American team, although it
would have been more difficult. Ani explained, `there’s a point system
and not all U.S. team members qualify for the Olympics . . . I really
don’t know if I could have qualified for the American team.’

While she had expressed an interest in skiing for Armenia, it was her
brother and father who initially contacted the Armenian Ski Federation
and found out what was needed for Ani to qualify.

`It’s kind of complicated, but they have a point system based on
competition,’ she explained, adding that besides herself, there is one
other male Alpine skier and a male and female cross-country skier.

She left for Canada last Friday, with a knowledge of Whistler, where
competition will be held, but not much else.

`I know we will be close to the start (of Opening Ceremonies, behind
Albania, Algeria, Andorra and Argentina) and we will be one of the
smallest groups,’ said Serebrakian before leaving for the Olympics. `I
don’t know what the uniforms look like or who will be carrying our
flag.’

She does know she will be going up against the best skiers in the
world, something she enjoys.

`I’m not going with the mentality that I will place or not place,’ she
said. `I just want to perform my best.`

Ani said `it hasn’t hit me yet,’ as far as competing in the Winter
Games, `but I am really looking forward to the experience.’

She was traveled north with her parents and brother for the Opening
Ceremonies, and her mother was planning on staying with her while her
father and brother were expected to return to California then return
for the slalom competition.

The first and second rounds of the Women’s Giant Slalom are Feb. 24,
while the Women’s Slalom will be contested Feb. 26.

`It’s a long wait,’ she said. `But that’s OK because I plan on skiing
every day.’

She’s proud to be competing for Armenia in the Winter Games,
explaining, `I traveled to Armenia a few years ago, in the summer, and
I fell in love with the culture and the history . . . I decided I
wanted to represent the country.’

She’s competed in several competitions this winter, including Utah,
Mammoth Mountain and Lake Tahoe, but knows this will be much
different.’

`I am racing against the best in the world,’ she said, adding that `I
will place where I place . . . I’m not worried about that part of it.’

Ani said she might be encouraged to try and qualify for the 2014
Armenian team, as is her brother, who competes for University of
Colorado and will be racing in the NCAA Championships at Steamboat
Springs, Colo., in March. The 2014 Winter Games are in Russia.

When she graduates, she is uncertain what she wants to do, although
she has expressed an interest in her father’s work . . . Armen is a
head and neck reconstructive surgeon.

`This (the Winter Games) might bring me some experience that could
lead me into something related to skiing,’ she said.

But for now, her mind is focused on practicing, Friday’s Opening
Ceremony and the competition later this month.

`I think it (Opening Ceremonies) will be emotional,’ she said. `Just
marching in, hearing the country’s name announced . . . I can hardly
wait.’

Olympic Postcard

Novato’s Ani Serebrakian, 20,is a member of the Armenian ski team
competing in the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C. While her events
– the slalom and giant slalom – are scheduled for Feb. 24 and 26, she
arrived last weekend, and will periodically be sending reports that
will be posted online at the Novato Advance web site,
novatoadvance.com.

Copyright © 2010 – Marinscope Newspapers

CHIEF OF POLICE DENIES RUMORS ABOUT HIS RESIGNATION

Aysor
Feb 10 2010
Armenia

Armenia’s Chief of Police Maj. Gen. Alik Sarkisian denied rumors about
his possible resignation. He said at today’s press-conference that
all this information is false. Besides, he said can only be dismissed
by presidential decree.

"Every day I report to President on activities I carry, and if
President was unhappy with my work, then he would tell me about
it," said Alik Sarkisian expressing surprise where the information
appeared from.

"All these rumors are figment of the imagination of some adventurers,
and are spread by those people who dream of my chair," he said adding
that whenever he resigns he will do it easy and with dignity.

ARMENIA WON’T HAVE A STAND AT INTERNATIONAL CEBIT SHOW 2010

PanARMENIAN.Net
10.02.2010 14:54 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ For the first time in the past 10 years, Armenia will
not have a stand at CeBit 2010 international information technology
exhibition.

As chairman of the Union of Information Technology Enterprises (UITE)
Karen Vardanyan told PanARMENIAN.Net, at the previous CeBitexhibitions
rent of stands was paid from the state budget. However, the government
hasn’t allocated state funds for the event this year.

In 2010, Fine, Arminco, "Norma +" companies will fully finance their
participation in the exhibition.

CeBit World Expo for Information Technology and Telecommunications
will be held between March 2 and 6 in Hannover (Germany). CeBIT is
the largest trade fair for information technology held since 1986.

THE DEMISED TURKISH PROTOCOLS’ UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
By Appo Jabarian

USA Armenian Life Magazine
February 8, 2010

Now that the Protocols are behind us along with the acrimonious
debates, we can collectively concentrate on healing our intra-national
wounds; review all the shortcomings that our community exhibited,
and troubleshoot them for the purpose of better preparedness in the
face of possible future threats.

The post-Protocols Armenian nation is definitely different than it
used to be. For a moment let’s liken the Turkish-imposed Protocols
to an earthquake, and Armenia with its Diaspora to a building that
has shown some cracks having undergone the shocks of the quake;
and Armenians worldwide to the occupants of the damaged building.

Some occupants may react to the post-quake damage as being hopelessly
irreparable and abandon the building. Whereas optimistic tenants
may simply go outside the building and start assessing the damage
caused by the shocks; begin to make plans to repair; and initiate
the re-enforcement of its structure so as to enable the building to
survive bigger and more destructive quakes in the future.

The good news with the biggest political earthquake called the
Protocols is that the building of the nation did not collapse. That
goes to prove that the nation’s "building" has strong structural base
albeit with some deficiencies. And even the best news was that the
pillars of the "building" – several community-based organizations –
showed coherence and even banded together in the face of a potentially
deadly national catastrophe.

Were the protocols a curse that unwittingly yielded a set of
blessings? Positively, they produced some very tangible unintended
blessings – far-reaching and durable accomplishments by Armenians.

– An unprecedented number of 60,000 (yes sixty thousand) Armenians
took their disapproval of the Protocols to the streets in Yerevan
strongly criticizing the government of Pres. Sargsyan, yet not one
Armenian’s nose bled. Whereas the 2008 post-presidential election
demonstrations by pro-Ter-Petrossyan protesters numbering a mere 20,000
(twenty thousand) caused the ransacking of storefronts in the center
of Yerevan and clashes with Police that contributed to the deaths
of several civilians. In stark contrast, the 2009 anti-Protocols
demonstrations were marked by discipline, law and order;

– The worldwide opposition to the Protocols re-enforced the correct
notion that the Armenian people in Armenia-Artsakh and the Diaspora
are united in their efforts to help protect their national home;

– The Armenian Diaspora gained recognition for its importance as
a strong political power both by Armenia’s president and Turkey’s
Prime Minister. Pres. Sargsyan embarked on a Diaspora-wide visit to
the large centers of the Armenian dispersion not necessarily to pay
homage but to "sell" the Protocols as being a "good deal." Even though
the Armenian Presidential tour was qualified as being a mere show,
it still underlined the importance of the Diaspora. As for Turkey’s
Prime Minister Reccep Tayyip Erdogan, in an October 2009 interview
with The Wall Street Journal, in a pointed reference to the Armenian
Diaspora, he said: "When Pres. Sarkisian was on an international visit,
he was faced by a reaction from the Armenian Diaspora. So what he
does in face of the reaction of the Diaspora is very important. If
he can stand firm, and if it is the government of Armenia and not
the Armenian Diaspora that is determining policy in Armenia, then I
think that we can move forward;"

– The diasporan supporters of Protocols were no more than 10% (ten
percent) of the populace – a tiny minority at best. But they were
misrepresented as being the sizeable "majority" when in fact over 90%
(ninety percent) of the Diaspora Armenians were categorically opposed
to the unfair Protocols. And that was seriously misleading on the part
of official Yerevan along with the Protocols’ main sponsors Russia,
the United States, and Europe. This experience confirmed the need
for an elected body that can accurately reflect the political will
of the Armenian Diaspora. "A Diaspora-wide leadership must be elected
to reflect properly the views of the majority of Armenians on crucial
issues. Such a mechanism would facilitate the transmission of credible
feedback from the Diaspora to Armenia’s leaders and to governments
and international organizations. Further details will be presented
on this important topic in a future column," wrote Harut Sassounian,
The Publisher of The California Courier;

– Just as the 1988 earthquake in Armenia galvanized Armenians worldwide
to collectively rush to Armenia’s aid, the unfair Turkish Protocols
"served" as the unintended catalyst for the formation of a landslide
political majority both in Armenia and its Diaspora that vehemently
opposed the poorly written proposed agreements;

– Back in December 2009, in a USA Armenian Life article this writer
had asked: "Will Gagik Harutyunyan, Constitutional Court’s Chair,
Help Armenia Avoid Becoming a Banana Republic?" To the credit of Mr.

Harutyunyan, the Court magnificently carried out its task as an
independent entity effectively serving as the healthy symbol of one
of the Armenian democracy’s three branches – The Judiciary. Any
normal sovereign state that is guided by democratic principles
shall vigilantly maintain the independence of its three branches
of government a) the Legislature (the Parliament); the Executive
(the President and his Administration); and the Judiciary (the
Constitutional Court and the entire judicial system).

– The emergence of a patriotic opposition that’s loyal to the national
security and interests of the Armenian state. The harmonious opposition
jointly mounted by the three traditional Armenian political parties
has served as a model for healthy and constructive opposition.

Additionally, the new opposition reaffirmed its intention not to
let their disapproval of Armenian leadership’s policies serve as a
reason for cutting aid to the needy; for stopping the investments
in the country’s economy, and for declining to visit or settle in
the homeland.

AZERBAIJANI POLITICAL EXPERT: DID SERZH SARGSYAN NEED TO RESORT TO CIRCUS ACROBATICS TO SEND MESSAGE TO ANKARA?
Z. Ahmadov

Today
1219.html
Feb 9 2010
Azerbaijan

"Armenia’s restoring to such political acrobatics makes no sense,"
Azerbaijani political expert Fikrat Sadigov said commenting on Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan’s letter to his Turkish counterpart Abdullah
Gul from the aircraft when the Armenia leader was flying over Turkey.

"In principle, heads of states’ greeting their colleagues from
countries over which they fly from aircraft is an old international
practice. Previously, the media often published such greetings. But,
apparently, Armenia leadership learned about this practice only
recently. Moreover, Serzh Sargsyan’s message to Abdullah Gul was
more political in nature, rather than simply a desire to welcome his
colleague," noted political scientist.

"Besides, given the fact the Armenian Constitutional Court approved the
Zurich protocols with reservations disavowed them. Armenian President
calls for Turkey to resolve all contentious issues and not leave
them to future generations seems quite ridiculous. If the Armenian
president wants his country to come out of isolation, such a message
from an aircraft, which is contrary to Yerevan’s acts towards Ankara,
is not the best solution."

"Did Serzh Sargsyan need to resort to circus acrobatics to send
message to Ankara? Yerevan’s such political acrobatics makes no sense,"
the expert added.