Author: Mamian George

ARMENIAN-SWISS BILATERAL AGREEMENTS SIGNED IN BERN

Noyan Tapan
11.11.2009

BERN, NOVEMBER 11, NOYAN TAPAN. On November 11, after RA President’s
state visit to Hungary, RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian left
Budapest for Switzerland on a short official visit where he met with
Foreign Minister of Hungary Micheline Calmy-Rey. According to the RA
Foreign Ministry Press and Information Department, a number of issues
related to various spheres of cooperation, regional and international
issues were on meeting’s agenda.

The sides mentioned with satisfaction that during the past year
the bilateral relations developed unprecedentedly, and one of its
evidence is Switzerland’s mediation in the normalization process
of Armenian-Turkish relations. Development of the relations was
marked by Charles Aznavour’s appointment as RA Ambassador to
Switzerland, as well as by foundation of Switzerland’s diplomatic
representation in Armenia. Highly evaluating the dynamics of recent
development of Armenian-Swiss relations E. Nalbandian and M. Calmy-Rey
attached importance to necessity of mutual visits, expansion of the
legal-contractual sphere as a guarantee of further expansion of the
comprehensive cooperation.

In the context of Switzerland’s coming chairmanship in the Council of
Europe the Ministers exchanged thoughts over issues on organization’s
agenda and its activity.

Touching upon the normalization process of Armenian-Turkish relations
and Switzerland’s mediation E. Nalbandian expressed gratitude
for the mediatory efforts. According to the RA Foreign Minister,
Switzerland has assumed a mission that demands inflexibility, reserve,
cautiousness and patience, and the mediator state carried out that
mission with honor.

Within the framework of the visit, at the Swiss government’s Reception
House, E. Nalbandian and M. Calmy-Rey signed Agreement On Regular Air
Communications between the RA Government and Swiss Federal Council and
Agreement On Liquidating the Demand of Entrance Visa for People Having
Diplomatic Passports between RA Government and Swiss Federal Council.

Ministers’ joint press conference took place after the ceremony.

The RA Foreign Minister returned to Yerevan on November 11.

SECOND IRANIAN MESBAH SATELLITE TO BE LAUNCHED IN 2011

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.11.2009 19:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Iran has announced that after many years of waiting,
right to launch the second Iranian satellite will be conferred on Italy
instead of Russia. Iranian representatives complain about Russia’s
constantly delaying the launch of "Mesbah communication satellite"
under plausible pretexts.

Italy and Iran agreed to cooperate in 2003. Their joint efforts
increased due to the introduction of "laboratory model". In 2005,
Russia agreed to launch the satellite on "Kosmos-3" carrier rocket,
but failed to keep the promise.

Omid (hope), first Iranian satellite, was launched on February 2,
2009. It used modernized ballistic rocket of local production. Some
Iranian media reported on its "successful landing." However,
other media report that the satellite bearing 8 aerials continues
flying in airless space to the benefit of Iranian national economy,
MIGnews.com reports.

Arshile Gorky: The Shape Shifter

Time Magazine
Monday, Nov. 09, 2009

By Richard Lacayo

Is there another life in American art to compare to Arshile Gorky’s? His arc
from struggle to breakthrough to tragedy is slow, then swift, then dazzling
and finally devastating. In the seven or so years before he took his life in
1948, he produced some of the greatest, most explosive works of the 20th
century, a synthesis of Surrealism and abstraction that unlocked voluptuous
new possibilities for painting and opened the way to Abstract Expressionism.
It wasn’t a long life, but it was lit by fire.

Though it’s been almost three decades since the last Gorky retrospective,
the big new show at the Philadelphia Museum of Art was worth the wait.
Organized by Michael R. Taylor, the museum’s curator of modern art, it has
final galleries so triumphant, you want to throw your hat in the air, even
though you know ? and how could you forget? ? that this is a story that will
end where it began, in darkness. (Watch TIME’s video about Arshile Gorky.)

Gorky was born Vosdanig Adoian in Khorkom, a village in Turkish Armenia. In
his early 20s he adopted a new name ? Arshile (Russian for Achilles) Gorky
(in homage to the Russian writer Maxim Gorky). He may not have known that
gorky means bitter in Russian, but he was certainly acquainted with
bitterness. He had arrived in New York City in 1920 as an 18-year-old
refugee from the Turkish campaign of atrocities against Armenians. One year
earlier, his mother had died of starvation in his arms. In adulthood, from
1926 to 1942, he obsessively reworked two haunting double portraits that
showed them side by side ? he the tentative 10-year-old; she an impassive
totem, forever out of reach beneath waves of nostalgia.

All through his 20s and 30s, Gorky devoted himself to a complete, nearly
self-annihilating immersion in the work of one master after another.
Cézanne, Picasso, Miró, Léger ? he sometimes channeled their voices like a
ventriloquist’s dummy, but he learned their language. His breakthrough came
in the 1940s, partly by way of his contact with the Surrealists in wartime
exile in New York City, especially André Breton and Roberto Matta. Gorky had
been borrowing Surrealist imagery for years, and he flourished in their
company. It was through Matta that he renewed his interest in the Surrealist
notion of automatism, a means of relinquishing conscious control of the hand
to let it discover images that flowed from the unconscious. With that, some
key turned inside him, allowing him to translate impressions of nature and
the body and childhood memories of Armenia into an abstract language of
longing and release. (See TIME’s photo-essay "Cézanne and Beyond.")

Where once there had been something congested and strenuous about Gorky’s
paint application, his clotted surfaces began to give way to Matta’s thin
washes of color. And now there’s a slender, buoyant new line that darts all
around the canvas, lightly defining swelling forms, with borders as thin as
soap bubbles’, just tight enough to create a sense of release when bursts of
red or yellow pop them. You sense that this is the bouncing, eternal line of
freedom and pleasure, one that traces back to the airborne arcs of those
young women on swings in Fragonard.

For most of his last years, Gorky went from strength to strength, making
lush, abundant pictures like The Liver Is the Cock’s Comb, his 1944
masterpiece in which pools of color supply a world where turbulent figures
claw the air. But once the bad times began, they never quit. In 1946 a fire
in his Connecticut studio destroyed more than 20 paintings. Then came rectal
cancer and a car accident that left his painting arm temporarily
immobilized. Then his wife left him, taking the kids. In despair and
constant pain, he hanged himself. He was only 46 ? a short life, but long
enough to be a hinge that history turned on.

Richard Lacayo blogs daily about art and architecture at
time.com/lookingaround

See TIME’s Pictures of the Week.

Find this article at:
,91 71,1933224,00.html

A NUMBER OF NEW PROJECTS CAME INTO OPERATION IN HADROUT

NKR Government Information and
Public Relations Department
November 09, 2009

On November 8, the solemn ceremony of opening of the secondary school
of Hakaku village, Hadrout region, which was reconstructed on public
funds, took place. More than AMD 110 mln were allotted to the modern
overhaul repair of this educational institution.

NKR Prime Minister Ara Haroutyunyan, NKR Minister of Education and
Science V. Khachatryan, other public officials partook in the ceremony.

The Head of the Government got familiarized with school conditions
and had a talk with the teachers.

The same day A.Haroutyunyan participated in the opening ceremonies of
water pipes of Mets Tagher and Azokh villages, Hadrout region. They
were restored by the financial support of the NKR Government and
"Hayastan" All-Armenian Fund.

A.Vardanyan, Executive Director of "Hayastan" All-Armenian Fund,
participated in the ceremony as well.

CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS RECEIVES NEWLY APPOINTED AMBASSADOR OF GERMANY

Noyan Tapan
Nov 10, 2009

ETCHMIADZIN, NOVEMBER 10, NOYAN TAPAN. Catholicos of All Armenians
Karekin II received newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of Germany to RA Hans Jochen Schmidt on November 10.

According to the Information Services of the Mother See of Holy
Etchmiadzin, the interlocutors touched upon the close contacts
established between the Mother See and the Embassy of Germany, activity
of the Armenian Diocese of Germany, life of the Armenian community of
Germany and careful attitude shown to it. His Holiness the Patriarch
expressed satisfaction with the fact that several monks from the
Mother See currently get higher education at various theological
institutions of Germany.

SEASON REVIEW: ARMENIA

UEFA.com
Nov 10 2009

Pyunik have won nine successive league titles (©90rope)

FC Pyunik’s dominance appears to know no bounds after they added
the Armenian Cup to their ninth successive Bardzraguyn khumb title,
while FC Ulis Yerevan raised eyebrows with a third-placed finish.

Champions: FC Pyunik Pyunik remain top of the pile after landing
their 12th title in 18 years. Pushed hard by eventual runners-up FC
Mika for much of the campaign, they finally asserted themselves by
clinching the league on the penultimate day before seeing off their
nearest challengers 4-0 in the final round of matches.

Cup final: FC Pyunik 1-0 FC Banants The 20-year-old Genrikh Mkhitaryan
became an instant hero with an added-time winner that secured Pyunik’s
double triumph with their fourth Armenian Cup victory.

Player of the Year: Hrayr Mkoyan (FC Ulis Yerevan) The central
defender was an inspired leader in helping his side to a third-place
finish. Ulis were breached 25 times in the 28-game season – a
defensive record second only to Pyunik – with Mkoyan a towering
figure throughout. The 23-year-old made his international debut
against Belgium in September and already looks to be a mainstay of
the national team.

One to watch: David Manoyan (FC Pyunik) The Pyunik youngster made
his bow in May 2008 at just 17 but this season came to age, making
23 league appearances and contributing two goals. However, it is his
vision and creative flair which has stood out.

Surprise package: FC Ararat Yerevan Second in 2008, they were once
again among the favourites this year.

However, after collecting a meagre 14 points, they now find themselves
in the second tier.

Leading scorer: Arthur Kocharyan, FC Ulis Yerevan (15)

Number: 9 Pyunik won the league for a ninth successive year.

Quote "It is very important to have the winning psychology in my
team. The opponents played against my young footballers with double
energy and I’m happy that my team progressed and showed itself as a
united group of players."

Pyunik coach Vardan Minasyan

Arab News, Saudi Arabia
Nov 8 2009

Turkey: Davutoglu’s doctrine

M.J. Akbar

WHEN Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul visits India early next year he
will be representing a nation that has reinvented its geostrategic
role through an independent foreign policy in barely eight years. I
hope he brings along Ahmet Davutoglu, who shaped the theory and then
structured the practicals, first as principal adviser to Prime
Minister Recip Tayyab Erdogan, and now as foreign minister. He must be
one of the few academics fortunate enough to get a chance to make
ideas work.

The starting point was 2002, when the Justice and Development Party
(AKP) won the elections and ended the monopoly on power exercised by a
military-bureaucratic-civilian Istanbul-centric elite that claimed the
inheritance of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and his European-style
secularism, which still prohibits a Turkish woman from wearing a head
scarf to university. This elite protected Ataturk’s secular vision,
but, somewhere along the way lost sight of Ataturk’s independence.

The wives of Erdogan and Gul wear head scarves, but that is not the
point: The wives of many Cabinet ministers and high officials do not,
and are not required to. What is relevant is that AKP subtly shifted a
policy that had become synonymous with America’s, without the angry
rhetoric that has become a regrettable hallmark of so many who strut
as lead actors on the anti-American stage. AKP proved that change was
possible without compromising an amicable and mutually beneficial
relationship with Washington. Their predecessors had America’s
friendship. AKP has America’s respect as well.

Turkey has played a pivotal role in two of the three great wars of the
20th century. It was an ally of Germany and the Central Powers in
World War I, but refused to declare war on the United States even when
the latter joined the Anglo-French alliance. Even though it lost its
empire in the fighting, Turkey did not permit a single enemy soldier
on its territory during wartime. Istanbul was occupied only after
truce. Ataturk, victor of Gallipoli, was the great hero of this
conflict; but took his true place in his nation’s history after 1918,
when the vainglorious trio of Lloyd George, Winston Churchill and
Clemenceau, leavening their intent with anti-Muslim Crusader
sentiment, armed and financed a Greek invasion of Turkey. Their aim
was to partition the country and leave Turkey as a rump Anatolian
state. Ataturk mobilized a proud army and people, and shocked the
victors of World War I by destroying the Greeks after they reached the
outskirts of Ankara.

Ataturk, protecting his nation’s independence, kept Turkey neutral in
World War II. Historic fears of next-door Russia, now the Soviet
Union, drove Istanbul into Washington’s embrace in the Cold War. But
when in the 1980s flexibility became an option, and in the 1990s a
necessity, Turkey remained rigid. When it looked south it could only
see Israel; when it looked east it could see nothing more than
Pakistan. Both were American allies. Turkey did not have a policy or a
vision for the 21st century.

Davutoglu selected the moment of departure with uncanny vision: George
W. Bush’s war on Iraq in 2003. It gave an early sign of change, when
it refused to let American troops pass through Turkey on their way to
Iraq. It also realized, fairly early, that America would be weakened
by Bush’s Iraq folly, creating space for new players, since the Soviet
Union was too weak to play any role at all.

Israel and Iran have sufficient muscle to fill a regional vacuum, but
both were inherently belligerent. They would be able to intervene, but
as destabilizers rather than stabilizers. Iran had a natural advantage
in Shiite-majority Iraq, but it simultaneously provoked deep
suspicions in the Arab world.

Turkey set itself up as the region’s center of stability. Ironically,
this was its role during the days of the Ottoman Empire; but this time
around, it could create an arc of influence only through diplomacy and
harmony, not imposition.

Turkey set about strengthening its relations with Arab nations. It
distanced itself from warriors in Israel, without breaking ties of
trade and cooperation. It criticized Israel’s Gaza war unambiguously.
But it realized that a critical key to peace lay in the amelioration
of its own antagonisms with its neighbors. This was, given the
emotionalism that is attached to the past, difficult.

But Turkey has now signed historic protocols with Armenia, warmed icy
relations with Syria to the point where visa has been abolished,
lifted ties with Iran and become a vital partner of Iraq in the
reconstruction of the country. In October Erdogan signed 48 MoUs
covering energy, commerce and security (among other things) with
Baghdad. Davutoglu paid a visit to the Kurdish Regional Government in
northern Iraq, which is equivalent to an Indian foreign minister
dropping in on Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Not too long
ago, Turkey’s air force was bombing this Kurdish region as punishment
for being a base for terrorism. Turkey, America and Iraq are working
together to bring the long and bitter Kurdish war against Turkey to an
end ‘ another sign of Washington’s new respect for Istanbul.

Pakistan has recognized the change as well, but done so in its
India-centric manner. It has asked Turkey to help solve the Kashmir
problem. Istanbul is not so green as to try and do so; and certainly
Delhi will be frosty toward any such misguided initiative. But Turkey
has found its role on the world stage. A stem in the Cold War
greenhouse has flowered in the fresh air of an open mind.

;section =0&article=128202&d=8&m=11&y09

DIYARBAKIR FEELS THE PINCH ON THE PITCH

Hurriyet Daily News
Nov 6 2009
Turkey

Recent trouble at matches involving Diyarbakirspor has brought
racism in football and in society as a whole to the fore of public
discussions. Diyarbakirspor once enjoyed the advantages of state
support, but the government’s recent Kurdish initiative has led to
questions about why the team has become the target of protests

Diyarbakirspor is more than just a football club for the city.

Diayrbakir Gov. Huseyin Avni Mutlu (R), Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir
(C), Diyarbakir deputy Kutbettin Arzu (L) pose for photographers all
wearing Diyarbakirspor scarves. Second on the right is Diyarbakirspor
chairman Ceitn Sumer. AA photo

The "democratic" or "Kurdish" initiative has seen its share of heated
political debates in many different venues, but now the debate has
struck in the most popular forum in Turkey — the football pitch.

Recently, stadiums have featured unruly scenes and the protests are
increasing whenever Diyarbakirspor, a team often associated with
Kurdishness, takes the field.

Many ultra-nationalists in Turkey consider Diyarbakirspor, from the
biggest city in southeastern Turkey, as a representative of the Kurdish
population and, by extension, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party,
or PKK. The team and its supporters have on many occasions become
targets of anti-Kurdish banners and chants.

The latest incident was during a Nov. 1 game in Gaziantep, after which
Diyarbakirspor executives complained that the home team supporters
chanted offensive slogans. The northwestern city of Bursa witnessed
worse scenes in late September when Diyarbakirspor fans were booed
and plastic seats where thrown at them.

"We have nothing to do with politics and we do not deserve these
protests," said Diyarbakirspor’s Chairman Cetin Sumer after the
Gaziantepspor game, announcing they would not play against Galatasaray
on Sunday.

Sumer’s announcement caused debates in the Turkish media, and although
Diyarbakirspor’s administrative board changed its decision Thursday
and announced they would be on the pitch on Sunday, many questions
remain unanswered as to why such conflicts arise against the team.

"Even though we deny it, racism is increasing in Turkish football,"
wrote Radikal daily’s sports columnist BagıÅ~_ Erten. "Still,
it is not an excuse for the hatred that is growing on the streets
of Turkey. It is not just a problem in football. We need a public
initiative to solve it."

Yet, some think racism has always existed but only now is the Turkish
media recognizing it.

"People of Diyarbakir have grown accustomed to such protests," said
Ibrahim AteÅ~_oglu, Diyarbakir representative of Turkish Sports Writers
Association, or TSYD. "But the media were not interested. Only now
have they started paying attention to the issue and making headlines."

Writer and journalist Murat Toklucu told the Hurriyet Daily News &
Economic Review that protests in the past were limited to isolated
incidents.

"In 2000 there was a game between Diyarbakirspor and Konyaspor
scheduled to play in Konya. On the day of the game, many university
students, mostly girls, were allegedly beaten and dragged into the
streets because they were from Diyarbakir," he said. "Now with the
Kurdish initiative, the isolated protests have turned into mass
actions."

"The move has definitely triggered the protests. Since the 90s
football stadiums have been the mirrors of political agendas,
and currently it is used by those who think all Kurds are ‘killer
dogs,’" said Erten. "It is not uncommon to identify teams with ethnic
identities. We identify Trabzonspor with the Laz. But the question
is why aren’t there protests against them?"

We are all Turks

Turkish football stadiums have often been used for protests. After
Sept. 11, protests were held in support of Osama Bin Laden and against
the United States. Another recent case also happened when Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink was killed in 2007. During a game between
Trabzonspor and Kayserispor, ultra-nationalist supporters carried signs
saying, "We are all Turks, we are all Turkey lovers," as a response to
"We are all Dink, we are all Armenian," slogan by Dink’s supporters.

Yet, having a better perspective on the Diyarbakirspor issue perhaps
requires a closer look on the team’s relationship with the state.

"Before 2000, Diyarbakirspor used to be a very weak team. Yet, when
the state decided to make peace with the Kurds, it suddenly made its
way into the Super League, the top flight," said Toklucu, recalling
the lower division title fight in 2000-2001.

A state project?

In the early 2000s, a lot of controversy around the Diyarbakirspor
football team as it advanced into the top league because of what some
say was significant state support.

In January 2001, the former Diyarbakirpsor chairman, the Diyarbakir
Police Chief Gaffar Okkan, along with five other police officers
were assassinated by Turkish Hezbollah militants. Then, in May 2001,
third-place Diyarbakirspor hosted second-place Altay with two weeks
left in the season. Because Okkan had been a very popular figure
among Diyarbakir locals there was immense pressure for the club to
be in the top league in order to ease stress in the city.

The game turned out to be a disgrace to Turkish football. It was
scheduled to be broadcast live by state-run channel TRT but was
canceled at the last minute. Stones were thrown at the Altay players
as they stepped onto the pitch and there were many injuries.

"The spectators threw glass marbles at the players in the first 15
minutes of the game," Yuksel Guruz, a board member at the time, wrote
Toklucu in his book "Taraftarın Senle" (Your Fans Behind You). "At one
point, I feared we would not make it out of the stadium alive. I have
been to many games all over the country, but never witnessed this."

Journalists from Izmir were locked up in a dressing room. Taking
photos and video was prohibited until the home team led by three
goals. Diyarbakirspor won the game 3-1 and made it into the top league.

Then, in 2005, when Diyarbakirspor was officially sponsored by the
local government, the team dropped again to the lower division but
managed to make it back to the Super League. Its then Chairman Adnan
Okturen had close relations with the military and state officials. The
local government’s sponsorship also raised controversy.

According to Tanil Bora, a leading academic specializing in
nationalism, Diyarbakirspor is not just a local team. It expresses
Kurdish identity and is regarded as the common man’s team. Yet the
controversy over the last 10 years affected Diyarbakirspor’s popularity
and could be why the team has become the target so much hatred.

"It definitely caused the people to loose sympathy for [the team], but
only a very small percentage," said Toklucu. "Diyarbakirspor’s story
is definitely complicated, almost as complicated as the Kurdish issue.

But closer examination of the state’s policy toward the Kurdish issue
could explain a lot about Diyarbakirspor."

NO CLASHES AT ARMENIAN-GEORGIAN BORDER, JUST "WORKING DISPUTE" – AGENCY

Interfax
Nov 5 2009
Russia

The Armenian National Security Service has dismissed the media
reports about clashes on the Georgian- Armenian border between the
two countries’ border guards, involving Georgian troops.

"The small issue that arose in relation to the current demarcation at
the Armenian-Georgian border, more fits into the notion of ‘a working
dispute’," NSS spokesman Artsvin Bagramian told Interfax.

Georgian troops were not called to the border and neither the Armenian,
nor Georgian border chiefs traveled to the scene, he said.

There was no incident on the Georgian-Armenian border, said the
Georgian border authority.

"There were no flare-ups at the Georgian-Armenian border, and
the reports about some incident between the Georgian and Armenian
border guards are untrue," the Georgian border police told Interfax
on Thursday.

"The situation on the border is absolutely calm," the agency said.

At this stage a commission set up by the two countries is carrying
out a border delimitation that will be followed by its demarcation,
the border police said.

GORAN LENNMARKER’S VISIT TO SOUTH CAUCASUS IN NOVEMBER CANCELLED

ArmInfo
2009-11-06 16:23:00

ArmInfo. The visit of Goran Lennmarker, OSCE PA Special Representative
for Nagorny Karabakh and South Caucasus, to the region scheduled
for November has been cancelled because of his tight work schedule,
Klas Bergman, Director of Communications at the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly, told ArmInfo