Author: Maral Chavushian

COUPLE WITH TIES TO TITANIC TO WED AMONG ARTIFACTS
By Carrie Antlfinger

The Associated Press State & Local Wire
May 10, 2009 Sunday 4:43 PM GMT

A couple with a special connection to the Titanic plan to marry among
the ship’s artifacts at the Milwaukee Public Museum.

Melissa Vartanian, 28, and Vache Mikaelian, 31, will wed Friday at
"Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition."

Melissa Vartanian’s great-grandfather, David Vartanian, was fleeing
Turkish occupation in Armenia when he boarded the Titanic. He planned
to later send for his new bride, Mary.

When the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912 Vartanian’s 22nd birthday
he survived by hanging on the side of a lifeboat. It took him about
six years after he recovered to find his wife by searching through
newspapers, churches, orphanages and sending numerous letters to
Armenia, Melissa Vartanian said. Then it took another five or so
years for the couple to be reunited.

Melissa Vartanian said her great-grandparents died before she was
born, but she grew up hearing about their story, which she called
"the greatest love story I’ve ever known."

"This is amazing," she said. "This would be a great tribute to this
amazing love story and great tribute for my family."

Viewers picked the couple as the winners of a wedding contest run by
WTMJ-TV and its morning talk show. The television station paid for
the rehearsal dinner, =0 Areception, honeymoon, bride’s dress and
other costs.

About 1,500 people died when the so-called "unsinkable" ship sank
after striking an iceberg on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic
Ocean in 1912. The Milwaukee exhibit runs until May 25.

Visitors receive boarding passes for someone who was on the ship, along
with some biographical information, and at the end of the exhibit,
they learn whether their person survived. David Vartanian’s boarding
pass will be included in the wedding programs for their 100 guests,
Melissa Vartanian said.

The rehearsal dinner also will have a Titanic theme. A local restaurant
will provide a four-course dinner once served on the ship beef
consommé, oysters, filet mignon and Waldorf pudding.

Vartanian said she and her fiance have visited the Milwaukee exhibit
along with other Titanic exhibits in other cities. She said some people
might think it’s a bad omen to get married among Titanic memorabilia,
but she doesn’t.

"The Titanic doesn’t symbolize death and destruction," she said. "It
was a journey toward a better life, even though it had challenges."

Wall Street Journal
Jan 4 2009

Ukraine Natural-Gas Dispute Intensifies

By ANDREW OSBORN

MOSCOW — Russia’s dispute with Ukraine over natural gas prices
descended into counter claims and legal threats over the weekend, as
six European countries downstream said they had begun to record slight
supply disruptions.

Russia’s OAO Gazprom halted deliveries to Ukraine, a key transit
country, on Jan.1 after talks to negotiate a new supply contract for
this year broke down amid a price dispute.

Since then, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Turkey, Bulgaria and the Czech
Republic have reported slightly reduced supply. Gazprom says it is
pumping extra gas via Belarus and Turkey to ensure supply, while
Ukraine says it is using its reserves to maintain transit volumes. The
EU gets 80% of its Russian gas imports via Ukraine.

The dispute has forced both countries to defend their reputations as
reliable energy suppliers and evoked memories of 2006, when a similar
dispute led to more serious supply disruptions in Europe.

Russia and Ukraine spent the weekend trading recriminations and
lobbying to persuade the international community. Each said the other
was to blame for a shortfall of about 50 million cubic meters that has
apparently failed to reach European consumers over the weekend. That’s
about a sixth of what Russia pumps to Europe every day.

Gazprom said it had got President Dmitry Medvedev’s approval to bring
a case at the International Arbitration Court in Stockholm against
Ukrainian state gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy to ensure unimpeded
transit. In a statement, it said it would file the case "in the near
future." Naftogaz said in a statement it would counter file at the
same court if Gazprom went ahead.

Bohdan Sokolovsky, an economic aide to Ukrainian President Viktor
Yushchenko warned the dispute could trigger more serious supply
shortfalls in Europe in 10 to 15 days if a deal is not struck.

Lobbying efforts centered on Prague and the Czech government, current
holder of the European Union’s rotating presidency. The EU has so far
refused to arbitrate, calling on Russia and Ukraine to settle their
differences bilaterally. An extraordinary meeting of EU envoys is
scheduled for Monday to exchange information on the situation. Russia
says it sees no need for EU arbitration. Gazprom has, however, written
to the European Commission to ask it to monitor the gas supply
situation.

For his part, Ukraine’s President Yushchenko wrote to eight world
leaders on Friday, including President George W. Bush, putting forth
Kiev’s side of the story, according to Ukrainian diplomats.

Ukraine paid $1.5 billion in unpaid bills for 2008 to an intermediary
company that is 50%-owned by Gazprom, by Dec. 31. But Sergey
Kupriyanov, a Gazprom spokesman, told a news conference Friday the
Russian gas monopoly didn’t expect to get the funds until Jan. 11. He
said Ukraine owed a further $614 million in late-payment fines;
Ukraine says it owes no late fees.

In 2006, a similar dispute caused shortfalls in Russian supplies of as
much as 50% across Europe, although a deal was struck quickly under
heavy pressure from EU governments. Russia on that occasion was widely
accused of using gas as a political weapon to punish Ukraine’s
pro-Western government, a charge Moscow denied and has made efforts to
avoid this time.

Late Sunday, face-to-face talks between the two sides had yet to
resume. Talks broke down on New Year’s Eve after Ukraine rejected a
Russian proposal that Ukraine should pay $250 per thousand cubic
meters in 2009, up from $179.50 last year, but around half the price
paid by EU countries. Ukraine was proposing a smaller increase to
$201, but has since said it is ready to pay $235.

After saying on Thursday that it now wanted Ukraine to pay $418 per
1000 cubic centimeters of gas, Gazprom upped the ante again on
Sunday. Chief Executive Alexei Miller said the company now wants
Ukraine to pay $450, equivalent to what its closest EU neighbors pay,
less transit across Ukraine. He said he hoped that price would bring
the Ukrainians back to the negotiating table.

In a statement Saturday, Oleg Dubyna, Nafotgaz Chairman, said
accepting an earlier Gazprom offer of $418 would spark a "humanitarian
catastrophe" in Ukraine. The country’s inefficient Soviet-era domestic
heating systems and industries are heavily reliant on Russian gas
imports.

Ukraine says, however, that its large gas storage capacity is full,
allowing it to weather a cutoff longer than in 2006, when the Russian
cut-off was felt almost instantaneously downstream in parts of the EU.

In recent years Gazprom has raised gas prices towards world levels for
all of its ex-Soviet neighbors, who continued to enjoy heavy discounts
after the break-up of the Soviet Union. Less compliant neighbors, such
as Georgia, now have to pay full price, while allies such as Armenia
pay lower rates. The annual negotiations with Ukraine have been
particularly difficult, however. Moscow has pressed Mr. Yuschenko’s
pro-Western government to pay world prices since it came to power in
the 2004 Orange revolution, while Ukraine has used its leverage as a
critical transit country for Gazprom to reach the rich EU market to
push for more gradual increases.

HOW HAPPY FOR THOSE WHO FEEL THEY ARE TURKS

Sabah
8D047B7B2DD0567A3F2FB84.html
Dec 24, 2008
Turkey

Prime Minister İnönu came to pay Ataturk a visit at around 18:00
in the Florya Kosk:

– Well, hello Ä°smet… You came without calling.

– Honorable Pasha, it is the minority issue. We are planning to bring
the issue up in the parliament. What do you think?

– Ä°smet, it’s too late today. Come by early tomorrow morning and
let’s discuss it.

When İnönu left, Ataturk called on all of his staff to gather
around: – Leave only the tulips… Pick out all of the other flowers
and throw them out, immediately.

Ä°smet Psa came again in the morning and saw the state the garden
was in and asked the staff:

– What happened here?

– It was the Honorable Pasha’s orders sir, so we pulled them out.

Prime Minister Ä°onu, went into President Ataturk’s chambers:

– Honorable Pasha, what is the situation with the garden?

– We pulled out all of the minorities and threw them away Ä°smet.

Ä°onu bowed his head down in a manner that stated "I get it."

Ataturk:

– Ä°smet, I didn’t say the words "How happy for those who feel they are
Turks" for nothing. Anyone who feels they are Turks is this nation’s
own children. I want it to be known this way for as long as I live. And
don’t dare take out a new law that deals only with minorities.

We were told this story by Ates_ Unal Erzen yesterday. He stated;
"I heard it from İnan Kırac". Municipal Mayor Erzen, during an
Armenian celebration named the "Affection Table" told this story. The
guests listening began to cry.

After Ates_ Unal Erzen left, we spoke with Ä°nan Kırac. "Yes, it’s
true, he said."

Ä°nan Kırac’s father Ali Numan Kırac "was sent to America
to study for six years by Ataturk, and he became Turkey’s first
ever agricultural engineer." Ataturk named him the director of the
"Ataturk Forest Farm." The story that was told turned out to be one
İnan Kırac had personally heard from his father.

How sad it is that there are still those that do not understand
Ataturk’s lesson.

Well, it was an occasion to honor and remember "Ataturk and Ä°nan
Kırac’s father Ali Numan Kırac."

–Boundary_(ID_PP6AjlV9on clzqZQH8daKw)–

OBSERVATION

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
26 Nov 08
Armenia

The OSCE mission conducted a crises-observation in Armenian
-Azerbaijani contact line, in the southeastern direction of Karabakh
defense army, where on November 16 the Azerbaijanis broke the regime
of the ceasefire.

During the observation initiated by Karabakh authorities the
representatives of the defense army showed to the OSCE mission the
place from where the Azerbaijani special detachment tried to split
through the rear of Karabakh detachments, and gave the details of
the incident.

The members of the observation group recorded all the data later to
include them in their report.

ROBBING THE OTHERS OF THEIR GLORY
GEVORG HAROUTYUNYAN

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
01 Nov 08
Armenia

When your patience is exhausted

Varouzhan Karapetyan was the person in charge of military affairs in
the European office of ASALA. In 1983, he was arrested in France after
the terrorist act organized in the French airport `Aurles’ and was
sentenced to life imprisonment. Eighteen years after serving his
sentence in France, V. Karapetyan was released. On April 24, 2001 he
came to Armenia, settled in his homeland, and now lives in Dilijan, in
a house he has built on his own.

`My patience is exhausted. Those who rob others of their glory have
increased in number, and they abuse the human sacrifice. It’s now time
to speak and tell the truth,’ VAROUZHAN KARAPETYAN said in an exclusive
interview to `Hayots Ashkharh’.

`Mr. Karapetyan, you have never had an interview with the Armenian
journalists although you have been living in Armenia for more than 7
years now. What has made you so indignant that you decided to express
your opinion in the press?’

`When the ox ploughs the field, the wooden plough pulls it from behind
and the animal sweats. The sweat attracts the lice which never miss the
chance to say at the end that they have ploughed the field on their
own. This is the philosophy of our life.

The best guys sacrificed their lives, while the time-servers are now
using their merit. We initiated the operation of `Aurles’ airport
ourselves, as a sign of protest against Levon Ekmedjyan’s being hanged
in Istanbul in 1982. We had planned to blow up the plane belonging to
the `Turkish Airlines’ company, which was transporting high-ranking
officials, Generals and diplomats of the Turkish intelligence service.
Our target was definitely clear. During the operation, 10 Turks were
killed and other 60 were injured.

I was arrested, served my sentence and then was released, and, as a
representative of the third generation of an Armenian emigrant, I
returned to my homeland. In the course of the past 7 years, I never
displayed any kind of political orientation.

When, in the 1970’s, we founded the Armenian Secret Army for the
Liberation of Armenia, our struggle was not class-oriented, and it
didn’t bear a political character; our principal goal was to liberate
the occupied lands of Armenia. In 1991, Armenia regained its
independence. Therefore, the issue of the Armenian Cause is to be
resolved by the Armenian statehood, and it should never be adjusted to
the mentality of a certain group or party. The state mentality is the
pledge of the existence of our statehood. In the 1990’s, when the
existence of our motherland was at stake, the consolidation of the
power of Armenians in Artsakh had become an imperative.

When the war or battle is over, the freedom fighter who was ready to
become a martyr should realize that his mission is over, and he should
be able to take a halt and cease the struggle. A freedom fighter must
be able to keep his name high; he must never stagnate, never appear on
the political arena and spot his reputation. And this is exactly what
many friends of mine and many freedom fighters did.

However, it turns out that when the lion is missing, the foxes begin
dancing in the forest. And one of such foxes is the criminal who
introduces himself as Sargis Hatspanyan.’

`Who is, after all, Sargis Hatspanyan who currently acts as a
`pro-Levon activist”? What does he have to do with the Armenian Secret
Army for the Liberation of Armenia?’

`When we were arrested, Sargis Hatspanyan was one of the time-servers
who took advantage of our status. He came to the independent state of
Armenia, introduced himself as a fighter and even the leader of the
Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia and speculated the
most sacred patriotic sentiments of our people.

Hatspanyan was a mysterious nature. His real surname was Ekmedjyan.
When living in France, he speculated the fact of bearing the same
surname as martyr hero Levon Ekmekdjyan but as a matter of fact, he had
no relationship with either Levon or our army. In this way, he managed
to organize several donations in the Diaspora. He extorted and realized
the sums that were collected with the purpose of providing aid to the
arrested freedom fighters as well as assisting in the war of Artsakh.

He didn’t have a house in France; in that sense, he was a vagabond. But
he managed to amass a fortune due to his charity organization. Now,
Sargis Ekmedjyan has translated his surname from Turkish and become
Hatspanyan; he now has a luxurious shop in the Northern Avenue and a
house in Toumanyan Street.

The so-called Hatspanyan now introduces himself as a freedom fighter of
the detachment which was led by hero of the Artsakh war Leonid
Azgaldyan and a former member of ASALA, although he had never had
anything in common with the secret army; neither had he been in the
battlefields of Artsakh, at least for an hour.

I have met him only once. During our conversation, he refused to
confess that he had ever introduced himself as a member of ASALA, but
he insisted that he had been put to prison in France in 1983, in the
frameworks of the `Aurles’ case. I thought I might not have recognized
him or be unaware of his involvement. However, I learnt from Rene
Levonyan, honored priest of the Armenian Evangelistic Church, that the
so-called Hatspanyan was not only an obscene liar but also a robber of
the glory gained at the price of the sufferings of others. That
wretched creature who poses danger to society reminds me of one story.

Two prisoners were close friends. When the time of their release drew
near, one of them asked the other what he was going to do after being
released from prison. And he reminded his prison mate that he had been
put to prison for killing one of the two villains of their village and
wouldn’t be able to live in peace unless he squared accounts with the
other. The other said that he was going to build a private house on the
top of the mountain and live there in peace with his family. Years
later, the former visits his friend, sees that he has translated his
desires into reality and feels happy for him. Then he confesses that he
hasn’t put his plans into practice because the villains in the village
had increased in number while he was serving his sentence in prison.

The same I can say about myself. When I was released from prison, I saw
that the villains had increased in number. It is very hard to put up
with the idea that the villains enjoy the products of your sacrifice.
But what to do when there are a lot of such villains. You can’t kill
them all. So, it is necessary to reveal their essence. The people have
a wise proverb which says what is done by night appears by day, and the
truth has to be disclosed.

I just dread when the time-servers and immoral creatures start
expressing concerns over the Artsakh issue. For such kind of people,
Armenia is the beautiful lady they want to rape. This is why I decided
to interrupt my silence.

SIRVARD KARAMANUK PASSED AWAY

Noyan Tapan
Oct 20, 2008

ISTANBUL, OCTOBER 20, ARMENIANS TODAY – NOYAN TAPAN. On October 20
Costantinople-based world-famous composer and benefactor Sirvard
Karamanuk passed away. As Noyan Tapan was informed by Ara Kochunian,
editor of Istanbul’s Zhamanak (Time) newspaper, the 96-year-old artist
passed away in national St. Saviour Hospital, were she spent her last
days for treatment purposes.

Reuters UK, UK

European Football

Belgium defend unbeaten record with 2-0 win over Armenia

21:00 BST, Sat 11 Oct 2008

BRUSSELS, Oct 11 (Reuters) – Belgium kept their unbeaten record in
World Cup qualifying Group Five intact with a 2-0 win at home to
Armenia on Saturday.

Two first half goals from Wesley Sonck and Marouane Fellaini secured
the points for the Belgians, who play European champions and group
leaders Spain on Wednesday.

Spain, who beat Estonia 3-0, have nine points. Belgium and Turkey, 2-1
winners over Bosnia, are two points behind.

Attacking midfielder Sonck put the home side ahead in the 21st minute
with Belgium’s first real chance. The visitors failed to clear a
diagonal cross from Jelle Van Damme and Sonck pounced to fire home
from close range.

Fellaini doubled the lead after 38 minutes when he broke the Armenian
offside trap to latch on to a defence-splitting pass from Moussa
Dembele and slide the ball home.

© Reuters 2008. All rights reserved.

Magyar Nemzet, Hungary
Aug 13 2008

The Caucasian game

by Gabor Stier

Why did Georgia launch a war if it could be well predicted that such a
decision would put them into a difficult situation? How could the
politicians in Tbilisi decide on taking a suicidal step forcing Moscow
to an inevitable reaction, and thus pushing far away the Georgian
chances of regaining the breakaway territories as well as acquiring
NATO membership? Why did the United States choose not to step in so as
to halt the suicidal and genocidal action when they do have their
military experts present in the region, and it is hard to believe that
Mikheil Saakashvili could have acted or done anything without their
prior consent? To answer all these questions, according to many
experts, we have to look at the picture more closely and examine the
context of the game in the Caucasus, assuming that the United States
would not make such a bold move as to score a big self-goal in a
region that is so very important for them because of geopolitical
reasons.

It has been obvious ever since Afghanistan and Iraq that the main
objective of the United States is to control the area that expands
from the Near East to the Caspian region and which is extremely rich
in energy resources. The biggest obstacles to this are currently Iran
in the Middle East, Russia in the region of the Caucasus, and Central
Asia. The attempts to weaken Russia’s impact on the region have been
going on for quite a while now, and Washington’s most important ally
in this effort is Saakashvili’s Georgia. In other words, in this
geopolitical game, Tbilisi is only a small player, and so the
interests of the more important players can eventually override
Tbilisi’s and Saakashvilis’s efforts. Otherwise, in case of serious
players, it is hard to think of anything else when facing the events
of the last couple of days. There is some logic to find in the
schedule of the events, if those who worked out the details of
attacking Tskhinvali and the Russian peacekeepers counted on Moscow’s
inevitable reaction of entering the war. Because Russia had no other
choice, for them it was the only possible thing to do. If we follow
this logic, pulling Russia into a long and chaotic war, into the swamp
of the Caucasus, could even serve Washington’s best interests.

The situation could develop even further, as Azerbaijan, a country
rich in oil dollars, would not mind to "restore the constitutional
order", and another war in the Karabah region would open up a new
front for the Armenia-friendly Russia. The chaotic situation could
well lead to the destabilization of the whole North-Caucasian
region. This cynically evil scenario could serve the opportunity to
bog Russia, to make Russians get involved in wars using up their
energies, thus torpedoing their chances to carry out any modernization
plans. If Moscow could be kept busy with performing an aggressor’s
role, it could have no energy to deal with such issues as NATO
enlargement, building some alternative energy transport routes, or
deploying missiles. In the long run a prolonged conflict in the
Caucasus could well lead to an increased US influence in the
region. It would not take long for the NATO peacekeepers to appear in
the conflict-region, and Georgia, that has lost its breakaway
territories, could join NATO and become a member of the organization,
and at the same time, by way of controlling the region, Washington
could have the chance to prop itself against Iran, cut the North-South
energy route, and also contribute to developing alternative European
transport routes.

Therefore, there is no question about Moscow’s best interests which
are served if the Russians are able to prevent such a scenario by all
means. The best way for them to do that is to settle the conflict with
a quick win.

[translated]

Press and Information Department
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of the Republic of Armenia
Tel. + 37410 544041. ext. 202
Fax. + 37410 565601
e-mail: [email protected]
web:

Foreign Minister Nalbandian meets Russian FM Sergey Lavrov

On August 17, 2008 Foreign Minister Nalbandian, who was in Moscow for
a working visit, had a meeting with Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign
Minister.

In the course of the meeting , which lasted more than two hours, heads
of Armenian and Russian Foreign Ministers discussed in details wide
range of bilateral, regional and international issues.

Edward Nalbandian reiterated invitation to Sergey Lavrov to visit
Armenian with an official visit.

MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE OPEN TO COOPERATION WITH ARMENIA

ARKA
July 16

The U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) welcomes cooperation
with Armenia, MCC Executive Director John Danilovich said as he met
in Washington with RA Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbandyan.

The specialists of the corporation highly appreciate joint efforts
with Armenia and expects to record good results in September,
Danilovich said.

The participants to the meeting discussed further programs, focusing
on Armenian-U.S. relations.

Minister Nalbandyan said the RA Government plans to allocate $17mln to
fulfill MCC-Armenia commitments, including the further implementation
of the Irrigated Agriculture Program.

The Millennium Challenge Armenia Program was launched on September
29, 2006.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and the Armenian Government
signed a 5-year agreement on awarding Armenia a grant worth $235.65mln
on March 27, 2006.

The Irrigated Agriculture Program contributes to sustained increases
in agricultural productivity and incomes through a combination
of training, technical assistance, access to credit and essential
equipment for farmers in the irrigation zones rehabilitated under
the program. MCC allocated some $11mln for the program last year.