Author: Nahapetian Samvel

NATO MILITARY EXERCISE WILL BE HELD IN ARMENIA

Lragir.am
09-11-2007 13:29:15

The Cooperative Bow and Cooperative Spearman military exercises will
be held in Armenia in 2008. The press service of the ministry of
defense reported that on October 23 the command of the Allied Forces
Europe met the request of Armenia to host NATO Partnership for Peace
Exercise in 2008.

The news release of the defense ministry holds that the
command-in-chief of the Allied Forces Europe appreciates Armenia’s
continuous assistance of to the Partnership for Peace military exercise
program and its readiness to take an active part in it.

IF ARMENIA PASSES BY ITS CLAIMS, RELATIONS WILL NOT BE NORMALIZED: TURKISH PRESIDENT

Trend
07.11.07 12:47

Azerbaijan, Baku / corr Trend I.Alizade / If Armenia passes upon its
claims in connection with the so-called ‘Armenian genocide’ and try
to put this question to the consideration of parliaments of other
countries, The Turkish-Armenian relations will not be normalized,
Turkish President Abdullah Gul, currently visiting Azerbaijan, said
in Baku on 9 November while addressing the Milli Majlis [Azerbaijan
Parliament].

Gul said that in 1991 Turkey recognize Armenia as a country and
though Armenia is not located in the Black Sea shore, invited it to
the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC)

"Nevertheless, there appeared problems portraying obstacles
for the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and
Armenia. However, I do not that Turkey should be answerable for the
current situation," Gul said.

According to Gul, the world ought to now that the current situation
resulted from Armenia’s actions with respect to the neighboring
Turkey, counteracting the international standards, and occupation of
a territory of neighboring Azerbaijan.

"We will continue rendering necessary support to the resolution of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the framework of the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan," Gul added.

The Turkish President began his official visit to Azerbaijan on
6 November.

This is Gul’s first visit to a foreign country after is election as
the President of Turkey.

COUNTRY STATUS CHANGES
Armen Tsatouryan

"Hayots Ashkharh" Daily Newspaper
6 Nov 07
Armenia

The two Presidents’ extramural debate

The part of the Opposition which has united around ex-President
Ter-Petrosuyan realizes very well that the real ratio of forces is
not to their benefit, and they will definitely be defeated in the
elections. That’s why they have committed themselves to the realization
of the goal of changing the country’s atmosphere by all means.

In 1990, the situation in Armenia could really allow for a change
of the political atmosphere in a few months’ time and hence result
in a change of the ratio forces as well. Let’s at least remember the
depressive situation characteristic to the economic crisis of those
years and the resulting nihilism and general atmosphere of distrust
which allowed the factions opposing President Ter-Petrosyan to change
the ratio of forces existing in the country.

However, Armenia is currently living in conditions of quite different
political, economic and social developments, and President Robert
Kocharyan confirmed this in his recent speech at the Yerevan Medical
University. The President expressed confidence that the country simply
faces no danger in terms of changing the existing ratio of forces. "The
status of the country has changed. There is no longer the malice that
generally existed in the country, the depressive situation which could
provoke people to indecent actions as well as the illogical steps. And
the politicians and the political factions that will try to follow
this variant will simply go bankrupt," R. Kocharyan mentioned.

And really, Armenia currently lacks the critical mass of dissatisfied,
totally bankrupt people who are ready to run after any "savior". In
the past, the more aggressive and attacking attitude the activists
and forces adopted towards the authorities, the greater chances for
victory they had.

Therefore, after Mr. Ter-Petrosyan submitted a political claim having
felt the effectiveness of such methods on his own back, it is quite
natural and logical for R. Kochayan to remind him that Armenia is
currently in the 21st century.

And it is not accidental that for substantiating his viewpoints, the
President points out to the perfect failure of the political forces
that adopted a more aggressive attitude. "The parliamentary elections
clearly showed that the politicians who behaved most aggressively
were not elected to the Parliament. This is the best way to estimate
the right way of manifesting oneself in politics at present." Having
returned to politics after 10 years’ silence and placed his political
pledge on the malice and nihilism characteristic to the 1990s, the
ex-President is reminded in this way that it is impossible to engage
oneself in serious politics based on the values of the past.

R. Kocharyan’s assessment with regard to the country’s current
situation does not absolutely testify to the fact that he has
overlooked the complex problems faced by Armenia in a qualitatively
new stage, the most important among them being the social polarization
and hence – the extreme inequality of the population’s economic means,
which very often results in loss of faith in justice.

On the contrary, it is this kind of situations that strictly
necessitate the existence of a serious opposition whose "absence is
also a mischief for the country." The thing is that, based the analysis
of objective situations, R. Kochayan has clearly distinguished the
necessity of having an opposition in the country from the attempts
of increasing one’s political capital by aggressive conduct.

Stating these two contradictory assessments regarding the country’s
political and economic situation that has become the subject of
the extramural discussions between the country’s former and current
Presidents, we can come to the conclusion that we are actually dealing
with ideas belonging to two different epochs. The sharp change of
the ratio of forces of which the ex-President and his political
team are currently dreaming was really possible in conditions of the
hard social and economic problems faced by Armenia at the beginning
of the ’90s. However, it is also obvious that having overcome the
sharp political and economic crisis and entered the 21st century,
our country found the favorable-reformist ways of solving so many
new and complex problems faced by us.

L. Ter-Petrosyan’s ideas about the politically unstable and
economically collapsed Armenia of the 1990s come in conflict with the
approaches of President R. Kocharyan, who possesses full information
on the country’s real situation.

The former places the political pledge upon the impressions and
recollections of the past and the latter – upon the real values of
the current situation.

THE BURDEN OF MEMORY
Priya Krishnan

Hindu, India
Nov 4 2007

The Bastard of Istanbul; Elif Shafak, Viking/Penguin, £11.99.

If you are in the mood for a hearty novel about tangled families
teeming with eccentric, rebellious women, with a pace that is
unrelenting, then this one’s for you. It is also tempered by disturbing
insights into memory and ‘forgottenR 17; history. That makes it even
more compelling.

In this, only her second novel in English, Turkish writer, Elif Shafak
splices together the tumultuous histories of an Armenian-American
family in the USA and a Turkish-Muslim one in Istanbul, against
the backdrop of Turkey’s violent past. Given that this novel spans
different worlds and generations, she gets her characters’ lives to
intersect, seamlessly.

Asya, 19 years old and born out of wedlock, loves cafe life,
Johnny Cash’s music and existentialism. She lives in an old
mansion in Istanbul with three generations of women of the Kazanci
family – her mother Zeliha, three aunts, a grandmother and a
step-great-grandmother. And if you are wondering about men…well,
the author keeps Asya’s uncle, Mustafa, a man who is central to
the plot, distant. He lives in the U.S. He is married to an American
divorced from her Armenian husband and becomes stepfather to Armanoush
Tchakmakchian, her daughter from the first marriage.

In the anonymity of Cafe Constantinopolis, a chat room where the
emotional and intellectual lives of people are bared and shared,
Armanoush exchanges thoughts with other Armenians on Turkey’s denial
of the one million Armenian massacres during Ottoman rule.

Connect with the past

Unknown to her immediate family, Armanoush’s quest to connect with her
grandma’s past, "to meet Turks to better absorb what it means to be an
Armenian," brings her to Istanbul. But why she doesn’t try to delve
into her own family’s history before she jets off to a city where no
one remains from her Armenian family, defies logic. In the midst of
the odd but endearing bunch of Kazanci women, she ends up with a good
friend in Asya and uncovers dark secrets that link the two clans. We
also learn that generations of men haven’t survived in the family. That
seems to explain Mustafa’s ‘exile’. What also strikes one as odd is
that a defiant, modern Zeliha remains silent about a heinous crime.

Apart from these jarring notes and Armanoush’s contrived visit, to
suit the purpose of engaging with the contentious events of 1915,
Shafak is at her perceptive best when exploring at the personal and
the political levels, "the battle of memory against amnesia". Asya
grapples with the frustration of not knowing who her father is and
envies her Petite-Ma who has Alzheimer’s. "Memory withers away…it
might not be good for the people around you, but it’s good for you,"
she observes, wryly.

She also speaks of why Armenians remember. It’s because "your crusade
for remembrance makes you part of a group where there is a great
feeling of solidarity", whereas "Turks like me cannot be past-oriented
not because I don’t care but because I don’t know anything about it."

Searing evocation

Heart-wrenching truths echo through the pages. Shafak, who also
inhabits the world of words, searingly evokes what imagination means
to a minority "a dangerously captivating magic for those compelled to
be realistic in life, and words could be poisonous for those destined
to be always silenced." Which brings us to her recent battles and
victory over Article 301 of the Turkish penal code, which prohibits
"public denigration of Turkishness". She remains undaunted.

Truth hurts but she gets her characters to find similarities that
allow them to heal the festering wounds of memory. This she does with
empathy, by seeing things from the point of view of the ‘other’. If
I have a bone to pick, it is that the novel is overwritten and her
attempts at magic realism are feeble and convenient, much like the end
of the novel. While these hamper its appeal, Shafak’s moral scruples
are spot on in a book that must be read for its conscience and wisdom,
and the clutter, claustrophobia and warmth of families.

–Boundary_(ID_EFROeM+MaQKnkSygw4d6Jg)- –

Nalbandian qualifies for the semi-finals of the Masters Series event in
Paris

armradio.am
03.11.2007 13:42

Argentinean Armenian tennis player David Nalbandian continued his
remarkable form by seeing off fifth seed David Ferrer in a battle
royale to qualify for the semi-finals of the Masters Series event in
Paris.

The Argentinian was the conqueror of Roger Federer in the last 16 on
Thursday night, and repeated the dose a day later by beating Ferrer 7-6
(7/3) 6-7 (3/7) 6-2 in a high-quality contest.

He is now arguably the player to beat and will now meet Richard Gasquet
in the last four after the Frenchman defeated Britain’s Andy Murray 6-3
0-6 6-4.

Nalbandian won the Madrid Masters a fortnight ago, beating world number
one Federer in the final.

POETIC JUSTICE: HOLY CROSS JUNIOR PERFORMS FOR ARMENIAN CHURCH PONTIFF

College of the Holy Cross, MA
Nov 1 2007

Earlier this fall, at a ceremony in Boston, Ani Nalbandian ’09
delivered a dramatic poetry recital in both Armenian and English in
the presence of the head of the Armenian Church, during his visit to
the United States.

More than 300 people had gathered at a resplendent marble hall in
the International Place to greet His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme
Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and his entourage from
Armenia. Included in the formal program was Nalbandian’s performance
of "The Armenian Church," by Armenian poet Vahan Tekeyan. The poem
is about the fundamental importance of the Armenian Church to the
soul and identity of the Armenian people, says Nalbandian.

Leaders of the Armenian community in Boston asked Nalbandian to perform
after having seen her recite a poem with music earlier this year.

"The poem, which is in first person, makes reference to the sheltering
walls of the Armenian Church against storms and disruption –
essentially a metaphor for the effects of the Armenian Genocide.

Even beyond that, the poem talks about how, for the Armenian people,
the Armenian Church has been the protector of all aspects of our
identity, for our ancestors in the past, and for us today," she says.

By all accounts, Nalbandian, from Trumbull, Conn., is an exceptional
scholar and talented artist. She is majoring in history, is in the
premedical program and the College Honors Program.

When she was 16, Nalbandian wrote her first book, titled Polis: A
Way of Life. Earl Peace, dean of the Class of the 2009, remembers
when Nalbandian entered his office and asked if she could go to a
book signing her freshman year. When he asked whose book signing,
she replied, "Mine." The title Polis is a reference to the Greek
democratic city-state, relaying "the notion of the ideal existence,
the ideal society, free of the heavy social and political burdens,
inequalities, and injustices that ours is laden with," she says.

"I realize it was a bold work – a 16-year-old attempting to offer
advice to others well her senior, and her peers. But that is why I
wanted to do it," she explains. "It makes a statement, and despite my
age, I felt then – as a I still feel now – that I have experienced
things that have granted me insight, and the desire and strong
motivation to hold on to my idealistic virtues."

Earlier this year, she recorded and produced a CD with her father,
Rev. Untzag Nalbandian, pastor of the Armenian Church of the Holy
Ascension in Trumbull, consisting of Armenian, as well as international
songs. She plays the piano, organ, srink (an Armenian wind instrument),
and accordion. She is fluent in Armenian; writes poems in Spanish
(some of which were published in the Holy Cross foreign language
journal, Fosforo); and is not afraid of sounding off on issues that
are of concern to her.

Most recently, Nalbandian had a letter published in the Worcester
Telegram & Gazette about the Armenian genocide. His Holiness Karekin
II visited the U.S. during a time when America has been asked to
acknowledge last century’s genocide of millions of Armenians by the
Ottoman Turks. Present day Turkey has tried to defeat the Armenian
resolution by denying responsibility for the atrocities.

Nalbandian has an unwavering commitment to her Armenian heritage.

"I have spent time reading the works of several important Armenian
leaders of the 19th and early 20th centuries," she says. "I have been
inspired by them, and heed their warning that if we don’t take action,
the Armenian identity – the language, the culture, the Orthodox Church,
the country, and hence the race – will cease to exist."

Having traveled to Armenia for the first time in 2006, Nalbandian
hopes to make many return trips, with the long-term aim of improving
the Armenian homeland and aiding the Armenian people.

At Holy Cross Nalbandian is co-chair of the Bishop Healy Multicultural
Society, science ambassador, tour guide; and member of the following
organizations: American Medical Student Association, COMPASS,
Eco-Action, Schola Cantorum, and an op-ed writer for the Crusader,
among others.

"Holy Cross has really influenced my thinking, broadened my self and
life-defining principles, and continues to contribute in guiding me
spiritually through my formative college years," she says.

She is also enthusiastic about her involvement in the many programs
available through the College that promote religious dialogue.

"Religion is an engraved part of my life," she says. "These programs
teach me how to be a better person, and especially how to help others,
which is an aspect of my life I am always looking to augment and
improve upon."

Pictured: Ani Nalbandian ’09 stands beside His Holiness Karekin II,
Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.

/features/2007-2008/nalbandian

TV HOSTS NOTE "EXUBERANCE" IN TURKEY’S REPUBLIC DAY CELEBRATIONS

NTV Television, Turkey
Oct 29 2007

The NTV Television Network in Turkish at 1815 gmt on 25 October airs
its Monday-Thursday show "Difference of Interpretation" in the usual
format of a point-counterpoint discussion of selected current topics
by programme hosts Emre Kongar and Mehmet Barlas.

The two hosts begin the show by sending Republic Day greetings to their
viewers. Both hosts agree that this year’s Republic Day celebrations
are more "exuberant" than in the past, partly because of a sense that
"the integrity of the nation is threatened" by "terrorism."

Kongar elaborates further and says that "reactionism" and "PKK
terrorism" together with "allegations of Armenian genocide" pose
"serious threats to the secular republic". He says that he agrees
with the criticisms of "the proponents of a second republic" about the
"flaws of the current system", but disagrees with their charges that
these flaws are the result of "mistakes made during the one-party
period in the first 22 years of the republic".

Barlas says that Turkey is the only republic formed after World War
I that has remained virtually unchanged since then and calls this "a
miracle". He says that Turkey is "an island of stability" and praises
the progress that has been achieved in the last 84 years. He adds,
however, that Turkey must ask why its per capita GDP is still half
of Greece’s.

Kongar reviews major developments in Turkey since 1945 and blames many
of Turkey’s current social and economic problems on the Democrat Party
and its successors. In this context, he reads extensive passages from
his recent book, emphasizing the tendency of these parties to promote
religion and religious education.

Barlas objects to Kongar’s remarks that "good foundations were laid"
in the first 22 years of the republic and says that people must be
free to "scrutinize" the "totalitarian system" that existed at the
time. Kongar agrees that "criticism of Ataturk must be possible"
but defends Ataturk’s actions in the 1920’s as being necessary for
the conditions of that time.

The heated discussion that ensues ends when Kongar notes the time
and closes the show at 1835 gmt.

‘DISSIDENT’ TV STATION RAIDED BY TAX OFFICIALS
By Satenik Vantsian in Gyumri

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 31 2007

Tax officials raided on Wednesday the offices of a rare Armenian TV
station that broadcast former President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s September
21 speech in which he subjected the government to harsh criticism.

The Gyumri-based GALA TV was one of only two regional broadcasters
that agreed to air the speech as a paid advertisement on October 14.

Just over a week later, officials from the State Tax Service (STS)
visited its offices and notified its owner, Vahan Khachatrian, about
a thorough inspection of GALA’s financial operations ordered by an
STS division charged with combating tax evasion.

The visit came the day after Khachatrian publicly said that the
National Commission on Television and Radio, a government-controlled
body issuing and revoking broadcasting licenses, had warned him
against airing Ter-Petrosian’s verbal attacks on President Robert
Kocharian. The commission denied the claim. Khachatrian also claimed
that officers of the Gyumri branch of the National Security Service
(NSS) told GALA stop covering the ex-president’s political activities.

Three STS officials sent from Yerevan began inspecting the company’s
books on Monday and again raided its offices two days later.

Khachatrian challenged them to state if they have already uncovered
any evidence of tax fraud. "I will answer your question after the
inspection is over," replied one of the officials, Gagik Ohanian.

Khachatrian cited a Wednesday report in an Armenian pro-government
newspaper which said tax authorities have already found violations
at GALA. "The report was published before you began the inspection.

Where did they get that information from?" he asked.

"Maybe you gave them this information about your illegal business
activity," said Ohanian.

The tax officials had to leave the premises moments later after Ohanian
showed an expired passport to prove his identity. Khachatrian insisted
that he produce a valid ID.

One of the GALA reporters, Armenuhi Vartanian, claimed that she was
verbally abused and intimidated last week by Martin Zilfimian, head
of the regional branch of the STS, after authoring a TV report on
his role in the apparent government crackdown. "He wanted to make
sure that I don’t cover the tax department’s activities anymore,"
Vartanian told RFE/RL.

The GALA owner insisted that his company is being driven out of
business for defying government directives, a view essentially endorsed
by the Asparez Journalists’ Club, a Gyumri-based media association. "We
believe that these developments constitute direct pressure on a free
media outlet," Asparez said in a statement on Tuesday.

Virtually all Armenian TV channels are loyal to the Kocharian
administration and rarely air opposition criticism of its policies.

The only national broadcaster not controlled by the authorities was
controversially pulled off the air in 2002.

Ter-Petrosian allies say this is the reason for what they see as a
biased and hostile coverage of the ex-president’s political comeback
by the Armenian electronic media. They say the alleged harassment of
GALA is part of broader "repressions" unleashed by the government ahead
of next year’s presidential election. Ter-Petrosian is increasingly
emerging as its main opposition contender.

Meanwhile, GALA, which broadcasts to Gyumri and nearby towns and
villages, will face an uncertain future even if it avoids accusations
of tax evasion. According to Khachatrian, the station’s modest
advertising revenues have been rapidly falling since October 14.

"The number of our advertisers has shrunk three-fold," he told
RFE/RL. "The remaining ones will probably stop placing ads in the
coming days."

"HE CAN FIND AND PRESENT A DIFFERENT WORLD OF POETRY"

Panorama.am
22:49 30/10/2007

"Zareh Khrakhuni is the continuation of Tekeyan. He is one of the
Istanbul Armenian creators who started to think how to raise current
Armenian literature to a classical level, including its love, art, and
mentality," poet and Lebanon Armenian Aram Sepechyan said today at the
presentation of the "Tonazang" poetry collection at the Writer’s Union.

According to the literary expert, the poetry collection is a revelation
in Armenian literature, saying it differs from others in its lack of
punctuation. "This is indeed a revelation in current literature. He
returned to the style of the 10-15th centuries," Sepechyan said.

The author, in essence, writes about different themes, including the
land of Armenia, stones, air, and water.

Writer’s Union president Levon Ananyan believes that "He is the
last of the Mohicans of Armenian Diaspora writers, if not the very
last. Khrakhuni has been able to create a poetic sphere in Armenian
lyricism."

We note that at the conclusion of the book presentation, connected
with the writer’s 80th birthday, Ananyan presented the writer with a
Writer’s Union medal. Until now, Khrakhuni has authored 30 collections
of poetry.

RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTER ARRIVES IN ARMENIA ON VISIT

ITAR-TASS, Russia
Oct 30 2007

YEREVAN, October 29 (Itar-Tass) — Russian Defence Minister Anatoly
Serdyukov arrived in Yerevan on a two-day visit on Monday.

During the visit, he will discuss military and military-technical
cooperation with Armenia, his spokesman Alexei Kuznetsov told
Itar-Tass.

"During the talks with the head of the Armenian Defence Ministry,
Mikael Arutyuntyan, Anatoly Serdyukov will discuss regional security
and stability, as well as bilateral cooperation in the field of
defence," Kuznetsov said.

According to the Armenian Defence Ministry, Serdyukov will meet with
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisyan.

Serdyukov will visit Russia’s 102nd military base in Gyumri.

The Russian military base in Armenia is one of strongholds of security
in the country, Kocharian said in September 2006. "The base is deployed
in Armenia under the bilateral agreement and meets our interests. We
live in a difficult region, and the Russian military base is one of
components for our security," the Armenian president said.

Russian-Armenian military cooperation develops quite successfully,
Russian Ambassador to Armenia Nikolai Pavlov said. This cooperation
envisages "Russia’s participation in the guarding of the Armenian
state border with Iran and Turkey, the training of Armenian servicemen
at Russian military higher educational establishments, and military
equipment supplies to Armenia on preferential terms," the diplomat
said.