Author: nina hovnanian

ARMENIAN GOLD

Al-Ahram, Egypt
Aug 15 2013

Egypt returned with a gold medal in women’s tennis in the ninth
Pan-Homenetmen Games in Armenia. Nora Koloyan-Keuhnelian reports from
the capital Yerevan

Hundreds of Homenetmen-belonging Armenian athletes from around the
world took part in the Pan-Homenetmen Games organised every four
years. This year’s games took place from 27 July to 3 August. It
was the ninth edition since the tournament was first held in 1981
in Canada.

This year Homenetmen Ararat Armenian Sporting Club represented Egypt
in women’s basketball and tennis, something that was unusual as the
club used to take part in the Pan-Homenetmen Games with the men’s
basketball team. “Our expectations were not high, as it was the first
time that the women’s team had taken part in the games and because the
decision was taken in quite a short time,” said Hagop Sayian, Ararat
women’s basketball team coach. “There was also the unstable situation
that Egypt is going through which prevented us from practicing on a
regular basis.”

The Egyptian team played three games and lost them all. They were
beaten by Western USA 62-12, Lebanon 39-23 and Australia 26-23. The
last match could easily have been won by Egypt and would have taken
the team to the semi-final, but as Sayian explains, Ararat only scored
one point from eight free throws while Australia scored five out of
six. “Although we lost three games it was a good experience for the
team to meet other basketball teams and learn their styles. We hope
that next time we will have the time to practice more when things
get better in Egypt,” Sayian said.

Despite the basketball team’s disappointing results, the Egyptian
delegation returned to Egypt with a gold medal in women’s tennis.

Talar Mazloumian, 16, became a gold medalist after beating Galin
Bazoyan from Syria 6/0 6/0, Lousine Kevorkian from Armenia 6/0 6/0 and
Lilit Markarian, also from Syria, 6/2 6/0. “I was expecting to get
the gold medal; actually I was aiming for it,” said Mazloumian. “In
fact, my opponents were not as good as I was. I wish for stronger
competition next time.”

Mazloumian started to play tennis when she was seven; this was her
first competition out of the country. “I was so proud to represent
Egypt and prouder and happier still to go back with a trophy,” says
Mazloumian .

More than 650 athletes from 16 countries paraded to Liberty Square,
each delegation holding the flag of the country it is representing,
for a spectacular opening ceremony, passing by the Northern Avenue in
the heart of the capital Yerevan. The games kicked off by igniting the
Olympic torch in the Erebuni region and which was given to marathon
champion LevonTashjian. Tashjian took the Olympic flame and jogged in
the streets of Yerevan along with 34 other athletes who were passing
it to each other until it reached the heart of the city where the
opening ceremony was held. Tashjian presented the flame to the
Lebanese table tennis champion Tvin Moumjoghlian who took part in
the London Olympic Games in 2012. Moumjoghlian in turn brought the
flame to Liberty Square where thousands of spectators were waiting
impatiently to see the delegation of their country. The Armenian
athletes came from the diaspora to their motherland to take part in
eight sports: basketball, volleyball, soccer, tennis, table tennis,
athletics, chess and swimming.

At the closing ceremony the Homenetmen Central Executive chose the
16 most valuable players who achieved high-level results, in honour
of 16 Central Executive members who passed away. Talar Mazloumian
got the best women’s tennis player cup while Lebanon’s delegation
was chosen champions of all games since they were winners in chess,
table tennis and athletics. They also took second place in girl’s
basketball, and third place in soccer, women’s and boy’s basketball.

Whether a winner or a loser, this great gathering that brought
together more than 650 Armenian athletes, their families and friends
was more about connecting with a rich culture and heritage. It was
also a good opportunity for many Armenian youths who had never visited
their home country to get acquainted with the roots they belong to
and meet various communities.

This year’s Pan-Homenetmen Games was the second hosted in Armenia;
the first was in 2009. The Armenian sporting clubs which take part
in the Pan-Homenetmen games every four years are members of the
Homenetmen Organisation, considered the sports wing of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Party.

Homenetmen is a sports and scouting organisation founded in 1918 in
the Armenian diaspora, spreading its chapters in many cities in the
Middle East, Europe, the United States, Canada, South America and
Australia. The organisation’s aim is to prepare physically strong
Armenian athletes with high intellectual and spiritual virtues. Since
its establishment the organisation has played an essential role in
shaping the character and leadership capabilities of Armenian youths
generation after generation. The organisation was banned in Armenia in
1921 when the regime was changed to become part of the former Soviet
Union and was revived after the fall of the Soviet empire.

Ararat Sporting Club was founded in Cairo in 1914, and later joined
the Homenetmen Organisation and was given the name Homenetmen Ararat.

The participating teams in Armenia were from Australia, Bulgaria,
Canada, Cyrpus, Egypt, England, France, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria,
the US, South America and the host country.

TWICE-TOLD STORY 800 YEARS APART

Collected By Jirair Tutunjian, Toronto,
7 August 2013

The furtive, night-time disappearance of the French Army from Armenian
Cilicia in 1921 was an eerie echo of what the Frankish Crusaders
had done 800 years earlier in Urfa (Edessa). Urfa Armenians had
supported the Crusaders against the Turks, just as their descendants
supported the French against the Turks in the First World World. In
both instances, the Armenians had been promised the protection of
their European “Christian brothers”.

Here’s Russian-French historian and novelist Zoe Oldenburg’s
description of the Urfa massacre in her magisterial “The Crusades”).

“What finally happened was one of the greatest disasters in the history
of the Crusades. The responsibility for this catastrophe belongs to the
Franks, to the two Baldwins [kings of Jerusalem] in particular and also
indirectly to Tancred and his somewhat equivocal attitude. The massacre
of the inhabitants of the region of Edessa surpassed in horror that
of Jerusalem and the massacres of the Crusading armies in Anatolia.

This time it was literally a case of genocide.

“The Franks had had the unfortunate idea of evacuating the entire
civilian population of the region (including that of the fortified
cities) to the right bank of the Euphrates, in order to protect the
Armenians against the incursions of the Turkish armies and so they
would be better able to defend the strongholds. It hadn’t occurred
to them to consider the unwisdom of this mass exodus a moment when
the great Turkish army was in the neighborhood. So hopeless were
they at directing and organizing the county’s hoards of peasants and
townspeople, and so badly organized the transport by boat to the other
side of the river, that Mawdud’s army found it child’s play to fall
upon the wretched people gathered on the plain beside the Euphrates.

The Armenians were slaughtered in their tens of thousands before the
very eyes of the Franks who, having already crossed river, watched
powerless while the hideous butchery took place.

“‘The Franks,’ wrote Matthew of Edessa [an Armenian chronicler],
‘shed bitter tears as they contemplated this scene of desolation. After
this signal success, Mawdud returned to Harran with masses of captives
and incalculable booty.’ The captives were young women and children,
whom the Turks generally spared. The men were killed. Those who
flung themselves into the boats were drowned, because the boats were
overloaded, and the majority of those who tried cross the river by
swimming did not reach the further bank. The carnage, says Matthew of
Edessa, was such that ‘the waves of the Euphrates ran red with blood…

This day saw the depopulation of the whole province of Edessa.’ This
is no exaggeration. A whole rich and fertile province was transformed
overnight into a ruined and wasted land-a desert. It never recovered.

“Clearly the Franks cannot be held responsible for atrocities committed
by the Turks, but it must be admitted that the great exodus undertaken
at their suggestion constituted a direct provocation to atrocities
which, but for that, the Turks would never have committed on such
a vast scale. It is also fair to say that the whole operation must
have been very badly conducted and that the least the Franks could
have done was to use their army to cover the retreat of the civilian
population. Yet the Franks had crossed the river first, knowing
full well that the Turkish army was on the other side. Lastly, the
flight of the local Christians from the Turks, like the Turks’ anger
against the Christians, was the direct consequence of the Crusades
themselves, which had led the Moslems to regard Christians as enemies
by definition.

“Although the history of the Armenian people has produced more in
tragic episodes of this kind than any other, on this occasion it can
reasonably be said that massacre might easily have been avoided. With
the best of intentions, the Franks had brought disaster on the heads
of their subjects.

“After this disaster, from which the Franks emerged intact, having lost
neither men nor arms, it is understandable that the already faltering
confidence of the Armenians of Edessa in their new lords was badly
shaken. Indeed, their cherished wish was to have a prince of their
own race again. On the other bank of the Euphrates, the Armenian
Kogh Vasil, lord of Raban and Kaisum, commanded a strong army,
dependent on neither Greeks nor Turks, still less of the Franks in
Cilicia. Oshin and Thoros I ruled at Lampron and Vahgah as distant
vassals of Byzantium but in practice virtually independent. The
Armenians’ want of ‘loyalty’ to Baldwin of Le Bourg [Frankish leader]
is therefore quite understandable.”

TURKEY BUYS MAJOR PART OF RAW FUR EXPORTED FROM ARMENIA

21:14, 15 August, 2013

YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, ARMENPRESS: The export volumes of raw fur of cattle
from Armenia increased by 10 percent during the first six months of
current year compared with the same period of previous year. According
to data of State Revenue Committee during the fist half of 2013 from
Armenia was exported 82 500 raw furs 65 300 of which to Turkey, 9 200
to China, 4 800 to Georgia, 2 200 Iran and 950 to India. “Armenpress”
reports that in the first of half of current year from Armenia was
exported 35 900 sheep and lamb raw fur (18 800 to Turkey and 17 100
to Pakistan).

During 2012 from Armenia was exported 136 900 cattle and 97 400 sheep
and lamb raw furs.

FACEBOOK MAKES PEOPLE LESS HAPPY: STUDY

18:33, 15 August, 2013

YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, ARMENPRESS: Using Facebook can make you feel like
you have a lot of friends, but it does not make you happier, according
to a new study, reports “Armenpress” making a reference on Telegraph.

Anyone who has had to look at photographs of their friends having
more fun than them, or read endless posts providing minute updates
about someone else’s upcoming wedding, will already know this.

Scientists have confirmed that Facebook can make you miserable. A
study comparing how young adults felt at different times of the
day with their Facebook use showed that the more they logged onto
the social networking site, the less happy they were. The more the
participants had other forms of contact with people, such as face to
face or over the phone, they tended to feel better over time. They
also found that the participants were not more likely to use Facebook
when they felt unhappy. The findings suggest that the act of checking
Facebook itself was leading people to feel less happy.

“On the surface, Facebook provides an invaluable resource for
fulfilling the basic human need for social connection,” said Ethan
Kross, a social psychologist who led the work at the University
of Michigan.

“But rather than enhance well-being, we found that Facebook use
predicts the opposite result – it undermines it.”

The study asked 82 young adults who had Facebook accounts and
smartphones to reply to a series of text messages sent to them at
random times each day for two weeks.

They were asked how they felt, if they felt lonely, or felt worried
and if they had used Facebook since they were last contacted or if
they had interacted with people in any other way.

The more the participants used Facebook during the period of time
between being contacted, they worse they felt.

The authors also asked the participants to rate their level of
life satisfacton at the start and end of the sutdy. Those that had
used facebook more over the entire two weeks suffered a decline in
satisfatction.

The researchers said that they found no evidence that people used
Facebook when they felt unhappy already. They were, however, more
likely to use it if they were feelng lonely

ARA ABRAHAMYAN: RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES FIGHTING ILLEGAL MIGRATION IS NOT A THREAT TO THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF RUSSIA

by Ashot Safaryan

ARMINFO
Thursday, August 15, 17:20

The Russian authorities fighting illegal migration is not a threat
to the Armenian community of Russia, chairman of the Union of Russian
Armenians, Ara Abrahamyan, told ArmInfo correspondent.

He said that at present there is no obstacle on the way of the Armenian
community’s activity. “What is happening in Moscow and other cities
of Russian Federation, I mean intensification of the law-enforcement
agencies fighting illegal migration, is evidence of the fact that
legislation has started really working in this sphere.

Basing on the acting legislation, the authorities of the country want
to put the migration flows in order”, he said.

Abrahamyan thinks that one tragic incident between migrants and
policemen cannot define the policy regarding all the migrants.

Moreover, the Armenians of Russia are law-abiding citizens and there
are few law-defying persons among them. “I can assure you that fighting
illegal migration has nothing in common with the Armenians.

They act within the frames of the law and no sanctions and measures
from the side of the authorities may threat them. It is more
beneficial to us, if all the law in Russian Federation act without
exclusion. In that case, the Armenian community will only gain”, –
Abrahamyan concluded.

PHYSICIANS RAISE MERCURY POLLUTION ALARM IN ARMENIA

Narek Aleksanyan

14:01, August 15, 2013

At a Yerevan press conference today, specialists from the “Armenian
Women for Health and a Healthy Environment” raised the alarm about
mercury pollution in Armenia and the need to take immediate steps to
avert possible future health calamities associated with heavy metals.

Physicians Knarik Grigoryan and Emma Anakhasyan expressed the hope
that Armenia would sign the Minamata Convention on Mercury come
this October.

The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a legally binding instrument
to protect the human health and the environment from anthropogenic
emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds.

The speakers refereed to what is called “Minamata Disease”, a
neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning.

Minamata disease was first discovered in Minamata city, Japan, in
1956. It was caused by the release of methyl mercury in the industrial
wastewater from the Chisso Corporation’s chemical factory, which
continued from 1932 to 1968. This highly toxic chemical bio-accumulated
in shellfish and fish in Minamata Bay and the Shiranui Sea, which,
when eaten by the local populace, resulted in mercury poisoning.

While cat, dog, pig, and human deaths continued for 36 years,
the government and company did little to prevent the pollution. The
animal effects were severe enough in cats that they came to be called
“dancing cat fever.

As of March 2001, 2,265 victims had been officially recognized (1,784
of who had died) and over 10,000 had received financial compensation
from Chisso.

WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE ORANGE FOUNDATION ALREADY FOR THE FOURTH YEAR SUMMER RECREATION CAMP IN APARAN HOSTS AUTISTIC CHILDREN

Already for the fourth consecutive year the autistic children from
Yerevan and from the regions of Armenia, accompanied by their nurses,
spend their summer holidays in the summer recreation camp in Aparan,
made possible thanks to the cooperation between the Orange Foundation
and “Arabkir” United Children’s Charity Foundation.

In the scope of this joint program a 2-week recreation for 7-14-year
old 16 autistic children, left under the care of “ArBeS” Health and Day
Care Center and its rehabilitation affiliates in regions, is organized
in the summer camp, where alongside with treatment the children enjoy
their days filled with various games, events and interesting leisure
time. The camp to the maximum boosts communication of the autistic
children with their peers.

“Care for autistic children is one of the main priorities of the
Orange Foundation in the scope of its philanthropic activity in
Armenia, like in other countries all over the world. Our cooperation
with”ArBeS” Health and Day Care Center started several years ago
and it is already for the fourth year that with the support of the
Orange Foundation the summer camp hosts autistic children who need so
much to communicate and have their pastime. Alongside with supporting
integration of local regions into the digital world and offering free
eye care services to the disadvantaged groups of population, we also
never forget about these too vulnerable children and their families,
whose existence and problems are sometimes ignored by the society.

Doctors confirm that the children frequently hosted by the summer camp
have become more sociable. We are really happy to help these children,”
said Francis Gelibter, Chairman of the Board of the Orange Foundation.

The summer recreation camp constitutes only a part of the program
financed by the Orange Foundation. In fact, the program, as a whole,
is a large-scale program consisting of several projects, including,
training of medical staff, teachers, pupils and parents of autistic
children, with an objective to raise awareness of autism, as well
as implement contemporary methods (CHAT and ADOS tests) for early
detection of autism.

Due to the lack and load of specialized rehabilitation centers, in the
scope of the program the Children’s polyclinic N9 in Malatia-Sebastia
community (Yerevan) was equipped and furnished with rehabilitation
items, and the whole medical staff of the policlinic was trained
by the specialists of”ArBeS” Health and Day Care Center. This will
allow the polyclinic, which is a first contact with the population,
to ensure early detection of autism and other developmental disorders,
as well as early intervention.

This program also includes one very important function to be
implemented in Armenia as a pilot project, i.e., the professional
education of the autistic children. From September an autistic young
boy will attend the French-Armenian professional school.

As stated by Professor Ara Babloyan, member of the Board of Trustees of
“Arabkir” United Children’s Charity Foundation and Scientific Adviser
of “Arabkir” Medical Complex, “Already for several years we witness
this miracle. Autistic children are able to spend their summer holidays
with or without their parents. These children easily adapt to the camp
life thanks to very interesting days they spend with their peers, as
well as thanks to the help of field specialists, thus becoming more and
more sociable. Moreover, an 18-year old autistic boy, who has attended
the summer camp for several years, this year attended as a volunteer
and worked there. This, perhaps, is our greatest achievement”.

The Orange Foundation has allocated overall 16.290.000 AMD for
implementation of the program in 2013. This amount was used to organize
the traning courses and the summer camp, to equip the rehabilitation
centers and to implement the professional education project in Armenia.

15:01 15/08/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

ARARAT MAYOR DIES AT 56

13:41 15.08.13

Photo by 168.am

The mayor of Ararat town died Thursday morning in a Yerevan hospital
after a complicated surgery to remove a brain tumor.

A deputy director of the Mikaelyan Surgery Institute, Onik Melkonyan,
has confirmed the report to News.am, saying that Abraham Babayan,
who was operated on Friday, had been admitted to the hospital earlier
in the week.

The mayor had earlier undergone a surgery in Paris.

“The condition was rather complicated. I think it was his second or
third surgery. He was in Germany before for an operation. I saw him
after the intervention. His condition was grave; he neither spoke
nor showed any signs of consciousness,” the doctor said, adding that
a post-mortem examination will find out more exact cause of death.

Babayan was born on October 21, 1951 in the town of Ararat. Formerly
the president of the Football Federation of Armenia and the Cement
Football Club (1998-1999), he later founded the closed joint-stock
company Arax. In 2002, Babayan was appointed the chief of the Armenian
Electric Networks’ Ararat branch. he was elected a mayor in July 2007.

Babayan was married; he had three children and three grandchildren.

Armenian News – Tert.am

DEFENSE MINISTRY: ARMENIAN SOLDIER “LOST HIS BEARINGS”; WE WON’T PROSECUTE

;-we-wont-prosecute.html
11:52, August 15, 2013

The Armenian Ministry of Defense says it will not criminally prosecute
Hakob Injighulyan, an Armenian soldier, who recently wound up in
Azerbaijani controlled territory.

“Preliminary investigation findings have not established corpus
delicti in Hakob Injighulyan’s actions. It was justified and proved
that Injighulyan appeared on the territory under the protection of
the Azerbaijani forces under exceptional circumstances as the result
of losing his bearings. Thus, he will not be subject to criminal
prosecution upon his repatriation”, wrote Artsrun Hovhannisyan, press
secretary of the Minsitry of Defence of Armenia in his FaceBook account

ENQUETE SUR DES POLICIERS VIOLENTS

ARMENIE

Les procureurs de l’Etat ont lance des poursuites penales contre
plusieurs officiers de police soupconnes d’avoir torture un partisan
de l’opposition armenienne qui a ete emprisonne suite aux troubles
post-elections de 2008 a Erevan.

Felix Gevorgian figurait parmi plus de 100 personnes arretees a
la suite des affrontements meurtriers entre les forces de securite
et des partisans du chef de l’opposition Levon Ter-Petrossian pour
contester les resultats officiels de l’election presidentielle.

Felix Gevorgian etait le seul opposant accuse d’avoir utilise une
arme a feu au cours des affrontements qui ont fait 10 morts.

La police armenienne a ensuite abandonne cette accusation par manque
de preuves et l’a accuse de vol. Un tribunal d’Erevan a condamne
Gevorgian a sept ans de prison plus tard en 2008, en ignorant ses
allegations selon lesquelles il a avoue les faits sous la contrainte.

Il a ete acquitte et libere par une juridiction superieure fin 2010.

Dans un communique publie mardi soir, le Bureau du Procureur general
a annonce qu’il avait ouvert une enquete criminelle dans le cadre
de maltraitances presumees a l’encontre de Felix Gevorgian dans un
poste de police a Erevan. L’opposant affirme que plusieurs officiers
la-bas l’ont battu et lui ont brûle les pieds avec une barre de metal
chauffe pour le forcer a avouer sa culpabilite.

Aucun de ces policiers a ete formellement inculpe encore.

Un porte-parole des procureurs a dit au service armenien de RFE / RL
(Azatutyun.am) mercredi que l’enquete est menee en vertu d’un article
du Code criminel traitant de l’abus de pouvoir violent. Il prevoit
un emprisonnement de deux a six ans.

Pratiquement aucun des policiers n’a jusqu’ici ete poursuivi dans
le cadre de l’agitation 2008 et, en particulier, l’utilisation de la
force meurtrière contre les manifestants. Les autorites armeniennes
ont emprisonne des dizaines de loyalistes de Ter-Petrossian. Tous
ont ete liberes a la fin de 2011.

jeudi 15 août 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com