Author: nina hovnanian

ARMENIA TV NETS UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RIGHTS

SportsPro Media

July 10 2012

European soccer’s governing body Uefa has awarded all free-to-air
media rights for the Uefa Champions League in Armenia to public
broadcaster Armenia TV.

The deal, covering the three-year cycle from 2012 to 2015, will see
the network broadcast one live match, as well as a weekly highlights
programme, each match-night.

Armenia TV will also be able to exploit the rights on the internet
and on mobile.

IRAN’S INTERIOR MINISTER HEADS TO ARMENIA

Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA)
July 9, 2012 Monday
Iran

TEHRAN (ISNA)-Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar
departed for Yerevan Monday morning to hold talks with Armenian
high-ranking officials.

Promotion of mutual security cooperation, fighting drug trafficking,
managing crisis and expanding trade ties are among issues to be
discussed during the two-day visit to the country.

Najjar referred to the purposes of his visit to the country before
his departure, stressing the necessity of expanding mutual ties
with Armenia.

He said the two countries possess the capabilities for expanding
cooperation in various fields including energy, customs,
transportation, trade and industry as well as scientific interactions.

End Item

IRAN SEES ABUNDANT GROUNDS FOR EXPANSION OF COOPERATION WITH ARMENIA

Fars News Agency
July 10 2012
Iran

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar
described the age-old relations between Tehran and Yerevan as a role
model for the regional countries, and said there are abundant grounds
for increasing cooperation between the two countries.

“The bilateral agreements and documents indicate that there are
abundant grounds for the expansion of cooperation,” Najjar said in a
meeting with Armenian Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamian in Yerevan
on Tuesday.

He also described parliamentary relations as a good ground for the
consolidation of the bilateral ties between the two neighbors, and
said, “The two countries’ parliaments have an effective role in the
development of Tehran-Yerevan relations.”

During the meeting, Abrahamian termed the Iranian nation and
government’s age-old and intimate relations with his country as an
important factor in the expansion of the two countries’ trade and
economic exchanges, and said, “We are ready to increase all-out
cooperation with Iran.”

Iran has long taken various diplomatic initiatives to expand its ties
with the neighboring states.

In recent years, Iran and its Northern neighbor Armenia have boosted
cooperation, signed agreements on energy cooperation and agreed to
cooperate in technology and research and to enhance ties in commerce
and economy.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Armenian counterpart
Serzh Sargsian pledged in December 2011 to further expand “high-level
relations” between their nations and, in particular, give new impetus
to the implementation of joint energy projects that have fallen
behind schedule.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE APPARENTLY A LUCRATIVE DEAL FOR FRENCH PRESIDENTS

National Turk English

July 10 2012

French presidents have a habit to abuse alleged Armenian genocide for
political gains. Sarkozy successor new French president Hollande aims
putting Armenian genocide bill back on table.

Paris / NationalTurk – After bilateral ties between Turkey and
France had decreased to a level of total rupture as Erdogan tried
not to capitulate during Sarkozy-era. After Sarkozy lost French
presidential elections and Francois Hollande became new president it
was heralded as a positive sign for French Turkish relations since
Hollande administration initial approach to Armenian genocide bill
looked like as Turkey had wished to be. But looks can be deceiving…

France Turkey relations have a hard time to recover due to Armenian
genocide claims Turkey has brought an end to its sanctions against
France following Hollande’s positive approach toward Turkey in a
restoration of ties that had been severly damaged under the rule of
former French leader Nicholas Sarkozy.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan decided to end eight
measures against France – mostly military – Decision came after
Erdogan met with Hollande for the first time in Brazil at an UN
meeting last month.

Better the devil you know ! New French president follows in the
footsteps of Sarkozy France prepare to present a new law criminalising
the denial of the alleged Armenian genocide in fall 2012, the head of a
group representing Armenians in France stated a day after Ankara issued
cautious messages on the latest developments. New French President
Francois Hollande supports the idea of putting a new bill on the table
to penalise denial of the 1915 events as genocide despite regenerating
Turkey-France relations after previous Turkish frustration and
diplomatic ultimatoms at a similar attempt by Hollande’s predecessor
Sarkozy, nicknamed in Turkey as Sarkozyan while he was running after
Armenian vote during the election period. He failed miserably..

Armenian genocide draft bill : A standing dish at French parliament
Co-president of the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations of
France (CCAF), Franck Papazian told Agence France-Presse he would meet
with French President Francois Hollande later in July to re-discuss
the Armenian genocide bill, ‘ which will be prepared by the French
government and proposed in the autumn.’ Hollande confirmed plans for
a new draft law criminalizing denial of the alleged Armenian genocide
in France on 7 July.

Elaborating on Hollande’s remarks yesterday in Ankara, Turkish
President Abdullah Gul said that in his bilateral meeting with the
new French president, they agreed to move Turkish-French relations
forward and strengthen ties while taking mutual interests into
account. Turkey will follow the consequences, Abdullah Gul added,
adding that they would not act on speculation.

Turkey concerned new French president’s political motives over Armenian
Genocide Political motives urge the new French president to take action
for supporting a new law criminalizing the denial of Armenian genocide
allegations in the shadow of 1915 incidents, Turkish European Union
Minister Egemen BagıÅ~_ expressed yesterday. ‘ As the rate of the
votes Mr. Hollande received in elections is close to the number of
votes he could not collect, he may be seeking to expand his political
ground,’ BagıÅ~_ stated. Turkey will now closely observe the number
of steps to be taken by France, he continued.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry is also paying more attention to a
statement from French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius made in a meeting
between the two countries’ foreign ministers on July 5 in Paris. During
the joint press conference, Fabius recalled that an earlier attempt to
criminalize the denial of the Armenian genocide claims was annulled by
the French Constitutional Council and severely hurt bilateral relations
between France and Turkey. Laurent Fabius added that a fresh attempt
in FrenchParliament would mean experiencing such bitter times again.

ONE LAW FOR THEM, ANOTHER FOR US
by Nvard Hovhannisyan

Transitions Online

Czech Republic
July 10 2012

A violent death in Armenia reveals a two-tier system of justice. From
IWPR.

YEREVAN | The violent death of an army doctor at a restaurant
in Yerevan continues to cause waves of anger in Armenia, where
campaigners and opposition politicians blame a culture of impunity
among the country’s ruling classes.

Vahe Avetyan was assaulted at the restaurant on 17 June, allegedly
first by a waiter who refused to admit him because he was wearing
sports gear, and then by security guards, who also beat two other
army doctors who were with Avetyan.

Avetyan died 12 days later in a hospital without ever regaining
consciousness.

Mourners thronged the military funeral for Major Vahe Avetyan. Image
from a video by Slaqam.

The incident caught the public’s attention because the restaurant was
owned by the family of Ruben Hayrapetyan, a member of parliament and
chairman of the Armenian Football Federation.

On 30 June, the day after Avetyan’s death, hundreds of people lit
candles outside the restaurant where the attack happened. Some held
up banners saying, “I am Vahe.”

In the following days, similar demonstrations took place outside
the president’s official residence, parliament, and the prosecutor
general’s office. The protesters demanded an investigation and called
on Hayrapetyan to step down from parliament and from the football
federation.

“Vahe Avetyan’s case is unique in that the victim was one of us. …

This case has sparked concern even in sections of society that were
apolitical before,” Tsovinar Nazaryan, a journalist who joined the
protests, said.

Four parties – Dashnaktsutyun, Heritage, Prosperous Armenia and the
Armenian National Congress – have demanded a parliamentary debate on
the murder.

On 4 July, Hayrapetyan had a meeting with President Serzh Sargsyan
and announced his resignation.

“I feel a moral obligation to resign my mandate as a deputy of the
Armenian National Assembly. I ask all who voted for me to forgive me
for being unable to meet their expectations, but I am certain I had to
take this step,” he said. “I hope that one day I will be forgiven by
Vahe’s family. Whatever happens, I will do all I can to achieve that.”

Opposition politicians said the politician’s remarks were not nearly
enough.

Nikol Pashinyan of the Armenian National Congress party warned against
any attempt to “consign the murder of Vahe Avetyan to oblivion.”

“We must do everything we can to ensure that it is not forgotten,
because if we do forget, if we do fail to ensure the public is aware
of it, that will mean we are giving assent for more such incidents,”
Pashinyan said.

Hayrapetyan has denied any involvement with or connection with the
restaurant assault.

The public anger sparked by the incident comes after previous cases
where guards employed by politicians have been accused of assaulting
people and have gotten off lightly.

Avetik Ishkhanyan, head of the Armenian Helsinki Association, a human
rights group, described witnessing an incident in which bodyguards
of a member of parliament beat a man.

“When I called the police and asked why they couldn’t arrest them,
they replied that they were powerless to do so,” he said.

The victim, 35-year-old Andranik Babayan, died later in a hospital
without having regained consciousness.

Ishkhanyan recalled another incident in 2001 in which a bodyguard
of then-President Robert Kocharyan attacked and killed a man in a
cafe toilet.

The victim, Poghos Poghosyan, had reportedly addressed the president
with the words, “Hi, Bob.”

Babayan’s killer served only six months, while the bodyguard convicted
of murdering Poghosyan received a suspended sentence of two years.

Ishkhanyan said perpetrators were generally punished only when the
level of public anger became too great to be ignored, but even then,
the sentences imposed were nominal.

Zaruhi Postanjyan, a parliamentarian from the Heritage Party, said
such light penalties were clearly no deterrent.

The Dashnaktsutyun party has been pushing for eight years to regulate
private security firms. It wants to impose a licensing system, testing,
and standard uniforms; to make it illegal to hire more than three
bodyguards; and to bar public officials from having any private guards.

Ishkhanyan said he doubted new legislation would change anything.

“The problem in Armenia is not the laws, but how they are observed,”
he said. “The laws we have now allow for punishment. New laws or
legislative amendments are basically there just as a demonstrative
sign to the domestic and international public,” he said.

Nvard Hovhannisyan is a freelance journalist in Armenia. This article
originally appeared on

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT PRESENTS CONDOLENCES TO PUTIN

ITAR-TASS
July 8, 2012 Sunday 05:34 AM GMT+4
Russia

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has sent a telegram of condolences
to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in connection with a natural
disaster in the southern Krasnodar territory that caused huge human
casualties, the presidential press service reported in the Armenian
capital on Sunday.

“In this difficult moment we are staying together with the Russian
people and are ready to offer any kind of assistance to overcome the
tragedy’s aftermaths,” the Armenian leader said.

“Let me present my profound condolences and words of support to the
families of the dead,” President Sargsyan wrote in his telegram.

The North Caucasian Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria has also offered
help to the flood-stricken areas in the Krasnodar territory.

President Arsen Kanokov presented his condolences to the authorities
of the Krasnodar territory and the families of the dead on behalf of
the people of Kabardino-Balkaria.

“The natural disaster claimed hundreds of lives. It’s sad that
children and old people, who are the most vulnerable category of
people, became its victims. These losses are irrecoverable,” Kanokov
wrote in his telegram.

“I feel deeply for all those who lost their relatives and family
members and sympathize with the victims. Kabardino-Balkaria is ready
to help the population of the Krasnodar territory if necessary,”
Kanokov said.

STEPAN SAFARYAN TO RUN FOR MP SEAT IN HAYRAPETYAN’S PRECINCT

news.am
July 10, 2012 | 14:04

YEREVAN.- Member of Heritage party Stepan Safaryan will run for a
parliamentary seat in #1 precinct, he told reporters on Tuesday.

Safaryan said unless Republican Party member Ruben Hayrapetyan changes
his decision to submit resignation from the parliamentary seat, he
will put forward his nomination. Heritage member said he had made
the decision but it also should be approved by the party.

As to Ruben Hayrapetyan’s decision, Safaryan said he was surprised but
he is not completely sure that Republican MP will not change his plans.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am reported earlier, Ruben Hayrapetyan issued a
statement on July 3 saying he would submit resignation because of the
incident with the participation of his bodyguards. Military doctors
including were brutally beaten by the security personnel on June 17.

Several days later Vahe Avetyan died in hospital.

WANTED: BOOK ON ARMENIAN CALLIGRAPHY

Published: Monday July 09, 2012

Notrgir: Armenian letter construction by Ruben Malayan.

Yerevan – Artist Ruben Malayan wants to create a book that will
encompass the most fascinating examples of Armenian calligraphy:
from following its evolution through time, to placing it on a level
upon which it can be studied as an independent art form in itself.

The book will be designed to serve as a source of reference and
inspiration to anyone interested in this subject, hence illuminating
the future of this art form by offering inspiring examples of
contemporary calligraphic work.

Calligraphy is script in its purest form. Its virtues aspire not
only preciseness, beauty, distinctness, and simplicity, but also
originality, proportion, and ultimately, unity, mastership, and
freedom. Calligraphy can be regarded simultaneously as temporary art,
as well as spatial art. By following the letter form, we ‘reverse’
time. In other words, by following the traces of the artist’s struggle
with the material, we can experience almost the same state as the
artist at the time of creation.

The book’s richly illustrated historical research will address script
systems of the Near East, starting from as early as the late Iron Age
(4 millennium B.C.), continuing with the invention of the Armenian
Alphabet (405 A.D), and ending with the present day. The book,
which will be designed to mirror authentic layouts of classical
Armenian manuscripts, will offer a blend of academic research on the
evolution of the tradition of Armenian writing, as well as contemporary
calligraphic practice.

In short, this volume will be revealing a most rich yet most forgotten
legacy of Armenian calligraphy, which can be found in the signatures of
Armenian Cilician Kings, the letters of Komitas Vartabed, Sayat-Nova,
and Archile Gorky, as well as in the correspondence of late 19th
Century Armenian poets beautifully executed in stylized Sla’gir, etc.

The proposed volume will include essays from M. Stone, D. Kouymjian &
H. Lehmann’s “Album of Armenian Paleography” (Aarhus Press, 2002),
providing the most recent research on Armenian paleography with
regard to the letter types and their use over time. An insightful
analysis of the arithmetical symbolism and mystical reverence of
the Armenian Alphabet will be offered in an article by James Russell
from Harvard University. A special chapter will be dedicated to the
studies of Armenian calligraphy within the framework of classical
Armenian education prior to the genocide, including (for the first
time published in English) practical guides to Armenian calligraphy
from Venice (1834), Vienna (1837) , Nor Nachijevan (1846), Leipzig
(1873), Tiflis (1884) and Constantinople (1892).

Particular importance will be placed on the quality of printing,
layout, design and typography as well as the binding and finishing
of the book. The intent of this project is to produce a superb volume
of reference and inspiration.

>From Ruben Malayan:

Since the beginning of time man has been plagued by conflicting
creative and destructive forces, surging within him. Forces which
have produced much innovation but have also brought about destruction
and decline. Human kind has spared no effort in destroying what it
has created.

The destruction of the great library of Alexandria (642) & the library
of Baghdad (2008) come to mind- the library of the latter has lost
approximately 95 percent of its rare books. The world will continue to
turn, but these precious manuscripts and the knowledge they contained,
have been lost forever.

Fortunately, these acts of spontaneous or premeditated destruction
have often been contrasted by the presence of individuals capable
of genuinely creative work. Their passion, craftsmanship, skill and
imaginative thinking, vividly displayed in the form of written art,
have inspired my wish to further deepen my knowledge of the all but
forgotten art of calligraphy.

My work focuses on the original techniques employed to complement the
early development of the Armenian alphabet (405 A.D.) and the complex
proportional canons that followed. An insightful graphic analysis
of the arithmetical symbolism and mystical reverence of the Armenian
script system is the cornerstone of this Art Project.

The art of calligraphy demands a considerable amount of inner effort;
observing the purity of lines and outlines, discovering the forms used
as accentuated reinforcements with plastic precision and symbolic
accuracy. One must pay diligent attention to detail, repetition and
variability in different parts of the composition. Its practice
therefore cultivates precision, patience and observation within
the artist. This is the Art of Calligraphy. Perfection is achieved
through constant training and application. In its highest form, it
is as pure and error-free as performed art, where error cannot be
corrected because it has already occurred. Calligraphy is a temporary
and spatial art at once, because by following the form we are able
to ‘reverse’ time. Tracing the author’s struggle with his material;
following the intensity of the stroke, rhythm and movement, adhering
to the discipline and virtues he embodied, one can connect to the
experience of the artist at the time of its creation. Thus it is a
true transmission of energy.

My conviction is that at the current circumstances we must use all
available means to revive our calligraphic tradition. With abundance
of talent but no cultivation or tradition, our children will never
fully realize their artistic potential. Primitivism and functionalism
emasculated the culture of communication. They denied the graphic
writing the opportunity to improve artistically, and a person, to
improve spiritually, by the simplest means, using paper, ink and a
fountain pen or a brush only. Art of beautiful writing is the link
to our past and with the attention it deserves it can help to shape
our future as the nation of rich artistic heritage.

About the Author

Ruben Malayan (born: 1971) is an artist, photographer and art
director. He holds degrees from Terlemezian Art College (painting)
& from the State Institute of Fine Arts (graphics) in Yerevan, Armenia.

Exhibits art locally and abroad.

For past few years Ruben has been working on a book (“The Art
of Armenian Calligraphy”) which focuses on the evolution of the
calligraphic tradition and placing it on a stage upon which it can
be studied as an independent art form. It’s designed to serve as
a source of reference and inspiration to anyone interested in this
subject and to illuminate its future by offering inspiring examples
of contemporary calligraphic work.

Ruben Malayan is a founder of the “Armenian Genocide in Contemporary
Graphic & Art Posters” project which has received wide coverage and
acclaim in the international press, with posters published in number
of books and magazines worldwide.

Contact details:

Mr. Ruben Malayan

Parbetsi 4, app. 3 Yerevan 0002 Armenia

Mobile: +374 777 26 229

Email: [email protected]

Online portfolio:

Format Description

Title of the proposed book: “The Art of Armenian Calligraphy”

Projected length (pages in print): 220 / over 140 illustrations

Page dimensions: width: 25,5 cm x height: 35 cm

Number of volumes: 1

Number of copies: 500

Quality of paper: matte 150 gram | 30% translucent paper

Binding: Hardcover, silk cloth (red)

Proposed languages: Armenian & English

See promotion video at

OSCE SECRETARY GENERAL TO MEET WITH ARMENIAN PRESIDENT, PARLIAMENT SPEAKER IN YEREVAN

Panorama.am
10/07/2012

At the invitation of Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian,
OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier will pay an official visit
to Armenia from July 11-13.

The OSCE Secretary General will meet with Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan and Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan during his visit.

Edward Nalbandian and Lamberto Zannier will meet on July 12. Following
their meeting, the officials will hold a joint press conference,
Foreign Ministry press service reported.

” DEEP PURPLE” LEGENDARY GROUP MEMBER GLENN HUGHES TO TAKE PART IN “DORIANS” CONCERT

ARMENPRESS
10 July, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JULY 10, ARMENPRESS: The joint concert of “Dorians” rock
group with Derek Sherinyan (Dream Theatre, X-Planet) is scheduled
to be launched on September 10 at Karen Demirjyan Sport Complex,
yet this is not the single surprise prepared for the audience.

At the briefing with Armenpress, the group producer Vahagn Gevorgyan
noted, that unique concert besides Shirinyan hosts world famous ”
Deep Purple” rock bassist and vocalist Glenn Hughes.In the words of
“Dorians” group soloist Gor Sujyan, the cooperation with the famous
musicians is of great experience for them first of all.The interlocutor
stated rehearsals of the concert will kick off in August.

” I am happy for coming Armenia and surely for working with the group:
I have recently got acquainted with them and I am proud for that”
Shirinyan told Armenpress.

“Fly” CD songs and various instrumental pieces are set to be presented
at the concert. The scheduled concert will be concluded by repertory of
” Deep Purple”. The ticket sale will start in coming days.