Author: nina hovnanian

IT IS TIME TO PASS FROM UNCLEAR STATEMENTS TO AZERBAIJAN-TARGETED CRITICISM – ARMENIAN HISTORIAN

NEWS.AM
June 14, 2012 | 12:14

YEREVAN. – No issue concerning Nagorno-Karabakh can be resolved
without the participation of Karabakh Armenians, National Archives
of Armenia Deputy Director and historian Edgar Hovhannisyan stated
during a press conference on Thursday, commenting on US Secretary of
State Hilary Clinton’s and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Eamon Gilmore’s
recent visits to Armenia.

“They did not give clear definitions on those guilty of inciting
provocations at the line of contact and a proper assessment on the
aggression that occurred,” he said.

In Hovhannisyan’s words, such conduct does not contribute to settlement
of the Karabakh conflict.

“It is necessary to pass from unclear and evasive statements to
Azerbaijan-targeted criticism. The names of those who are guilty in
the military provocations must be publicized, albeit there are no
international mechanisms to punish them as of yet,” noted Hovhannisyan.

At the same time he added that, in actual fact, the international
powers accept that no issue concerning Karabakh can be working without
the participation of the Karabakh Armenians.

PROFESSOR MATHEWS PROBES ARMENIAN ART ON INTERNATIONAL STAGE
By Florence Avakian

June 14, 2012 1:50 pm

NEW YORK – Prof. Thomas F. Mathews, emeritus professor at New York
University’s Institute of Fine Arts, recently gave a talk on the
role of Armenian architecture in the international arena, at Columbia
University. The event was sponsored by the Armenian Center at Columbia
University and co-sponsored by the National Association for Armenian
Studies and Research (NAASR) and Columbia’s Art History Department.

Mathews, along with Dr. Helen Evans of the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
had been the curator of the 1994 exhibition, “Treasures in Heaven:
Armenian Illuminated Manuscripts,” featuring Armenian illuminated
manuscripts at the Morgan Library and Museum, with curatorial
assistant Dr. Sylvie Merian. Using many images, he pointed out that
there are two recent major studies – 2001 (by Christina Maranci)
and 2007 (by Judith McKenzie) – which have an important bearing on
Armenian architecture. And in the study of Medieval art, there is a
continuing controversy on the “rise of the cult of icons,” he noted.

In Armenian literature, there are voluminous sources of Armenia’s
conversion to Christianity. However, the most neglected treatise is the
Treatise on Images by Vertanes of Kertogh, which has been translated by
Dr. Sirarpie Der Nersessian. An article on this treatise was published
a few years ago by Mathews in the Revue des Etudes Armenienne, Vol 31,
2008-2009. “Vertanes is the Pliny of Armenia,” stated Mathews. His
seventh-century Intellectual Dialogue on the Christian Use of Icons,
written in Dvin, is the earliest defense of icons, and

Vertanes mentions the wood materials and even the pigments used
with Persian names. These include icons of Christ, Peter and Paul,
the Mother of God and Saints Gregory and Hripsime.

Mathews said that the next important intellectual in this field was
John of Damascus who was secretary to the patriarch of Jerusalem
in the early eighth century. “The Byzantine rulers forbade the use
of icons because the people were worshipping the icons almost as
idols and not as symbols of Christianity or the Christian saints,”
he explained. “This was the cause of a huge conflict between the
Greeks and Armenians, both doctrinally and ecclesiastically,” he
said. “The icon phenomenon is larger than Byzantium.”

There is no evidence of icons in Armenia before the Arabs sacked Dvin
in 640 AD, because Armenian icons were painted on wood panels, which
are perishable, he said. In Egypt, the wood panels in St. Catherine’s
Monastery in Sinai survived because of the dry climate and because
the monks protected them.

There were stone icons in Armenia, which due to their weight did
not travel and their iconography was inspired by the wood icons
transported to Armenia. The stone relief in the Odzun church, which
is made of different stone than the rest of the church, dates before
the eighth century, the scholar said. “This relief was widely used
in the Byzantine world.” There is a carved relief on a four-sided
stone stele at Harichavank where Mother Mary is wearing a necklace,
and which has been compared with the necklace on the Maria Regina
icon in Rome, 561-579. There is also archeological evidence of stone
reliefs at Louvre, France, which were copies of Christian icons, and
inspired by the wood icons in Armenia. “Obviously all this iconography
circulated because they were painted on wooden panels.”

The Dvin Crucifixion, which is three feet high with a double-armed
cross, reveals the body of Christ gone, but His face enshrined in a
halo of glory. There are also horsemen on the side. This cross with
the human face “is the most complete venerating image,” Mathews said,
adding that the crucifixion “is the first and most formidable problem
of theology. And this ‘Christ in Glory’ iconography is found from
Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Anatolia, Armenia and Constantinople to Rome.”

Armenia is part of this larger world, which centers on this concept
of Christ on the cross. Mathews believes that the iconography for the
Dvin relief was based on a second-century wooden triptych from Egypt.

This would explain how the iconography of the horses got to Dvin: on
a wooden icon, the crucifix icon is on a cross with a pair of horsemen.

For Armenia, “there aren’t ancient treatises. There is art
and sculpture. However, iconography in Armenia still has to be
investigated,” he said in conclusion.

Following a brisk question-and-answer period, Mark Momjian,
the chairman of the Columbia Armenian Center Board of Directors,
who with Prof. Zainab Al Bahrani, head of Columbia’s Art History
Department, welcomed the attendees and presented Mathews with a copy
of the New Testament, 1880, published in Armenian in Constantinople,
in appreciation of his lecture.

ARMENIAN WOUNDED SOLDIERS ARE GETTING BETTER

news.am
June 14, 2012 | 06:19

Six Armenian servicemen who were wounded during the Azerbaijani
diversions on the night of June 4 are still in hospital, the
Information and Public Relations department of the Armenian MOD
informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. All the soldiers are in the hospital
and are getting better.

“All important medical procedures are being conducted. The health
condition of the wounded soldiers is improving, after healing all of
them will be released,” the MOD informed.

As the Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, the Azerbaijani
Armed Forces violated the border with Armenia and started diversion
operations targeting at Berdavan and Chinari villages in the Tavush
region on Monday. As a result, three Armenian servicemen died, six were
injured. On Tuesday, another diversion operation occurred. This time no
casualties were reported from the Armenian side, while Azerbaijan lost
five servicemen. On Wednesday, one Armenian serviceman died, while two
were injured during the consequent attack by the opponent in Karabakh.

OSCE CIO URGES KARABAKH CONFLICT SIDES FOR CONFIDENCE BUILDING MEASURES

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 14, 2012 – 15:37 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Nagorno Karabakh conflict was in focus of discussions
during visits to Baku and the region, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office,
Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore
said on Thursday, June 14.

“OSCE urges the parties to continue focusing on basic principles of
the conflict settlement, particularly non-use of force, and removing
snipers from the contact line,” Mr. Gilmore said.

“It is high time confidence building measures were taken between the
sides,” Gilmore said, adding that OSCE supports Minsk Group efforts.

“OSCE takes only consensus-based decisions. Moreover, it has clear-cur
principles of conflict resolution,” he said.

“For this reason, we developed a set of principles, on the basis of
which Karabakh conflict may be resolved. They will be agreed with
the countries concerned,” Trend quoted Gilmore as saying.

Increased instances of Azeri ceasefire violation have been reported
recently.

Sources say that up to 25 Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in Azeri
attacks in recent days in Tavush- Ghazakh zone of Armenian-Azerbaijani
border.

Azerbaijani authorities try hard to concoct reasons behind the deaths
and injuries on its side. In fact, these are saboteurs, killed or
wounded by Armenian armed forces who were trying to hinder Azeri
attacks. Thus, according to Azerbaijani authorities, Azeri soldiers
commit mass suicide, get blown up by mine, and die in accidents.

AZERI CIVIL ACTIVIST SAYS PACE CO-RAPPORTEURS ON AZERBAIJAN CORRUPT

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 13, 2012 – 21:46 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Co-rapporteurs of Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe (PACE) for the monitoring of Azerbaijan Pedro
Agramunt (Spain, EPP/CD) and Joseph Debono Grech (Malta, SOC) are
reluctant to acknowledge human rights violations in Azerbaijan,
human rights advocate, director of Azeri Institute for Peace and
Democracy said.

Leyla Yunus says the rapporteurs pursue personal goals, after being
bribed by Azerbaijani government. She cited preliminary report on the
situation in Azerbaijan, and meeting with rapporteurs as grounds for
her allegations.

According to Yunus, the OSCE representatives have ignored all of the
materials on human rights violations in Azerbaijan, preferring to
exclude them from their preliminary report.

“The document seems to have been written in Azeri presidential
administration. In particular, the facts of death from torture in
prison of the National Security Ministry of Nakhchivan Turac Zeynalov,
torture of Nakhchivan’s activist Zeynal Bagirzade, and tortures of
two journalists of the “Khayal” TV channel have not been included the
report. The detainment of journalists Avaz Zeynalli and Anar Bayramli,
beatings and harassment of Idrak Abbasov and Khadija Ismailova were
not included in the report, either,” Yunus said.

Yunus said that an appeal on lack of confidence in rapporteurs
has been filed to PACE on behalf of 20 civil society activists,
contact.az reported.

OSCE: BUILDING CONFIDENCE IS ONLY WAY OF SUSTAINABLE RESOLUTION OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT (INTERVIEW)

Trend
June 13 2012
Azerbaijan

The Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process will be the most important
issue on agenda, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Irish Deputy Prime
Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Eamon Gilmore said
in an interview with Trend.

“This is always an important topic, and all the more so following
recent reports of a serious escalation in violent incidents,” Gilmore
said. “Progress on protracted conflicts was always a high priority
for my Chairmanship, now the urgency is greater.”

Gilmore will also discuss with the political leadership co-operation
with the OSCE, in particular the very important work being done by
our Office in Baku.

The OSCE is working with the authorities in many areas, the minister
said.

“The OSCE institutions and our office in Baku continue to support the
implementation of the country’s reform programme,” Gilmore added. “It
is important for Azerbaijan to match its economic progress over that
last twenty years with further democratic development, in line with
the common principles that the OSCE participating States reaffirmed
two years ago at the Astana Summit.”

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the cycle of violence must
stop, the minister said.

“The conflict will not be resolved by the use of force,” Gilmore
added. “In my meetings I am calling on all parties and all actors, to
refrain from the use or threat of force and to abstain from retaliatory
measures. As an important step in confidence building and preventing
further casualties, the OSCE has repeatedly called for both sides to
remove snipers from the line of contact and to agree on a mechanism
for investigating incidents on the line of contact.”

“It is important that the agreements reached at high political level
are built upon and translated into concrete action,” Gilmore stressed.

“Our experience in Ireland is that it takes a combination of steps
in many different areas to make real progress. It is hard and takes
leadership and courage from all sides,” Gilmore said.

“Building confidence and trust is the only way to have a sustainable
resolution of the conflict. This takes time and requires efforts
by all sides,” Gilmore added. “A successful process needs to be
inclusive. There needs to be increased people-to-people contacts
and clear efforts to preserve places of worship, cultural sites, and
cemeteries. There needs to be increased dialogue and communication
between the political leadership from all sides.”

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France and the U.S. –
are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

Chairmanship in OSCE

At their annual meeting in Vilnius last year, the foreign ministers
of the 56 OSCE participating States decided that the OSCE is
well-placed to address transnational threats, as it deals with
politico-military approach to security questions, alongside the human
and economic-environmental dimensions, Gilmore added.

“As a first step, the Organization grouped its existing expertise
and resources in the areas of policing, border management and
counter-terrorism, and created a new department that is focused on
transnational threats,” Gilmore said. “Work is being taken forward
this year by OSCE participating States, under the Irish Chairmanship,
in a number of important areas, such as policing, drugs and terrorism.

I hope that all OSCE participating States will display the necessary
flexibility so that this work, which is well advanced, will bear
fruit.”

OSCE CHAIRMAN URGES MORE ACTIVITY FROM PARTIES TO NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

Vestnik Kavkaza
June 13 2012
Russia

Eamon Gilmore, Vice Premier and Foreign Minister of Ireland
and OSCE Chairman, is on a visit to Azerbaijan. He said that the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an essential topic, especially in the
light of the recent escalation. The Irish official called it a priority
of OSCE chairmanship, Trend reports.

Prevention and investigation of incidents on the Azerbaijani-Armenian
line of conflict, withdrawal of snipers would contribute to resolving
the problem, Gilmore says. Strengthening trust is the only way to
achieve sustainable settlement of the conflict. Cultural sites and
cemeteries need additional security measures.

Gilmore said that the OSCE cooperates with various institutions
of Baku. Azerbaijan needs further democratic development basing on
principles approved by OSCE members in Astana two years ago.

Foreign ministers of 56 OSCE states decided in Vilnius that the
organization had good potential to prevent transnational threats.

Besides a military and political solution to conflict, the organization
considers the human rights, economic and ecological factors.

The OSCE formed a new section, basing on resources of law, border
control and fight against terrorism. The new section will prevent
transnational threats. Ireland will stress on police, narcotics and
terrorism as the main topics.

Gilmore met Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan today. The sides
discussed reforms, domestic policy, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
incidents on the Armenian-Azerbaijani line of contact.

Gilmore emphasized that achieving peace requires following of
principles. The OSCE denies use of force or threats to resolve the
conflict, he concludes.

STAND UP, STOOGE ENTERS

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 10:09:56 – 13/06/2012

During the trial of Tigran Khzmalyan at the RA administrative court
Judge Artsrun Mirzoyan was greeted with posters “stand up, stooge
enters”.

Artsrun Mirzoyan passed the verdict on director Tigran Khzmalyan,
member of the first dismantling brigade for Mashtots Park, who is
accused of defying the orders of policemen, mounting the roof of one
of the kiosks and refusing to go down.

Police vs. Tigran Khzmalyan case was judged in favor of the police.

Tigran Khzmalyan was fined 50,000 drams.

Tigran Khzmalyan said the verdict was unexpected and not he but a
bigger group is judged, and it would be strange to have a verdict
differing from his friends’ verdict. “I am satisfied with the
verdict because the judicial system was sincere and administered
injustice. In our country, most nouns must be used with a negative
prefix, non-elections, non-government, injustice,” he said.

Tigran Khzmalyan is likely to appeal the verdict. The representative
of the police Edgar Petrosyan did not show up in court. He did not
show up when the verdicts on the other members of the first brigade
of dismantlers were passed.

TURKEY IS CONCERNED ABOUT DISCUSSIONS ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN KNESSET

ARMENPRESS
13 June, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 13, ARMENPRESS: Turkey is deeply concerned about the
discussions on Armenian genocide in Israeli Parliament – Knesset.

Armenpress reports that Turkish diplomatic source informed “Zaman”
that Turkey would continue to insist that the issue is discussed not
in Parliaments but by historians. The newspaper reminds that during
the discussions in Knesset the minister of Environmental affairs of
Israel Gilad Erdan expressed idea that the Government of Israel is
not principally against recognizing “Holocaust perpetrated against
Armenian people”. The newspaper also quotes the words of Israeli
Parliament speaker Reuven Rivlin who had mentioned that recognition of
Armenian genocide is the moral obligation of the Jewish people. Rivlin
also highlighted that the discussions in Knesset “have no intention
to provoke Turkey, but only are directed to the establishment of
historical truth”.

YEREVAN STATE UNIVERSITY TO SET UP CENTER OF JAPANESE LANGUAGE

NEWS.AM
June 13, 2012 | 18:52

YEREVAN. – Armenian acting Minister of Education and Science Armen
Ashotyan received on Wednesday Tokyo’s Soka University delegation
which is in Armenia to establish a possible cooperation between the
universities and exchange experience.

Ashotyan stated that the Ministry is consistent in providing the
Yerevan State University with modern equipment and skilled experts and
setting up a center for the Japanese language, the Ministry informs
Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The center will serve for getting thorough knowledge of the Japanese
culture, civilization, education and history.