Author: nina hovnanian

UC MERCED AWARDS SPENDLOVE PRIZE TO AUTHOR WHO HAS WRITTEN ABOUT ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Sacramento Bee

March 19 2012
CA

UC Merced said Monday that Peter Balakian, an award-winning author
and leading voice of the Armenian Genocide recognition, has been
named the 2012 recipient of the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize
in Social Justice, Diplomacy and Tolerance.

UC Merced will award the prize to Balakian during an evening ceremony
April 12. He’ll give a public speech the next day at 10 a.m. in room
105 of the Classroom and Office Building.

The Spendlove Prize, established through a gift from Sherrie Spendlove
in honor of her parents, lifelong Merced residents Alice and Clifford
Spendlove, honors one person each year. Previous honorees include
former President Jimmy Carter and Merced native Charles Ogletree,
a professor of law and executive director of the Charles Hamilton
Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard University.

Balakian is the author of the memoir “Black Dog of Fate,” which won
the PEN/Albrand Prize for memoir and a New York Times Notable Book.

In the book, Balakian writes about learning what his family and
ancestors experienced with the Turkish government’s extermination
of more than 1 million Armenians in 1915, including many of his
relatives. The massacre led to the creation of the word “genocide”
and served as a template for Nazi Germany’s Holocaust.

A humanities professor at Colgate University in New Jersey, Balakian
is the recipient of many awards and prizes and civic citations,
including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts
Fellowship, the Emily Clark Balch Prize for poetry from the Virginia
Quarterly Review. He has appeared widely on national television and
radio programs including “60 Minutes,” “ABC World News Tonight,”
“Charlie Rose” and “Fresh Air.”

Foreign editions of his work have appeared in a dozen languages
including Arabic, French, Dutch, Hebrew, Greek and Turkish.

The Spendlove Prize Selection Committee is chaired by Mark Aldenderfer,
dean of the UC Merced School of Social Sciences, Humanities and
Arts, and includes a representative from the Spendlove family,
an undergraduate student, a graduate student, a faculty member and
representatives from the UC Merced community.

The Spendlove Prize includes an $8,000 award.

SERGEY MINASYAN: “ARMENIAN MILITARY INDUSTRIAL SECTOR MIGHT BE INTERESTING FOR RUSSIA”

Vestnik Kavkaza
March 20 2012
Russia

As part of the recent visit to Yerevan Secretary of the Security
Council of Russia, Nikolai Patrushev, has signed the Protocol on
establishing in Armenia new Armenian-Russian military technical
facilities. The document presupposes participation of Russia in
modernization of boundary infrastructure between Armenia and Turkey
and Armenia and Iran. For example, Armenian-Russian centers on border
guard training will be established. Deputy Director of the Institute
Kavkaz, Sergey Minasyan, answers VK’s questions on military technical
cooperation.

– Please, characterize the Protocol on establishing in Armenia new
Armenian-Russian military technical facilities from the point of view
of both sides.

– The document shows succession of cooperation in the wide context
of security in the former Soviet space, in the context of regional
security, and in the context of stability in a zone of regional
conflicts. The Protocol correlates with improving cooperation between
Armenia and Russia in other spheres. The document will be a significant
addition to the block of Armenian-Russian relations, including social,
economic, political and humanitarian cooperation.

Armenia is interested in this document in the context of modernization
and renovation of its armament of Soviet and Russian origin. Russia
is interested in it from the economic point of view, as Russian
enterprises will be involved in fulfillment the document.

– It was decided to prepare a new agreement on cooperation between
Russia and Armenia in the military technical sphere. Would a new
document be better than the previous one?

– It is not the point whether it would be better or worse.

Due to development and improvement of military technical cooperation
(MTC), there is necessity in enhancement and addition of the agreement
on MTC, which was adopted during the visit of President Medvedev to
Armenia in August 2010.

– Could signing of the document be connected with straining situation
around Iran?

– Terms of visits of Russian top officials to Armenia could be
connected with the situation, but not preparation of the document,
which is continuation of close cooperation between two countries in
the military technical sphere.

– On December 20, 2011, the CSTO made a decision on prohibition
of location military bases of the CSTO non-members in territories
of the countries-members without agreement of all partners of the
treaty. Views of Armenian experts differed: some thinks the decision
threatens Armenian sovereignty, others have the opposition opinion…

– This decision by the CSTO doesn’t threaten sovereignty of
Armenia. According to the additional Protocol No.5 signed by Armenia
and Russia in 2010, the Armenian side agreed for location of a Russian
military base in its territory by 2044. In this context the decision
by the CSTO is not something extraordinary.

– Please, characterize military technical cooperation between Armenia
and Russia? What prospects do you see in this sphere?

– I think it will develop in all directions. However, priority will be
for providing Armenian armed forces with modern systems of armament,
first of all, with air defense systems, as well as modernizations
and providing new armored armament.

Prospects in the sphere of military technical cooperation vary due
to two aspects. We couldn’t provide modernization or renovation of
armament of the Armenian army of Soviet or Russian origin without
participation of the direct producer.

On the other hand, establishing service centers on renovation and
service of military equipment in Armenia could provide conditions for
future joint entrance to regional markets on modernization of Soviet
and Russian military equipment. It could be Iran, some Arab countries,
and under certain conditions Georgia.

Interview by Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to VK .

ONE MORE ITALIAN CITY RECOGNIZES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

ARMENPRESS
MARCH 20, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MARCH 20, ARMENPRESS: On March 20 the urban council of Rieti,
Italy, unanimously adopted a resolution recognizing the Armenian
Genocide, representative of Armenian-Italian community Metaxya Vanoyan
told Nouvelles d”Armenie, Armenpress reports.

Rieti is a city and commune in Lazio, central Italy, with a population
of about 48 000.

Italian city of Turin, too, adopted this February a resolution
recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

Besides that, the Italy-Armenia inter-parliamentary committee is going
to submit to the Italian parliament a resolution on announcing April
24 a commemoration day of the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

BIRTH RATE IN ARTSAKH INCREASED

yerkir.am
14:05 – 20.03.2012

390 children were born in Artsakh during January-February months,
which is 20% more than last year.

According to the statistics, 53.6% of children are boys.

By the way, most of the time children are given names such as Gor,
David, Tigran, Nare, Mariam and Ani.

Number of marriages this year is also increased making 157, while
last year it was136.

ARMENIA’S POLICE INVESTIGATE SEX SERVICE WEBSITE

news.am
March 21, 2012 | 15:49

YEREVAN. – Armenian Police Force General Department Against Organized
Crime is studying the new Armenian sex service website that has
appeared on the Internet, Police Force Public Relations and Media
Department Chair Ashot Aharonyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, a new sex service website
is launched in Armenia, and thirty-two women have become members in
it in just several days, Zhamanak daily wrote.

“The new website enables to have a good understanding of the price
range [for such services]. For the most part, [and] depending on
the age, height, hair color, etc., the prices range between AMD
25,000-40,000 (approx. US$ 65-103), up until AMD 50,000 (approx.

$130). A one-hour standard sex service is considered the high price,
at AMD 50,000, but without oral sex. And AMD 150,000 (approx. $387)
is asked for an entire night. Yerevan, Gyumri, Vanadzor, and Abovyan
[cities] are covered in this website that offers Armenian sex
services,” Zhamanak wrote.

FRANKOPHONIE DAYS ARE TO BE CELEBRATED COMME IL FAUT

ARMENPRESS
MARCH 20, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MARCH 20, ARMENPRESS. This year the events within the
framework of Frankophonie will exceed the ones of the previous year,
Henry Reynaud, French Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary
to Armenia told a press conference.

The ambassador said a number of events have already launched within
the framework of the project and will continue throughout the month.

“”Frankophonie likes challenges; the project is challenge in itself,””
the ambassador stressed wishing all the best. Henry Reynaud stated that
special attention will be paid to the university and school programs.

Ambassador of Switzerland to Armenia Konstantin Obolensky said that
numerous events will kick off not only in the capital but in regions
as well.

Foreign affairs ministry adviser on Frankophonie Christian Ter
Stepanyan stated that Frankophonie events are one of the most important
components of cultural life. In the words of the adviser within the
framework of Frankophonie Armenian will is being manifested.

Armenia has been cooperating with the international Frankophonie
organization since 2009 and regularly participates in the programs
implemented both in Armenia and abroad.

ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF CANADA DEMANDS CALGARY MAYOR TO WITHDRAW STATEMENT ON AGHDAM EVENTS OF FEBRUARY 1992

Panorama.am
20/03/2012

Factual data indicate that the massacre in Khojaly was planned and
carried out by political elements in Azerbaijan, fighting for power
in the country. This time they intended to discredit the Azerbaijani
President, laying the blame on the Armenians and blaming the regime
for inactivity, reads the response letter of representative of
Armenian community of Canada Zhirents Gayayan to the Mayor of the
Canadian city of Calgary Naheed Nenshi who had earlier published a
letter giving the Azerbaijani version of Aghdam events of February
1992 named “Khojaly events” by Azerbaijan.

“I assess your statement in support of this event as extremely
insulting for myself, my family and Armenian community all around the
world. I don’t understand why you made this statement, having no idea
about the circumstances surrounding this event, without conducting
studies to get full information, you made a public statement without
the consent of the city Elders, thus you entered the political
field of global international relations, based on gossip only,”
reads the letter.

According to the author, the ill-informed actions of Calgary Mayor
have a negative impact on the perception of the city of Calgary of
the Province of Alberta and the Armenian community in the world as
well as the massacre victims.

I firmly believe that it is important that you withdraw your statement
and publicly apologize to the Armenian community of Canada and the
world through the Armenian Embassy in Ottawa and Calgary Elders for
your ill-informed statement,” writes Gayayan.

The representative of the Armenian community added that he will inform
the Armenian Embassies in Ottawa, in Washington, NKR Permanent Mission,
Armenian Ambassador to UN, Armenian communities in Canada, Canadian
Diocese of Armenian Apostolic Church, media as well as all those who
were offended by Canadian Mayor’s statement, because it does harm to
the Canadian people.

Also, Calgary Herald published an article by Armenian Ambassador to
Canada Armen Yeganyan on the true situation around Aghdam events of
1992 refuting Azerbaijani propaganda’s version.

QUINZAINE DE L’ARMENIE CHRETIENNE, A SEVRES DU 10 AU 25 MARS
Stephane

armenews.com
lundi 19 mars 2012

Actuellement se tient la “Quinzaine de l’Armenie Chretienne” dans
la ville de Sèvres (Hauts-de-Seine, 92310), depuis le 10 mars et ce
jusqu’au 25 mars 2012.

Le programme de l’evenement est le suivant :

Exposition “Armenie : la foi des montagnes”, realisee par l’~uvre
d’Orient et le professeur Jean-Pierre Mahe (directeur d’etudes a
l’ecole pratique des hautes etudes et directeur de la revue des
etudes armeniennes).

Cette exposition se tiendra du 10 au 18 mars dans l’eglise St-Romain
de Sèvres, et du 19 au 25 mars au sein de l’eglise Notre Dame des
Bruyères. Des visites commentees sont prevues les mardi 13 mars a
20H45 et samedi 17 mars a 15H00 a St-Romain, ainsi que le mercredi
21 mars a 15H00 a Notre Dame des Bruyères.

Mercredi 21 mars a 20H45 : salle sous le pont (a proximite immediate
de l’eglise St-Romain), Conference debat avec le professeur Claude
Mutafian (professeur a l’Universite Paris Nord) : “L’Art Armenien
(architecture, musique, peinture)”.

Samedi 24 mars a St-Romain :

– 18H00 : presentation de la liturgie armenienne par Jacques Bezdikian,
directeur du collège Samuel-Mourad – 18H30 : Divine Liturgie celebree
par le Père Georges Assadourian.

WORLD BANK PROVIDES $478,000 GRANT TO ARMENIA’S CONTROL CHAMBER

news.am
March 20, 2012 | 15:40

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s Control Chamber (CC) Chairman Ishkhan Zakaryan
received Asad Alam, World Bank Country Director for the South Caucasus
Region.

In terms of cooperation with the World Bank, Zakaryan deemed as
priority the reforms envisioned for construction, purchases, and
holding tenders, CC Press Service informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Ishkhan Zakaryan also stated that the operative control of the state
budget was discussed with Armenia’s President.

Afterward, the interlocutors examined bilateral cooperation issues.

Thanking Armenia’s CC for its methodologies and work method, Asad Alam
noted that the World Bank pays great attention to the Control Chamber’s
activities, since it invests huge means for the implementation of
the Government’s programs.

To note, the World Bank has provided a grant worth $478,000 to
Armenia’s Control Chamber to expand the latter’s capacity.

RAGIP ZARAKOLU, HUMAN RIGHTS CHAMPION, AND ZORYAN INSTITUTE COLLABORATE IN TURKISH PUBLICATION OF GERMAN FOREIGN OFFICE ARCHIVES

ARMENPRESS
MARCH 20, 2012
TORONTO

TORONTO, MARCH 20, ARMRNPRESS: Ragip Zarakolu, a publisher in Istanbul
and a renowned champion of human rights, has collaborated with the
Zoryan Institute to lay one more building block on the foundation
of a common body of knowledge for Turks and Armenians. Zarakolu,
despite being in jail since October 2011 allegedly in connection with
the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) trials, has not stopped his
efforts to bring out the historical truth about the “events of 1915”
and thereafter. On January 12, 2012, Belge Yayýnlarý, Zarakolu’s
publishing house, released Alman Belgeleri Ermeni Soykýmý 1915-16:
Alman Dýþiþleri Bakanlýðý Siaysi Arþiv Belgeleri, the Turkish edition
of The Armenian Genocide 1915-16, reports Armenpress citing Zoryan
Institute of Canada. Documents from the Political Archives of the
German Foreign Office, compiled and edited by Wolfgang Gust and
published originally in Germany. The original book was the product of
some ten years of devoted research, editing and translating overseen
by Wolfgang and Sigrid Gust. It is an extensive selection of some
218 telegrams, letters and reports from German consular officials
in the Ottoman Empire to the Foreign Office in Berlin describing the
unfolding genocide of the Armenians.

This new book is part of the long-term project, “Creating a Common Body
of Knowledge.” There is a need in Turkey at this time for authoritative
information on its suppressed history. The Zoryan Institute seeks
to help provide information to fill this need through systematic
scholarly research, the publication of incontestable information on the
Armenian Genocide in Turkish and other languages, and the distribution
of it widely in Turkey and other countries. Other documentary and
analytical publications commissioned by the Zoryan Institute as part
of the “Common Body of Knowledge” include Hitler and the Armenian
Genocide (Belge Publishers) and Judgment at Istanbul (Bilgi University
Press).Ragip Zarakolu has been persecuted by the Turkish state for many
years for his public positions on freedom of speech, human rights,
and the rights of Turkey’s minorities. Outside Turkey, he has given
lectures and participated in conferences–including in April 2010
in São Paulo, Brazil at a conference co-organized by Zoryan–and is
highly respected by academic and human rights organizations.