Author: Talalian Arpi

July 18, 2008
Press Release
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

MEETING OF THE PRELATES AND EXECUTIVE COUNCIL CHAIRMEN OF THE THREE
PRELACIES OF
NORTH AMERICA AND CANADA

By the invitation of H.E. Archbishop Khajag Hagopian, Prelate of
Canada, and the Executive Council, a meeting of the Prelates and Executive
Council Chairmen of the Prelacies of North America and Canada will take
place in Montreal on July 23rd and 24th. H.E. Archbishop Moushegh
Mardirossian, Prelate, and Executive Council Chairman Dr. Garo Agopian will
participate in the meeting, as well as H.E. Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan,
Prelate of the Eastern Prelacy, and the Chairman of the Executive Council.
Items on the agenda include the collective celebration of the 50th
anniversary of the establishment of a Prelacy in North America under the
jurisdiction of the Holy See of Cilicia, as well as issues of mutual concern
to the Armenian communities of North America and Canada.
On Thursday, July 17th, the Prelate welcomed to the Prelacy offices
the Vice-Chairman of the Executive Council of the Canada Prelacy Dr. Garbis
Harboyan, who was accompanied by his brother and Western Prelacy delegate
Mr. Krikor Harboyan. During their meeting the Prelate and guests had the
opportunity to discuss issues of immediate concern to our Prelacy, as well
as about the upcoming conference in Montreal.

PRELATE BLESSES FOUNDATION FOR
NEW YOUTH CENTER IN HOLLYWOOD

On Sunday, July 13th, the Prelate presided over Divine Liturgy and
delivered the sermon at St. Garabed Church in Hollywood. Following the
service, the Prelate blessed the foundation of the Los Angeles youth center.
Given that Saturday, July 12th, was the feast of St. Gregory the
Illuminator’s progeny, the Prelate’s sermon centered on the piety and the
virtue with which they lived their lives, and alluding to the building of
the youth center, he called on the youth to live their lives righteously in
the example of St. Gregory’s offspring.
The blessing of the foundation began with the flag ceremony and the
national anthems of America and Armenia. Among those in attendance were
members of the A.R.F. Bureau, Central Committee, and local chapter,
Homenetmen Central and Regional Executive members, principal of Rose and
Alex Pilibos School, Executive Council, parish committee members, and
architect Sam Yousefian.
Welcoming remarks were delivered by A.R.F. Karekin Njteh
representative Mr. Garo Ispenjian. Remarks were also offered by Mr. Seto
Boyajian who briefly went over the details of the will left by Mr. and Mrs.
Dikran and Zarouhie Der Ghazarian and Mr. Haig Garabedian due to which the
new youth center will be possible.
The Prelate in his message stated that just as the Armenian Church
is the bastion of our spirits and the Armenian School that of our minds, the
new youth center will be the bastion of subsequent generations and a place
our youth can develop and enhance their minds and souls.
Afterward representatives from each organization approached the
bricks that were laid out to form a cross and proceeded to place cement and
soil on them to signify that the center will be a stronghold for our youth.
A reception followed at "Karapetian" Hall.

CONFERENCE FOR PRELACY PASTORS, DELEGATES,
AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES

On the evening of Tuesday, July 15th, Pastors, Delegates, and Board
of Trustees of Prelacy Churches gathered at the "Dikran and Zarouhie Der
Ghazarian" Hall, upon the invitation of H.E. Archbishop Moushegh
Mardirossian, Prelate, and the Executive Council, to discuss issues
concerning our parishes and to share their experiences. Central Executive
Council member Mr. Khajag Dikijian was also present at the conference, which
was hosted by the Ladies Auxiliary.
The conference started with prayer and welcoming remarks by the
Prelate. The Prelate called attention to upcoming events which will rely on
collaborative efforts such as the 50th anniversary of a Prelacy in North
America under the jurisdiction of the Holy See of Cilicia, the 35th
anniversary of the Western Prelacy, and the observance of the Year of
Christian Education through various events. The Prelate also noted that
work continues in the establishment of a new high school, that the
activities of our youth groups and Sunday Schools are undergoing expansion,
and that the weekly television program was recently enhanced to include a
segment through which are faithful can learn about the rich history and
traditions of the Armenian Church.
Executive Council Chairman Dr. Garo Agopian, in his remarks,
outlined the issues to be discussed and explained the purpose of the
meeting, which was to exchange ideas and suggestions.
Mr. David Sarabian, Chairman of Holy Trinity Church of Fresno, was
then invited to report on the endeavors they have undertaken and their
outcomes, specifically the organizing of family retreats, which is unique to
their parish. The chairmen of the other churches were in turn invited to
report on their specific parishes. Remarks were also offered by Mr.
Dikijian, Very Rev. Fr. Muron Aznikian, and Executive Council member Mr.
Nerses Melkonian, all of whom presented practical suggestions to the
parishes’ representatives.
At the conclusion of the conference, the participants expressed
interest in having similar meetings on a regular basis. The evening came to
a close with the Prelate’s blessings and benediction.
PRELATE MEETS WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF
DAVIDIAN & MARIAMIAN EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION

On the afternoon of Tuesday, July 15th, H.E. Archbishop Moushegh
Mardirossian, Prelate, welcomed to the Prelacy representatives of Davidian
and Mariamian Educational Foundation Mr. Vahik Satoorian, Chairman, and Mr.
Andranik Yeremian, Secretary. Very Rev. Fr. Barthev Gulumian and Executive
Council Chairman Dr. Garo Agopian were also present.
The representatives reported to the Prelate on the nature of their
activities, which focuses on providing Armenian language and culture
instruction to students attending public schools. They also discussed the
first telethon of the foundation, which took place last month, and thanked
the Prelate for the participation of the parishes and Executive Council.
The Prelate highly commended the endeavors and mission of Davidian
and Mariamian Educational Foundation and the devotion of its members,
wishing them success in their service to a new generation of youth.

SECOND LECTURE IN THE
"YEAR OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION" SERIES

On the evening of Wednesday, July 16th, the second lecture in the
"Year of Christian Education" lecture series took place under the auspices
of the Prelate at St. Sarkis Church in Pasadena. The lecture was organized
by the parish Pastor and Board of Trustees and featured Pastor of St.
Garabed Church Archpriest Fr. Vicken Vassilian on the topic "The Explanation
of the Divine Liturgy".
The evening began with The Lord’s Prayer followed by welcoming
remarks by parish Pastor Rev. Fr. Khoren Babochian.
Fr. Vicken began his lecture by first speaking of the meaning of the
word "Badarak", and continued to present in detail the stages of the Liturgy
including Preparation, Synaxis, Sacrifice or Eucharist, and the Last
Blessing.
The artistic portion of the program was comprised of hymns presented
by the parish choir.
In his concluding remarks the Prelate commended all the participants
of the program, and stressed the deep significance of Christian Education
both in our individual and collective lives. The Prelate the announced that
with the collaborative efforts of the Prelacies of North America and Canada
a new publication of the Divine Liturgy was recently published which will
help our parishioners better comprehend the service.
The evening came to a close with the Prelate’s benediction and the
singing of "Giligia". A reception organized by the parish Ladies Auxiliary
followed at "Andon Andonian" Hall.

PRELACY SCHOOLS’ TEACHERS PARTICIPATE IN THE SECOND EDUCATION CONFERENCE OF
THE CATHOLICOSATE OF CILICIA

By the initiative of the Department of Armenological Activities of
the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia, the second Armenian
education conference convened on Thursday, July 17th at the Seminary in
Bikfaya. The conference was held under the auspices of H.H. Aram I,
Catholicos, with the participation of educators from all the Prelacies under
the jurisdiction of the Holy See of Cilicia.
The purpose of the three day conference is to bring our educators
together from our communities around the world to evaluate the instruction
offered in Armenian language, history, and religion, and means of improving
the curriculum.
Over a hundred representatives are participating in the conference,
each of whom are offered the opportunity to report on the activities of
schools in their specific communities and to discuss their successes as well
as the challenges they face.
The schools of the Western Prelacy are being represented by Mrs.
Azadouhi Ghazarian and Mr. Saro Nazarian.

"THEY LACK COMPELLING EVIDENCE"

A1+
14 July, 2008

Lusine Sahakian, Advocate of ex Deputy Prosecutor General Gagik
Jhangirian, doesn’t know yet when Jhangirian’s case will be brought
to court. She is confident that the case is not forwarded to court
because of the lack of evidence.

"I think the case should be dismissed as they do not have
circumstantial evidence," says Mrs. Sahakian.

Lusine Sahakian thinks Gagik Jhangirian is persecuted for his political
views. "It was obvious that he would be punished after his speech. The
article didn’t matter in his case."

Asked whether the decision was made before instituting a suit against
Jhangirian, Sahakian said: "Surely."

"At first Jhangirian was charged with bearing of illegal armament and
violence against a government official /Article 316/. Then Article
300 was added /attempt of power usurpation/," Luisne Sahakian said
with regard to the delay of the case.

SERZH SARGSYAN IS SURE THAT ARMENIAN-FRENCH RELATIONS TO CONTINUE DEVELOPING SUCCESSFULLY

NOYAN TAPAN

Ju ly 14

On the occasion of the National Holiday of France, RA President Serzh
Sargsyan, on July 14, visited the Embassy of France in Armenia and
congratulated Embassy’s personnel. Noyan Tapan was informed about it
by the RA President’s Press Office.

Expressing satisfaction in connection with the high level of
Armenian-French relations, S. Sargsyan expressed the hope that they
will continue developing successfully and expanding.

FAO/UN to assistance to Armenia and Other countries stricken by food
and fuel crisis

YEREVAN, July 10. /ARKA/. FAO/UN food and agriculture organization
intends allocate $21 million as assistance for 48 countries mostly
damaged by the recent rise in prices for food and fuel, RIA Novosti
reports referring to UN news center.

Armenia and Kyrgyzstan found themselves among the countries badly
stricken by food and oil crises.

Under the program, poor peasants and small farmers will be provided
with seeds, fertilizers and other resources necessary for supporting
their business.

The key aim of the projects is to ensure sowing season.-0-

Mediamax, Armenia
July 10 2008

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ON NAGORNYY KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

Yerevan, 10 July: Armenian Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbandyan said in
an exclusive interview with Mediamax today that "the countries which
yield to Azerbaijan’s provocations not only avoid assisting the
negotiation progress, but they also endanger it".

Below you can find the full text of the interview:

[Correspondent] Mr Nalbandyan, recently there have been quite a few
statements made on the domination of the principle of territorial
integrity of states. What will your comment be?

[Nalbandyan] A few days ago, I enumerated the principles of the
Helsinki Final Act, basing on which the talks on a peace settlement to
the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict are held.

If one of the negotiating sides presents only the principles that are
beneficial for itself, pretending that the two other principles do not
exist, this seriously hinders the negotiation process. And the
countries which yield to Azerbaijan’s provocations not only avoid
assisting the negotiation progress, but they also endanger it.

[Correspondent] Do you think this is being done deliberately?

[Nalbandyan] Irrespective of whether this is being done deliberately
or not, in any case, it seriously hinders the negotiation process. No
one should doubt that the resolution of Nagornyy Karabakh is possible
only through the recognition of the right of Artsakh [historical name
for Nagornyy Karabakh] people for self-determination.

[Correspondent] Azerbaijan, meanwhile, argues that the realization of
the right for self-determination is possible only within the framework
of territorial integrity.

[Nalbandyan] Let me give a simple example. In the 1950s, there were
about eight dozens of internationally recognized states in the world,
and now 192 countries are members of the UN, most of which gained
independence by means of realization of the right for
self-determination.

[Correspondent] From time to time, Azerbaijani officials make
statements which contradict your words.

[Nalbandyan] Those certain officials become similar to the dummy
participants of auctions, which try to raise the price by
shouting. However, during diplomatic talks, the trade tricks, used in
markets, do not give results.

[Correspondent] They more and more often talk in Azerbaijan about the
might of their state, which allegedly will allow solving the problem
of Nagornyy Karabakh to the benefit of Baku.

[Nalbandyan] You are right… [ellipses as published] Allegedly. It is
clear that the gains from sale of oil and gas became a reason for
certain giddiness, which caused the illusion of omnipotence. The same
motives guided Azerbaijan in 1991 as well, when it launched a war in
Nagornyy Karabakh. The consequences are well-known.

[Correspondent] There is an opinion that the Armenian Foreign Ministry
does not always react to controversial statements.

[Nalbandyan] Diplomacy is like an iceberg – only a small part of it is
visible, and the bigger part, which is hidden, is the real work. I do
not think that each occasion requires a public reaction.

Critics’ Forum
Literature
A Shared History of 1915: Fethiye Çetin’s My Grandmother and the
Turkish Memoir Trend

By Talar Chahinian

Over the last decade, there has been an increased interest in the
unraveling stories of an older generation of women with hidden
Armenian identities living in Turkey. This interest has been
augmented by the growing trend of memoirs, which recount the stories
of these women framed within the autobiographical narrative of the
grandchild.

Generally referred to as "cryptic" or "hidden" Armenians, these women
belong to the generation of genocide survivors who, at a very young
age, were saved, bought, or stolen by Turkish men during the
Catastrophe, the years immediately following the genocide.
Forcefully Turkified and converted to Islam, these women have only a
vague recollection of their Armenian past, which they have outwardly
suppressed for the sake of survival. The recent translation into
English of Fethiye Çetin’s My Grandmother, first published in 2004 as
Anneannem, offers a glimpse at these "lost" stories to the English-
speaking reading public.

In the immediate aftermath of the 1915 genocide and its deportations,
the Armenian daily newspapers that emerged from large refugee-center
towns quickly took on the role of institutions, actively
participating in and facilitating the reconstruction of social
networks. Amidst advertisements and public announcements crowding
the back page of the Parisian Harach and Abaka or Boston’s Hayrenik,
it is not uncommon to find a "Search" column, weighing heavily on the
page and serving as a reminder of the dark reality of refugee life.
With this column, the newspapers provided a forum for their readers
to search for missing relatives.

Indeed, stories of miraculous reunions with lost family members are
almost intrinsic to the post-Catastrophe diaspora’s narrative of
dispersion. While oral histories of survivors often highlight
moments of reunion, they just as often memorialize family members not
found because assumed dead. Over the years, what diaspora’s
narrative has found difficult to take into account is the case of
Armenians who survived as Turks. The encounter with the stories of
these "cryptic" Armenians can now be facilitated by a growing trend
in Turkey – the publication of memoirs that reveal the part-Armenian
background of their authors and, thus, complicate the notion of a
homogeneous Turkish identity propagated by the Turkish state since
the start of the 20th century.

Fethiye Çetin’s My Grandmother, translated into English by Maureen
Freely (Verso 2008), is exemplary of Turkey’s growing memoir trend.
As the title suggests, it presents the story of the author’s
grandmother, born to an Armenian family in Habab as Heranuº and taken
by an Ottoman gendarme in 1915 to the nearby town of Çermik, to be
raised as Seher. It is as Seher, a Turk of Muslim faith, that
Heranuº lives her life externally, while secretly longing for a
chance to reunite with her surviving relatives living in America.

Although ostensibly a story about family secrets, the memoir actually
reveals Çetin’s grandmother’s Armenian identity from the very
beginning. What unfolds in its place is a story of reconstruction
that oscillates between the grandmother’s funeral, Çetin’s childhood,
and various moments of the grandmother’s young life. Çetin
accordingly refers to her grandmother alternately as "my grandmother"
or as "Heranuº," often switching from a first person to a third
person narrative voice to emphasize the shift in perspective.

This shifting perspective belies the author’s own complex view of her
grandmother’s story and its circumstances. The sections where Çetin
recounts her childhood memories read like long dedications to her
grandmother, in admiration of her strength, her outspokenness, her
compassion, and her protectiveness of her grandchildren and their
ambitions. Aside from her role as the matriarch within the familial
household, Çetin presents her grandmother as a respected figure –
guide, mentor, and mother for the larger community within the
neighborhood. The sense of confidence and command with which the
grandmother carries herself seems to contradict the vision of a woman
carrying a silenced, hidden past that the already apprised reader
expects to find.

Similarly, the author finds it difficult to reconcile the powerful
and loving character of her grandmother with the story of a past full
of suffering and loss. When her grandmother begins to tell her the
story of her past as Heranuº, although Çetin relishes the act as a
sign of her grandmother’s trust, calling their new relationship "a
special and very secret alliance" (62), she also finds the weight of
the story agonizing. During one of the grandmother’s storytelling
sessions, she finds the interruption of houseguests relieving:

The doorbell rang; there were people coming. My grandmother stopped
her story there. And anyway, I did not have the strength to hear
much more. It was hard to keep myself from running out into the
street to cry and scream. I would never have believed any of this,
unless it was my grandmother telling me. (65)

Here, Çetin reveals the burden of the listener on the receiving end
of a traumatic testimonial. As a listener, she is aware of the vital
role she plays in her grandmother’s process of giving testimony of
her true life story and of the catastrophic events she has born
witness to. She cannot run into the street and cry, for she must
present herself as strong enough to receive the story.

Yet the burden of the listener is not only limited by the
transference of pain. It also consists of the imperative to act upon
receiving the story. As much as the survivor is compelled to tell,
the listener is compelled to act. In Çetin’s case, this imperative
is mandated by her grandmother’s specific request to be reunited with
her Armenian family members living in America.

Heranuº’s family members’ story of survival and settling in New York
follows the all too familiar pattern of dispersion by way of Syria,
experienced by most survivors. Her remembrances of the destruction of
villages and death marches contain images often told in similar oral
histories, or memoirs written by second- or third-generation
Armenians. Yet the grandmother’s own story of adoption by a Turkish
gendarme who could not have children of his own also offers a
different, "lost" perspective. After serving in her new Turkish
family’s household, she marries and starts a family of her own.
Establishing contact with her brother during their youth, she becomes
aware of her mother’s survival and relocation to the States. During
her lifetime, she misses two opportunities to visit her parents,
having been prevented to do so by her husband and his family.
Towards the end of her life, she pleads with her granddaughter,
Fethiye Çetin, to find her ancestral family and re-establish
contact. In return, she offers Çetin her story.

And Çetin, in turn, offers us the memoir. Whereas the revelation of
her grandmother’s past is presented as a climactic point in the
development of their relationship, her grandmother’s hidden Armenian
identity is not used as a tool for suspense in the memoir. If her
grandmother’s cryptic past is not the center of the story, we might
be prompted to ask what, then, does Çetin seek to highlight? During
the first half of the memoir, having convinced her readers that her
grandmother’s funeral scene is the present-now of the narrative,
Çetin then pushes her story forward, toward the end of the novel, to
a time beyond her grandmother’s ninety-five years of life.

Çetin announces her grandmother’s death in the Armenian-language
newspaper of Istanbul, Agos, an announcement that she reproduces in
the novel as well. Decades after the initial post-Catastrophe
dispersion, a community newspaper once again becomes the site for a
search. It is through a proclamation of death, a chilling semblance
to the calls made by survivors in the 1920s, that the announcement
makes a call to lost family members. Soon after, Çetin is contacted
by her grandmother’s sister, born to their parents in America. In
the final pages of the memoir, the grandmother is reunited with the
remaining members of the family she longed to see but never had the
chance to meet in person: her sister Margaret and her children. It
is a beautiful, if perverse, homecoming scene: an Armenian family
long settled in America, following their exile from Anatolia by
Ottoman Turks, welcomes the arrival of a young Turkish woman to the
United States and to their home as the missing link finally undoing
their family’s loss.

In this triumphant final scene, Fethiye Çetin’s My Grandmother
invokes a notion of shared history of genocide, which is otherwise
narrated through the set categories of Armenian/victim or
Turkish/perpetrator. On the day of her grandmother’s funeral, her
aunt’s sister-in-law reveals that her own mother-in-law was Armenian,
taken from the death march by a Muslim family. Criticizing her
husband’s family’s obsession with cultural purity, she claims, "In
the place where we come from, it’s hard to find anyone
without `impure’ blood – there’s no one with any other kind" (84).

What Çetin’s memoir succeeds in conveying above all is the abundance
of hybrid identities that Turkish society is made of. It offers the
reader a story of women, grandmothers of the author’s contemporaries,
derogatorily referred to as "leftovers of the sword," but remembered
lovingly by their family members as mothers and grandmothers or as
active participants of Turkish community (102). This is precisely
the revelation that Çetin delays: Turkish society’s private
acknowledgement of the past, which explicitly opposes the public,
state-sponsored narrative of denial.

All Rights Reserved: Critics’ Forum, 2008. Exclusive to the Armenian
Reporter.

Talar Chahinian is a Lecturer in the Department of Comparative
Literature at UCLA, where she recently received her Ph.D.

You can reach her or any of the other contributors to Critics’ Forum
at [email protected]. This and all other articles published
in this series are available online at To sign
up for a weekly electronic version of new articles, go to
Critics’ Forum is a group created to
discuss issues relating to Armenian art and culture in the Diaspora.

ISRIA, DC – Monitor Pack

(original source)

President of Russia
Official Web Portal

July 3, 2008,
Baku

Press Statements after Russian-Azerbaijani Talks

PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN ILHAM ALIEV: Dear Dmitry Anatolevich,
distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

Once again, I would like to warmly welcome the President of the
Russian Federation to Azerbaijan. We attach great importance to the
official visit of the President of Russia and are confident that the
visit will serve to strengthen the friendly and good-neighbourly
relations between Russia and Azerbaijan.

Our talks have been very useful, and we have discussed a wide range of
bilateral issues, questions of regional cooperation and international
relations. And I note with satisfaction that we are in basic agreement
concerning all the items on the agenda.

The content of relations between Russia and Azerbaijan has expanded
and been enriched. We are actively cooperating in the political
sphere, economic ties are growing, trade continues to increase apace
and its overall structure is improving. We are cooperating in the
transport sector, cultural spheres, in security and in strengthening
security measures in our region, and this is not an exhaustive list of
all the issues currently under discussion.

Today we signed some very important documents that will determine the
direction of our cooperation in the future. Among them, I would single
out a joint Declaration on Friendship and Strategic Partnership
between Russia and Azerbaijan. The very name of the Declaration speaks
for itself. We see each other as friends, as countries that can call
each other strategic partners. And this is not just a form of words:
it constitutes the very essence of our relationship. These relations
have a solid foundation and a profound history, and today are based on
the principles of friendship, good neighbourliness, equality and
mutual benefit. The Declaration covers all areas of our bilateral
cooperation and it is very gratifying that what we in Azerbaijan
consider the number one issue – the settlement of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict ` is also reflected in
the Declaration. It says there that the conflict should be resolved on
the basis of the principles and norms of international law, according
to UN Security Council resolutions and the decisions of the OSCE
relating to territorial integrity, sovereignty and the inviolability
of state borders.

We are grateful to Russia for taking this position and are confident
that this position, as well as Russia’s active participation as
co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group dedicated to the settlement of the
conflict, will bring about the desired results.

We are now actively discussing issues of energy cooperation, both
existing ones and prospective ones. Cooperation in the energy sector
has a good history and excellent prospects. Cooperation in oil and gas
sphere is also based on historical achievements, and today we are
considering new projects that are of mutual interest that will
maximise the efficient use of hydrocarbon resources.

Our countries are also involved with issues related to the settlement
of the status of the Caspian Sea. We are neighbours in the Caucasus
and on the Caspian Sea, and the level of cooperation between our
countries is largely dependent on the reciprocal development of
processes in the region and on issues of economic integration.

The cultural content of our relations is expanding. Today, I told
Dmitry Anatolevich that in Azerbaijan there are more than three
hundred schools in which Russian is taught, 19 of them purely Russian
schools, where instruction is only in Russian. Recently, it was
decided to establish a branch of Moscow State University in
Azerbaijan. In Azerbaijan, the largest Russian community in the south
Caucasus, there are a lot of newspapers published in Russian. In other
words, everything that is necessary for the cultural well-being of
Russian-speaking citizens in Azerbaijan is being done. For this reason
the content of our cultural cooperation occupies an important place in
our relations, and we will continue to make efforts to ensure that it
takes on new forms and features new projects. In other words, talk
about our bilateral relations and the role they play here in the
Caucasus can go on for quite a while. I do not want to take up an
inordinate amount of your time, but I do want to say that on all the
issues that were discussed we have a common understanding, a shared
sense of what has been achieved and — most importantly – good
prospects for the future.

I am confident that the visit will continue as successfully as it
began and will become a very important step in the further development
of our relations and the rapprochement of our nations.

Thank you for your attention.

PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Dear Ilham Heydarovich! Ladies
and gentlemen!

I would like first of all to thank the President of Azerbaijan and all
our Azerbaijani friends for the productive meeting that has taken
place in hospitable Baku, and to fully agree with the assessments that
you have made of Russian-Azerbaijani relations. All our discussions
were friendly and reflected the excellent state of our relations and
our auspicious plans for the future.

Russia and Azerbaijan have long been linked by ties of friendship and
of strategic partnership. And the Declaration that was signed today
contains both of these in its title.

We held extensive talks, and in all frankness I can say that I am
completely satisfied with their results, in particular the signing of
the documents referred to in the Declaration and the other agreements
that we have just signed here.

We extensively discussed trade and economic ties. In recent years
these ties have shown a very positive momentum. Once again allow me to
cite a figure which, in my view, eloquently testifies to the
development of our relations: during the last four months the current
level of trade is twice as high as it was during the corresponding
period last year. It is particularly gratifying that this has
occurred, not only as a result of the growth in energy supplies and
other trade in energy resources, but also because of more complex
exchanges as well as traditional forms of trade. I think this is a
very good trend. We simply have to maintain it in the future.

In recent years, our economies have grown at a faster rate, which
creates opportunities for the future development of joint projects in
such priority areas as energy, industry, transport, banking and
agricultural business. The presidents and governments of our countries
are paying particular attention to all these issues.

There are prospects for new agreements in the field of hydrocarbons
that will enable us to make maximum use of the potential that we have
accumulated, and I think that in the future this will also prove to be
another example of our economic cooperation. Our economies are so
closely linked that they are in effect complementary, and we literally
proceed along the same track in these relations. For us there are no
transit problems: we work with each other, and we have an enormous
geopolitical advantage in this sense.

I agree with the assessment that Ilham Heydarovich offered concerning
cultural cooperation, cooperation in science, education and the
arts. I would like to once again thank Ilham Heydarovich for measures
to preserve Russia’s cultural heritage in Azerbaijan.

We greatly appreciate those decisions that were made concerning the
opening of the Baku campus of Moscow State University, another example
of our cooperation. It is clear that receiving quality instruction
will give students the possibilities of focusing on Russia-related
topics and to study in Azerbaijan.

It is also important to talk about the multilateral partnership within
the Commonwealth and the special programmes that Azerbaijan is a part
of.

I hope that the coming festival of young performers, to be held in
Baku this autumn, will prove a showcase for new talent and will be a
beautiful and significant event in Azerbaijan’s cultural life.

We discussed other topics. We didn’t try to avoid the problem of the
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement. This is a complex process, and we will
assist moving it forward however possible. There have been minor
hitches but in any case we fully support the resumption of direct
talks between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia, which were
held on 6 June in St Petersburg. I would emphasise yet again that
Russia will continue to assist in the search for mutually acceptable
solutions in this matter.

Another issue Ilham Heydarovich raised was the Caspian Sea. We talked
about the work that we need to do and of the possibilities for the
upcoming summit, but agreed that we should hold off on them until its
agenda had been finalised.

We also reviewed an agreement on security issues in the Caspian. This
is consistent with the decisions which were taken last year in Tehran
and other documents can be prepared in this regard. It is a good idea
to organise the relevant meetings of the heads of Caspian states for
this purpose.

Once again, I would like to stress that the talks were an important
stage in the development of Russian-Azerbaijani relations and the
strengthening of strategic partnership and friendship between our
countries, between our peoples.

Let me once again thank President Ilham Aliev for his genuinely
friendly and productive cooperation.

Global Voices Online, MA

Turkey is Typing¦Favorite Posts of the Week

Tuesday, June 26th, 2007 @ 01:43 UTC

by Deborah Ann Dilley

Countries:Turkey
Topics: Arts & Culture, History, Entertainment

Today’s Turkey is Typing takes us through my list of favorite postings
this week: from prostitution as a cause of the holocaust, a curse or
two, culturicide, bureaucracy and carpet cleaning, a new edition of
the guide to Turkish blogs….and a startling omission about what
someone would do for love of a ‘smoking hot’ bod.

Today feels like a random day, so you will get a random posting with
all of the Turkish posts this week that tickled my fancy.

The Cause of the Holocaust

Me and Others writes this week about how the fabled quote from Hitler
`After all, who remembers the Armenians’ is used over and over as a
justification of the Jewish Holocaust during World War II, and how it
has been used by Armenian activists to vilify the Turks. Of course,
there could be other causes¦such as a Jewish prostitute:

but i have some bad news for those who want to blame the bad turks for
the nazi crimes. here is an article for you which says `hitlers
holocaust might have stemmed from syphillis from a jewish prostitute.’
so it must be not the turks but a jewish prostitude who is behind the
most evil crimes of the modern times.

honestly, i dont believe either of the theories have anything to do
with the realities. such a big evildoing cannot be simply explained by
one single culprit reason. there are library full of documents trying
to investigate and fully understand the holocaust, and just simply
blaming the turks or a misfortunate jewish girl, or even hitler
himself will not do it.

Curse of the Turk

Two more posts this week about Turkishness. One from Hans at
Internations Musings detailing the Curse of Turan:

The Curse of Turan (Hungarian: Turáni átok) is a popular
belief that Hungarians have been under the influence of a malicious
spell for many centuries. The `curse’ manifests itself as inner
strife, pessimism, misfortune and several historic catastrophes. The
first disaster was the invasion by the Mongols, and the second the
invasion by the Ottomans, Battle of Mohács in 1526.

The second post is more about the curse of fame¦.or rather how to
obtain it as Talk Turkey illustrates:

I write this post as a response to the Turkish girl who keeps emailing
me about becoming a star in Hollywood. You don’t become a star, you
start out as one, unless of course your ‘star’ alignment happens to be
in the right place at the right time. Try the Turkish market first. I
am sure they’ll eat you alive as an American Turk discovering her
roots. Great story line as the gullible gal falling victim to the
preying men and her battle to overcome the emotions of girl meets boy,
boy marries girl, and girl finds out he is a Kurd? Some ethnic
intricacies played out.

Clash of Culture

Spooky Sense by Garfucius writes of the treatment by Turkish officials
of archaeological finds:

culturicide? just a couple days ago, an ancient harbor was reported
discovered during the construction of a tunnel for the subterranean
train in yenikapı, with remains of byzantine boats and other
archaeological artifacts. true to type, the finds will be collected
and taken to the museum and the construction of the tunnel will
continue as planned, apparently, over the ruins of the antique harbor.

Carpetblogger writes about the trials of Turkish bureaucracy-a
wonderful primer for trying to survive it in Turkey- and about the
trials of getting your carpets cleaned:

The likelihood an elective activity like carpetwashing gets done is
inversely proportional to the number of linguistic and logistical
obstacles that stand in its way. Not only must I identify a qualified
carpet cleaning professional, that person has to come get the
carpets. Furthermore, moving stinky carpets around is a royal pain in
the ass any time of the year, more so when it is 100 degrees and you
are on your own. These are all significant obstacles.

On the other hand, I have carpetdogs, so my carpets are pretty damn
dirty. Smelly too. That workhorse 6² x 5² Dagestan sumac that
was in the dining room in Baku and Kyiv absorbed prodigious amounts of
food and alcohol from Sunday dinners and parties. These factors make
carpetwashing less elective and more imperative.

Most importantly, however, if you’re moving into a new apartment with
Ottoman-era wood floors that appear to be designed for your favorite
carpets (or, looking at it another way, if you made your second real
estate purchase based on how good your carpets will look), you cannot
have dirty carpets.

So what to do?

One thing you’ll notice about Istanbul is that there are a lot of
carwashes. Because Turks are enterprising, rare is the carwash that is
only used for washing cars. For example, because they can be hosed
down, carwashes are ideal places for a bayram sacrifice ‘ a ritual
slaughter of sheep and cows and a right bloody mess. More frequently,
however, carwash guys are as likely to be aiming their high pressure
hoses and soap brushes at carpets hanging from wires as Anadolu
sedans.

Guide to Turkish Blogs

Dear Murat from Amerikan Turk has given another guide to the Turkish
blogs¦I recommend just following the link over there and seeing it
for yourself. He does a much better job than I.

And Lastly, My Newest Addiction

Chronicles of a Turkish Girl is my newest soap opera and it should be
yours too (in fact it might outweigh my addiction to
Lonelygirl15¦it’s that good). This month she confesses to being
interested in Christianity just to date her `smoking hot’ abs
instructor:

Yup, pretty soon I was going to church with him where I looked like a
fish out of water. I couldn’t follow which page they were on in the
Bible during the sermons, but it didn’t matter; I was sitting next to
this hot guy. Shallow would be the perfect word to describe me. As I
sat in a house of worship with him, my mind was having the most impure
thoughts you can possibly imagine.

It wasn’t long before I realized that his sole interest in me was to
convert me. After awhile, I got tired of hearing about how much Jesus
loves me. He also went onto to say that he could never be with a woman
who did not not accept Jesus as the son of God. This `relationship’
was going nowhere fast. I needed to end it and tell him that I would
not convert AND that I do not subscribe to any organized religion.

6/turkey-is-typingfavorite-posts-of-the-week/

FOREIGN MINISTER’S MEETINGS IN HELSINKI

Panorama.am
22:08 03/07/2008

On July 1-3 the Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandyan has
been to Helsinki by the invitation of the OSCE on going president and
Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stoob reported the press service
of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia. In the frames of the visit the
Foreign Minister had meetings with high ranking Finnish authorities.

The Foreign Minister of Finland Alexander Stoob has notified that
Armenia and Finland have much potential to improve their relationship
in many different aspects. The Ministers have also discussed the
collaboration of the countries in the frames of international
organizations.

E. Nalbandyan has presented the results of the meeting between
the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan which took place in Saint
Petersburg. The Foreign Minister of Finland said that he completely
supports the strategy of the OSCE Minsk group in dealing with the
NKR conflict.

GOVERNMENT TO DISCUSS NEXT WEEK PUBLIC TRANSPORT FARES

ARMENPRESS
July 2

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsian ordered to set up a task force to look
into the issue to find the primary cost of passenger transporting
and whether the demand to raise fares is reasonable.

Speaking to journalists today he said some 40 owners of all minibus
lines were invited to take part in the discussion.

"We are concerned not only about corruption risks, but also about
tariff policies as there is a problem of pubic transport fares with
many companies saying they are suffering losses,’ the prime minister
said.

He said, however, that government experts seriously question these
arguments.

He said next week all findings of the task group will be made
public. He said the government in general is concerned seriously over
the public transport work adding that swift and drastic measures
are needed to reinstate law and order in this sector, because the
situation not only irritates the people but causes also economic
damages. Officially there are 7000 minibuses running 800 lines.