PEOPLE’S PARTY SUBMITS APPLICATION OF NOMINATION TO RA CEC
Noyan Tapan
Mar 01 2007
YEREVAN, MARCH 1, NOYAN TAPAN. On March 1, the People’s Party submitted
an application on nomination by proportional system to RA Central
Electoral Commission. As Noyan Tapan correspondent was informed by
Commission Secretary Hamlet Abrahamian, 44 candidates are included
in the preelection list. The list is headed by Party Chairman Tigran
Karapetian.
LASTED TO THE ELECTION, SETTLED THE KARABAKH PROBLEM
by Grigori Alexandrjan
Translated by A. Ignatkin
Source: Novoye Vremya (Yerevan), February 17, 2007, EV
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
February 28, 2007 Wednesday
Karabakh Conflict Resolution As Seen From Yerevan: Baku Is Waiting For
Election Of A President Of Armenia Who Will Accept Azerbaijani Terms
Baku is waiting for the election the next president of Armenia in
the hope that he will be more amendable.
Earlier this week, foreign ministries of Azerbaijan and Armenia
exchanged caustic comments on each other’s Karabakh conflict
settlement policy. Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister, Araz Azimov,
spoke of a step backward in the peace process and pinned the blame
on Armenia. Acting Press Secretary of the Armenian Foreign Ministry,
Vladimir Karapetjan, spoke of how Baku was setting in advance a
thoroughly non-constructive approach to the talks. It seems that the
exchange was simply a means of marking an end to another failed round
of talks over Karabakh.
In the meantime, nothing extraordinary happened. This correspondent in
his previous articles predicted this turn of events more than once,
basing his assumptions on the fact that the Azerbaijani authorities
wouldn’t discuss anything with the Armenian regime that did not
think in terms of capitulation. Capitulation meanwhile is the only
scenario Baku will accept, a fact made quite plain when Heydar Aliyev
denounced all previously compromises reached within the framework of
the Minsk process.
That is, Aliyev made it possible for his son and heir, Ilham,
to make it necessary to start the negotiations from scratch. It
meant the abandonment of all and any compromises. Needless to
say, this attitude made the continuation of talks an exercise in
futility. OSCE Minsk Group chairmen had to sweat to compel Aliyev
to resume negotiations. They even invented a new name for the whole
process and began calling it the Prague Process. This "innovation"
enabled the president of Azerbaijan to resume the talks without any
loss of face.
In other words, this Prague Process is allegedly the "beginning from
scratch" Aliyev once insisted on. As a matter of fact, there was no
beginning at all because the very idea is a diplomatic absurdity.
Something altogether different took place: using the Prague Process
to provoke Armenia into denouncement of talks, Azerbaijan merely
feigned constructivism and did its best to prevent an agreement on
reasonable terms.
That was what Azerbaijan did throughout 2006, the year international
intermediaries proclaimed "a window of opportunities" because neither
involved party (Armenia, Azerbaijan, or Nagorno-Karabakh itself)
was bracing itself for elections. Armenia alone offered compromises
and concessions to the other side then, earnestly hoping for an
agreement. Some terms among what OSCE Minsk Group chairmen were
suggesting did not suit Armenia, but it proved itself pliable more
than once – catching the Azerbaijani negotiators unprepared and
eliciting emotional political demarches from them.
There is no saying what Aliyev and his Foreign Minister, Elmar
Mamedjarov, were telling their Armenian counterparts behind closed
doors, but their statements in public made it absolutely plain that
Azerbaijan would only accept unconditional capitulation from Yerevan.
How else can a sane man understand statements from Baku to the
effect that the very presence of Armenians in Azerbaijan is already
a compromise on its part? Even more cynical statements were made,
more often than not by Aliyev himself. Statements calling Baku’s
participation in the negotiations a compromise in itself.
In any case, the task Aliyev set for the "window of opportunities"
period was implemented by only 50%. A compromise was never reached (a
pro) but Armenia would not be tempted to cancel negotiations (a con).
Aliyev the gambler would not have been himself had he not started to
bluff. Elated by the fact of the forthcoming election in Armenia,
he apparently resolved not to meet with Robert Kocharjan anymore
since the latter’s term of office expires next year. It means another
president in Armenia and a chance for Azerbaijan that Yerevan will
hopefully capitulate in the matter of Karabakh. Hence the necessity
to behave in a manner that will preclude any desire on the part of
Kocharjan to meet with Aliyev in his remaining time.
Hence the latest demarche on the part of Azerbaijan when Azimov
questioned the expediency of future negotiations. We were correct
to assume that Azerbaijan only pretended to accept the idea of
a referendum in Karabakh, provided the Azerbaijani population
could come back there and participate in it. To make sure that
nothing would come out of it (what if these Armenians agree with the
Azerbaijanis’ return?), Baku began insisting in the return of Lachin
to its jurisdiction. That is an undisguised attempt to get everything
back to square one, i.e. into what created discontent among Karabakh
Armenians in the first place. And since the latter are not suicidal
types and therefore will never accept this scenario, they are left
with only one alternative; namely, leaving their homes altogether
which is essentially what Aliyev is after.
By the way, political scientist Eldar Namazov (former head of the
secretariat of the president of Azerbaijan who resigned to become the
head of the Foundation For Azerbaijan) wrote that Baku was bluffing
in the matter of the Karabakh referendum in the middle (!) of 2006.
Pointing out that not even the return of Azerbaijani refugees would
have any effect on the outcome of the referendum, since they accounted
for only 30% of the population of the region, he offered the following
explanation of the seeming acceptance of the idea by official Baku:
"The Azerbaijani tactic is based on the knowledge that the Armenians
will never put up with turning over all seven districts occupied
beyond Nagorno-Karabakh and 30% of territories on Karabakh territory
including Shusha, and this referendum will therefore be denounced as
a failure because the Armenians are not constructive…
What can the Armenians do about it? Object to the return of the
refugees? There will be no referendum then… This is apparently
what the Azerbaijani authorities count on. Formally, they say "yes"
but fully expect at the same time that the Armenians themselves will
fail to pass this test for "democratic procedures" and call it off…"
The Azerbaijani political scientist is correct. In the meantime, Baku
keeps hoping that the new president of Armenia will capitulate. The
same Namazov ventured an opinion in an article the other day that
"there is no use waiting for anything unless the election takes place
in Armenia and the politician coming to power in Yerevan are found
to be hostages of the package solution idea."
"A breakthrough is not impossible, but the president of Armenia
will probably play his negative role to the last," Rasim Musabekov,
another Azerbaijani political scientist, said. "In other words, it is
Kocharjan himself who is the principal obstacle to the negotiations."
The political scientist maintains in the meantime that "two politicians
will run for president in Armenia – pro-Western Foreign Minister Varsan
Oskanjan and Defense Minister Serj Sarkisjan who is pro-Russian… In
any case, each of them will allow for better maneuvering in Karabakh
talks than the acting president of Armenia."
Better come out and be on the level like Rauf Mirkadyrov, a prominent
Azerbaijani journalist, who offers the Armenians a "mutually
acceptable" and "mutually beneficial" compromise – Azerbaijani
territories in return for Armenia’s security and economic prosperity.
"That is what ex-president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosjan tried to
tell Armenian society in 1998," Mirkadyrov said.
In short, Baku decided to wait for the appearance in Armenia of a
"constructive" president who will accept Azerbaijan’s terms. We will
be waiting too (just do not hold your breath)…
MEMBER OF NA ORINATS YERKIR FACTION VRAM GYULZADIAN RESIGNS DEPUTY’S COMMISSIONS AHEAD OF TIME
Noyan Tapan
Feb 27 2007
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, NOYAN TAPAN. Vram Gyulzadian, a member of
the RA National Assembly "Orinats Yerkir" (Country of Law) faction
presented an appeal concerning stopping his deputy’s commissions
ahead of time, on the occasion of getting down to another work. NA
Speaker Tigran Torosian stated about it at the February 27 plenary
sitting. Responding journalists’ questions, V.Gyulzadian stated that
he intends to start civil service in the system of the RA Ministry of
Agriculture. He will soon take part in the competition stated for the
vacant post of the Chief of the Department for Protection of Plants
and Quarantine and is sure that he will win.
V.Gyulzadian also stated that he will remain a OYP member.
OMX PRESENTED THE FINAL PACKAGE ON THE STUDY OF SECURITIES MARKET OF ARMENIA
Mediamax Agency, Armenia
Feb 27 2007
Yerevan, February 27 /Mediamax/. The Stockholm Stock Exchange /OMX/
presented the final package on the study of the securities market
of Armenia, Chairman of the Armenian Central Bank Tigran Sarkisian
informed today.
Mediamax reports that Tigran Sarkisian stated that the given package
was considered by the corresponding ministries and was positively
assessed.
The CB Chairman noted that in case of realization of the given
project, OMX will become the owner of the Armenian Stock Exchange
and the Armenian enterprises will gain the opportunity to hold IPOs
on international Exchanges.
Tigran Sarkisian reminded that the Stockholm Stock Exchange is
the owner of the Exchanges of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and other
countries.
According to the assessments of the Central Bank, for the development
of the securities market in Armenia, the presence of 7-12 companies
with the capital of $40-70mln is necessary.
The Armenian Weekly On-Line: AWOL
80 Bigelow Avenue
Watertown MA 02472 USA
(617) 926-3974
[email protected]
menianweekly.com
AWOL (Armenian Weekly On-Line), Volume 73, Number 8, February 24, 2007
Commentary:
1. It’s the Diaspora, Stupid
By Khatchig Mouradian
2. We Are .14% Armenian, 33% Dink
By Khatchig Mouradian
3. Russia’s Beautiful Bruised Mistress
By Andy Turpin
4. Slavery: The Nice Solutions, and the Real Solutions
By Andy Turpin
Literature:
5. Zahrad (1924-2007)
By Khatchig Mouradian
6. A Selection of Poems by Zahrad
Translated by Tatul Sonentz
7. Unknown Love
By Varand
Translated by Tatul Sonentz
Events:
8. Taner Akcam Lectures in Canada
9. Weekly Editor Speaks at MIT Literary Meeting
10. Monoliths in the Garden
The Art of Jason Karakehian in the Age of the Alienated
—————————————- —————————————–
1. It’s the Diaspora, Stupid
By Khatchig Mouradian
Whether it is border disputes or animosities between peoples, you always
have one entity to blame: the Diaspora. That is the context in which many
Turkish intellectuals perceive Turkish-Armenian relations.
Never mind that the Armenian Diaspora cannot all be chunked into a
monolithic whole. Intricacies like that are hard to fathom for some, who
have grown up in a country where one official version of early 20th century
Turkish history is taught, and where Armenians have been portrayed as evil
collaborators that committed genocide against the Turks!
Since the Diaspora was formed chiefly after the tehcir (Turkish for
deportation-not genocide, mind you), it is a no-brainer: Diasporan
Armenians, the descendants of the "disloyal" Ottoman Armenians, are evil
collaborators still, plotting to create animosities between Turkey and
Europe, Turkey and the U.S., Turkey and Armenia.
The Diaspora is pushing the Genocide recognition agenda, these Turkish
intellectuals argue, and dragging Armenia along with it. They think if
Armenia is "left alone," it would forget about the Genocide-although most
Armenian citizens are descendents of Genocide survivors themselves-and beg
forgiveness from Turkey for all the "headaches" their Diasporan cousins have
caused.
Should Armenia also accept a Turkish mandate?
"Steps like opening up the Armenian border will overpower them [the Armenian
Diaspora]. A tough, confrontational response, on the other hand, is actually
what the Diaspora wants," said Meltem Cakýr of TUSIAD (the Turkish
Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association) in an interview that appeared
in part in the Feb. 22 issue of the Turkish Daily News (TDN).
Kaan Soyak, co-chair of the Turkish Armenian Business Development Council
(TABDC), was quoted in the Jan. 8 issue of the Milliyet as saying that if
Turkey were to approach Armenia with the intention of normalizing relations,
Armenian authorities would be ready to:
a) Agree to Ankara’s suggestion of forming a joint historians’
commission.
b) Recognize the current border between Turkey and Armenia.
c) Withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh following security guarantees
agreed upon through the Minsk process with Turkey’s participation.
d) Stop supporting Genocide resolutions in various parliaments.
Such concessions, in return for an "intention of normalizing relations," are
completely unrealistic. It is clear to most political actors in Armenia that
even the intention to withdraw from Karabakh on the part of Armenia’s
current or future leaders would lead to public outrage and scenarios
reminiscent of the last weeks of Ter Petrossian’s reign.
Dashnak Dictatorship
In a Feb. 8 article titled "Armenia Needs a Better Course," TDN columnist
Semih Idiz wrote, "The Dashnak mentality continues to prevail in Yerevan,
mostly due to the promptings of the Armenian diaspora. . The victory the
Dashnaks believe they are scoring against Turkey is Pyrrhic [a victory with
devastating cost to the victor] and will continue to be much more so in the
future as Ankara takes less notice of pressure from the West."
"Surely there are sound minds in Yerevan that see this and desire a
different kind of understanding if relations with Turkey are to open up in
ways that really make a difference for Armenia," Idiz concluded.
Gunduz Aktan, in an article titled "Gross Injustice," published on Feb. 17
in the New Anatolian, wrote, "Today, Armenia is a Dashnak dictatorship. But
it dares to urge us to expand freedom of expression. Not a single book that
denies the genocide claims is sold in Armenia."
The above might be flattering to some of the ARF’s supporters, but like most
of what Aktan says on Turkish-Armenian relations, they are exaggerations and
misrepresentations at best.
Moving in next door
Now imagine what these intellectuals were thinking when the Armenian
Parliament passed the first reading of the dual citizenship bill.
On Feb. 22, Sedat Laciner, head of the International Strategic Research
Organization in Ankara, told Zaman: "We can easily say that the Armenian
Diaspora is moving in next door and Armenia can no longer be described as an
independent country."
"Ter Petrossian was always careful about not letting the Diaspora as well as
Russia intervene in the domestic affairs of his country," Laciner added,
noting that Kocharian, in contrast, is acting in line with the Diaspora’s
policies.
In the following weeks, the dual nationality issue will, undoubtedly,
generate a lot of discussion and concern within Turkey. It was always
convenient to try to separate Armenia from the Diaspora and to try to
neutralize the other with different tactics. But as the ties between the two
wings of the Armenian nation have become stronger, our "next door" neighbor
has begun to realize that they are between a rock and a hard place.
——————————————- ————————————————-
2. We Are .14% Armenian, 33% Dink
By Khatchig Mouradian
The Turkish Daily News reported on Feb. 20 that a poll conducted in 27
provinces in Turkey found that 86 percent of Turks objected to the slogan
"We are all Armenians" and 67 percent were opposed to "We are all Hrant
Dink."
The paper asked Turkey’s Freedom and Solidarity Party leader, Ufuk Uras, to
explain the findings. He commented that the results were "encouraging," and
that "the objection to the slogans was more the product of the nationwide
anti-propaganda.rather than the true opinions of the public."
Could anyone disagree with Mr. Uras’s analysis? After all, we should be
encouraged by the fact that 14 percent of Turks do not object to-though they
don’t necessarily endorse-the slogan "We are all Armenians." And we should
be even more encouraged that 33 percent of Turks do not object to the slogan
"We are all Hrant Dink."
If we are not encouraged enough, we ought to think about Mr. Uras’s next
point-that if there had not been "nationwide anti-propaganda," the results
would have been different. The "true opinions" of the public are very much
pro-Armenian and pro-Dink.
We have to blame the animal called "nationwide anti-propaganda."
If, for a moment, we accept this as true, the question that begs to be asked
is: Who conducted this "nationwide anti-propaganda?" Who brainwashed 70
million Turkish citizens?
I’d love to believe in this scenario of aliens playing with people’s minds.
But the fact remains that to conduct such propaganda, you would need the
help of a nationwide network of people in key positions. This is not the
work of a few disoriented terrorists.
How about that for encouragement?
I will stop here, lest I-in a moment of unwarranted discouragement-ask Mr.
Uras: Who, then, really killed Hrant Dink?
——————————————– ————————————————– –
3. Russia’s Beautiful Bruised Mistress
By Andy Turpin
The image of the soft but undernourished girl, shivering by the riverbed of
a Gotham city, is everywhere. Take your pick from the songs of Edith Piaf,
Puccini’s Mimi, Pasternak’s Lara or Bernard Shaw’s "Pygmalion."
It is cliché and sentimentalist to a fault, but that is sometimes how I
imagine Armenia when it comes to her relationship with Russia, especially in
the wake of the ongoing number of hate crimes against Armenians and other
Caucasians in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Financially, Russia may feed and employ Armenia’s many economic migrants and
keep its utilities in check through ownership of gas and electric companies.
The Cossack bear may even protect Armenia from its Turkic neighbors by
supplying arms and barracking soldiers in Gyumri. But when such crimes are
allowed to continue unchecked by Russian authorities, how can one call such
backhands love for Armenia and her people?
One could always argue that Armenians shouldn’t take the crimes too
seriously, that Russia is a place of death and chaos for anyone, not merely
Armenians. They are just the targets of the hour.
Some argue that Russia lives in constant states of extremes: part police
state, part mafia state, part prison, part wilderness, and never punctual
with the rest of the world in her political and social trends. It is not a
country for the faint of heart.
Certainly Armenians must be on guard to Russia’s growing sense of radical
nationalism. Though unlike Turkey’s Grey Wolf form of nationalism, Russia’s
berserker rage is not directly antagonistic to Armenia and the Diaspora, but
is more of a xenophobic breakdown in Russian society. Domestic abuse is also
rampant in Russia, so both figuratively and physically one could say that
Armenia is taking the hits.
What is to be done? There lies the rub. How do you seek solutions to acts of
violence against a specific group of people when criminality, corruption and
violence abound on the streets of the Russian federation?
Most often the perpetrators of these hate crimes are not even deemed by
judges to be murderers or criminals, but hooligans instead. How can justice
be demanded of a culture that often sentences human traffickers to casual
sentences of three years in prison?
Some hayastantsis have the option of seeking jobs with relatives in the
Diaspora, but what of the Russian-Armenians persecuted without hope of
justice in their own backyards?
I have no clear-cut answers to these problems, and from the silence of the
Kremlin, it seems that Vladimir Putin doesn’t either.
—————————————— ————————————————– —
4. Slavery: The Nice Solutions, and the Real Solutions
By Andy Turpin
WATERTOWN, Mass. (A.W.)-The anti-slavery film "Amazing Grace" opens this
weekend. It tells the story of abolitionist leader William Wilberforce and
his lifelong efforts that ended the British slave trade through the passing
of the Slave Trade Act of 1807 (though it took strict enforcement by British
officials throughout the 1830s before the slave trade was effectively
curbed.) The film’s screenwriter is Stephen Knight, writer of "Dirty Pretty
Things," a story about illegal immigrant culture in Europe.
>From a public relations perspective, "Amazing Grace" looks to be a thought
provoking film and an adequate media send-off giving lip service to February
as "Black History Month." The producer of the film, Bristol Bay Productions,
has also helped to disseminate information on the anti-slavery campaign,
"The Amazing Change." (For more information about this campaign, visit
)
Yet, the steps they list to fight modern-day slavery and human trafficking
are limited to raising awareness, forming a discussion group, and donating
to their campaign.
These are the nice solutions. These are the solutions you tell your
elementary schooler. These are not the solutions, though, that save lives.
I burst this bubble not to be uncouth or condescending, but because the
people who continue these acts today are virtual demons in human guise. And
because these are major issues in Armenia and the Diaspora, in such places
as Greece, France and Israel, not to mention every major U.S. city.
These problems aren’t hidden. They are, rather, problems that only law
enforcement has jurisdiction over or enough brute force to handle.
Petitioning and letter writing are still valuable avenues to pursue, but let’s
walk through the most pragmatic ways to approach the problem: Stay informed
and concerned for these people. To not is to de-humanize them. We’re not
speaking of "let my people go" situations. We’re speaking of dark places
from the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Read Victor Malarek’s The Natashas for
background, go to the Investigative Journalists of Armenia website at
, then just check the archives of any Greek or Israeli newspaper
to see how epidemic the problem is.
1. When it comes to lobbying, almost all countries have laws saying it is
illegal to traffic humans or enslave them. Politicians aren’t the ones in
charge of breaking down doors- law enforcement agents and peacekeeping
soldiers are. Write to Interpol and American UN officers to search more
transport vehicles at border checkpoints, and to ask women in these zones if
they are in of need protection or are crossing borders of their own free
will. (This seems basic, but not all officers are trained to do so.)
This request may not always prove successful due to scare tactics used on
victims or their inability to speak the language of the officer, but
observing such indicated fear or linguistic inability could be a tip-off to
an agent.
Also, write your local customs office or port authority official and ask to
increase the number of searched cargo containers. Many victims are smuggled
into countries in this way. Ships often contain hundreds of containers, but
increasing the requisite search number helps the odds of saving more people.
2. Though it may seem crass to assume that you may be seen in a "gentlemen’s
club" of ill repute, such establishments are often fronts for sex slavery.
If a dancer seems drugged or scared, ask them about it or discretely call
the police. If it is a legitimate club, the dancers will most likely be
registered with the proper authorities. If not, your call may help build
evidence in a case against the traffickers.
3. As for making donations, "The Poppy Project" based out of London is a
growing organization that specializes in therapy and safe harbor for victims
of slavery and trafficking after they are cleared by law enforcement
authorities.
What makes the fight against human trafficking and slavery so difficult is
the passivity of governments, citizens, soldiers and law enforcement
officers who, in most circumstances, are decent people.
To that end, especially if are traveling in Armenia, show vigilance towards
potentially trafficked victims that may be Ukrainian or Russian. In Armenia,
institutional corruption and cultural prejudices often hamper enforcement
efforts.
Likewise, if traveling in Dubai or Israel specifically, be on the watch for
Armenian women that may be victims.
These are not pleasant things to write about. However, apathy of good people
in the presence of evil is tantamount to complicity. With concerted efforts,
ground can be gained in this struggle against that which, more than a
hundred years ago, curbed a similar hell on earth for people in slavery.
—————————————– ———————————————–
5 . Zahrad (1924-2007)
By Khatchig Mouradian
It was first and foremost a loss for poetry when Zahrad passed away on Feb.
21.
Zahrad (Zareh Yaldizciyan) was born in Istanbul in 1924. His father, Movses,
was a jurist, advisor and translator in the Ottoman Foreign Ministry. His
mother, Ankine Vartanian, was born in Samatia.
Zahrad received his intermediate and secondary school education at the
Pangalti Mekhitariste School in Istanbul, graduating in 1942. He briefly
attended medical school before he discontinued his university education to
work. He married Anayis Antreasian in November 1963.
>From Zareh to Zahrad
"I was 18 when I started writing," Zahrad told journalist Talin Suciyan in
the last interview he gave before his death (Nokta, Jan. 25-31, 2007). "If I
had signed my name under my submissions to the newspapers, my family would
have nagged me to death, saying ‘You are dealing with such meaningless
stuff.’ To rescue myself from such words I made up the name ‘Zahrad.’ Time
passed, my real name was forgotten, and ‘Zahrad’ became well-known."
His first book, Medz Kaghak (big city), came out in 1960 in Istanbul.
Kounavor Sahmanner (colored borders, Istanbul, 1968); Gananch Hogh (green
soil, Paris, 1976); Pari Yergink (kind sky, Istanbul, 1971); Meg karov
yergou karoun (two springs with one stone, Istanbul, 1989); Magh me chour (a
sieve of water, Istanbul, 1995); Dzayre Dzayrin (a tight fit, 2001
Istanbul); and Choure baden Ver (water up the wall, Istanbul, 2004)
followed.
His poems are translated into 22 languages. Collections of his poems have
been published in English ("Gigo Poems by Zahrad," 1969, translated by Agop
Hacikyan; "Zahrad, Selected Poems," 1974, translated by Ralph Setian); in
Turkish ("Zahrad: Yag Damlasi" published by Iyi Seyler, 1993, reprinted in
2000); "Yapracigi goren balik" (published by Belge, 2002); "Isigini Sondurme
Sakin" published by Adam, 2004); in Georgian (1997); and a number of other
languages.
Enormous Oak Tree
"I prefer individuality in poetry. However, it does not make sense to go
against the esthetic understanding of the era. My first 10-15 poems were
written in classical style, in which I was a master. Later, I discontinued
writing in that style, not because I was unsuccessful, but in order to
follow the fashion of the time. I am not talking about the fashion of the
mini-skirt, long hair, parting hair from the side or from the middle.I am
talking about an esthetic point of view," he told Suciyan during the
interview for Nokta.
According to Levon Ananian, the president of Armenia’s Writers’ Union,
Zahrad was the "enormous oak tree" of Diasporan poetry, and his literary
legacy has left a deep and lasting effect on modern Armenian poetry, both in
the Diaspora and Armenia.
"Zahrad creates a world where even the darkest shadows are illuminated with
compassion and humor, albeit couched in an observer’s aloofness that acts as
a shield for a very sensitive soul," said Tatul Sonentz, whose translations
of Zahrad are featured below.
"Let me owe you a sieve of water," Zahrad says in one of his poems. Yet, we
owe him a river of fresh, joyful water, because that’s what he was for the
sweet but melancholic pond of Armenian poetry.
—————————————— ————————————————– —
A Selection of Poems by Zahrad
Translated by Tatul Sonentz
R A I N
You cannot ride the subway
Poor drops of rain
You cannot enter the home of a war profiteer
A mansion’s roof does not leak
I and the likes of me love you
You bring affluence
The price of bread drops
But I am sleepy
At least do not drip on my pillow
***
T H E B I G C I T Y
Everything is big in the big city
pleasure is big
sorrow is big
like the avenues and the buildings
And those who are little people
Will never feel at home in the big city
***
DO NOT CRY LIGHT DO NOT CRY
Do not cry light do not cry
One who drops from the sky does not cry
Do not cry that you dropped into a poor
home
You will be given a place of honor
Do not cry light do not cry
Let the lights that did not drop into hovels cry
***
H U M A N F L E S H
To Sargis Poghosian
When they erected buildings on both sides
The street was born
Large were the buildings – so splendid – that when they asked
I am not a street he said – I am an avenue
And every day personalities in motor vehicles drove
And went on stroking it with their splendor
The street bore this rich stream – these
luxuriant ornaments
On its skin – like gems
It seemed everything – swift and glossy – was
like a
feast
It knew opulence
They came and they went – and always their
traces vanished
It never forgot one thing
That one day a man passed barefoot and
diffident
That day the avenue knew human flesh
***
F O R E I G N
To Kiko those sectors of the city were foreign
Tall tall foreign buildings
The people – the beautiful foreign women
A girl in a frock came along
She put five coins in his hand –
They were foreign people – foreign –
Kiko had not come to beg
***
A H M E T E F E N D I S T R E E T
Kiko is afraid to pass by Ahmet Effendi Street
Ahmet Efendi Street is dark
There are couples kissing in the dark
Kiko is afraid to pass by Ahmet Effendi Street
His loneliness invades his mind
***
M A R D I G R A S
Clowns drop from the skies
Clowns drop from trees
>From the tall tall buildings
>From Kiko’s childhood days
Clowns jump out from the pavement
Clown clown
All together the clowns applaud Kiko –
Patches of all colors
Two inches of beard
They took Kiko for a clown
***
A SIEVE OF WATER
Let me owe you a sieve of water
– let it be a game where
saber
sword
flames
are covered
with moss in silence
in the tepid and humid south wind
let all starships
approach the harbor
– and let the pearly sea
not be disturbed
when with disillusion and a sieve of water
I run shore to shore
Let me owe you a sieve of water
***
A B O U T S O I L
He loved soil a lot
Kiko was like a star fallen from the sky
he wished to lay down cuddling the soil
he wished to hug the soil – to hug marvel at
he died – he had his wish
But – I do not know why – the stars are crying
The bridge is crying
– In life Kiko had no other intimates –
***
S T R I P T E A S E
Kiko has got hold of eyeglasses
Wherever he looks he sees blue
The sky blue – the seas blue
The eyes of the girl he loves blue
Wherever he looks he sees blue
He looks around with his glasses on –
You say the seas were always blue
You say the skies were already blue
He does not believe – I just saw it he says –
He looks all around the glasses on
Kiko has got hold of eyeglasses
NOW he sees blue as blue
***
A D V E N T U R E
Kiko’s mind wanders from city to city
– Kiko thinks of the world –
Kiko’s mind flies from planet to planet
– Kiko thinks of the Solar System –
Kiko’s mind soars from star to star
– Kiko imagines a universe
Faster than light
– Kiko’s mind wants to race beyond
– He strays – he cannot
So much for free travel
——————————————- ——————————————-
7. UNKNOWN LOVE
To T.
I don’t know whom I waited for
all my life
I don’t know what I liked
or did not like
At times I caught a faint gleam
in an eye
And shades of a dream
on another’s lips.
I saw a soft glimmer in the hair
of another
I admired yet another one’s
long limbs
Another charmed me with her
dainty steps
And another when she smiled
in silence.
I desired another one’s mere
breath and smell
As I coveted another’s marble
neck and back
Another when she got drunk
and giggled
Another one’s crystal clear
virgin tears.
I don’t know whom I waited for
all these years
I don’t know what I liked
or did not like
It may be the one who loved me
in secret
And cried her heart out
all night.
Varand
Translated by Tatul Sonentz
—————————————— ——————-
8. Taner Akcam Lectures in Canada
MONTREAL, Canada (A.W.)-On Feb. 16, the McGill Center for Human Rights and
Legal Pluralism hosted a book-launching event for Taner Akçam’s latest book,
A Shameful Act: Turkish Responsibility and the Armenian Genocide. Akçam, a
prominent Turkish scholar, is one of the leading voices for the recognition
of the Armenian Genocide by the Turkish government. A crowd of over 200
students and academics filled the Moot Court of the Faculty of Law, while a
second lecture at the Center of Armenians from Istanbul the next day
attracted over 300 members of the Armenian community.
The book launching was organized by the Zoryan Institute, in collaboration
with the Center for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism at McGill and the
Montreal Institute of Genocide and Human Rights Studies at Concordia
University, together with the participation of the Armenian Student
Associations (ASA) of McGill, Concordia and the University of Montreal.
Danny Hacikyan, president of the McGill ASA, gave the opening remarks and
was followed at the podium by Payam Akhavan, a professor of international
law at McGill, and former first counsel to the Prosecutor’s Office of the
International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY). Akhavan drew upon the
literature of Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk, and gave a stirring speech about
the necessity of recognition and reconciliation.
Akçam then addressed the crowd and alluded to the recent assassination of
Hrant Dink, who apart from being a strong voice for human rights and
reconciliation was also a close friend. At his request, the audience held a
minute of silence in Dink’s memory. Akçam presented his book as a call for
Turks to consider the suffering that was inflicted upon the Armenians in
their name. His talk centered on the causes of Turkish denial of the
Armenian Genocide. The notions of "defending the fatherland" and "preventing
the partition of Turkey," he said, were not only the causes of the Genocide
but also the causes of its denial. He demonstrated that prior to labeling
the crime as "genocide" in Turkey, Turks must first understand that the
forced deportations and killings are not justified under the name of state
sovereignty, but are a crime. Only then, he argued, could Turkey be ready to
accept the scale of its crime.
Touching upon the archival evidence in his book, Akçam also demonstrated
that contrary to widespread belief, the Ottoman and Western archives
surrounding the events of 1915 are complementary, and not contradictory, in
establishing that the killings were part of a state-orchestrated genocidal
campaign. He made a plea for reconciliation, suggesting that Ataturk’s
condemnation of the massacres could be a starting point for dialogue between
Armenians and Turks.
During his lecture on Feb. 17, Akçam focused on the groundbreaking
historical information that he has presented in A Shameful Act. He
demonstrated how the Ottoman Government had legalized and actively
participated in the pillaging of Armenian property, much of which was used
to finance military expenses or fund the deportations of the Armenians
themselves. During the question and answer session, he stated that the
Kurdish issue could not be resolved without the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide, and that once recognition is achieved, the issue of compensation
should be achieved through a process of discussion and negotiation between
Armenia and Turkey, involving moral recognition at every level.
——————————————- ——————————–
9. Weekly Editor Speaks at MIT Literary Meeting
CAMBRIGDE, Mass.-On Feb. 23, Armenian Weekly editor Khatchig Mouradian was
the guest speaker at the MIT Literary Society’s meeting dedicated this month
to discussing Brazilian author Paulo Coelho’s novel The Alchemist. Mouradian
engaged the students in a discussion of Coelho’s literature, the worldwide
impact of The Alchemist-which has become a literary and cultural
phenomenon-and his experience translating the novel to Armenian and
accompanying Coelho to Armenia. The students asked him questions that
ultimately veered the discussion toward religion, spirituality and man’s
quest for meaning-all integral themes in Coelho’s writing.
Mouradian interviewed Coelho in 2003 for the Lebanese-Armenian newspaper
Aztag, when Publishing Trends named Coelho the best-selling author of the
year. In 2004, Mouradian translated The Alchemist to Armenian and
accompanied Coelho to Yerevan for a weeklong series of book events and
meetings with his readers. There, Coelho also had lunch with President
Robert Kocharian and his family, met with Catholicos Karekin II, visited the
Dzidzernagapert Genocide Memorial, where he planted a memorial tree.
Coelho’s books have been translated to 63 languages and published in 150
countries. His books have sold more than 85 million copies.
—————————————— ———————————
10. Monoliths in the Garden
The Art of Jason Karakehian in the Age of the Alienated
WATERTOWN, Mass. (A.W.)-Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End in 1953 and 2001:
A Space Odyssey in 1968 were viewed as tales about humanity coming face to
face with its own "special," as in species, and cosmic humility in the face
of more ancient and alien entities than their own. In Alan Moore’s From
Hell, the author comments on a similar state of self-reflection saying, "We’re
in the darkest region of the human brain, a radiant abyss where men go to
find themselves. We’re in hell." The sculptures of Boston artist Jason
Karakehian won’t drive you to madness, but they might tantalize you enough
to think, "perchance to dream."
Upon seeing them, you may think that you’ve entered into a fairy tale, or
predict that you could potentially be the first victim of some 1950’s "pod
people" invasion. Neither reaction would be unwarranted.
Karakehian is 34 years old. He graduated from Framingham State College with
a degree in sculpture and art history in 1996. The majority of his pieces
are created through an industrial process involving charged metal and a
plastic powder coating process that is oven cured at around 300 degrees to
make it durable.
Commenting on the inspirations for his works, Karakehian says, "I look to
gourds, squid, octopi and other invertebrates for inspiration for forms. I
also look to pottery, African and Polynesian art, toy ray guns and space
toys, robots and science fiction films and literature. Other artists who
inspire my work are Lee Bontecou, Anish Kapoor and Hans Arp."
Karakehian’s art shares a sense of movement and wonder with those of the
late Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi, but with differing social
commentary. Brancusi’s work spoke to a generation lost in the Cold War,
seeking to rediscover itself in futuristic domestic and biblical themes.
Karakehian’s work stands for a new generation lost in the information age,
searching and rediscovering the alien in an era when everything comes too
quickly at one’s fingertips.
"Their simplified minimal shapes and lack of surface detail reveal nothing
about their origin, history, function or derivation," says Karakehian. "They
are simply there. This inscrutable state contrasts with the familiarity of
their curving and earthly organic forms. For the viewer, this duality
energizes the sculptures and their surroundings of trees, grasses, rocks and
sky with the tension of a momentous event or a startling find."
Karakehian’s art was auctioned in 2006 in ARTcetera to benefit the Aids
Action Committee. Also in 2006, he exhibited at the Mazmanian Gallery; the
Copperhead Gallery in Warren, Maine; and at "Art for the Garden" in Newton,
Mass.
——————————————- ——————————–
(c) 2007 Armenian Weekly On-Line. All Rights Reserved.
GLENDALE ARMENIANS REACH OUT TO IRAQI CHRISTIANS
By Teresa Watanabe, Times Staff Writer
Los Angeles Times, CA
Feb 25 2007
An Armenian church in Glendale is part of an effort to allow more
refugees persecuted in part for their faith into the U.S.
They were dressed as police officers, but Iraqi physician Nina Grigor
knew something was dreadfully wrong when they threw her into a car,
blindfolded her, tied her wrists – and ripped the cross from her neck.
For five days last March, the Iraqi Armenian Christian was held
somewhere in Baghdad. When she was finally freed after her family paid
$100,000 in ransom, she was immediately spirited away to Armenia for
safety and then, in July, to Glendale.
Now she is free – one of a growing number of Iraqi Armenians who have
found safety in Southern California amid spiraling sectarian violence
in their homeland. Grigor, 26, has received political asylum and is
studying for her U.S. medical licensing exam.
Grigor’s sleepless nights and frightening dreams have finally
stopped. But the widespread kidnappings, killings, rapes and church
bombings – atrocities that have become almost routine – continue
to terrorize hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Christians left behind,
she said.
"I have a safe life here," said Grigor, who asked that an alternative
first name be used to protect her and her relatives. "But the other
Iraqi Christians need our help."
Now, at last, more of them will get it. After months of mounting
violence, the U.S. government recently announced it would accept
7,000 Iraqi refugees by the end of September – a big increase from
the few hundred accepted so far since the war began in 2003.
Locally, St. Peter Armenian Church in Glendale kicked off the Lenten
season last week with a candlelight service and letter-writing
drive urging greater resettlement opportunities for Iraqi Armenian
refugees. The letter, which will be sent to elected officials, said
Armenians have lived peacefully in Iraq for centuries but that the
rise of Islamic fundamentalism since the war began has made them open
targets of killings, harassment and discrimination.
The Iraqi Armenian Relief Fund in Glendale is raising money to move
families from Iraq to Armenia, where it supports them for one year.
But so far the group has only managed to relocate nine families in the
last two years, according to vice-president Rafi Ohanes Garabedian. The
group is aiming for 15 families this year, he said.
Southern California is home to at least 300,000 Armenians, one-fifth
of whom may have ties to Iraq, community leaders say. They estimate
that a few hundred Iraqi Armenians have come here since the war began,
mostly on tourist or work visas, and may be seeking political asylum
or other ways to stay.
Despite those efforts, many people are calling for far greater measures
amid what experts say is the largest mass exodus of Iraqis from their
homeland in modern history. Earlier this month, Sen. Edward Kennedy
(D-Mass.) called on the United States to pledge at least half of
the $60 million requested by the United Nations for Iraqi refugee
resettlement. So far, the U.S. has pledged $18 million.
"Our invasion of Iraq led to this crisis, and we have a clear
responsibility to do more to ease it," Kennedy said this month on
the Senate floor.
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants says $250 million is
needed for a more comprehensive resettlement effort.
For their part, Iraqi Christians say that a far larger quota for
refugees is needed.
The Chaldean Federation of America said Christians make up about
200,000 of the 2 million people who have fled Iraq since the war
began. Joseph Kassab, federation executive director, said Iraq’s
Christian population has dwindled from 1.1 million during Saddam
Hussein’s regime to 600,000.
Christians are routinely targeted for violence and accused of being
American collaborators, Kassab said. But unlike their Arab and Muslim
neighbors, Christians lack tribes or militias to protect them, he said.
State Department official Ellen Sauerbrey said the 7,000 quota was
not a ceiling but an initial number that could be adjusted annually.
She said priority would be given to Iraqis who worked with the U.S.
government, are members of persecuted religious or ethnic minorities
or are members of other vulnerable groups.
Ultimately, however, U.S. officials want to stabilize Iraq so people
who flee can return, Sauerbrey stressed.
However, Kassab said many Christians no longer regard Iraq as their
homeland and do not expect to return. For Chaldeans, who trace their
roots to the descendants of the ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia and
who predate Muslims by centuries, the forced departure is particularly
appalling, he said.
Many Armenians, who represent a far smaller group of Iraqi Christians,
voice similar sentiments. Although they have lived in Iraq for
centuries, their numbers particularly grew after the Turkish genocide
against them in the early 20th century, community members say, and
came to total perhaps 60,000. (The government of Turkey disputes that
what occurred was genocide.)
Many say they are grateful to the Arabs of Iraq who welcomed and
sheltered them. Under Hussein’s secular regime, Grigor and others
said, most Christians were allowed to work, worship and socialize at
Armenian clubs largely without interference as long as they did not
challenge the political status quo.
Now, all of that has changed, they say.
Pamela Hartman, an Encino immigration attorney, has won political
asylum for a dozen Iraqi Armenian clients. Clients have reported
death threats, kidnappings, vandalized homes and letters telling them
"Christians, go home," she said.
The uncle of one client, she said, was told by his kidnappers that
"they will get all of the Christians out of their neighborhood or
kill them because they’re friendly with Americans." Another Christian
client in a Shiite Muslim neighborhood received a letter demanding
that all non-Shiite families leave immediately or face death.
Hartman and some refugee groups argue that Iraqi Christians have a
prima facie case for refugee and asylum status. The United Nations,
however, does not agree and reviews all claims individually.
For now, many Iraqi Armenians are relying on prayer and political
appeals to help their loved ones.
At St. Peter Armenian Church, pungent incense and chanted Armenian
prayers filled the sanctuary as more than 250 parishioners gathered
last week in support of the refugees.
One of them, Marine Abrahamyan Abdasho, wept as she held a candle in
prayer. The Glendale teacher is not of Iraqi descent, but she said
the long history of persecution against Armenians compelled her to
support all victims of violence.
"Our history as Armenian people has made us able to feel the pain of
anyone suffering now," she said.
After the service, parishioners gathered in the reception hall to
sign letters of appeal for Iraqi refugee aid and shared story after
story of families fleeing atrocities, of being scattered around the
world. Nearly 70% of the church’s 500-member Sunday congregation are
of Iraqi descent, according to Pastor Vazken Movsesian.
Noobar Zadoian, 32, trained as a computer programmer, said he arrived
in Glendale two months ago after too many bombings, murders and
kidnappings made him lose hope in his country’s future. His elderly
father remains alone in Jordan, where he had gone in late 2003 to
say goodbye to another son who was leaving for the U.S. The father
ended up staying in Jordan because the situation in Iraq had begun
to deteriorate too badly to risk returning.
Another parishioner said a relative was stoned as he walked down a
formerly peaceful neighborhood street because his sister had married
an American.
"You guys have to leave; this is not your country anymore," she said
he was told.
"Armenians have been caught right in the middle," Movsesian said. "We
were a respected class as a Christian minority in Iraq. Now, Armenians
are left without homes and nobody wants them."
TURKISH SCHOLAR AT U PUSHES HIS HOMELAND FOR TRUTH IN PERSECUTION OF ARMENIANS
Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
February 19, 2007 Monday
Metro Edition
"A Shameful Act" has been described as a work of historical
"excavation." The term fits. What Taner Akcam has done in his book is
dig out the truth on the persecution of Turkey’s Armenian minority
from under a slag heap of government obfuscation in Ankara and
enervating apathy in the West. He’s done so at considerable personal
risk. Akcam, a Turk and a Muslim, has defied any number of laws and
social strictures in his homeland to remind the world of the tragedy
that unfolded in 1915. He views it as his moral duty, a matter of
honor. The Star Tribune’s Michael J. Bonafield talked with him in
his office at the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the
University of Minnesota. Q&A, A14
AT A GLANCE
What happened? During the height of World War I, between 1915 and 1918,
the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire was forcibly removed
and sent into exile. Those who refused to go were executed on the
spot. Those who left were sent into the Syrian and Iraqi deserts
without food and water.
How many died? Estimates vary. The Armenian National Institute in
Washington says as many as 1.5 million were killed. The Turkish
government, successor to the Ottoman regime, says between 300,000
and 600,000 died. Eyewitnesses described mass murders with guns,
clubs and knives, mass drownings, crucifixions, and girls and women
who were raped to death.
War of words
Point: Armenians cite the 1948 U.N. Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of Genocide, which defines genocide as "acts committed
with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical,
racial or religious group."
Counterpoint: Turkey vehemently denies the charge of genocide, saying
the Armenians died as a result of overzealous military units and the
depredations of unauthorized nationalist groups.
CHARLES GHISLAIN: BELGIUM HAS ALWAYS HAD SENSITIVE APPROACH TO ARMENIA AND ARMENIANS
Noyan Tapan
Feb 26 2007
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 26, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA National Assembly Speaker
Tigran Torosian on February 23 received the newly appointed Belgian
Ambassador to Armenia Charles Ghislain. "I am convinced that your
activities will be useful for further development of relations between
the two countries and we will have more active interparliamentary
relations during your term of office," the NA speaker said. The
interlocutors underlined the importance of Armenian-Belgian relations
from the political and economic point of view, as well as importance
of cooperation in international organizations. T. Torosian noted
that Eurointegration is one of political priorities of Armenia: the
constitutional reform had the purpose of bringing the legislation into
line with European standards, and after the upcoming parliamentary
elections the constitutional amendments’ provisions related to the
political system will also take effect. Ch. Ghislain noted that his
aim is to promote relations between the two countries in all sheres,
particularly interparliamentary relations. In the ambassador’s words,
Belgium has always had a sensitive approach towards Armenia and the
Armenians: it is no accident that the Belgian parliament was the
first in Europe to indicate the mistake committed by Turkey in the
past, as well as to address the fact of the Armenian Genocide and the
present-day Armenia in history textbooks. The ambassador considered
promotion of economic relations and establishment of efficient links
among businessmen of the two countries as another objective of his
mission. According to the RA National Assembly PR Department, during
the meeting the sides also spoke about the upcoming parliamentary
elections, attaching importance to their holding in accordance with
international standards.
Agence France Presse — English
February 23, 2007 Friday 4:33 PM GMT
Ninth suspect jailed over murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist
An Istanbul court Friday detained another man over the murder of
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink last month, bringing to nine
the number arrested over the killing, Anatolia news agency reported.
The court charged university student Veysel Toprak with "aiding and
abetting a criminal organisation" and "protecting a criminal," the
agency said.
Media reports described Toprak as a close friend of one of the most
prominent suspects in the investigation, Yasin Hayal, who allegedly
provided the gunman with money and a pistol to kill Dink.
Hayal reportedly hid in Toprak’s house in Istanbul after bombing a
McDonald’s restaurant in the northern city of Trabzon in 2004, for
which he later served 11 months in jail.
Dink’s suspected assassin, Ogun Samast, a jobless 17-year-old middle
school graduate, has confessed to gunning down the journalist outside
the office of his bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos in downtown
Istanbul on January 19.
Samast, who underwent surgery for appendicitis late Wednesday, was
discharged from hospital under heavy security on Friday and returned
to the prison in Kandira, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of
Istanbul.
Prosecutors have yet to complete their indictment on Dink’s murder,
believed to have been committed with ultra-nationalist motives.
Interior ministry inspectors are looking into allegations that police
got a tip-off last year about a plot to kill Dink being organised in
Trabzon, from where most of the suspects come, but did not follow up
on the intelligence.
The 52-year-old Dink, a leading member of Turkey’s tiny Armenian
community, called the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman
Empire genocide, a label that Ankara fiercely rejects.
He was given a suspended six-month sentence last year for "insulting
Turkishness" under an infamous penal code article that has served to
prosecute a string of other intellectuals and raised alarms about
freedom of speech in Turkey.
Armenian officials, French minister discuss ties
Arminfo, Yerevan
24 Feb 07
French Minister-Delegate in charge of Regional Development Christian
Estrosi held a number of meetings within the framework of his visit to
Yerevan on 24 February, Arminfo news agency reported.
The meetings with President Robert Kocharyan, Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanyan and Territorial Administration Minister Hovik Abrahamyan
discussed the Year of Armenia in France and cooperation in the sphere
of regional development. Saying that the models of state management
in France and Armenia have similarities, Kocharyan stressed that
Armenia wanted to benefit from France’s experience in territorial
administration. Armenia adheres to the policy of decentralization of
power, the agency quoted him as saying.