Author: Torosian Aram

ALL-DAY CONFERENCE "AN ARMENIAN WOMAN’S JOURNEY" SET FOR APRIL 18

/3/2009_1
Friday, April 3, 2009

PASADENA’s The challenges, hurdles, and influences that shape the
modern Armenian woman will be the theme of the 4th Annual AGBU Hye
Geen Interdisciplinary Conference, taking place on Saturday, April 18,
2009, at Cal State University, Los Angeles.

The conference titled "An Armenian Woman’s Journey" will feature
speakers with diverse backgrounds, who will address educational,
psychological, sociological, and economic influences that shape an
Armenian woman’s identity.

"Armenian women wear a lot of difference hats, and balancing these
responsibilities with our ethnic identity may cause undue anxiety,"
said Tamar Kevonian, one of the organizers of the event. "We’re hoping
the presentations at this year’s conference will provide solutions
to the challenges that we face."

The conference is being made possible with the cooperation with
CSULA’s School of Social Work and the Alpha Epsilon Omega Fraternity.

This year’s topics are the social and cultural norms and expectations
in raising sons versus daughters, parents’ reluctance to choose
the best educational options that may conflict with ethnocentric
expectations, the difficulty of developing and the necessity of
preserving individual identity amidst the many roles assumed by women,
the new role of single women, the importance of a social network on
women’s mental and physical health, the importance of knowing about
financial matters, the needs of women over 60, and understanding the
generational gap.

The speakers range from various fields of education, social work and
science and include Nareg Keshishian and Marina Adamian, Dr. Susanne
De Benedittis, DebraKey, Dr. Harout Armenian, Mary Apick, Mary Terzian
and Nora Chitilian.

Registration starts at 8:30 AM, and presentations begin at 9:00 AM
at the Golden Eagle Conference Center, No. 3, 5151 State University
Drive Los Angeles, CA 90032.

Admission for the general public is $30 and includes
lunch; admission for students is $15. RSVP via e-mail at
[email protected] or by calling (818) 292 ‘s
3470. Gratis media passes are available by calling organizers.

Organizers and speakers are available for interviews prior to the
event.

EDWARD NALBANDIAN IS LEAVING FOR ISTANBUL

A1+
04:36 pm | April 03, 2009

Official

The Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian, will visit Istanbul
on April 6-7 to participate in the 2nd "Alliance of Civilsations"
forum under the auspices of the UNO.

The forum aims to develop the intercultural understanding and
cooperation. The first forum took place in Madrid in January 2008.

The forum in Istanbul will feature senior officials from 30 countries –
presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers.

PRIME MINISTER PARTICIPATES IN LAUNCHING ORBITAL RECEIVNG STATION

Noyan Tapan
Apr 2, 2009

Yerevan, April 2, Noyan Tapan. Armenia’s Prime Minister Tigran Sargsian
participated in the launching of the orbital receiving station at
the Center of Geodesy and Cartography of the State Committee on
Real-Estate Cadastre.

According to the press-release of the Information and PR Department
of the government, the prime minister walked around the rooms of
the center, get acquainted with working conditions and talked to
the personnel.

The creation of the orbital station is aimed at receiving exact data
about Armenia’s territory with the help of space technologies. The
station enables to use the capabilities of artificial satellites in
the near-earth orbit (up to 1000 km) and implement remote sensing of
the Earth. The data will be used to meet the challenges in geodesy
and cartography, as well as to solve security and economic issues.

PRESIDENT SARGSYAN WRAPS UP VISIT TO SYUNIK MARZ
Karen Ghazaryan

"Radiolur"
01.04.2009 18:18

On April 1st President Serzh Sargsyan visited the "Armen-Sarmen"
stock-farm in Syunik village of Syunik marz. The President familiarized
with the capacities of the farm, the future programs targeted at the
expansion of activity.

Later the President visited Tatev Hydroelectric Plant, part of the
Vorotan Cascade Hydroelectric Plant. Serzh Sargsyan walked about the
plant, where new modern technologies have been implemented under the
TACIS grant program.

The Head of State also visited St. Gregory the Illuminator Church of
Goris, and attended the ceremony of unveiling a khachkar in memory
of Misak Manushyan, one of the leaders of the French Partisan Movement.

The President concluded the visit by attending the "VH Stone" Company
in Sisian.

THE ROCK LEGEND JETHRO TULL CONCERT IN ARMENIA

LRAGIR.AM
15:41:46 – 01/04/2009

Jethro Tull formed in 1968 out of the amalgamation of the John Evan
Band and McGregor’s Engine, two blues-based local UK groups. Jethro
Tull has released over 40 albums. From blues, folk rock, prog rock,
and jazz influences to touches of Far Eastern sounds, Tull’s music is
not easily sorted into a defined genre. It is characterized by the
songs, vocals and flute work of Ian Anderson, who has led the band
since its founding, and guitarist Martin Barre, who has been with the
band since 1969. Ian Anderson, known throughout the world of rock music
as the flute and voice behind the legendary Jethro Tull, celebrates
his 40th year as a recording and performing musician in 2008.

Still enjoying a lengthy and ongoing career, Jethro Tull has sold
more than 60 million copies since the band first performed at London’s
famous Marquee club.

After undertaking more than 2500 concerts in 40 countries throughout
three decades, Tull plays typically 100 concerts each year to
longstanding, as well as new fans worldwide. It is the first time
that Armenia is included in Jethro Tull’s European Tour.

ETHNIC ARMENIANS ELECTED IN TURKISH MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS

PanARMENIAN.Net
31.03.2009 22:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Majority of Armenian candidates were elected in
Turkish municipal governments. Observers explain the phenomenon by a
thaw in the Armenian-Turkish relations and AK plans to open the border.

Analysts do not rule out that Armenians will be elected to parliament
one day, vesti.az reported.

ARMENIAN WRESTLER RUSLAV BASIYEV SUSTAINED DEFEAT FROM AZERI ALI ISAYEV

PanARMENIAN.Net
31.03.2009 22:34 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian wrestler Ruslav Basiyev Basiyev sustained
defeat from Azerbaijan’s Ali Isayev in the final, winning silver of
Graeco-Roman and freestyle wrestling world championship.

Zhirayr Hovhannisyan won bronze.

TRIBUTE TO GENOCIDE VICTIMS
By Nathan Halverson

Santa Rosa Press Democrat
0330/NEWS/903300356/1033?Title=SSU-dedicates-memor ial-to-genocide-victims
March 30 2009
CA

Survivors gather at Sonoma State University for dedication of
memorial grove

Nearly 200 people gathered Sunday at Sonoma State University to
dedicate a memorial art sculpture to victims of genocide.

Representatives from six groups of genocide victims and war atrocity
survivors addressed the standing-room-only crowd from the edge of a
pond behind the student union.

Joseph Nsengimana, Rwanda’s ambassador to the United Nations, spoke
of a horror suffered by his people in 1994.

"More than 1 million Rwandans died in 100 days," he said. "As a
survivor, I feel honored to stand here."

The genocide had its roots in a civil war drawn down ethnic lines
between the Hutu and Tutsi people living in the country.

The other five speakers all spoke while standing in front of a large
cylindrical sculpture built by a university professor.

Buddhist monk Masarin Visothea represented the approximately 2 million
Cambodians who died under the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979.

Brenda Flyswithhawks took the stage to represent the tens of millions
of Native Americans who died from disease or violence after European
immigrants and descendants engaged in systematic campaigns to remove
them.

The 10-foot-tall glass sculpture was created by Jann Nunn, an associate
professor of sculpture at SSU. She worked on it for three years before
its unveiling Sunday. It is built of 5,000 pieces of glass and is to
be illuminated by internal lights from dusk to dawn.

A series of bricks inscribed with survivor and donor names leads up
to the sculpture.

The project, titled the Erna and Arthur Salm Holocaust and Genocide
Memorial Grove, was dedicated to victims from Europe, Asia, Africa,
the Mideast and North America.

The Salms, for whom the sculpture is named, fled Nazi Germany shortly
after widespread attacks against Jews in November 1938. Their son,
David Salm, donated funds to the project in hopes of remembering the
past and drawing attention to genocides still occurring.

The genocide memorial project was the dream of Elaine Leeder, dean
of social sciences at SSU who managed the project into a reality.

"Unfortunately, there is now a field of study called comparative
genocide," she said in her opening remarks.

Speakers representing the Armenian genocide in Turkey, Japan’s
ruthless tactics against the Chinese during World War II and the
Jewish Holocaust also addressed the crowd. State Sen. Mark Leno,
D-San Francisco, also spoke.

Nsengimana perhaps summed up sentiments when he said, "Never again."

THE EZIDIS: CHILDREN OF THE SUN LIVING IN ANATOLIA

Hurriyet
March 26 3009
Turkey

ISTANBUL – In Turkey there are only 400 members remaining of the
Ezidis, one of the oldest communities in Anatolia. The largest Ezidi
populations in the world are in Armenia and Germany, according to a
research by a master student

Misunderstood for centuries, one of the oldest minority communities
in Anatolia has lived in silence in Turkey, keeping their traditions
alive through oral history and a religious caste system.

For centuries, many have claimed the Ezidis were Satanists, but Ezidis
are a religious community with hundreds of years of oral history. They
are monotheistic, have no place of worship and their holy scripture
has been lost.

They have derogatorily been called "Yezidis," in reference to the
belief that they descended from the Emevi emperor Yezid bin Muaviye,
who killed the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson.

The name Yezidi was used to insult the group, forcing the Ezidis to
hide their identity. They took shelter in Anatolia and have continued
to exist in hiding for centuries. Unlike the assumption, they have
never been Satanists. They stand facing the sun and have prayed to
God for centuries.

Holy books

The "Kitab el Cilve" (Apocalyptic Book) and "Mishef-i ReÅ~_" (Black
Book), the holy books of the Ezidis, were burned during attacks from
Turkmenistan’s Bedrettin Lulu in Lales, their holy place in Iraq,
in the 13th and 14th centuries. These holy books have been orally
transferred from one generation to another for centuries.

Five years ago, Istanbul Bilgi University Department of History
master’s student Amed Gökcen began research into the community,
hoping to remove the prejudices against the Ezidis and reveal their
centuries-old culture. As a result of research in the southeastern
Anatolian cities of Mardin, Batman, Diyarbakır and Å~^anlıurfa,
Gökcen learned that the Ezidis population was only 400 in Turkey. He
said the most important factor that enabled this community to survive
against all odds is a caste system, similar to the one in India,
which creates religious cooperation.

He pursued the migration routes of the Ezidis and extended his research
from Syria to Iraq and from Armenia to Germany. He discovered that
the largest Ezidi population was in Armenia and Germany. He wrote
about their traditions, religious beliefs and legends, and collected
26 hymns and 21 folk songs.

Gökcen’s research was put up for sale last week by Kalan Music in a
detailed book in the Ezidis’s Kirman language (a branch of Kurdish),
English and Turkish, and on two CDs. "The Ezidis are a community that
assimilate themselves," said Gökcen. "They hesitate to reveal their
identity. They generally try to integrate into the societies where
they live and try to get lost among them."

Difference between the German and Armenian Ezidis

Gökcen said he faced many difficulties during his research and that
it was not possible to gather information about the community without
the reference of a community member.

Speaking about his impressions during his research in Armenia
and Germany, Gökcen said: "The Ezidis are being assimilated in
Armenia. The Ezidis define themselves as a branch of Kurds everywhere
else in the world but in Armenia they call themselves only Ezidikis."

Gökcen said the Ezidis of Germany live in very comfortable
conditions. "In order to take advantage of special rights the German
government grants to the minorities, those who are not Ezidis and
who even called them Yezidis have introduced themselves as Ezidis,"
he said. There are 50,000 Ezidis living in Armenia and 300,000 in
Germany, according to Gökcen.

The Collected Ezidi Mythology

The Ezidis date their bloodline back to Seyid Bin Cer, the first son
of Adam and Eve. According to a legend, after God created Adam and
Eve, he put their souls in jars to see which one was fertile. When he
opened the jars 40 days later, Seyid Bin Cer was in Adam’s jar and all
of nature’s insects and birds were in Eve’s. Since Seyid Bin Cer could
keep the bloodline of humanity alive, God sent him a beautiful virgin,
or Houri, from heaven. There is the concept of "clean blood" in the
Ezidis because they consider themselves from the bloodline of Seyid Bin
Cer and a houri from heaven. Therefore, Ezidis only marry other Ezidis.

CSTO AND SCO PROPOSE ESTABLISHMENT OF ANTI-DRUG AND ANTI-TERRORIST SECURITY BELTS IN THE REGION

ArmInfo
2009-03-27 14:59:00

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) propose establishment of anti-drug
and anti-terrorist security belts in the region, particularly in
Afghanistan. CSTO Press Secretary Vitaly Strugovec told ArmInfo
Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov declared the proposal at a
conference n Afghanistan in Moscow Friday.

In particular, relevant documents have already been distributed
to the participants in the conference. ‘We invite all the states
and international organizations interested to take the measures as
contemplated by the documents’, S. Lavrov said. The participants
in the conference representing not only SCO and CSTO, but also G8
states: Turkmenistan, Turkey, Iran, UN, OSCE, EU and NATO, will
discuss the situation in Afghanistan and in the Middle East as well
as will develop am anti-drug and anti-terrorist strategy.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is an intergovernmental
mutual-security organisation which was founded in 2001 by the
leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan,
and Uzbekistan. To recall, Armenia assumed CSTO chairmanship from
Kyrghyzstan in 2008. CSTO comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrghyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.