Author: Vardanian Garo

HAIGAZIAN UNIVERSITY CELEBRATES THE NAMING OF THE "DERIAN ARMENOLOGICAL LIBRARY"
By Mira Yardemian

AZG Armenian Daily
25/10/2008

Diaspora

On Friday, October 13, Haigazian University named its Armenian Library
as the "Derian Armenological Library", in honor of Mrs. Anahis Derian
and her late husband Henry, from Pasadena, California. They had donated
$500,000 to the University, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary,
back in the year 2005.

The ceremony, attended by prominent Armenian officials, intellectuals,
editors, publishers, and friends of the library, opened with the
unveiling of the Henry & Anahis Derian memorial plaque by the President
of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East,
the Rev. Megrdich Karagoezian, University President Rev. Dr. Paul
Haidostian, and University Librarian Ms. Sonia Sislian.

Sislian welcomed the audience and gave a brief overview of the Derian
Armenological Library.

"Founded in 1955 by the special efforts of Rev. Dikran Kherlopian, the
Derian Library holds one of the richest collections in the Armenian
Diaspora, including a number of rare books, and a selection of the
18th and 19th century publications", Sislian said.

She added that the Derian Library constitutes an Armenian research
center, which serves not only students, but many scholars, editors,
and researchers from around the world. "The library also includes
the private collections of prominent Armenian intellectuals, like
Siran Seza, Kersam Aharonian, Dr. Antranig Manouguian, and Krikor
Bogharian", Sislian concluded.

Bibliographer, scholar, and school principal, Mr. Jirair Tanielian
shared with the audience his experience of more than 20 years as
the librarian of the Armenian Library. "Many important delegations,
historians, and prominent Armenian figures passed from here, especially
after the University decided to render the Library public", Tanialian
noted. "At a time of severe political divisions, the Armenian Library
witnessed the regroupment of Armenians of different political parties
and ideologies, something that was impossible to find elsewhere",
Tanielian explained.

In his closing word, President Haidostian expressed his special
gratitude to Mrs. Derian, and noted that while Henry Derian had
passed away a year ago, Mrs. Anahis Derian had sent a kind message
apologizing for not being able to attend the event and that she was
in prayer for the Haigazian University community. Haidostian stated
that the ceremony is the celebration of three inspiring realities:

The Derians’ generosity and benevolence that arises out of a deep
Christian spirit;

The Derians’ meaningful input to the vibrant Lebanese community; and,

The Derians’ choice of associating their name with what is Armenian,
in this case, the Armenological Library.

Afterwards, the audience enjoyed a tour in the "Derian Armenological
Library", and had a look at its latest acquisitions from Turkey
and Armenia.

The ceremony concluded with cutting a celebratory cake on this
special occasion.

CHRISTINA UNPLUGGED
By Pauline M Forte

XPRESS
October 23, 2008, 17:16
United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi: Christina Aguilera confided to reporters at Emirates Palace
here that her life wasn’t always full of happiness and success.

There were reasons, she said in a press conference on Thursday,
for everything that she’s done in the past.

"As a woman I think it’s important to be expressive of all facets of
myself including my sexuality, so it’s an empowering thing for me,"
said the Latina diva ahead of her Back to Basics concert on Friday
at Emirates Palace.

"As an artist I would never hold back expressing myself in ways I
see fit, especially now that I’ve become a mother. It’s important
to maintain the person that I was before I became a mother so I can
share with my son (Max) everything that I’m about and proud of."

She said she is glad that she was able to go through the experience so
that "I can teach my son not to be closed minded and give women the
respect that they deserve as far as being able to express themselves
and not feel that they have to live up to society’s certain standards".

For several years, she has been involved in charity work to help
children and bring awareness to domestic violence.

"Growing up in a household that had a lot of that going on, it is
something I’m very passionate about trying to get back and bring
awareness to," the 27-year-old pop star said.

Talking about her music, she said her new album will present all new
material. She’s also releasing a Greatest Hits record in November
with three bonus tracks which give a sneak peak of the new album,
"a 180 from the last record Back to Basics, going into the old and
paying tribute to the soul, jazz and blues music that inspired me
and that I love so very much," she said.

The new album is inspired from pop art, including Andy Warhol, and
the visual direction that comes with it.

"I never like to do the same things twice, period – either creatively
or personally. I continue to be inspired by new things that I can
in turn experiment and push forward with new and innovative ideas. I
find to not change is very stifling and I get bored easily.

"As much success as I ever feel fortunate enough to have received
in my life, working hard for it, there are still so many more things
that I have yet to do and goals to accomplish. Staying hungry is very
important for me," Aguilera said.

"I’m thrilled to be giving my first concert here tomorrow night. It’s
going to be a great show, for the whole family, for your friends. It’s
a feel-good show," she said.

Los Angeles musician Taleen Kalbian, 21, who will open the concert
for Aguilera, was present at the press conference.

Half-Armenian and half-Palestinian, Kalbian said she is a big fan of
Aguilera and opening for her is a dream come true.

OPPOSITION WANTS, AUTHORITIES REFUSE
Lilit Poghosyan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
23 Oct 2008
Armenia

Below we present some interesting episodes from yesterday’s "heated"
parliamentary debate over the changes envisaging a broader scope of
competences for the opposition.

ARMEN MARTIROSYAN

Head of "Heritage" faction

"The authorities need a counterbalance on the political arena. And
that role should be vested in the opposition. The Government
is actually making all the steps which it is required to. The
opposition should be vested with the competences that imply supervisory
functions. In particular, the Parliament may have committees dealing
with financial-credit and budgetary affairs, defense issues, human
rights etc.

The Government brings the Budget to the Parliament, receives the
approval of the document and executes it. The opposition should
be responsible for supervising the Budget. The Supervisory Chamber
should be headed by a representative of the opposition. The Head and
the members of the National Committee on Television and Radio should
also be representatives of the opposition.

The Head of the Central Election Commission should also be a
pro-opposition figure, because no matter how much the opposition
may desire to falsify the election results, it can’t do that as it
doesn’t have relevant resources. The resources are in the hands of
the authorities."

HAKOB HAKOBYAN

RPA Faction

"There can’t be pro-opposition authorities or a pro-government
opposition. By trying to involve the human resources of the
pro-opposition parties in the state government system we eliminate
rather than assist the opposition. If we give positions to all the
members of ‘Heritage’ party" a question will arise as to whether
"Heritage" is a pro-government or a pro-opposition faction. In this
way, we’ll mix up everything.

I have been against the idea from the outset and continue saying that
we have chosen the option of setting up a parliament and forming a
government through elections, and any attempt of deviating from this
path is unconstitutional.

A party may be a pro-opposition faction during and after the campaign
or before it. If a party which represented the opposition during
the campaign participates in the formation of the Government after
the elections, and its program is included in the program of the
Government, how can it be a pro-opposition party? Should we enlarge
the resources of the opposition? Of course, we should. Should we
strengthen it? Sure, but not in that way. This is not the way of
strengthening the opposition. By doing so, we will only suppress it.

NOW THAT SOUTH OSSETIA AND ABKHAZIA GAINED SOVEREIGNTY, PROBLEM OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH WILL HAVE TO BE SETTLED TOO

DEFENSE and SECURITY
October 17, 2008 Friday
Russia

Professor Andrei Manoilo (Department of International Relations of the
Russian Foreign Ministry’s Diplomatic Academy): The situation with the
latent conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh is moving toward settlement. On
the other hand, any attempt to force a solution now will immediately
foment hostilities. Should the United States or NATO decide to
intercede, it will probably create an armed conflict too. Moreover,
conflict areas on the Russian borders are quite convenient as
instruments of pressure. No wonder the conflict in South Ossetia was
provoked as soon as Moscow defied Washington on the matter of Iran.

Iran commands vast respect and wields a lot of clout with the region
in question, and particularly with Azerbaijan. What with the respect
Russia commands in Armenia, a coalition of Moscow with Tehran may
facilitate conflict settlement.

Turkey on the other hand had better stay away even though it is another
major player in the region. Unless Ankara found an acceptable form
of reconciliation with Yerevan, its interference would only worsen
things in general.

As for Russia, it should prevent settlement of the Azerbaijani-Armenian
discord by the United States or NATO. Besides, advancement of direct
economic and political contacts between Armenia and Azerbaijan is in
Russia’s interests. It will make settlement of the conflict all the
more easier, you know.

CONGRATULATIONS TO HOVIK ABRAHAMYAN FROM FRENCH AND BELGIAN COUNTERPARTS

armradio.am
23.10.2008 13:15

President of the French Senate Gérard Larcher sent a congratulatory
message to Hovik Abrahamyan on the occasion of his election to the
post of President of the National Assembly of Armenia. In the message
Mr. Larcher expressed confidence that the interparliamentary ties
will further develop in the spirit of cooperation existing between the
two countries. Mr. Larcher wished success to the Armenian Parliament
Speaker in his high mission.

President of the House of Representatives of Belgium Herman Van Rompuy
congratulated Hovik Abrahamyan, expressing hope that the relations
between the two parliaments will continue developing. He wished
success to Speaker Abrahamyan in carrying out his important mission.

–Boundary_(ID_9JHJHjay1lZyL2th9FNBLg)–

RUSSIA HAS TO RETURN KARABAKH TO AZERBAIJAN
James Hakobyan

Lragir
12:52:27 – 21/10/2008

There was worry on the faces of the Russian president Dmitry Medvedev
who landed at the Zvartnots Airport and Serge Sargsyan who met him
rather than joy of the visit or cheer of hosting. At least, the two
presidents were serious, there was a seriousness on their faces that
was about to grow into somberness. The reason may be that Medvedev and
Sargsyan have managed to meet for several times already, and meetings
have become something casual for them, which explains the casual
seriousness on their faces. Also it should not be ruled out that the
recurrent meeting takes place in a serious situation, which determined
the mood of the presidents, which was expressed on their cold faces.

The situation is really serious. The struggle for influence in the
Caucasus is escalating. Mostly the struggle is between the United
States and Russia.

Considering the logic of this struggle, the United States and Russia
are separately trying to involve ambitious allies in struggle. For
instance, Russia expects to neutralize, prevent or reduce the influence
of the United States through Turkey. For that reason the Russians
want to become a mediator of improvement of the Turkish-Armenian
relations, thereby removing Georgia from the Caucasian axis, which
would mean the weakening of the influence of the United States which
has great influence on Georgia in the Caucasus. In order to improve
the Armenian-Turkish relation, the Russians must resolve the issue
of Karabakh, more exactly, the issue of the return of the liberated
territories because for Turkey it is not favorable to improve relations
with Armenia with its current geopolitical position.

The point is that the return of the territories to Azerbaijan weakens
both Armenia and Iran. In other words, two important problems of
Turkey are solved at once.

The Russians realize that the last chance to remain in the Caucasus is
to solve that problem. On the other hand, it does not promise a clear
sky because the behavior of Turkey afterwards is unpredictable. The
point is that with Armenia and Iran weakened by the return of
territories, with the reduced role of the United States, after
solving these problems through Russia, Turkey and Azerbaijan may
start successfully to neutralize the position of Russia, and all the
Russians could do to hold on to the Caucasus would be a war, which
is practically impossible, and may at best lead to a draw. In other
words, the Caucasus would turn into a gigantic crater where the war
would last forever, and everyone would fight against one another,
and would not understand who they are fighting against.

The Russian president has reason to worry, and the expression on
his face is quite clear. The point is that even after imposing the
return of territories on Armenia the problem20will not solve for
Russia. The Kremlin pays an expensive price for the recognition of the
independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and is actually facing the
fact of recognizing the "independence". However, Serge Sargsyan also
has reason for a serious and worried expression on his face. And the
reason is not the hasty visit of the U.S. assistant secretary Daniel
Fried to Armenia before the visit of Medvedev. Moreover, Fried’s visit
could have been encouraging for Serge Sargsyan if Sargsyan had not gone
that far in the foreign policy of "initiation". Now even Condoleezza
Rice, let alone Fried, is already unable to bring back Armenia. And
the Russians also made it clear: several hours before the visit of
Medvedev the recurrent repair on the gas pipeline to Armenia began,
and Levitin stated in Yerevan that the oil refinery trumpeted as
almost the "project of the century" economically is not feasible. Now,
Armenia, try to stop half the way you have "initiated". Maybe it is
difficult to go forward because now the trap of the Armenian-Turkish
relation is obvious, in which Serge Sargsyan got caught, stating in
Moscow that he is going to invite Gul to watch football and is ready
to accept the idea of the commission of historians. It turns out that
Armenia pays for the air ticket of Gul, and pays with the liberated
territories and the recognition of the genocide.

Now the question occurs which Armenia is going to pay for Medvedev’s
"ticket".

HOUSE OF LORDS MEMBER ENTERS BRITISH-AZERI GROUP

AssA-Irada
October 8, 2008 Wednesday
Azerbaijan

British lawmaker, Lord Wallace, has become a member of the
Britain-Azerbaijan inter-parliamentary group. Respective agreement
was reached at a meeting of the Azerbaijani ambassador to Britain,
Fahraddin Gurbanov, with the lawmaker. During the meeting, the
ambassador briefed Wallace on Azerbaijans rampant economic development,
its turning into a leader in the region, and large-scale energy
projects being implemented in the country. Gurbanov also spoke
of ongoing efforts to find a negotiated solution to his countrys
long-standing conflict with Armenia. He said settling the Upper
(Nagorno) Garabagh conflict was pivotal for ensuring sustainable peace
and development in the region. The two also reviewed prospects for
expanding relations between the Azerbaijani and British parliaments.

ARMENIAN OFFICIAL, US ENVOY DISCUSS COOPERATION

Armenian Public TV
October 10, 2008 Friday

National Security Council Secretary Artur Baghdasaryan and US
ambassador Marie Yovanovitch have discussed Armenian-US foreign
policy issues this time. Yovanovitch attached great importance to
the further development of regional cooperation and strengthening of
democratic reforms.

ARMENIA BECOMES ASSOCIATED MEMBER OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF LA FRANCOPHONIE

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.10.2008 15:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia has become an associated member of the
International Organization of La Francophonie (IOF). The decision was
taken during the 12th IOF summit in Quebec attended by UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon and European Commission President Jose Manuel
Barroso.

Four main themes were discussed at the summit: democracy and the rule
of law, economic governance, the environment, and the French language,
the RA MFA press office reported.

During a meeting with IOF Secretary General Abdou Diouf in April 2008,
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian confirmed the republic’s
intention to deeper engage in the Organization’s activities.

Addressing the 12th summit, the Armenian Minister emphasized that
Armenia is faithful to the Organization’s values and appreciated
highly the cooperation between its member states.

OPENING ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER WILL NOT RESULT IN WITHDRAWAL OF
RUSSIAN TROOPS FROM ARMENIA, ARTHUR AGHABEKIAN SAYS

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 15, NOYAN TAPAN. Opening the Armenian-Turkish border
will not result in withdrawal of the Russian military base from
Armenia, the former deputy minister of defence, chairman of the
National Assembly Standing Committee of Defence, National Security and
Internal Affairs Arthur Aghabekian stated at the October 14 meeting
with reporters. He said that the presence of Russian military in
Armenia is conditioned by the existence of an agreement between the two
countries, under which Russian border-guards protect not only
Armenian-Turkish border but also Armenian-Iranian one. He neither
denied nor confirmed the rumours about the creation of a second Russian
strong point and the possible stationing of Russian peace-keepers in
Nagorno Karabakh.

"We will not give a single inch to the enemy," he declared when
expressing his attitude to the possibility of returning the liberated
territories. He attached importance to the buffer zone formed around
Nagorno Karabakh in terms of both military and economic security. In
his words, no person in power can make a personal decision on return of
the territories.

According to Vahan Shirkhanian, also a former deputy minister of
defence, the authorities are one thing in Armenia, the people is quite
another, there is no link between them just as any mutual trust and
understanding is absent. Under such conditions he did not exclude the
possibility that the authorities will take a decision to return the
territories. As for Russian military bases, V. Shirkhanian said it will
be a good thing if even one military base is kept in Armenia.