PanARMENIAN.Net
Russia thinks Kocharian-Aliyev meeting necessary
26.01.2007 19:08 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `Russia, as the OSCE Minsk Group
Co-chair, rates the Kocharian-Aliyev meeting as a
necessity. Presently it’s hard to speak of the date
but Russia hopes that the meeting will take place as
soon as possible,’ said Russian Ambassador to
Azerbaijan Vasiliy Istratov. The Ambassador also
voiced hope for progress in the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict settlement talks, reports APA.
Minister Oskanian sends message of sorrow to Hrant Dink’s family
A1+
[06:40 pm] 23 January, 2007
Hrant Dink, noted editor who was shot before his office on Friday,
was laid to rest in Istanbul today.
Armenia was represented at the funeral by Deputy Foreign Minister
Arman Kirakossian, and by Armenia’s Permanent Representative to the
Black Sea Economic Cooperation, in Istanbul, Karen Mirzoyan.
Minister Oskanian, who was in Moscow for the regular meeting of the
foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, on the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict, sent a personal condolence letter to Hrant Dink’s widow
Raqel and the family.
"It is with deep sorrow that I write this letter," he said. "We
all join you in mourning this cruel, unnecessary, unimaginable,
immeasurable loss. Hrant was more than the editor of a newspaper. He
embodied the dreams of an entire nation. And he dreamt big. He believed
in the goodness of mankind and its ability to bring change. He fought
vigorously for individual freedom and liberty as instruments for
change and progress.
Minister Oskanian’s letter continued. "And because he believed, he
spoke and wrote with passion, thus converting many, near and far,
into believers. Today, it is these believers who will carry forward
his dream to be able to freely speak the truth, remember a shared,
if painful, history, to recount the horrors of genocide in order
to reject and condemn it once and for all, and to make new history
together. Armenians and Turks together can ensure Hrant’s desire
for peace across borders, dialogue among peoples and understanding
between individuals."
The Minister stressed that, "Indeed, we have a responsibility
to do this so that his death takes on meaning, just as his life
was so meaningful and significant for so many. We have a further
responsibility to make sure that the life we live together, in the
same region, is a life of peace and understanding."
The Minister’s letter and a floral wreath were delivered to the family
immediately preceding the funeral.
>>From Moscow, the Minister commented, "We were conducting dialogue to
reach peace with Azerbaijan in Moscow, while an advocate of dialogue
and peace, shot dead, was being laid to rest in Turkey. I couldn’t
help but think that violence, war, extremism are not the answers to
any of the region’s problems. I wonder if we will look back to this day
and see Hrant’s death as the catalyst for a new hope for the region."
>>From Moscow, the Minister commented, "I couldn’t help but think
that a man of peace was being nt that as this man of peace was being
laid to rest, we were negotiating a peace for Nagorno Karabakh, that,
if it is to be meaningful, will also require Turkey’s positive and
active engagement.
Violence and war is not the answer to the problems in the region.
Perhaps we will look back to this day and see Hrant’s death as the
catalyst for a new hope for the region.
Andorra announce Armenia friendly
uefa.com
Tuesday, 23 January 2007
Andorra will play Armenia on 7 February at the Estadi Comunal after
cancelling a scheduled friendly with Poland four days earlier due to
a clash with the national cup competition.
Match practice
The match is part of their preparations to face England in a UEFA EURO
2008~Y qualifier on 28 March, when Armenia travel to Poland. Andorra
coach David Rodrigo said: "The Andorran league is still in its winter
break so this match will do the players good because they haven’t
played in over a month and a half." Both countries are bottom of
their qualifying groups.
Suspect Arrested In Hrant Dink Murder
By MediaChannel.
Media Channel, NY
Jan 22 2007
A Turkish teenager named Ogun Samast was arrested for the murder of
Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink. We’ve been following this story
since Dink was shot to death on Friday in front of his newspaper’s
offices. Global Voices Online has the reaction from Turkey’s streets
and blogs:
To much surprise (which I will show in a few more paragraphs) citizens
of Turkey took to the streets chanting "We are all Armenians, We are
all Hrant Dink". Erkan’s Field Diary reports of widespread Turkish
condemnation of the murder and also points out that Dink is the 62nd
Turkish journalist that has been assassinated since the founding of the
Republic of Turkey. Metroblogging Istanbul has photos of the protests.
The Infidel writes:
Hrant Dink was murdered in a heinous and cowardly way, most likely, by
some brainless and lost ultra-nationalist Turkish young man, who I hope
will be brought to justice as soon as possible. I am deeply saddened
by Hrant’s death because I believe that he had good intentions for
Turkey and the Turkish people. Although I don’t agree with everything
he said and wrote, it is clear that he was a peaceful activist voicing
his norm-opposing views to raise awareness, which is the bread and
butter of any democracy. No human being should be persecuted for
his/her opinions in any country, but especially in Turkey.
James in Turkey expresses surprise and anger over the shooting:
I am angry. I am angry because there are people out there who seem
to think it is perfectly justified to kill a man who speaks contrary
views. I have a perfectly clear idea of who I think is responsible,
but there is little use in churning out conspiracy theories now.
Suffice to point out that it was in a crowded street, on a busy
morning. This was no impulsive killing.
Spooky Sense by Garfucious writes a letter to Dink stating: "sorry,
hrant dink. not only have they killed you, they’ve also choked
your voice."
Talk Turkey urges Turkey to use this assassination as a beginning
point for real discussion to take place about the Armenian Genocide
to better Turkey’s chances of getting in the EU:
I am sick and tired of the ‘business as usual’ attitude shown by Turks
and the Turkish government up to now and extending even beyond this
latest assassination to silence the voices of reason. Wake up Turks
in Turkey and abroad! And prepare to not only ‘debate’ this issue
(but act on it as well,) of Turkey’s greatest taboo, unilaterally if
need be. But settle this once and for all.
Most Turkish blogs choose to show they shock and remorse by placing
simple messages of solidarity and obituaries on their sites, such as
Mavi Boncuk, the White Path, and Amerikan Turk.
The arrest of a suspect has done little to quell rumors of a wider
conspiracy, which the boy’s family seems to support:
Why he would want to kill Hrant Dink, an internationally respected
intellectual, remains unclear, since Samast had no obvious ties to
militant organizations. People who know him have speculated that he
was put up to the assassination by others who took advantage of his
young age.
Named after the Turkish soccer star Ogun Temizkanoglu, the young
Samast aspired to become a soccer player but failed after managers
of the Yenipelitlispor club, listed in the second amateurs’ league,
expelled him from the team in 2005 because of his undisciplined
behavior, newspapers wrote.
"His father hoped that soccer could make his son more disciplined,"
Hayri Kuk, a team official told NTV. "He refused to accept defeat,
but at the same was totally open to manipulation. He couldn’t have
done this alone."
Faik Samast, speaking in an interview on NTV Saturday night, said:
"He was a very quiet boy. Some people must have exploited him."
Both Samast’s age and origins in Trabzon revived memories about
the killing last year of Andrea Santaro, a Catholic priest, also in
Trabzon, by a 16- year-old.
Kazim Kolcuoglu, head of the Istanbul Bar Association, said that
young people are sometimes used as assassins because they face lower
penalties than adults convicted of the same crime.
In addition to Samast, six other men have been detained as suspected
collaborators in the killing, and the police are working to decipher
the links between them.
One of the suspects, Yasin Hayal, who served 11 months in jail for the
bombing of a McDonald’s restaurant in Trabzon in 2004, is suspected
of masterminding the attacks on both Dink and Santaro, according to
the police.
ARMENIA IS NOT GOING TO WHOLLY TRANSFER ITS ARMY ON CONTRACTUAL BASIS
IN NEAR FUTURE
Yerevan, January 19. ArmInfo. Armenia is not going to wholly transfer
its Army on a contractual basis in the near future, RA Defense
Minister, Serzh Sargssyan, said at today’s press-conference in the
Caucasian office of IA REGNUM.
Asked if the management of the Armenian Army is going to transfer the
Armed Forces on a contractual, "professional" basis, the Minister said
"it is not harmful to think, however, opportunities are necessary for
that". "I think we shall be able to wholly transfer to a professional
army within the next few years", the DM said. According to him, today,
about the third of the Armenian Army comprises professionals, officers
and "contractors". Along with it, the Minister agreed with the opinion
that the number of draftees will be somehow reduced in a couple of
years since this will the time of a call-up age of the generation of
90th , when the birth rate in the Republic decreased for some known
reasons. "However, it is of not of a decisive importance. Relevant
measures are being taken. Only in 2006, relevant contracts have been
concluded with over thousand of people", S, Sargssyan said.
Obituary: Hrant Dink
Story from BBC NEWS:
europe/6279907.stm
Published: 2007/01/19 16:34:03 GMT
Hrant Dink, a writer and journalist, was one of the most prominent voices of
Turkey’s shrinking Armenian community.
The 53-year-old editor was convicted in 2005 for writing about the Armenian
"genocide" in 1915, a claim denied by the authorities in Ankara.
He had reportedly received threats from nationalists, who viewed him as a
traitor, and had wanted to emigrate.
Dink was one of dozens of writers to be charged under controversial laws
against insulting "Turkishness".
‘Voice of Armenians’
As the editor of bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos, Dink was a
well-known public figure in Turkey.
His articles about the alleged mass killings of Armenians by Turks at the
beginning of the 20th century had sparked huge controversy in the country on a
number of occasions.
In October 2005, Dink was given a six-month suspended sentence after a court
had ruled that one of his pieces described Turkish blood as dirty. His appeal
was rejected by a court last year.
Dink had always denied his words meant any such thing, arguing that his
column had been in fact aimed at improving the difficult relationship between
Turks and Armenians.
In one interview in 2005, he said he had been thinking of leaving Turkey.
"I don’t think I could live with an identity of having insulted them [Turks]
in this country… if I am unable to come up with a positive result, it will
be honourable for me to leave this country," Dink told the Associated Press
news agency.
Turkey’s relationship with its once-sizeable Armenian community is still
fraught with tension.
Hundreds of thousands of Armenians died or were driven out of Turkey in 1915,
in what many Armenians say was a genocide at the hands of Turks.
Ankara denies the allegations, saying the death were a part of World War I in
the dying days of the Ottoman empire.
ARMENIA NOT A SHAREHOLDING COMPANY, MAK LEADER SAYS
Panorama.am
17:14 16/01/2007
United Working Party (MAK) will combat the parliamentary elections
on its own without any alliance. Only a force major situation in
the country will make MAK to unite with any political force, Gurgen
Arsenyan, MAK chairman, told a press conference today. Arsenyan said
MAK has been getting ready for these elections for three years using
all its political resources. May be that is the reason that Arsenyan
believes his party will make a majority in the parliament.
Recently Galust Sahakyan, chairman of Armenian Republican Party (HHK)
block, said they will leave only 30 percent places to opposition. Asked
if MAK has agreed with HHK how much space it will have in the
parliament, Arsenyan said, "Armenia is not a shareholding company
where the governing positions are distributed among the shareholders."
AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:
PRESS RELEASE
Monday, January 15, 2006
AGBU Launches Summer Internship Program in Yerevan, Armenia
Application Deadline March 15
AGBU is pleased to announce the launch of the organization’s Yerevan
Summer Intern Program (YSIP), which will kick off in the summer of
2007 in Armenia’s capital. Joining its sister programs in New York and
Paris, YSIP is the latest project that serves the needs of Armenian
college students who are eager to learn about their heritage and
develop hands-on professional experience.
While in Armenia, students will intern at the country’s leading
companies and organizations, and participate in educational, cultural
and social activities. YSIP’s program will include language lessons,
dance classes, history lectures and meetings with government
officials, as well as sightseeing throughout the country. Interns will
also have an opportunity to familiarize themselves with AGBU’s Armenia
projects, such as the American University of Armenia (AUA), the
Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra (APO), the three AGBU Children’s
Centers, Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church, Saint Nersess Hospital,
the Ultrasound Center at Yerevan State Medical University, and
Vaskenian Theological Seminary.
YSIP interns will also enjoy visiting some of Armenia’s most beautiful
sites, including Lake Sevan, the ancient churches of Garni and
Geghard, and the cities of Dilijan and Gyumri. In addition, to
familiarize participants with the great strides AGBU programs have
made in the neighboring Republic of Karabakh, interns will journey to
the Republic’s capital of Stepanakert, as well as the newly built
villages of the Hadrut region. Students will have the chance to
personally experience the Armenian homeland and get a better
understanding of their cultural identity while gaining valuable career
experience through their internships.
AGBU has already enjoyed tremendous success with its summer intern
programs in New York and Paris. Together, the two programs drew 46
interns from twelve different countries in 2006. The New York Summer
Intern Program (NYSIP) will be celebrating its 20th Anniversary this
year, while the Paris program will mark its fourth year.
For the summer of 2007, AGBU expects to select 15-20 promising
undergraduate and graduate students from around the world to
participate in the five-week internship program in Armenia. The YSIP
application deadline is March 15, 2007. Students interested in
receiving information or downloading applications can contact YSIP by
emailing [email protected].
For more information about AGBU and its summer intern programs, please
visit
Arka News Agency, Armenia
Jan 12 2007
"STUDENTS’ ROLE IN ARMENIAN DEVELOPMENTS" CONFERENCE TO BE HELD ON
FEBRUARY 3, 4 IN NEW-YORK
YEREVAN, January 12. /ARKA/. The "Students’ Role in the Armenian
Developments" conference will be held on February 3 and 4 in the
Columbian University, New-York.
The Armenian students residing in the USA and Canada intend to
discuss Armenia’s topical issues and the development prospects at the
conference, the "Advocates for Armenia" organization reported. The
conference is aimed at motivating the Armenian youth to bring about
positive changes in the today’s life of Armenia.
A number of well-known figures and high-ranking diplomats will
key-note on business, IT, healthcare, legislation and education at
the conference.
After the conference, the students will have discussions with exports
and submit their proposals on the small- and large-scale programs to
be implemented in Armenia within the next two years.
According to the founder and the coordinator of the "Advocates for
Armenia" Levon Barkhudaryan, such events promote dissemination of the
information on Armenia’s problems and attraction of due attention to
them. "We urge all the Armenians of Diaspora to participate in
building the future of Armenia as an independent, peaceful,
prosperous and democratic country," Barkhudaryan said.
The Armenian Club of the Columbian University and the "Advocates for
Armenia" organized the event with assistance of the Armenian General
Benevolent Union (AGBU) and the Armenian Center of the Columbian
University. N.V. -0–
TICKETS OF SERGEI KHACHATRIAN’S CONCERT CONCLUDING DAYS OF ARMENIAN
CULTURE IN SLOVAKIA SOLD MORE THAN A MONTH BEFORE CONCERT
BRATISLAVA, JANUARY 10, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Concluding
concert of Days of Armenian Culture festival will take place on
January 11 at the big hall of Bratislava State Philharmony. Well-known
Armenian violinist Sergei Khachatrian will perform at the concert. He
will perform Aram Khachatrian’s Violin Concert with Slovakian State
Symphonic Orchestra.
As Noyan Tapan was informed by Ashot Grigorian, organizer of Days of
Armenian Culture festival, Chairman of representation of Armenian
Organizations of Europe and Slovakian Armenian community, this Concert
was last performed in Slovakia in 1999 within the framework of
Bratislava Music Festival by another talented Armenian violinist, Jean
Ter-Merkerian. Invitations of concerts of these two talented
violinists, Jean Ter-Merkerian and Sergei Khachatrian, were organized
by A.Grigorian, who has currently initiated reception of high-ranking
officials invited to S.Khachatrian’s concert at the hall of Ararat
club. Slovakian Minister of Culture, First Deputy Minister,
Bratislava Mayor, under the aegis of which the festival was held,
other officials have expressed willingness to take part in the
concert.
As A.Grigorian reported, more than a month before S.Khachatrian’s
concert all tickets have been already sent and the interest of
Slovakian music lovers was in its zenith by the performance of the
young Armenian violinist, who living in Germany more than ten years
retained citizenship of Armenia and performs under the flag of
Armenia. "Concerts with his participation became the greatest surprise
for the most authoritative halls of the world," A.Grigorian said.
To recap, Days of Armenian Culture festival started in Slovakia and
neighboring countries in September 2006. A number of concerts were
held within the framework of the festival, in particular, soloists of
Yerevan Al.Spendiarian National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet,
soprano Lusine Ordukhanian and tenor Artak Kirakosian, Armenian State
Philharmony Orchestra and Komitas quartet performed at these concerts.