Author: Zaminian Bedik

PanARMENIAN.Net

Nevsehir University rector looking for Armenian language instructor
14.02.2009 13:20 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Nevsehir University rector Filiz Kilic said the
university has set up a department of Armenian language and literature
but has been unable to offer courses yet as no instructors have been
found.

She said that although the Higher Education Board (YOK) gave its
permission to establish the department, the university has had
difficulties in finding Armenian-speaking instructors.

"We have been unable to find any available candidates in Turkey. We
are now looking for instructors in Azerbaijan. The department needs at
least three instructors before it can begin accepting students and
offering courses," she said, Todayâ??s Zaman reports.

The Armenian community of Istanbul numbers 60 thousand people, who
speak the western Armenian dialect and canâ??t be tutors.

NEWCOMERS MUST GET STRONGER

A1+
[07:06 pm] 12 February, 2009

"Young football players still have to play in the youth team, gain
experience and get stronger to help the team," told "A1+" assistant
to the Armenian national team’s chief trainer Vardan Minasyan with
regards to the Armenia-Latvia friendly match that ended in a tie.

The Armenian team has already returned to Yerevan and the players
are getting ready to continue trainings in the clubs. Trainers gave
some young players the chance to get out on the field and they left
a good impression on Vardan Minasyan.

Vardan Minasyan informed that the Armenian team exceeded the opponent
in the 2nd half.

"We had four real chances to score goals and Henrich Mkhitaryan was the
one that stroke the eye for three of them. In the first half, Latvia
had a real chance, but our goalkeeper Gevorg Kasparov played well."

Armenia will play the next match with Estonia on March 28 in Yerevan,
yet there will not be any new players during this selective match.

"I don’t think that there will be any new players in the team. Perhaps
Hovhannes Goharyan will join us. Things will clear up in March,"
said Vardan Minasyan in closing.

PRESS RELEASE
February 4, 2009
Armenian Graduate Students Association at UCLA
Graduate Students Association
c/o Armenian Graduate Students Association
Kerckhoff Hall Room 316
308 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Contact: Tamar Boyadjian
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

SEVENTH ANNUAL GRADUATE STUDENT COLLOQUIUM IN ARMENIAN STUDIES AT
UCLA, FEBRURARY, 20, 2009

The Armenian Graduate Students Association at UCLA invites the public
to the seventh annual, Graduate Student Colloquium in Armenian Studies
at UCLA on Friday, February 20, 2009. This day-long academic event
will begin at 9:30 AM and be held in the famous Royce Hall, room 314.

This year, the organizing committee has set out to continue the fine
tradition that began in 2003 with the launching of the first-ever
international colloquium in Armenian Studies developed specifically
for graduate students by graduate students. UCLA, a premier
institution for the growing field of Armenology and a leader in
interdisciplinary studies, is hosting this event to further foster the
development of Armenian Studies, facilitate interaction between
graduate students and faculty from various institutions, provide a
medium for the exchange of ideas, and contribute to the professional
and academic advancement of graduate students.

Studies from multiple fields will be presented, including history,
education, archeology, sociology, musicology, theology, anthropology
and art history. Presenters are graduate students coming from
universities and countries all around the world, including UCLA
California State University Fresno, University of Montana-Missoula,
Florida International University, The University of Chicago, Columbia
University, University of Michigan, New School for Social Research,
and multiple institutes within the Republic of Armenia.

This year, the organizing committee was led by Tamar Boyadjian, a
graduate student in Comparative Literature. She was joined by a number
of graduate student, as well as faculty advisor, Dr. Peter Cowe.
Graduate students from across many disciplines were responsible for
the individual aspects of developing the event. This ranged from
financing to program scheduling, facilities and refreshments to travel
and accommodations, as well as both academic and media public
relations.

Armenian Studies at UCLA began in 1960. The discipline was augmented
in 1962 with the appointment of Dr. Richard G. Hovannisian, current
holder of the Armenian Educational Foundation Chair in Modern Armenian
History. In 1965, language and literature was established on a
permanent footing with the arrival of Dr. Avedis K. Sanjian, who
guided the expansion of this area over the next three decades. The
Narekatsi Chair, founded in 1969 through the efforts of National
Association for Armenian Studies and Research, has the distinction of
being the oldest endowed chair at UCLA. The first chair-holder was Dr.
Sanjian and in July 2000 Dr. S. Peter Cowe was appointed as successor.
Since 1997 regular instruction in East Armenian has complemented
teaching in West Armenian: currently Dr. Anahid Keshishian is lecturer
in the former and Dr. Hagop Kouloujian in the latter. In 1998,
Armenian Studies was officially recognized as an undergraduate minor
and currently proposals are underway to institute the major.

The Graduate Student Colloquium in Armenian Studies is yet another
step in the development of the rich tradition of Armenian Studies at
UCLA. Organized by graduate students, for graduate students, it
provides an opportunity for students to actively and significantly
contribute to the academic environment on campus.

The colloquium is made possible, in part, by the financial
contributions from UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies, the Center
for Indo-European Studies, the Center for European and Eurasian
Studies, the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, the
department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, as well as the
Graduate Division of the UCLA administration. The committee also
received financial support from the Campus Programs Committee of the
Program Activities Board.

The event is free of charge and open to the public.

2009 Graduate Student Colloquium in Armenian Studies Friday, February
20, 2009 ¢ UCLA Royce Hall 314

9:30 – 10:00 AM Breakfast
10:00 – 10:15 AM – Opening Remarks

Tamar Boyadjian ¢ Project Director, 2008 Graduate Student Colloquium
in Armenian Studies
Dr. S. Peter Cowe ¢ Professor and Narekatsi Chair in Armenian Studies at UCLA

Session 1 ¢ ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY

10:15 – 10:35 Hasmik Hovhannisyan ¢ Archaeology and Ethnography,
National Academy of Sciences (Armenia)
"Currency and Diffusion of Byzantine Anonymous Folles in Armenian Coin Finds"

10:35 – 10:55 Hazel Antaramian-Hofman ¢ Art and Design, California
State University of Fresno (USA)
"Visual Identification and Tracing of Cultural Provenance of Textile
Motifs in the 11th-Century Miniature of King Gagik-Abas and his
Family"

10:55 – 11:15 Dianna Mirijanyan ¢ Archeology and Anthropology,
National Academy of Sciences (Armenia)
"Armenian Ceramic in the Cultural Context of Western and Eastern
Construction Techniques "

11:15 – 11:35 Discussion
11:35 – 11:50 Coffee Break

Session 2 ¢ ISSUES IN ARMENIAN EDUCATION

11:50 ` 12:10 Arda J. Melkonian ¢ Education & Information Studies, UCLA (USA)
"Code-Switching Practices in an Armenian Private School"

12:10 – 12:30 Doris K. Melkonian ¢ Education & Information Studies, UCLA (USA)
"How Gender is Played Out in an Armenian Private School"

12:30 – 12:50 Sossi Essajanian¢ Anthropology, New School for Social
Research (USA)
"Educating Future Citizens: A Consideration of the Education System of
Nagorno-Karabagh"

12:50 – 1:10 Discussion
1:10 – 2:30 Lunch Break

Session 3 ¢ THE CONTEMPORARY INTERFACE OF ART, CULTURE, AND POLITICS

2:30 – 2:50 Jeremy Johnson ¢ Anthropology and History, University of
Michigan (USA)
"Reading New Woman Aloud: Literacy and Gender(ed) Performances in
Early Soviet Armenia"

2:50 ` 3:10 Diana K. Ter-Ghazaryan ¢ International Relations,
Florida International University (USA)
"’For the Benefit of Yerevan’s Residents’": Post-Soviet
Transformations and National Identity in the Armenian Capital"

3:10 – 3:30 Milena Oganesyan ¢ Anthropology, University of
Montana-Missoula (USA)
"St. Norashen Church: A Perspective from Inside"

3:30 – 3:50 Hamlet Melkumyan ¢ Cultural Anthropology and Cultural
Studies, Yerevan State University (Armenia)
"Presenting and Re-shaping Armenian Traditional Cultures in the
Yerevan Vernisage"

3:50 – 4:10 Discussion
4:10 – 4:20 Tea Break

Session 4 ¢ ARMENIAN PERIODICAL PRESS

4: 20 – 4:40 Melissa Bilal ¢ The University of Chicago, Ethnomusicology (USA)
"Teotig’s Amenun DaretsuytsÄ- (Almanac for All) and its Kegharvesdagan
(Art) Pages"

4:40 – 5:00 Tsolin Nalbantian ¢ Middle East and Asian Languages
and Cultures, Columbia University (USA)
"Competing Sites in the Development of a Nation: The Armenian Press in
Lebanon (1946-1956) and the Armenian Capital"

5:00 – 5:15 Discussion
5:15 – 5:30 Guest Speaker

5:30 – 7:00 Reception

WORLD ECONOMIC CRISIS AND THE SOUTH CAUCASUS

The Messenger
Feb 11 2009
Georgia

Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian thinks that the world economic
crisis will increase the role of the South Caucasus. He stated this
during his appearance at the Munich conference on Security Issues.

According to Sarkisian the South Caucasus could provide a new model
of development of energy supply and transportation. According to
him in the past many of the decisions made concerning resources and
transportation were not optimal; today there is no room for irrational
expenditure of resources.

Sarkisian thinks that economically effective decisions should be
made, and that the construction of railways, pipelines and so on
for political rather than economic reasons will come to an end. The
statement is a reference to several projects in which the interests of
Armenia were ignored, which bypassed Armenia due to its occupation of
Azeri territory. Sarkisian’s position implies that Armenia is seeking
to break its isolation from regional projects.

SENATOR MENENDEZ RIGHT TO ASK TOUGH QUESTIONS OF A TURKEY THAT IS DRENCHED IN MINORITY BLOOD

NJ.com
Feb 10 2009
NJ

Re: Turkish Coalition of America takes on Sen. Robert Menendez over
"ethnic politics" Posted by Guler Koknar/ NJ Voices Guest Blogger
January 28, 2009 3:08PM

While I do not necessarily agree with Senator Menendez’s support of
the "bizonal/bi-communal Federation" for Cyprus, I do take offense
at Ms. Guler Koknar ,( from the well financed Washington DC-based
Turkish lobby TCA–Turkish Coalition of America) launching missives
of misinformation about "ethnic politics" and "business as usual"
in regards to an ongoing humanitarian crisis, especially as it
regards Turkey, with its rising Anti-American and anti-Western
,Islamic extremist slide into yet another Middle Eastern nightmare
for Americans.

Turkey, as it is portrayed by its slick and deep pocketed lobbyists,
would like Americans to believe that it is a secular Muslim democracy
and a US ally.

First, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Islamist AK
Party has said "Allah will sooner or later punish those who transgress
the rights of innocents." He added for good measure that "Media
outlets supported by Jews are disseminating false reports…." In
reference to recent events in the Middle East,

None of which is surprising when considering the rise of
Islamic fundamentalism and Turkish nationalism in Turkish popular
culture. A few years ago, we saw the huge popularity of the rabidly
anti-American and anti-Semitic film Valley of the Wolves, which shows
a Jewish-American army doctor harvesting organs from wounded Iraqi
prisoners to sell to rich Americans, Israelis and Britons. The film
was shown to cheering audiences who applauded the deaths of American
men and women on film in battle scenes.

Second, in recent weeks, Turkish actor, Attila Olgac, a star in the
popular Valley of the Wolves TV series, which spawned the notorious
anti-American and anti-Israeli film of the same name, admits while
being interviewed on Turkish Star television, that during the
Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 he cold-bloodedly murdered 10
Greek prisoners. This confession is in regards to Turkey’s crimes
in 1974,when Turkish forces forced over 200,000 Cypriots out of
their homes in Cyprus, massacred thousands of civilians by means of
napalm and bombs dropped on schools, houses of worship and hospitals ,
and illegally seized some thirty-seven percent of Cypriot territory,
which Turkey still occupies. Cyprus is the only European country that
still endures ongoing military-occupation.

Third, the confession of Attila Olgac is not the only one about
Turkey’s war crimes in Cyprus. Many "Stories of Shame" such as this
one have been recorded by Kurdish journalist Roni Alasor, who lives
in Norway for the past 30 years. In his book "Order: Execute the
Prisoners" (published 1999, printed in Greek 2001), he records 10
confessions of Turkish army veterans who participated in the 1974
invasion involving slaughters of unarmed citizens, prisoner executions
and all types of violent acts. Sergeant H. Kofen refers to a mass grave
which his unit found in a ditch near Lapithos. "I believe these corpses
(around 100) belonged to Greek-Cypriots… even though some looked like
soldiers, most of them were citizens, dressed in civil". According
to a Turkish commando, "the murders, rapes and looting started after
22nd July 1974", after the first supposed "ceasefire" on the island.

The government of Cyprus plans to bring up the issue of Attila Olgac
and his revelations to the Committee of the Permanent Representatives
of the Council of Europe. The initiative is important as Turkey has
already been condemned from the Council

Ms. Guler Koknar, who claims to speak for "30,000 Turkish Americans"
in New Jersey, should look into her own backyard and come to terms
with Turkey’s crimes for the sake of her country and country men;
it’s never too late to make right the wrongs which have been
committed. Demilitarization of the Greek Island of Cyprus, the
largest of the islands of Greece, would be a first step towards
making such amends. Then should follow a full hearted apology to
Greeks and Armenians, for Turkey’s long legacy of military aggression,
discrimination, massacres and genocide.

Senator Menendez, a Hispanic minority congressman, is very much in
his right to ask tough questions of what foreign policy makers plan
to do with a Turkey that is drenched in minority blood.

Nikolaos Taneris, Press Officer, Cyprus Action Network of America
(CANA)

REGULAR SITTING OF ARMENIAN-BELARUSIAN COMMISSION ON ECONOMIC COOPERATION TO BE HELD IN MINSK ON MARCH 2-4

Noyan Tapan

Feb 9, 2009

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. The February 9 meeting of the
Armenian minister of economy Nerses Yeritsian and the ambassador
of Belarus to Armenia Stepan Sukhorenko was held with the aim
of clarifying the date and agenda of a regular sitting of the
Armenian-Belarusian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic
Cooperation. According to the Information and PR Department of the
RA Ministry of Economy, the sides agreed to hold the regular sitting
in Minsk on March 2-4.

The ambassador proposed that during the visit to Minsk, the Armenian
delegation headed by N. Yeritsian should tour some big workshops of
local industrial, agricultural and other sectors in order to get
acquainted with the work process, as well as have meetings with
prominent Armenian businessmen and the Armenian community of Belarus.

CENTRAL PART OF YEREVAN IN NEED OF FUNCTIONAL RELIEF

ARKA
Feb 9, 2009

YEREVAN, February 9. /ARKA/. Samvel Danielyan, architect general of
Yerevan, thinks the central part of Yerevan needs functional relief.

On Monday, speaking at a briefing, he said some functions should
be moved from the present downtown to other areas to ensure equal
development to all districts.

The architect proposed to establish city centers and offices along
highways entering Yerevan and build apartment blocks here.

The same applies to international organizations – they don’t want to
establish their offices elsewhere but the central part of the city.

That is why Armenian government has worked out a project implying
creation of an international center on the area including Isakov
Avenue, Victory Bridge and Hrazdan Gorge.

Danielyan said that houses will be built here for international
offices and business and cultural centers.

He also pointed out reconstruction of the city’s districts as one of
urban planning objectives.

He said that conditions of people living in these districts should
be improved.

The architect general said that construction is now under way in Kond,
in the territory surrounding the city’s main avenue and the areas
adjacent to the wine combine.

"We expect the project of reconstruction of Kond will be presented to
the Urban Planning Councilby late February", Danielyan said adding
that all areas subject to reconstruction in 2009 have already been
listed.

TREND , Azerbaijan
Feb 8 2009

Turkey-Armenia relations towards improvement: Turkey’s Foreign Minister
08.02.09 17:29

The Foreign Minister of Turkey, Ali Babajan, who attended the Munich
Security Conference, said that the relations between Turkey and
Armenia are on the way of improvement, CNNTURK reported.

Attending the conference, Babajan said that the key target during his
meetings with the State officials was to improve the relations between
the countries.

Turkish Foreign Minister also said that much successful works have
been done for improvement of relations between the countries.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ali Babacan held productive talks with his
Armenian counterpart and president on the sidelines of the 45th Munich
Security Conference on Saturday, Burak Ozugergin, spokesman for the
Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said.

As the CNN Turk reported, during a meeting between Sargsyan Babacan
expressed hope that talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia will give
positive results. He believed that the peace achieved in the region
will give advantages to both sides.

APA, Azerbaijan
Feb 7 2009

Turkish and Armenian Foreign Ministers meet in Munich

[ 07 Feb 2009 14:09 ]

Munich-APA. Turkish and Armenian Foreign Ministers have met in Munich,
Spokesman for Armenian Foreign Ministry Tigran Balaian said, APA
reports.

To him, the meeting was held within the framework of 45th Munich
Security Conference and the sides conducted negotiations to improve
Armenia-Turkey relations. It is a second meeting of Foreign
Ministries of the two countries in 2009. Previous one was held within
the framework of Davos World Economic Forum.

MATERAZZI WON CASE AGAINST "THE SUN"

Panorama.am
18:20 06/02/2009

After the World Cup, famous "The Sun" weekly wrote that Materazzi
abused Zinedine Zidane swearing his mother. The Italian footballer
applied to the court. In May 2008 the paper wrote another article
apologizing for rumors. But the footballer used the opportunity and
managed to get compensation from the paper for moral loss.

"The Sun" made a decision to pay the demanded sum without waiting
for the court decision. It is known that Materazzi won another two
cases against "Daily Star" and "Daily Mail" papers.