RUBEN HOVSEPIAN ELECTED PREFECT OF YEREVAN DISTRICT
Armenpress
Oct 30 2006
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS: According to preliminary returns
of October 29 mayoral election in Yerevan Achapnyak district,
a non-partisan Ruben Hovsepian, was elected prefect. He received
13,930 votes out of 18,935 ballots.
Iskhan Arshakian from the People’s Path party received 935 votes
and Gagik Sarkisian from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)
received 2,146 votes. The voter turnout was 25 percent.
A spokeswoman for Armenian Central Election Commission (CEC) said
654 ballots were invalidated.
Ruben Hovsepian is the brother of Armenia’s prosecutor general Aghvan
Hovsepian.

AMONG THE INTELLECTUALOIDS
Immanuel Kant for Dummies
By James Bowman
American Spectator
Oct 30 2006
The most fundamental of all the liberal principles handed down to us
from the Enlightenment and the very cornerstone of our civilization
is the “categorical imperative” of Immanuel Kant: namely, that one
cannot act on that maxim which one cannot will to be universal. In
other words, if it’s OK for me to do it, it has to be OK for everybody
to do it. If it’s not OK for everybody to do it, then it’s not OK
for me to do it either. This principle is so deeply ingrained in us,
along with the contempt we feel for what we call ” hypocrisy” when
people violate it, that we take it for granted. I was having dinner the
other night with a learned and cultured man, an internationally famed
historian of somewhat conservative tendencies, when the conversation
turned to the North Korean nuclear test. “What I just can’t get past,”
this man said, “is that we are saying it’s OK for us to have nuclear
weapons, but it’s not OK for the North Koreans or the Iranians.”
Glen Suarez of London writes in a similar vein to the Times: “How can
we condemn North Korea for seeking to acquire nuclear weapons when we
possess them and say that we wish to upgrade them? How can Tony Blair
condemn the North Korean regime for ‘disregarding the concerns of
neighbours and the wider international community’ when he and George
Bush did the same when invading Iraq?” Neither of these men mention
Kant, but of course it was the Kantian principle they were appealing
to as an absolute bar against efforts by leaders in America or Britain
to prevent potential terrorist states or backers of terrorists from
acquiring nuclear weapons or doing other things which might pose a
threat to their countries.
A moment’s thought will show us that the Kantian principle cannot
apply in international relations, at least not unless we are prepared
to adopt a thoroughgoing pacifist and (I would say) suicidal policy
by disarming and disbanding our armed forces and refusing to fight
against those who wish us harm. So long as we admit that a nation has
the right to defend itself, we must also admit that it is necessary
to adopt a different standard for ourselves and for our enemies. It
is OK and probably unavoidable for us to bomb them, for example, while
it is very definitely not OK for them to bomb us. Leave aside for the
moment the question of whether or not it can be right to bomb them, if
we are to fight them at all and so preserve ourselves, our people and
property and our way of life, we must be prepared to do things to them
that we should not hesitate to deplore if and when they did them to us.
The Kantian principle really has its origins in the revolutionary
Christian notion that it is wrong for us to consider ourselves ahead
of other people. We should put our duty to others first — or at least
treat them no worse than we treat ourselves. Under the old Christian
dispensation, it was recognized that this kind of saintliness had to
be reserved for, well, saints, and those who chose to live lives that
were not of this world. They belonged, to use the Augustinian imagery,
to the City of God rather than the City of Man.
But the Enlightenment began with the idea that that kind of saintliness
ought not to be reserved for a special few but ought to be expected
of, even required of, everybody. That’s hard enough to live up
to in our personal lives. To live up to it in matters of war and
peace and international relations is impossibly utopian — unless,
of course, you’re a pacifist and are prepared to give up the right
of self-defense.
****
The Nobel Prize for literature given this year to the Turkish novelist
Orhan Pamuk caused some of his fellow Turks great annoyance.
“The prize was not given to Pamuk for being a writer, nor to his
works,” said the conservative Kemal Kerincsiz who advocated prosecuting
Pamuk “for directly insulting the Turkish nation” over the wish to
acknowledge genocide practiced by the Turks against the Armenians
in 1915. When Pamuk was prosecuted (he got off on a technicality),
he denied that he had insulted Turkey. “But what if it is wrong?” he
said. “Right or wrong, do people not have the right to express their
ideas peacefully.” Ah! But in an honor culture of the sort that still
holds sway in Turkey and other historically Islamic nations, the insult
is not dependent on right or wrong. This is a question subordinate to
that of honor or dishonor, and the charge itself, irrespective of its
truth or falsity, brings dishonor on the nation. In such a culture,
it remains true as it once was in ours, that if a bad act is not made
public to the shame of the doer, then it didn’t really happen.
I wonder, too, if Mr. Pamuk’s profession makes him vulnerable to this
kind of misunderstanding. The novelist almost by his very existence
must privilege the individual psyche over the demands of the group
when they come into conflict. A novel without psychological reality
— as opposed to the honor culture’s demand for conformity with which
that reality is bound to come into conflict — is not really a novel at
all. Novels and novelists naturally belongs to our Western, post-honor
world, which is why there are so few novelists in the Islamic one
and why those there are, like Mr. Pamuk or the late Naguib Mahfouz
are so often in trouble and even risk their lives merely to continue
doing what we take it for granted novelists should do — that is,
in Mr. Pamuk’s own phrase “to express their ideas peacefully.” It
sounds reasonable to us, but not to those whose world-view is formed
by honor in this basic, even primitive form.
James Bowman is a resident scholar at the Ethics and Public Policy
Center, media essayist for the New Criterion, and The American
Spectator’s movie critic. He is the author of the new book, Honor:
A History (Encounter Books).
art_id=10555

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT LEAVING FOR MOSCOW ON WORKING VISIT TODAY
PanARMENIAN.Net
30.10.2006 12:52 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Armenian President Robert Kocharian is
departing for Moscow on a working visit, reported the RA leader’s
press office. On the same day he will meet with Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
Robert Kocharian will also meet with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail
Fradkov and Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov and participate in the unveiling
ceremony of the monument to composer Aram Khachaturian.

EVEN FRANCE REACTED TO DECISION OF FRENCH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, LINDEN
Anatolian Times, Turkey
Oct 30 2006
GELIBOLU – Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President
Rene van der Linden, who is visiting Gelibolu town of northwestern
city of Canakkale, said that even France reacted to the decision of
French national assembly regarding so-called Armenian genocide.
Replying to a question on effect of the bill criminalizing denial of
so-called Armenian genocide that was approved in the French national
assembly to Turkey’s EU accession process, Linden indicated, “Turkey is
a part of Europe, but this process can take a long time. The decision
made by the French national assembly will not make a negative impact
on Turkey’s EU accession process, because even France reacted to this
decision. It was not approved in many European countries, either.”
Stating that PACE had a positive stance regarding Turkey, Linden
underlined that Turkey has been playing a significant role in works
and efforts of the EU for a long time.

OSKANIAN TO TAKE PART IN BSECO FMS MEETING
PanARMENIAN.Net
30.10.2006 13:29 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian is leaving for
Moscow to take part in the 15th meeting of the FMs of the Black Sea
Economic Cooperation Organization (BSECO), to be held October 31 –
November 1, reports the Press Office of the Armenian MFA.
During the meeting the Armenian FM will make a statement.

UNE CULTURE JEUNE AUX RACINES ANCESTRALES
par Anne-Marie Romero
Le Figaro, France
30 octobre 2006
D’où que l’on se trouve, a Erevan, on voit le mont Ararat, avec
ses deux sommets enneiges, dominant la plaine. Pourtant, ce site
emblematique pour tous les Armeniens, qui se pretendent descendants
des survivants de l’arche de Noe, se trouve en Turquie, de l’autre
côte de l’Araxe. À portee de main et neanmoins si loin, separe de sa
patrie par une frontière infranchissable de haine et de ressentiment.
“Hayastan, Karastan” (“Armenie, pays de pierre”), disent les
autochtones.
Pays de montagnes et de plateaux, de paysages grandioses d’un Caucase
aux mille facettes, tantôt ondulant comme une etoffe nonchalamment
jetee où paissent des troupeaux, tantôt aigu et dechiquete,
perce de failles gigantesques où coulent des rivières dans des
vallees verdoyantes, regorgeant des plus delicieux fruits du paradis
terrestre. Il y a tant de pierre ici qu’Erevan, entièrement remodelee
dans un style orientalo-stalinien par l’architecte Tamanian, est
une des rares villes de l’ex-empire sovietique où l’on est surpris
de ne pas trouver de beton. Tous les bâtiments, jusqu’aux HLM,
sont en moellons de tuf, heureux patchwork de teintes allant du
mauve a l’ocre, au rose, a l’orange. Dans ses larges avenues où les
guinguettes prennent l’ombre sous les platanes, une jeunesse joyeuse
et coloree semble echapper au mal de vivre des enfants de l’Occident.
L’Armenie est pourtant une terre martyre depuis toujours, colonisee
par tous ses voisins, depecee entre les grandes puissances, decimee
par la fureur meurtrière des Turcs, soumise a l’Union sovietique
depuis 1920 jusqu’a la chute du communisme, ravagee par des seismes
dont le dernier detruisit la region de Gumri, en 1988, independante
depuis quinze ans seulement et aussitôt en butte a une très grave
crise economique. Alors, qu’est-ce qui lui donne cet optimisme
indefectible et lucide a la fois, antithèse du spleen slave ou du
mal de vivre occidental ? Sa foi, sans doute, et sa fierte. Separee
de l’Eglise catholique depuis le concile de Chalcedoine en 451,
l’Eglise armenienne est la seule a se dire “apostolique gregorienne”
et a rassembler 99% de la population derrière son catholicos.
L’omnipresence de la religion Rien d’etonnant a ce que le patrimoine y
soit essentiellement religieux, et que l’on compte encore 160 eglises
datees du IV e au VI e siècle ! À peine est-on sorti d’Erevan, sur la
route du lac Sevan, qu’elles se succèdent, isolees dans les montagnes,
splendides edifices de tuf sans statues, dressant vers le ciel leur
silhouette pyramidale s’achevant par une coupole.
Datees du XII e – XIII e siècle, souvent rebâties sur des ruines
paleochretiennes, Garni, Ghe ghard, Sarmoss Avank, toutes ces
eglises-monastères sont cons truites suivant un plan basilical ou
en croix libre. Pas de nef, de choeur ni de bas-côtes, mais des
salles octogonales, les gavits, supportees par quatre gros piliers
de pierre, obscures, eclairees par la seule lueur qui emane du
dôme et d’une seule fenetre, symbole de l’unite de la nature du
Christ. Leurs murs ne sont ornes que d’innombrables croix gravees,
d’une sophistication et d’une variete inouïes, les khatchkar. Le
khatchkar est le symbole de l’Armenie. Il s’agit d’une croix sans le
Christ – sa nature humaine n’etant pas consideree comme essentielle
par le christianisme armenien. Croix de resurrection et d’esperance,
elles decorent des stèles votives, des dalles funeraires, les murs des
sanctuaires. Elles sont toutes differentes, minuscules ou gigantesques,
ornees de volutes, de rinceaux, de vanneries, gravees par les religieux
où bon leur semble comme un acte de foi. Certaines sont de remarquables
oeuvres d’art. Un alphabet unique au monde Liee a cette omnipresence
de la religion, il faut aussi mentionner l’exceptionnelle production
de manuscrits enlumines, dans un pays qui n’a decouvert l’imprimerie
qu’au… XVIII e siècle ! Certains pourraient trouver inquietant,
du reste, ce communautarisme exacerbe qui a pousse, au V e siècle,
un religieux, Mesrop Maschots, a inventer un alphabet special pour
un pays qui avait deja une religion unique au monde et une langue
parlee nulle part ailleurs. Cette fermeture – volontaire – au reste
du monde n’a pas empeche la culture armenienne d’evoluer avec son
temps et meme pendant les annees communistes. Curieusement, ici,
elles n’ont pas laisse un mauvais souvenir, les Sovietiques – plus
coulants ici qu’ailleurs – etant percus comme des protecteurs face
a l’ennemi hereditaire, le Turc.
Rien d’etonnant a ce que le russe demeure la première langue etudiee,
devant l’anglais et le francais. Et puis la diaspora, toujours en
contact avec le pays, a largement contribue a cette ouverture. Une
diaspora qui, globalement, a plutôt reussi. Sans parler de Charles
Aznavour, qui a beaucoup donne pour aider l’Armenie, les peintres
Jean Carzou, Edgar Chahine, Arshile Gorky, Melik Ohanian, Sarkis et
le Franco-Armenien Jansem – qui a decore le Memorial du genocide -,
les cineastes Atom Egoyan, Robert Guediguian, Rouben Mamoulian, Henri
Verneuil et Sergueï Parajdanov, les musiciens Sergueï Katchatrian,
Michel Legrand, Aram Katchatourian et le très grand père Komitas,
auteur d’une Divine Liturgie sublime, mort fou a Villejuif, après
avoir assiste aux massacres de 1915. Sans oublier les plus jeunes,
Jivan Gasparian, qui fait revivre la flûte locale, le duduk, et Arto,
emigre aux Etats-Unis, qui, avec son Armenian Navy Band, cree une
musique inclassable melant tradition et jazz. Car tous ces artistes et
ces intellectuels, où qu’ils vivent, quelle que soit leur trajectoire,
sont demeures a cent pour cent armeniens et a cent pour cent citoyens
de leur pays d’accueil. C’est le secret de l'”armenite”.
–Boundary_(ID_DIG0Bb9QOE znaTLafdqp0A)–

UNION OF TURKISH ASSOCIATIONS IN EUROPE PROTESTS FRANCE
Turkish Press
Oct 30 2006
BERLIN – The Union of Turkish Associations in Europe laid black
wreaths in front of French consulates general in four German cities
–Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Munich and Stuttgart– to protest the bill
criminalizing denial of so-called Armenian genocide that was approved
by French national assembly on October 12th, 2006.
Recep Yildirim, chairman of the Union of Turkish Associations in
Europe, said that France, which defended human rights and freedom of
expression, has blackened its history due to adoption of the bill.
Yildirim added, “we hope that the bill will not be approved in the
Senate.”

IS FEHRIYE STILL IN BRUSSELS?
Sabah, Turkey
Oct 30 2006
The claim that the terrorist is hiding in the country after her escape
is being discussed. The minister of foreign affairs of Belgium who will
visit Turkey today has Fehriye Erdal and Armenian bill on his agenda.
The minister of foreign affairs of Belgium, Karel de Gucht is visiting
Turkey for official contacts today. The claim that the member of
DHKP-C terrorist organization Fehriye Erdal is still hiding in the
country after her escape is being discussed. The defendant of the
assassination of Sabancý, Fehriye Erdal had made her escape one day
before the Brugge Court resolved to sentence her with 4 year jail.
–Boundary_(ID_Gu6L+Hi3wxISKYFqDf4YIw)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AKCAM SAYS: “YES, HE WAS INFORMED.”
Sabah, Turkey
Oct 30 2006
Taner Akcam, having published Orhan Pamuk’s statement: “Organized
Armenian annihilation” on his book cover said: “He was informed.”
Akcam said: “my publishing house has sent this book to Pamuk. He
declared his opinion on it. However, this negotiation was before his
statement in Switzerland in February 2005.”
“Pamuk was informed”
Akcam stated that the word of Orhan Pamuk published on the cover of
his new book named “A shameful Act” was uttered two years ago and Orhan
Pamuk was informed and gave permission for publishing this statement.”
Taner Akcam said that Orhan Pamuk gave permission for publishing the
word on the back cover of his new book named “A shameful Act”. Akcam
also stated that his words: “This book is a perfect accounting of
an Ottoman Armenians oriented organized genocide.” was also uttered
before his statement: “1 million Armenian people and 30 thousand
Kurdish people were killed.” dated February 2005. Akcam said that
these words were not included in Pamuk’s personal letter to him;
but they were included in Pamuk’s letter to the publishing house.

ARMENIANS WILL DANCE IN KUBAN
A1+
[01:05 pm] 30 October, 2006
Famous Armenian choreographer Vilen Galstyan will be at the head of
a Russian dancing troupe. According to newspaper “Yerkramas”, the
troupe will be called “Young Ballet of Kuban”. The troupe consists
of both Russian and Armenian dancers.
Let us remind you that Vilen Galstyan is head of the Yerevan dance
college.