NEGATIONISME
Gie van den Berghe
De Standaard, Nethrland
October 3, 2006
Uitstekende bijdrage van Luc Bonneux over de negationismewet
(DS Weekend 30 september). Vrijheid van meningsuiting duldt geen
uitzonderingen. Schaf af die handel, weg met de negationismewet. En
breid ze vooral niet uit, zoals sommigen overwegen, tot andere
genocides. Die tendens toont aan dat de inkrimping van grondwettelijke
vrijheden tot escalatie leidt, alleen al om niet te discrimineren met
andere genocides. Aanleiding voor het stuk tegen de negationismewet
was naar alle waarschijnlijkheid de schrapping door het Europees
Parlement, woensdag laatstleden, van een van de voorwaarden waaraan
Turkije moet voldoen om tot de Europese Unie toegelaten te worden,
met name de erkenning van de genocide op de Armeniers. Een voorwaarde
die men nu om realpolitische, economische redenen liet vallen.
Maar het gaat hier niet om vrijheid van meningsuiting, maar om de
volgehouden weigering van een staat om een volkenmoord te erkennen.
Een staat die toelaat dat sommige van zijn burgers die de gruwelijke
misdaad wel erkennen zich voor de rechtbank moeten verantwoorden en
riskeren gestraft te worden. Je mag er niet aan denken wat er zou
gebeuren als Duitsland zich zou veroorloven om de jodenuitroeiing in
twijfel te trekken!
Wat de genocide op de Armeniers betreft ligt de zaak ook
ingewikkelder. De Turkse regering erkent ondertussen de gruweldaden
wel, maar ze wijst op de medeverantwoordelijkheid van de’ Armeniers,
die tijdens de Eerste Wereldoorlog de kant kozen van de Russen,
een eigen staat wilden… En vooral, ze weigert mordicus de term
genocide te gebruiken, want de toenmalige Turkse regering zou nooit
de intentie gehad hebben om de Armeniers uit te roeien.
Juridisch gezien is die intentie helaas inderdaad een voorwaarde om
van genocide te mogen spreken. Niet alleen de Turkse regering maakt
daarvan handig misbruik, ook de internationale gemeenschap, de VS en
de VN verschuilen zich om de haverklap achter deze clausule om niet
te moeten tussenbeide komen. Hoog tijd dus om het begrip genocide te
herzien of de verplichting tot tussenkomst te koppelen aan misdaden
tegen de menselijkheid.
Gie van den Berghe(De auteur is gastdocent aan de Universiteit Gent.)

SYMPHONY’S MUSICAL RISE IN FORTUNE HAS NOT TRANSLATED INTO FINANCIAL SUCCESS
Brian Whitwham, Record Staff
The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario)
October 5, 2006 Thursday
Final Edition
>From hockey rinks to world stage
For more than 60 years, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony’s life in
the community has been like an evening with an orchestra.
There have been moments that were bright, periods that were dark and
times that people wondered what would happen next.
The orchestra that played its first concert at a Kitchener hockey
rink has since toured internationally.
It has gone from three concerts a year in the 1940s to more than 90
performances each season.
But its financial performance has yo-yoed and, at times, the 52-piece
orchestra’s problems have sparked public feuds — two high-profile
conductors left amid controversy — within the symphony.
Now it’s asking for a $2.5-million lifeline by the end of October and,
once again, no one knows what will happen next.
THE OVERTURE
The orchestra was formed in 1945 after the director of the Philharmonic
Choir decided a symphony should accompany the choir at its April
concert. The show was a success, drawing more than 2,000 people to
a rink near Queen and Charles streets in Kitchener.
The orchestra followed it with a sold-out concert that October.
Into the late 1960s, the symphony was a volunteer organization with
about 85 players. They generally performed four Sunday afternoon
concerts each year at the Lyric Theatre.
The person credited with taking the orchestra to the next level
is Raffi Armenian, who took over in 1971 as artistic director and
immediately changed the symphony.
He started with a series of auditions, which cut the orchestra in
half. The remaining musicians became paid members. Within a few years,
Armenian launched an extended evening concert series that kicked off
with famed Russian cellist Vladimir Orloff as the headliner.
By 1980, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony was playing 50 concerts a
year. Armenian stayed at the helm for 22 years and helped the orchestra
reach several milestones, including its first international tour,
to Spain, in 1984.
Statistics in the early 1990s showed that, based on ticket sales, the
symphony had the highest market penetration of any orchestra in Canada.
THE CRESCENDO
The early 1990s was a period of financial instability for the orchestra
as it struggled to build its reputation and handle a growing debt load.
Armenian played his final concert in 1993 and was replaced by Chosei
Komatsu, an internationally-renowned conductor, who was expected to
take the symphony to the next level.
Upon accepting the job, Komatsu, a native of Japan, said, “I think
this is a job every conductor of my generation in North America —
even the world — would want.”
But the symphony lost more than $100,000 in 1994. It posted a small
surplus of about $27,600 in 1995 but it was holding an accumulated
deficit of nearly $690,000.
Komatsu’s term was supposed to last until 2001 but the
Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony’s board ended it in 1998 amid an
organizational restructuring.
The move was caused in part by a dispute between Komatsu and managing
director Mark Jamison, who resigned in November 1998.
Komatsu later issued a statement slamming the board for putting a
“gag order” on him. But his dispute with the symphony was nothing
compared to the war that erupted around his successor.
Martin Fischer-Dieskau assumed the position of conductor in 2001,
with a resume that boasted leadership of 50 major orchestras. A
native of Germany, Fischer-Dieskau also spent time as the assistant
conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and said he was the kind
of conductor who wanted to stay out of the musicians’ way.
The board fired him on November 27, 2003. Within days, a citizens’
group was lobbying for his reinstatement. Fischer-Dieskau returned
to Canada in December to convince the board to reverse the decision.
In-fighting got so bad that the symphony’s entire board of directors
resigned in February 2004. Board chair Karen Wilkinson said the move
had to be made to “mend the rift among association members . . . and
be in the true, long-term interest of the symphony.”
Fischer-Dieskau also hit the symphony with a $1.5-million lawsuit.
The suit was settled with an exchange of apologies in January 2005.
The symphony and the conductor went their separate ways.
THE FINAL CURTAIN?
Before the Fischer-Dieskau affair, things had been looking up. The
symphony had reached a surplus of $33,183 in 2003, which it put toward
its debt.
Over four years, that debt had been reduced from $735,000 to less
than half, about $350,000.
The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony also managed a $57,000 surplus in
2004, even though the controversy with its former conductor had
cost $244,000.
Since then, ticket sales have dropped and some fundraising campaigns
haven’t reached their goals.
The Ontario Arts Council cut its grant to the symphony by about
$70,000 in 2005.
The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony said its deficit has ballooned to
$1.2 million and if it doesn’t reach its goal by the end of October,
the organization will declare bankruptcy.

ALBAYRAK BLIJFT VAAG OVER ARMEENSE KWESTIE
Van onze binnenlandredactie
Leeuwarder Courant , Netherland
October 4, 2006
DEN HAAG [Het Tweede Kamerlid Nebahat Albayrak (PvdA) erkent dat
in 1915 en 1916 in Turkije een volkerenmoord op Armeniërs heeft
plaatsgevonden. Maar of de juridische term genocide van toepassing
is, is volgens haar minder relevant dan dat Turkije de fouten uit
het verleden werkelijk onder ogen ziet.
Albayrak kreeg eerder kritiek dat zij niet duidelijk was over de
Armeense massaslachting uit te laten. Met haar nieuwe bijdrage schept
ze niet meer helderheid over haar standpunt.
De kritiek op het van oorsprong Turkse kamerlid, nummer twee van de
kandidatenlijst van de PvdA, begon na een interview in dagblad Trouw.
Daarin erkende ze dat er verschrikkelijke misdaden tegen de Armeniërs
zijn gepleegd, maar ze liet in het midden of sprake was van genocide
dan wel uit de hand gelopen gewelddadigheden. Albayrak zei geen oordeel
over de toedracht te kunnen hebben, omdat alle historische bronnen zijn
‘bevuild’.
Met die uitlating schaarde zij zich in de kringen van ontkenners,
vindt Ton Zwaan, onderzoeker nieuwe geschiedenis aan de Universiteit
van Amsterdam. Volgens Zwaan merkt ze alle bronnen in een keer als
verdacht aan, terwijl er volgens de onderzoeker legio onverdachte
bronnen zijn die aantonen dat wel degelijk volkerenmoord is gepleegd.
Het aanduiden van de volkerenmoord met de term genocide is voer voor
juristen, schrijft Albayrak vandaag in Trouw. Om formeel van genocide
te kunnen spreken, moet volgens het volkenrecht worden vastgesteld dat
de volkerenmoord doelbewust is opgezet en uitgevoerd om een bepaalde
bevolkingsgroep uit te moorden, schrijft ze. Dat is volgens haar in
de Armeense kwestie nooit bewezen. Turkije moet onderzoek laten doen
en zich neerleggen bij de resultaten. Turken in Europa moeten volgens
haar het debat over de Armeense ge- nocide ‘met meer zelfvertrouwen
aandurven’.
–Boundary_(ID_HDPDcwW rMN91l0aa+esg9w)–

LA TURQUIE MODERNE AUX PRISES AVEC SES DEMONS
Le Monde, France
6 octobre 2006 vendredi
Le pays peine a se defaire de son ultranationalisme et de ses pratiques
policières brutales. Il y a urgence
Un père affectionne nous offre la main de sa fille malade en mariage.
La belle est eblouissante. Et, comble de bonheur, ce père nous assure
que la promise, soignee, est en voie de guerison. ” Je ne minimise
pas le travail qui nous reste a accomplir “, ajoute-t-il, comme s’il
s’agissait d’un detail secondaire. C’est ce qu’ecrit M. Abdullah Gul,
vice-premier ministre, et ministre des affaires etrangères de Turquie
(le Monde du 26 septembre). Il nous accorde que les obstacles ne
manquent pas sur le chemin de l’adhesion de son pays a l’Union
europeenne.
Mais M. Gul nous passe sous silence la disgrâce qui consume la
fiancee, envahie d’horribles demons a exorciser. Lorsqu’une personne
se trouve etre la proie de deux personnalites contradictoires, on dit
qu’elle est atteinte de schizophrenie. Il faut la traiter d’urgence,
car elle souffre d’une terrifiante crise d’identite. Beaucoup, en
Turquie, cherchent a democratiser ce pays et, c’est le cas, bien sûr,
de M. Abdullah Gul et de son ami le premier ministre Recep Tayyip
Erdogan. Mais leurs opposants règnent dans tout l’appareil d’Etat turc,
les partis, le Parlement, l’armee et l’administration publique.
Le 21 septembre, j’assistais au procès de la romancière Elif Safak,
a la cour d’assises de Beyoglu, a Istanbul. Elle etait accusee
par l’avocat ultranationaliste Kemal Kerincsiz d’avoir ” insulte
l’identite turque ” dans son dernier roman où elle raconte l’histoire
d’orphelins armeniens dont les parents ont ete massacres par les Turcs
en 1915. Devant le palais de justice, une trentaine de nationalistes
hurlaient leur haine de l’Union europeenne. Ils agitaient des drapeaux
bleus de l’UE agrementes de la croix gammee, proclamant ainsi que
l’Union, remplie de nazis, ne cherchaient qu’a detruire la Turquie.
Proteges par 200 policiers, arrivaient le president du groupe
parlementaire de l’UE, Joost Lagendijk, les observateurs d’Amnesty
International et du Pen International, ainsi que des dizaines de
journalistes du monde entier. Etait-ce cette pression internationale
? Comme l’ecrivain Orhan Pamuk l’an passe, Elif Safak a ete
acquittee. Pour les observateurs presents, cette sentence mediatisee
n’avait guère de sens, au regard des 120 procès intentes cette annee
contre des journalistes, des ecrivains, des editeurs moins connus.
Dix-huit ont ete acquittes, mais beaucoup retournent en assises.
D’autres subissent une peine d’amende, des journaux sont suspendus.
Le journaliste Hrant Dink, qui parle librement du massacre des
Armeniens, retourne pour la troisième fois devant les tribunaux,
mais il risque cette fois la prison, car il a deja ete condamne avec
sursis. Il reste 45 procès de ce genre avant la fin de l’annee.
D’un côte, le premier ministre Erdogan telephone a la romancière Elif
Safak, acquittee, pour lui declarer sa satisfaction. De l’autre, il
laisse les partis nationalistes faire exclure des prochaines reformes
le fameux article 301 du code penal, celui qui envoie en prison toute
personne ” denigrant l’identite turque “. Les termes de cette loi
sont si vagues qu’ils permettent aux nationalistes de fouler aux pieds
les engagements de la Turquie envers l’UE sur la liberte d’expression.
D’un côte, Erdogan proclame une politique de ” torture, tolerance zero
“. De l’autre, les cas de tortures allegues se poursuivent, confortes
par les nouvelles techniques d’interrogatoire des Americains. Dans
le sud-est de la Turquie, se multiplient executions sommaires,
enlèvements, attentats et tortures perpetres par les services de
securite, qui alimentent ainsi en nouveaux sympathisants les troupes
de la guerilla (le PKK). Dans cette region, près de 15 millions de
Kurdes sont pris en otage entre la guerilla et l’armee.
Pour les experts de l’UE, et pour le gouvernement turc, le problème
de la minorite kurde n’est qu’une question de niveau de vie…
D’un côte, M. Abdullah Gul assure a Bruxelles que des reformes sont
en cours, de l’autre, les legislateurs turcs ignorent les règles
de precision et d’exactitude en vigueur dans toute legislation
democratique. Ainsi, la nouvelle loi antiterroriste, votee en juin,
est si mal redigee qu’elle peut faire inculper comme terroriste
n’importe quel Kurde pacifique, n’importe quel journaliste exercant
son metier. La Turquie, prochaine fiancee de l’Europe selon les voeux
de M. Abdullah Gul, est en pleine crise d’identite. Elle est certes
malade. Mais ne la rejetons pas : aidons-la plutôt a guerir.
Claude Edelmann
Cineaste,membre du Collectif pour les droits de l’homme en Turquie
–Boundary_(ID_RegUsEdm50zKekbRajp6Cg)–

BRIEVEN: MAG EEN TURK OOK EEN MENING GEVEN?; GENOCIDE
Brabants Dagblad, Netherland
September 30, 2006
De meeste in Nederland geboren of op heel jonge leeftijd naar
Nederland overgekomen Turkse kandidaat-Kamerleden worden onderdrukt
door hun partijen in de kwestie over de genocide op Armeniers. Ze
worden aangesproken op iets dat 91 jaar geleden zou plaats hebben
gevonden. De Armeense kwestie is niet erkend als genocide door
relevante internationale instanties als de Verenigde Naties. Ook
op academisch niveau bestaat geen communis opinio over de vraag
of dit een genocide mag worden genoemd. De Nederlandse hoogleraar
Erik Jan Zurcher is een van de vele academici die dit betwijfelt. De
politieke partijen proberen eigenlijk via deze kandidaat-Kamerleden
internationale politiek te bedrijven om Turkije buiten de Europese
Unie te houden.
De ChristenUnie bijvoorbeeld wil het ontkennen, bagatelliseren of
rechtvaardigen van de Armeense genocide strafbaar stellen. Hoe kan
dat als de noodzakelijke erkenning door een internationaal tribunaal
ontbreekt?
Politieke partijen spelen vieze spelletjes met door hun
kandidaat-Kamerleden te dwingen een keuze te maken tussen een
Kamerzetel of het vaderland. In feite zeggen deze partijen tegen de
bijna 400.000 Turken hier: ‘Jullie overgrootouders waren moordenaar’.
Dat is onacceptabel, oneerlijk, en dubbelhartig.
Dankzij deze houding van de partijen zijn enkele kandidaat-Kamerleden
van de lijst gehaald. Maar we hadden toch vrijheid van meningsuiting
in dit democratische land?
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

L’ARMENIE SOUS LES FEUX DE LA RAMPE
La Tribune , France
5 octobre 2006
500 manifestations en France celèbrent la force et la perennite de la
culture armenienne. Expositions, concerts, films… sont programmes
jusqu’au 14 juillet 2007.
Armenie mon amie ” : c’est le joli label, choisi par l’operateur public
francais pour les echanges culturels internationaux, Culturesfrance,
pour les 500 manifestations de la saison armenienne prevues jusqu’au
14 juillet. Lancee par le concert de Charles Aznavour, samedi dernier,
sur la grand-place d’Erevan (retransmis sur Arte le 12 novembre a 19
heures), devant une foule immense et en presence de Jacques Chirac,
premier chef d’Etat francais a faire le voyage, cette saison prend une
ampleur exceptionnelle, pourvue d’un budget de 1,3 million d’euros de
fonds publics et de 350.000 euros de mecenat. Forte de 450.000 membres,
la communaute des Armeniens de France est l’une des plus importantes
au monde, et s’implique totalement, a Paris comme en regions, dans
la diffusion de sa culture multimillenaire, malmenee par l’histoire,
victime du genocide de 1915, que la France fut le premier pays a
reconnaître en 2001.
La richesse et la singularite du patrimoine de cette nation unique
a plus d’un titre, première au monde a avoir adopte le christianisme
en l’an 301, dotee d’un alphabet propre etabli un siècle plus tard,
expliquent le nombre et la variete des expositions prevues tout
au long de cette saison. Parmi les plus importantes : a Paris,
au Louvre, ” Armenia Sacra ” exposera les chefs-d’oeuvre de l’art
chretien et la Bibliothèque nationale montrera son très riche fonds
de manuscrits armeniens, tandis qu’a Marseille le musee de la Vieille
Charite s’interessera a l’evolution de cette ecriture sur differents
supports et celui d’Arles aux vestiges des differentes civilisations
qui jalonnent son histoire.
Tradition vocale. L’Armenie s’est aussi distinguee par une longue
tradition picturale dont l’exposition ” Peintures en Armenie ” au Petit
Palais, a Paris, rendra compte. Deux grands pionniers de la modernite
feront quant a eux l’objet d’expositions monographiques : Arshile Gorky
au Centre Pompidou et Martiros Sarian a Issy-les-Moulineaux. L’art
actuel ne sera pas de reste avec des expositions dans les musees d’Art
contemporain de Strasbourg, Lyon, Saint-Etienne et une installation
de Sarkis au Louvre.
La musique forme le deuxième pôle de cette saison avec les tournees en
France d’orchestres classiques (Orchestre philharmonique d’Erevan), de
formations chorales caracteristiques de la tradition vocale armenienne
(Choeur Hover) et de groupes de la creation actuelle comme l’Armenian
Navy Band, auteur des musiques des films du cineaste Robert Guediguian.
Le programme cinema est egalement bien fourni avec des retrospectives
consacrees aux grandes figures du septième art en Armenie et dans
la diaspora : Serguei Paradjanov aux cinemathèques de Toulouse et
de Lyon et a Bobigny, Robert Mamoulian a la Cinemathèque de Paris et
Atom Egoyan au Centre Pompidou. Mais il faudra compter aussi avec des
spectacles de danse, de theâtre, des colloques, des manifestations
sur la litterature, dont le Printemps des poètes en mars prochain.
–Boundary_(ID_GPW9dizcC3r0cilxunBZOw)- –

‘ARMEENSE GENOCIDE LIJKT NU WEL KLOPJACHT OP TURKEN’
Antti Liukku
AD/Rotterdams Dagblad
29 September 2006 Friday 5:00 AM (Central European Time)
Rotterdam
Integratie-wethouder Orhan Kaya ergert zich mateloos aan de discussie
over de ‘Armeense genocide’ die op het moment wordt gevoerd.
CDA en PvdA hebben drie kandidaat-Tweede Kamerleden van de lijst
gehaald, omdat zij de erkende volkerenmoord uit 1915 ontkennen.
Een rondgang van deze krant leerde gisteren dat ook Turks-Rotterdamse
politici de moord op tenminste 800.000 Armeniërs weigeren als
‘genocide’ te bestempelen. ~DWat is dit toch een vervelende vraag,”
aldus Kaya. ~DHet lijkt wel op een klopjacht op Turkse raadsleden.
Iedereen moet plots kleur bekennen, en dan nog wel over zo’n gevoelig
onderwerp als genocide. Dit is enorm beladen, daar kan je toch niet
even 1-2-3 antwoord op geven?”
Kaya, zelf van Koerdische afkomst, zegt geen zin te hebben in deze
discussie. ~DAls historici het als genocide bestempelen, geloof
ik dat. Maar dit zijn echt niet de belangrijkste problemen die
Rotterdammers op het moment bezighouden. Hier kom ik geen stap mee
verder. Deze zaak hoort thuis in het Europees parlement.”
Wel begrijpt de GroenLinks-wethouder dat landelijke politieke partijen
Turken van de kieslijst halen als ze ‘openlijk en uit eigen beweging’
de Armeense genocide ontkennen.
Volgens westerse historici is de moord op de christelijke Armeniërs in
de nadagen van Ottomaanse Rijk een bewuste zuiveringspolitiek geweest
van de Turkse overheersers. In Turkije is het daarentegen strafbaar
om over genocide te spreken.
PvdA-wethouder Hamit Karakus pleitte, net als partijgenoot Nebahat
Albayrak, voor een ‘grondig en objectief’ onderzoek’ naar de
gebeurtenissen.
–Boundary_(ID_3Y1jDVjyStxIKOi UTvszgw)–

GUL – REHN JOINT NEWS CONFERENCE
Turkish Press
Oct 5 2006
ANKARA – “Turkey is aware of its deficiencies in the EU membership
process. The most important things are the determination, the capacity
of overcoming difficulties and showing everyone that we have that
capacity,” said Turkish Foreign Minister & Deputy Prime Minister
Abdullah Gul on Wednesday.
Gul held a joint news conference together with EU Commissioner for
Enlargement Olli Rehn.
“Mr. Rehn’s visit coincided with the first anniversary of the opening
of entry talks between Turkey and the EU. We have recorded important
developments last year. Turkey has maintained the screening process
successfully. We consider the negotiation process a transformation for
Turkey. We also consider this process a period of modernization and a
period of increasing our standards to the level of EU-member states,”
he said.
“Turkey is aware of its deficiencies in the EU membership process.
The most important things are the determination, the capacity of
overcoming difficulties and showing everyone that we have that
capacity. Therefore, we need the negotiation process,” he said.
Gul kept on saying, “Turkey has become a center of economic
attraction since October 3rd, 2005. We will continue fulfilling our
commitments. We expect the EU to contribute to our efforts in this
process.”
Upon a question about the Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK),
Gul said, “we have a long negotiation process ahead of us. We will
increase all standards in Turkey.”
When asked whether the resolution in France envisaging to punish
those who deny the so-called Armenian genocide was against freedom of
thought, Gul said, “during my meetings in France, I stressed that the
resolution was nothing but a contradiction. I hope that the resolution
will be rejected.”
Upon another question about proposal of Finland on the Cyprus issue,
Gul told reporters, “if we succeed in resolving the Cyprus issue,
it will be beneficial for everyone. Together with Greece and Cyprus
as a whole, we can create an area of cooperation in the eastern
Mediterranean. Turkish Cypriots have fulfilled their responsibilities
to this end. We expect the same positive attitude from the other
party. We told Finland which holds the rotating EU presidency, that if
isolation of Turkish Cypriots was lifted, we could take some tangible
steps. However, no one should expect Turkey to take unilateral steps
as long as the isolation continued.”
Speaking at the news conference, Rehn said that there was a difficult
and long period ahead of Turkey. He said that both Gul and he was
determined to this end, adding that Turkey and the EU would work
together to find solution to several problems which would enable the
parties to maintain the negotiation process.
Noting that he came to Ankara to mark the first anniversary of the
opening of entry talks between Turkey and the EU, Rehn said that the
Progress Report to be released in the coming weeks would include many
developments and several deficiencies.
Rehn told reporters that they were aware of the current threat of
terrorism, adding that terrorism jeopardized not only Turkey but the
whole world.
He said that they appreciated the reform process in Turkey, noting
that there were still many things to do.
Rehn stressed that his meetings in Ankara focused on freedom of
expression and freedom of religion.
He highlighted importance of Turkey’s fulfilling its commitments
stemming from the additional protocol extending the Customs Union
deal to cover the whole EU-member countries during the presidency
of Finland.
Referring to the Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK),
Rehn said some people in Turkey were tried because of their critical
attitude. He said that those trials stemmed from indefinite expressions
in the article.
Upon a question about the so-called Armenian genocide, Rehn said that
recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide was not a pre-condition
neither in Turkey’s negotiation process nor in the full membership
process. He highlighted importance of creating an appropriate
atmosphere for discussions over the issue in order to provide an
atmosphere of compromise between Turkish and Armenian societies.

TRADITION NEVER FADES: KEVERIAN FAMILY CELEBRATES DECADES OF DANCE
By Jennifer Roach/ Correspondent
Medfield Press, MA
Oct 5 2006
Sitting in traffic on her way to yet another dress rehearsal was the
only spare time Medfield resident Niari Keverian had for a quick cell
phone conversation about her hectic life as a member of the Sayat Nova
Dance Company (SNDC). The Armenian Folk dancing troupe is celebrating
its 20th anniversary with performances all over the country this year
and even traveled to Armenia for a few shows this past summer.
Along with her brother Jack, Niari spent three weeks in June and July
touring Armenia with SNDC. The dance company is incredibly focused
on preserving and sharing the rich culture of its native land with
the rest of the world, so making the journey to Armenia was a major
milestone in accomplishing its mission.
“This was the next big step,” says Niari, “We just keep growing and
growing, from seven dancers to about 70 or 80 today.”
The company traveled all over Armenia, from the main venue at the
Opera House in Yerevan to small villages beyond the city’s boarders.
“The capital city is basically the same as any typical city, but
once you left the city and went to the outskirts, kids would come
running up to our tour bus asking for autographs! They cried when we
left!” said Niari.
The performance at the Opera House was the greatest moment for Niari
because of the elaborate stage and large audience. She had, however,
many other memorable experiences on her trip, including a show the
company put on for the military in Armenia.
“The troops marched over 45 minutes just to come see us perform.
Everyone was screaming and cheering. After a tribute at the end [of
the show], all of the soldiers wanted to run on the stage! It was a
most intense moment where we felt like we really did something right.”
This trip was particularly special for Niari because it was the
first time in her life she was able to visit Armenia. Her brother
Jack traveled to Armenia two years ago to volunteer at an orphanage.
“It was an amazing and an eye-opening experience,” recalls Niari,
“I have a lot more respect for where I came from and who I am. I have
a greater connection to my culture.”
Niari and Jack have spent their entire lives immersed in the Armenian
culture. Niari recalls watching her mother dance in the Sayat Nova
Dance Company (although it was not called that at the time) and has
been dancing in the company herself since she was 16.
Now, after turning 22 and finally visiting Armenia, Niari explains,
“I’ve been brought up in an Armenian community, but this [trip to
Armenia] puts all the puzzles together.”
When not touring the country for dance performances, the Keverians
embraced the opportunity to explore their own culture and its
traditions. One of Niari’s favorite experiences while in Armenia,
for example, was attending a wedding for one of the company members
held in the Etchmiadzin, the head church of Armenia.
Although this journey for the Keverians may have come to a close, Jack
and Niari’s lives have certainly not calmed down. This past Saturday
and Sunday the duo performed with SNDC at the Cutler Majestic Theater
in Boston. The show, entitled “Power in Rhythm,” marks the end of the
company’s 20th anniversary celebration with one of the largest venues
Sayat Nova has ever showcased in the Boston area. According to Niari,
the show has “taken a more modern flair as well as keeping to the folk
tradition.” The Armenian dancing is explosive and passionate, the music
loud and the stories exciting, so not surprisingly, the show was a hit.
Future plans for the company are not yet in the works, says Niari,
but she knows Sayat Nova will not be slowing down any time soon.
“When you step into [this company] it is as if you’ve been given the
Sayat Nova injection. You can’t describe it, but the effect you give
to people and yourself is something that cannot be replaced.”

ARMENIAN CHURCH OFFERS BAZAAR
Belmont Citizen-Herald, MA
Oct 5 2006
The First Armenian Church will hold its annual Fall Harvest Bazaar
on Saturday, Oct. 21 from noon to 8 p.m. The church is located at
380 Concord Ave., Belmont.
Traditional Armenian delicacies like the ones “Medz Mama” (grandma)
used to make will be featured. Favorites such as manti, kufte, cheoreg,
cheese beoreg, yalanchi and string cheese have been prepared and
packaged to take out. Armenian and Middle Eastern pastries, including
paklava and kadayif, will be available all day with coffee.
Fresh shish, chicken and losh kebab will be grilled to order.
Dinners will be served all day with homemade rice pilaf, salad, pita
bread and coffee. Ample indoor seating is available, or take-out
meals will be available.
Proceeds from the sale help support the needs of orphans and students
in Armenia and Lebanon, various church programs, and donations to
local food drives throughout the year.
The bazaar will take place rain or shine and all are welcome to
attend. For more information call the church office at 617-484-4779,
or visit