Archive for May, 2006Andre Among Top 10My friend from Yerevan just informed that Andre, the singer who represents Armenia at the Eurovision Song Contest, passed the first round. They pronounced Andre's name at the end, so people were really nervous.
Congratulations and good luck, Andre! [2:56 a.m., 19 May 2006 in Yerevan, Armenia] Murdered GayAn American teacher, Joshua Haglund, was killed in Armenia two years ago. The likely reason of the murder was that the guy was gay. Not surprisingly, the murder was not uncovered. Perhaps, it was done by one of the “cools,” a son of a government official or a mob.
Now a bill is proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives to investigate the death and to authorize “$250,000 for a scholarship fund in Haglund's name at the University of Minnesota for study abroad and diversity training programs.” Haglund’s family has also a memorial site in his memory: http://www.joshuahaglund.com/, and a blog: http://jazzyjoshua.blogspot.com/. Those who want to support the Fund, can visit https://www.foundation.umn.edu/pls/dmsn/onl…oker?owner=JOSH. Aryans Among ArmeniansThanks to a Jew, I learned about the website of the “Armenian Aryans.” I am impressed that the “Aryans” in Armenia are that smart: they have even come up with a website! Wow! So who are these people and why are there anti-Semites among Armenians? These are not questions that I can answer, but I can certainly argue that “Armenian Aryans” are harmful to Armenia. I will not argue this in terms of human rights, since it will be stupid for even trying to explain that hating a cultural, ethnic or religious group is wrong. People who are people already know that, people who are not people yet don’t know yet or will never know that. Let’s start with the leader of the “Armenian Aryans:” Armen Avetisyan. I don’t really know him personally, but I have seen a booklet long time ago that had something about him. Two things I remember were that he had no education and that he fought for the Karabakh war. Praise to him for the second one and pity to him for the first one. Well, let us see what else we have on him. Perhaps I should post a picture from their website (which was originally posted by www.ArmeniaNow.com) so that we can see his face.
This rather Jewish looking person is Armen Avetisyan. He was arrested in Armenia last year for his anti-Semitic remarks. I have heard from an acquaintance of his that Armen has changed some of his anti-Semitic views after coming out of jail. I need to check this, though. So why are “Aryan Armenians” harmful to Armenia? Well, the excerpt below is from the “mission” of the “Aryans:” “We have to end the Zionist oppression on governments and stop organized Judo-Christian religion which has dominated Armenia and Europe for over two millennia and bought world to its most darkest era.” Despite the fact that there should be a comma before “which,” please also notice that the organization fights against Christianity, the 1700-year-old Armenian religion that helped us survive and kept us Armenians. Another thing that I was disappointed with their website was that it listed Asala (the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia) along with Hitler and the American Nazi Party under “useful links.” Asala has been known for being pro-Palestinian, but I am not sure how their administration would react to see themselves listed with anti-Semitists. Oh, I forgot, Asala is a *terrorist* organization that brought the world’s attention to the Armenian Genocide. Long story short, “Aryan Armenians” suck, even though they are capable of making a website. p.s. I have a suspicion who the creator of the website is: an Armenian from California who covers under a common nickname… Oooo, now I will be making a lot of enemies. Perhaps, no. I know a lot of “Aryans” in Armenia. Arrests in the Republic of TurkeyReportedly 200 Turkish nationalists have tried to attack Hrant Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian origin, when he was going to the court to be tried for "insulting Turkishness," Taner Akcam informs in a group e-mail. Below are photos from Getty Images.
Goldberg is Sad, AngryThe executive producer of “The Armenian Genocide” documentary (2006), Andrew Goldberg, said in a recent interview to the KurdishMedia “Going on, being attacked, often with fabrications, by nationalists in the Armenian press in California was very upsetting and uncalled for.” Goldberg is primarily referring to an editorial by Harut Sassounian, Publisher of the California Courier. The article appeared in the Courier’s 23 March 2006 issue and was titled “PBS Forced Producer to Revise Content of Genocide Documentary.”
Sassounian was later criticized by a Turkish professor in a group discussion for not interviewing Goldberg for the article. Sassounian responded saying he would not disclose his private communication with the executive producer of the film. Goldberg was in the same group discussion, and he did not response. I assumed that by keeping silence he agreed and “approved” the editorial. But today turns out that Goldberg was offended with that and other writings. I have been in touch with him in the last two days; he seems devastated and very sad. I don’t really know every detail, but it is apparent he has been attacked by some individuals in the Armenian community. Anyways. I appreciate Goldberg’s work and thank him for the efforts. Not that I think the film was perfect, but it was, according to me, the best documentary on the Armenian genocide ever. Once again, thank you Andrew. IHT Editorial: Turkey, Armenia and denialhttp://www.iht.com/articles/2006/05/15/opinion/edturkey.php Turkey, Armenia and denial MONDAY, MAY 15, 2006 Turkey's self-destructive obsession with denying the Armenian genocide seems to have no limits. This week, the Turks pulled out of a NATO exercise because the Canadian prime minister used the term "genocide" in reference to the mass killings of Armenians in Turkey during and after World War I. Before that the Turkish ambassador to France was temporarily recalled to protest a French bill that would make it illegal to deny the Armenian genocide occurred. And before that, a leading Turkish novelist, Orhan Pamuk, was charged with "insulting Turkish identity" for referring to the genocide (the charges were dropped after an international outcry). Turkey's stance is hard to fathom. Each time the Turks lash out, new questions arise about Turkey's claims to a place in the European Union, and the Armenian diaspora becomes even more adamant in demanding a public reckoning over what happened. Granted, genocide is a difficult crime for any nation to acknowledge. But to treat any reference to the issue within Turkey as a crime and to scream "lie!" every time someone mentions genocide is absurd. By the same token, we do not see the point of the French law to ban genocide denial. Historical truths must be established through dispassionate research and debate, not legislation, even if some of those who question the evidence do so for insidious motives. But the Turkish government considers even discussion of the issue to be a grave national insult and reacts to it with hysteria. Five journalists who criticized a court's decision to shut down an Istanbul conference on the massacre of Armenians were arrested for insulting the courts. Charges against four were subsequently dropped, but a fifth remains on trial. The preponderance of serious scholarship outside Turkey accepts that more than a million Armenians perished between 1914 and 1923 in a state-sponsored campaign. Turkey's continued refusal to countenance even a discussion of the issue stands as a major obstacle to restoring relations with neighboring Armenia and to claiming Turkey's rightful place in Europe and the West. It is time for the Turks to realize that the greater danger to them is denying history. Graduation!!!It is over
I did the student welcome, and some people said it was the best student speech (I hope they meant it
SchoolI am sad, because I don't know where I will be transferring to. I want to go to the school of International Studies at DU (University of Denver), but the tuition is $28,000 a year. There is no way I can afford that. I have some scholarships, but they will only cover $5000. Even if I get twice of that, $8000 will still be a lot for me to pay. I don't know what to do. I hate loans. I don't even qualify for good loans, since my parents don't have normal jobs. Anyhow, tomorrow should be a better day. The �Molestation� Story
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. My graduation is over. It happened several hours ago, early morning, on Saturday, 13 May 2006.
) ever delivered during their lifetimes. Anyhow, while doing only positive reporting on an encouraging day, I am posting some photographs and the script of my speech (college student speakers: no plagiarism please. I did a lot of research to write the speech!).
