rostom

In addition to the above link, here are a few other useful ones on Canadian Armenians: http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/301/ic/cd...me7/volume7.htm http://www.hayk.net/montreal http://www.hayk.net/toronto/ There is also a book on the history of Armenians in Canada called Like Our Mountains: A History of Armenians in Canada by Isabel Kaprielian-Churchill.

Wow this video was very interesting. On my last trip to Armenia I dined at a Mexican restaurant in Yerevan (I think it was called Cactus). We asked our waitress if the chef was Mexican. Her response was "no, he is Indian." So I don't know why I am amused by this video given the fact that I already knew Indians lived in Yerevan...maybe because there is a picture to go with my frame of mind now...very cool...I love YouTube. On a side note, I wonder if Diasporan Indians are as amused to see Armenians speaking their native tongue when they stumble upon the many Armenians that live in India

Weird story.... http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/12/27/....ap/#cnnSTCText -------------- Friday, December 28, 2007 Associated Press Priests brawl at Jesus' birthplace BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) -- Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests attacked each other with brooms and stones inside the Church of the Nativity as long-standing rivalries erupted in violence during holiday cleaning on Thursday. The basilica, built over the grotto in Bethlehem where Christians believe Jesus was born, is administered jointly by Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic authorities. Any perceived encroachment on one group's turf can touch off vicious feuds. On Thursday, dozens of priests and cleaners were scrubbing the church ahead of the Armenian and Orthodox Christmas, celebrated in early January. Thousands of tourists visited the church this week for Christmas celebrations. But the clean-up turned ugly after some of the Orthodox faithful stepped inside the Armenian church's section, touching off a scuffle between about 50 Greek Orthodox and 30 Armenians. Palestinian police, armed with batons and shields, quickly formed a human cordon to separate the two sides so the cleaning could continue, then ordered an Associated Press photographer out of the church. Four people, some with blood running from their faces, were slightly wounded.

Yet another corruption story similar to the one with the the Najarians in Yerevan (http://hyeforum.com/index.php?showtopic=10496). This time it centers around a French-Armenian named Oliver Rakedjian who relocated to Sushi to start a business there. http://www.hetq.am/eng/karabakh/7439/ ------------------- A French-Armenian Entrepreneur Petitions the President for Help [January 07, 2008] Dear Mr. President, “I came to Karabakh from France with the best of intentions and to pursue a number of patriotic objectives. I was deeply convinced that by relocating to Karabakh, in the historical-cultural capital of Shushi, my work to assist Karabakh would see increased results and that I would serve as an example to other Armenian young people that it is possible to come and live here and that so much more can be achieved by working here on the ground than by working from the Diaspora. I was truly dedicated when I arrived, but today I really don’t comprehend what is happening to me.” This is how the letter of Oliver Rakedjian, a French-Armenian, addressed to Bako Sahakyan, the President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, begins. (In Shushi, Oliver goes by the name of Armen). It was in 2004 that Armen moved to Shushi from Paris. He relocated with a number of plans in mind - to establish businesses, to provide jobs for the people and to develop Shushi’s tourism and service sectors. Naturally, he expected to make a profit from these endeavors as well. With the permission of Shushi’s administrative board and the Mayor’s Office he purchased three pieces of property and opened a computer services center, a real estate agency and a souvenir shop. After some time had passed the provocations began and he gradually found himself being squeezed against the wall. They began to illegally take back all of his properties. At first he tried to cut a deal with certain ‘influential’ people but realized that this route was a dead-end as he didn’t possess the means to pay the expected bribes. Soon after he took the matter to the courts. In his letter to President Sahakyan Armen writes, “Sadly, the experiences of the past year have convinced me that even the highest officials of the land remain indifferent to my two issues and that they seek to extricate themselves through a process of deception. I have shown a great deal of patience in the matter and have done all I can to reach a settlement, but just the opposite has happened. I now longer hold out any type of hope, I am a broken man. I ask that you assist in finding g a solution to these issues, issues that no one else has been able to solve or been willing to. I really don’t know what else to do.” “After investing $50,000 in Shushi I’m still $15,000 in debt to my friends back in France, Armen states. It’s been a year now that I’ve been entangled in this mess. Tourists have visited Karabakh as a result of my encouragement and I have assisted journalists. In order to develop the tourist sector here I have recently published a book about Karabakh in French. It’s now being translated in English as well. All I want to do is work for the good of Karabakh but there are so many obstacles placed in the way that I can no longer continue. A month ago I was forced to shut done all my operations here.” To date no one from the President’s office has replied to Armen’s letter. According to our sources however the head of the government has directed all appropriate state departments to clarify the circumstances surrounding the matter. They are still looking. Armen says that in this country the powerful aren’t subject to the rule of law. The powerful however, as self-styled representatives of the law, demand that others subject themselves to their rule. In his letter Armen writes that, “I slowly learned that without paying bribes and high salaries it would be impossible to achieve my aims solely working within the confines of the law. I have been subjected both to the rule of law, in the guise of an inane and non-functioning system, and to the absence of any law, according to how my presence might be best exploited. In the end, the inevitable happened. My company went bankrupt. On April 6, 2005 Armen purchased a piece of property measuring 121 square meters located on the first floor of P. Proshyan Street #1 in Shushi for the sum $12,000 from the ‘Antaram’ cooperative. He has paid out $8,500. To date he still hasn’t been able to have his property rights duly registered at the Shushi kadastr(property registrar) since the wrong contract was signed at the notary’s office. On December 18, 2007 the court declared the sale agreement to be invalid and that the property in question remain under the ownership of the seller. The court said nothing about returning any money to Armen. After reviewing the matter, the Supreme Court did find that the decision of the Court of First Instance was groundless and illegal. It was revealed during the court proceedings that the notary had lied and had allowed errors to be made; that the seller sought advantage through the use of bribes and that indeed the property in question was sold to Armen for the sum in question. The judge found that the law had been violated but handed down no decision as to punishment or monetary compensation. Armen declares, “I bought the building. It’s mine and I won’t give it up.” In 2004 the “Shushi Group” Ltd was registered. Armen recounts, “At the time my Armenian wasn’t that great and I wasn’t too familiar with the way companies worked. For this reason I put all my trust into my accountant Gohar Mamoulyan and the staff at the Tax Administration. My only wish was to properly report all my operations, to see that all appropriate taxes due should be paid and not avoided and that nothing be hidden in the figures given to the tax authorities. By June 2006 my company declared bankruptcy. To date I haven’t been able to officially dissolve the company.” He underlines the fact that no one has been held accountable for what has transpired. In 2005, under the name of the “Shushi Group” he obtained a piece of property located at Azryan Street # 6A in Shushi and signed a 99 year rental lease with the Mayor’s Office. Armen recounts that, “Mayor Felix Hakobyan of Shushi says to me that I have to write two applications to get reregistered. The first must state that the “Shushi Group” rejects the contract and the second, signed by me, to reregister. The next day I’m called to his office where he says that the first application has been accepted but he returns the second one to me. What it boils down to is that based on a “narrow application” of the law the Mayor’s Office has reclaimed the property based on my application. I appealed to Vardan Gabrielyan, the Regional Head of Shushi who sent me back to the Mayor’s Office. After all this run-around, and after finding out that the Mayor of Shushi is the husband of the city’s notary, how much longer must I wait for the Mayor to properly reregister my property? I kept a copy of the 99 year lease and started repair work on the building. I will not give it back. To tell you the truth, I don’t know who to turn to next.” They also hit the company to be dissolved with tax penalties and uncovered what supposedly amount to some 4 million Drams in violations. Armen angrily recounts that, “They knew I didn’t have the means to pay so they probably decided to also snatch the last two remaining properties I owned in Shushi located on the first floor of Ghazanchetsots Street #72. The kadastr appraised these properties to be worth the same as the amount above. It’s understood that these two properties for which I have the ownership deeds are not subject to being returned even if the law is “narrowly applied.” He also stated that the notary ‘mistakenly’ put down another name when drawing up the ownership deed for the apartment. Armen concluded his story to us by saying, “I live in an apartment that I received on October 27, 2004 through the intercession of Ashot Ghulyan (the President of the NKR National Assembly) after receiving one month’s worth of refusals from the Mayor’s Office. The apartment was in ruins when I got it. To date, thanks to the Mayor’s Office of Shushi, I haven’t been able to get the place registered as my private property. I’ve appealed to officials in Shushi, but they don’t know what to do or how to handle the matter since I’m not a locally registered citizen.” The following is the conclusion of Armen’s letter to NKR President Bako Sahakyan: I am letting you know that if I do not see real progress in this matter very shortly I will publish this letter together with all corresponding documentation on the internet in Armenian, Russian, English and French. I will also have the letter forwarded to hundreds of media outlets and thousands of individuals in Karabakh, Armenia and throughout the world. It has already been a year since I’ve attempted to obtain a solution to these problems and deceit through the mediation of the highest institutions of the land. All the promises of assistance have, in practice, resulted in exactly the opposite. There is no more time for idle banter and meaningless discussion of the matter - my rights must be reinstituted. I have come to the realization that this is something that can be achieved only through your personal intercession. Respectfully, O.M. Rakedjian City of Shushi December 25, 2007 Stepanakert Nayira Hayrumyan

Try Armenchik....can't put a finger on song name...too many of his songs sound similar

Regular price is $9 for one single greeting card? Are they gold plated?

Bolored --> All of you ovker --> who asumen --> say jistu --> correct byts --> but/however iskakan --> true vor --> that anum --> do Armenian: Բոլորդ ռվքեր ասռւմ են որ Հայերեն չեմ խոսում և հասկանում, ձիշտ է, ես Հայ չեմ, բայց իսկական Հայ 'Podcast chain' անռւմ: English Translation: All of you who say that I do not speak or understand Armenian, you are correct, I am not Armenian, but a true Armenian does 'Podcast chain'. As you can see the last portion of this sentence kind of falls apart. It may be that they said: 'Podcast' chen anum. That is, you may have taken the word chen/չեն, meaning 'not' (followed by a transitive verb) in Armenian, and incorrectly placed it in the quotes as part of 'Podcast'. If that is the case then it makes a little more sense, and then the latter portion of the saying would translate to something like the following: but a true Armenian does not Podcast. Although this still doesn't fit smoothly for me

If anyone lives in, or knows any Armenians, who live in Solano County please let me know. Thanks.

Speaking of Armenian in Montreal, whatever happened to the Friends of Armenian Culture organization based out of there? There website (http://www.friendsac.com/) seems to be gone.

A few very good, but obscure, songs to add to list of top 10: - Yerevan Gazelle by Zaruhi Babayan and Arthur Ispirian from the Gevorg Emin Songbook album - Ourakh Yerkerou Sharan by Kohar Trio from the Koharapayel album - Mokats Harsner by Datevik from the Stage to Stage album (also on the more popular Menk compilation)

Whether it be for better or worse, the Armenian language does not have one consistent spelling and vocabulary for the nationalities and languages of the world. The former of these facts (spelling) is due to the unfortunate fact that we have two dialects (Eastern and Western). Whereas the latter (vocabulary) due to the simple fact that no one ever set these out straight to begin with, and they got used and manipulated in each part of the world that the Diaspora used it in. I recall once I wanted to know how to write 'Sweden' in Armenian. After looking in two dictionaries, I found 4 different spellings for it. Brazilian/Բրազիլեան or Braziliatsi/Բրազիլացի . Both will work. Keep in mind that those are the Eastern Armenian spellings of the word. For the Western Armenian, you would change the first letter 'Բ' to 'Պ'. Portugaltsi/Պորտուգալցի --> a citizen of Portugal. Portugal/Պորտուգալերեն --> the Portuguese language. Again, these two are the Eastern Armenian spellings. For the Western Armenian, you would change the first letter 'Պ' to 'Փ', and the letter 'տ' to 'թ'. Which, of course now if read by an Eastern Armenian would be pronounced like the English (and probably Portuguese) pronunciation. What a mess!!!! Yes I am already confused writing this post....I'm sure Arpa will feast on this topic

This is the catch 22 with journalism. Exposing one story or fact may lead to anguish--whether it be through the community or the enemy--from another aspect. This is exactly what happened in this case, as someone used the images and story to make a detrimental video to turn the story upside down. But take any of Mr. Baghdasaryan's stories, do you not think the same can be said for nearly all of them? There is always someone out there who is going to be hurt by the truth and will try to manipulate it to their advantage.

Zartonk, you sure you got this in the correct category?

The correct link to the above mentioned article is: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1400061.stm