15levels

Thanks Edward. Actually its for a sculptor, he only needs one block to work at. I am flying to Yerevan tonight so I will be able to check the situation on the place. In any case, shnorhakal em. Rouben

I was wondering if anyone has information on the prices of tufa stone in Armenia, how much would a block 50x50x70 cm cost and how much would a shipping to Israel be? can someone collaborate? thanks in advance, Rouben

Strange, I have a feeling that the answers given to the questions are "jur zezel" like we say in Armenian. These are not real answers are they? The context says "just quit asking uncomfortable questions", isnt it?

This is a mail I got this morning. Any comments? Subject: what else but the genocide Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2002 03:09:21 +0300 From: "Can Demir" Organization: TurkishForum I am a turk so you can view these lines as biased but hopefully it will get you to think, the gears moving. the dogma challenged. people such as yourselves unfortunately guarantee that 1- armenia the nation itself sinks further into disarray, nothingness 2- her citizens deeper into poverty while you sit comfortably far away arguing over the printing costs. 3- the region stays chaotic 4- the armenian people continue to be pawns, the foot soldiers of others 5- that the diaspora children grow either as fanatic nationalists/racists or grow to disown all the good that your culture might have at one time embodied. 6- at times unnecessary hardship and discomfort to the armenian citizens of turkey. its not about the past, its about the future. what will you do when there is no armenia left? when some russian mob owns it to use it for drug trafficking? when right wing nuts run the nation to the ground and everyone remembers it as some backwater of civilization? when lack of servicing causes a nuclear meltdown, poisoning the land? what will you do when armenian language joins the annals of long gone civilizations? what posters will you produce then? who will care when another bigot of a race who dug its own grave, whose only 'grace' was to hate the Turk dissapears off this planet? be wise, look to the future. instead of poisoning the relationship try cleaning it. stand out against the grain. work for something constructive. do something that does not spell hatred in different color but to support understanding and cooperation. work for something positive if you can. can you? can you and not get beaten up by your own, not get shot? can you afford to think alternatively on your own? or is history all that you have left and a civil war at the end of an empire all that defines your culture? your being? think. sincerely, CanD

I do agree with Nairi and Elly at the same time, living now for 2 years in Netherlands I got to know very different people, but I must admit that the passionate ones are in a minority, perhaps even comparable to Turks/Armenians proportion. (10/2). Its too bad because I think that Dutch people pay too much attention to the partytime than to the serious things which are happening in the world or even in their own country. Elly is an exception, Walter is, some others too. But majority watches SBS6, goes to party to Turkey and Ibiza and hardly give a s*** about anything else. To wake them up- , yes, thats a difficult task. (plus we have a turkish lobby against working agaisnt everything armenian. I dont know about jewish lobby, but I guess they have problems on their own now...) Perhaps the best thing we can do is to just do what we can- try to make such projects, engage in cultural exchange with Armenian heritage, by doing this as Nairi said- the Armenian culture is reach enough to fascinate when one takes a closer look. I can perhaps persuade Shushan Petrossian (singer)to come to Netherlands as part of this exhibit, project, andother very talented painter I know is in Yerevan and very much deserve to be exhibited outside Armenia. I have met AnnyRose Nahapetyan, she is an artist from Amsterdam and known here, very good art works and ceramics.(she was the one who organized an exhibit on Armenia in Tropical Institute 2 years ago). I myself could contribute couple of works too. So to collect art works for an exhibit is not going to be a problem. We are also lucky to have Maartje Neveyan to film a documentary on Armenia and Armenians this summer, she has already began with it and I am sure would love to show the film as part of the project. We have established HAI(2)C for that purpose and I think we should do something this summer, if possible. I will be going to Hayastan in the beginning of July, most probably for a month or so, so this is a good opportunity too. A little bit off the topic (sorry). [ June 11, 2002, 03:14 AM: Message edited by: Rouben Malayan ]

Thank you Elly, for such persistant and thoughtful effort. You are a true friend to us. Kezzes, AghtchiK! I wish I could be more of a help, but you know my fragile position. I do what I can in this situation. Best of all to you and the family. RM

Hasmiek jan, perhaps its naive and certainly has nothing to do with the Armenian question, but it does indicate that there is a problem butween Netherlands and Turkey. And whatever problem Turkey has- its to our advantage, simply because there is a large misconception among dutch about Turkey and things like that help to put things in perspective. Of course the actions of one man should not define the policy of the state, but excuse me, when the judicial system sets free a man who raped and killed 3 foreign nationals (girls on vacation), then I believe a problem is larger than one man's actions. The problem is the same system which was exposed in "Midnight Express" by Alan Parker over 20 years ago. Apparently nothing have changed in Turkey since then and the Dutch public must know that. On the other side I am not too fond of Dutch system either when you can get 3 years in prision for murder (and the prison conditions are in my opinion a little too comfortable for people who commit such crime). The bottom line is (I guess), there is a crisis in Turkey/Netherlands relationship and Armenians can use that to their advantage. You may disagree, thats only my opinion. ps. And speaking about reputation, I wouldnt like to be the Devil's advocate. I will be the first one to praise any positive change in Turkey but that hasnt happend for a century and with their current state of mind - wont happen for another long long time. Regards, [ June 06, 2002, 05:40 AM: Message edited by: Rouben Malayan ]

Well, I believe in this case, yes. As long as there are people who sabotage the efforts of others the impression we make on the others is less than impressive. For example, can we find one reason why there was NO consensus butween Armenian organizations in Holland on what should be done on April 24th? Yes demonstration, no demonstration, they bounced the ball back and forth, and it ended up with some people arriving later and to the wrong place. I also have inside information on some people who never wanted to have any sort of demonstration because they had their own plans for April 24. I won't name them. This is what disturbs me. And to answer your question, Elly jan, I believe that if Armenians would manage to find few powerful friends among the Dutch politicians the Genocide will be recognized in no time. Simply because there is sold ground for the demand, and some Dutch (including the crown prince and his new wife) are very upset with Turkey. I am sure you know about the terrible case of murder and rape of 3 Dutch girls in Turkey which ended up with letting the killers go free. The crown prince canceled their trip to Turkey and I dont think they will be going there any time soon. All we need is few influential friends who would not let this issue slide into oblivion, instead actively push for the parliament to discuss Armenian genocide again and again until a legal action is taken. No?

I just heard on AWTV news from Armenia. A man (apparently not healthy in his head, once convicted for murder of his wife with usage of an axe) has killed his 16 years old son for stealing Lotto tickets from his pocket. The son was sleeping when the mad father discovered the missing tickets and attacked the boy who confessed stealing the tickets and that his friends have taken them aways. The father first tried to chock him up and eventually killed him with an axe. He said to the court that he was sorry he did it, and asked for "soft" punishment. Today he was sentanced to death for a brutally committed crime. AWTV Armenian Channel 1 http://64.77.112.88/paid/live_high.asx and Armenian Channel 2 http://64.77.112.88/paid/live.asx user: awtv password: member [ June 04, 2002, 09:37 AM: Message edited by: Rouben Malayan ]

Elly jan, I apologize for calling Assen municipality "lame", my criticism in fact is not one sided, the medal has two sides, and I strongly believe that April 24 committee should have never agreed to those pre-conditions. Since the matter of the monument in Assen has started long time ago and the ball bounced many times back and forth without actually producing any result- we should look for other ways to push the issue forward. Posters project was suppose to do just that. I think its needless to say that unless Armenian community develops a strategy/works united with all interested parties - there gonna be no progress. What is disappointing is the fact that we lack unity therefore we can do little. Since I am not an expert in legal affairs I cannot comment on any of the previous postings, but I strongly believe Armenians in Holland first have to settle the issues among themselves before going out in open to fight for the genocide recognition here in Holland.

There is nothing sufficient about their answer. In fact they did NOT answer any of your questions. What a lame people they are.

What do you expect from a man who makes such statements: "I hereby find that the furnishing of defense articles and services to the Governments of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Tajikistan will strengthen the security of the United States and promote ((pay close attention)) world peace. " GEORGE W. BUSH April 18, 2002 THE WHITE HOUSE I mean, man, c'mon, how is selling weapons to the countries at war will promote world peace??? [ May 30, 2002, 04:31 AM: Message edited by: Rouben Malayan ]

This is the reply to the letter of Assen municipality from the organizers of the protest in April 24th in Assen. (you can find it on this URL http://www.armeniangenocideposters.org/for...asp?TOPIC_ID=62 ) FROM April 24 Committee I. Drost TO The Mayor and Aldermen Of Assen City Hall Noordersingel 33, 9401 JW ASSEN Subject: your letter May 2 2002, ref cs/2002/860 The Hague, May 24 2002 Dear Mayor and Aldermen, In response to your letter dated May 2 2002 on the course of the demonstration on April 24, we feel the need for several further comments on the demonstration and reactions to your letter. Firstly we regret the apparent misunderstanding of the agreements on the demonstration that was created between you and us. The consequences were not severe; you indicated yourself that the demonstration did not cause any disruption of public order and security and that our security service was clearly visible. Within the Armenian community however, the events regarding the banners have left a negative impression. As you know, we as Armenian community, have always complied with agreements with you and we intended to do that this time as well. From different courses we can only conclude that most, if not all, are related to the lack of communication after the meeting on April 19. A written permission with explicit conditions could have in any case provided for the necessary clarity. Please find below a closer look at separate points in your letter. Veemarktterrein as meeting place (a) In our request for permission to demonstrate, we had indicated that it would be held in front of the City Hall on Noordersingel. This was also announced within the Armenian community. It was only during our meeting on April 19 2002 that Mister Werkman proposed to use the Veemarktterrein as a meeting and departure place. We agreed on this proposal, meaning that we would ask all involved organizations to announce this change of meeting place to their members to the extent that they could be reached in such a short time-span. This also happened on April 19. However, it is by definition not possible to reach everyone on time. The organization managed to gather a large amount of protesters to the meeting place. Several people who could not be reached apparently searched for a parking space in the vicinity of the place of demonstration. To us - we assume you too - that seems quite reasonable. "Inflammatory or offensive texts" ( During the meeting on April 19 2002 we agreed with the municipality's standpoint in omitting inflammatory and/or offensive texts. That was not the organization's intention either. Our opinions apparently differ when defining the terms "inflammatory" and "offensive". According to us, using the names Turkey or Turkish government can in no way fall under this qualification. The fact that Turkey, as you know, pursues an active denial policy (all the problems in Assen are after all related to that) can naturally not lead to a prohibition on naming the country and consequently put the 'denier' in the right. In our viewpoint, naming the place and perpetrator of the genocide, the worst crime against humanity, at a demonstration where recognition of that genocide is in fact the goal, is a logical and inevitable factor. Our people experienced the removal of those words from the banners as distressing. We have not yet received an explanation for why every reference to Turkey and the Turkish government by us is inflammatory and offensive. In case, as suggested in the introduction, this would have been in writing, we would have definitely acted upon it. We feel that such a categorical prohibition cannot fit within Holland's application of freedom of speech. If necessary we would have filed a lawsuit. We would have naturally conformed to the outcome. Censorship © We indeed experienced the removal of the terms Turkey and Turkish government from the banners by the police as censorship and thus as a limitation on freedom of speech. Folders (d) On April 19 we indeed announced that at that moment there were no plans to distribute folders. It was only in the last meeting of the April 24 Committee that it was decided. After all, without a folder it wouldn't be possible to explain the goal of the demonstration to the local inhabitants. Because of time pressure the organization was unable to present this request and folder to your City Hall, for which we apologize. The folder, moreover, merely included scientific facts about the subject of the demonstration. Action of police (e) Unfortunately we must hereby share that we felt very uncomfortable with the unnecessary action of the police. Your qualifications "inflammatory" and "offensive" to the address of the April 24 Committee that strives for recognition of the genocide of 1915, in which 1.5 million Armenians were killed by the Turkish government at the time, is at the least misplaced. After serious thought, the Committee abandoned the idea to press charges against your City Hall for the controversial action by the police. Since in our opinion a line was crossed, the Committee has informed the parliament of this. The Minister for Internal Affairs has been inquired. In short, we can only understand your perception of the events where it concerns our neglect in informing you about the later decision of the folders. We hope to have sufficiently informed you about our perception and experience of the events. Yours sincerely, On behalf of the April 24 Committee, I. Drost [ May 29, 2002, 01:56 AM: Message edited by: Rouben Malayan ]

Sorry guys, I think the problem is deeper- how do you expect 11 Armenians to work together for a common goal(!)? Soccer is a collective game and this we are never good at. Chess- sure! Tennis- definitely! Work together? Not in this lifetime.

To answer to THOTH. => The blame must be put to the "April 24th" comittee here in Netherlands for not conducting a smart policy and working against the interests of the Armenians here. There is NO doubt in that in my view and as long as they keep acting like this- genocide recognition in Netherlands will remain a dream. Armenians will remain to be intimidated by whoever is pleased to do so- government, turks, whoever. Because we are "law abiding citizens". Thats such a piece of c***. "Damn shame, doesnt "April 24 Committee Netherlands" know that Dutch play by the book in this country and "April 24 Committee Netherlands" should never have agreed to these terms, or perhaps that was his/their plan, to agree and then do something else to make noise. If "April 24 Committee Netherlands" knew police will interfere, instead of removing them "April 24 Committee Netherlands" should have had protested and at least then something would leak to the big fish press and make some people listen. Either way it didnt work. Its gone really WRONG this time. And about the route- that's really exceptional. I think Mr.Sepoyan ("April 24 Committee Netherlands") qualifies for managing something similar with these methods somewhere in Africa and not in Netherlands where to be in the politics means to understand the mentality and culture of the country."

Samjan. I live in Amsterdam for more than 2 years now and have a good idea of what is happening here regarding the Armenian Genocide. I am sorry to say but I put part of the blame for the unsuccessful policy regarding genocide recognition on the Armenian 24 April committee which has done everything wrong this time. And Dutch had no choice but to do the following- April 24th, 2002. "On several banners that the Armenians carried with them on Wednesday, there were texts like: 'Turkey; 1.5 million victims; 1915'. By order of the mayor and the police the protesters had to cut out the word Turkey from the banners." You can read the response by Assen City Hall here- http://armeniangenocideposters.org/forum/t...asp?TOPIC_ID=62 But apart from that, many Dutch are sympatetic for our cause but its again - "a voice of a loner in desert". And we, Armenians, are not helping ourselves by sabotaging each other and pulling a blanket on ourselves when the only right thing to do is unite and work together. I guess somehow it will never happen as long as Turkish Armenians are running the show in this country.

Ararat got very bad reviews in Dutch media. (I wonder why).. They called Spike Lee and Egoyan - disappointing and Ararat is labled as a pamphlet film. Well, keeping in mind the recent developments in Netherlands with shocking cenzorship and very anti-armenian policy this is not surprising.

I guess noone in Armenian government or business circles is interested in promoting Armenian music/culture abroad. Armenia is full of talented musicians and singers and they are no embarassment for us- on the contrary- they deserve to be seen and heard on the west. But how when a contest like Eurovision is missed for example? And the point is not winning, but participating.. I am sure many Armenians around the world especially in Europe would watch it with "brnvatz shuntch". Where are our philantropes?

friends, i am disappointed that Armenia didnt send any singer to this year Eurovision, have we run out of talent or money? Such events are very important for the international prestige of our country, if we keep ignoring it how do we expect anyone have interest in travelling to Armenia as a tourist for example. I think they should have sent Shooshan Petrossian with her song "Hayastan" and we would have beated everyone )) Nice site by the way: http://www.eurovision.tv/

wow this is nice i want to see the movie sooo much. wonder when will it arrive in Amsterdam... http://www.brucegreenwood.com/mov-tv/ararat.jpg [ May 21, 2002, 01:48 AM: Message edited by: Rouben Malayan ]

When I was in Yerevan this winter I heard a rumor that the government is about to dismantle the tram rails (for which purpose i wonder). I thought it was a brute joke, one cannot think of more ecological and quiet transport than trams (here in Amsterdam it gives a perfect solution to the noise reduction and ecology problems). I understand the bloody fools in the governement have a short vision and since they make no clean profit- hell with it- dismantle it and sell the steel to the japanese... OK, I understand it makes loses because of the electricity but then don't use trams until situation improves- why in heaven sake do the tracks have to be dismantled? Now, see, that wasn't a rumor I heard and it wasnt a brute joke- its real. ArmenPress News Agency May 16 2002 TRAM RAILWAYS DISMANTLED IN YEREVAN YEREVAN, MAY 16, ARMENPRESS: A senior official of the Yerevan city council downplayed today an estimate, made by a team of volunteers of Yerevan electrical transport department in a bid to prove that exploitation of trams in the capital would be profitable if fares reduced from current 40 drams to 20 (less than 5 US cents). The move came after the city hall has decided to dismantle tram rails in several central streets in Yerevan. Electrical department employees claimed that in case of reducing fares the annual profits would be some 100 million drams, a sizable sum, if compared to loss-making electrical transport, as claimed by city hall officials. Areg Barseghian, chief of the city department dealing with public transport said at today's news conference that the estimate was made wrongly. Barseghian also said that the majority of tram carriages were more than 20 years old being unable to secure comfortable commuting, whereas people appreciate comfortable and speedy transport. According to some estimates, about 80 percent of passengers in Yerevan are transported by vans. [ May 17, 2002, 07:37 AM: Message edited by: Rouben Malayan ]

Just a question: how many of you have you been to Armenia lately and what were your impressions?

I cannot help but to think this- I personally don't think that building a church in Palm Springs will bring faith to the Armenian community. And I 100% agree with the point which Steve made- why don't give this project to some daring young Armenian architect and spend your money to help growing talent instead of copying a church which stands and will stand for another millenium (unless some corrupt official/clerk will sell it for few pieces of silver). Even to make a reconstruction of one of the many damaged/demolished Armenian churches in Western Armenia will be much more useful. No?

I couldnt agree more with John' opinion. Actually this article is very interesting as not many of such writtings penetrate to the media, we only end up somehow hearing "this was built","that started operations", but you better believe the opinion of those who have a point of comparison, I saw with my own eyes whats happened to our country and our beloved Yerevan in this winter. The picture was shocking and I am sure I am not the only one who felt that way after visiting the country after long absense. Erb enk menk xelk havakelu - ete aispes sharunakvi- erkriz vochinch chi mna... I'm sorry if I sound harsh but read this article and tell me if I am wrong. (and thanks, Onnik, for once again giving us the reality check). Outside Eye: A non-Armenian's view of life in his adopted home http://www.armeniaweek.com/may102002/outside_eye.html Thank God, someone has finally seen the essential need of this struggling Republic and is taking measures to meet it. Last week it was announced that the Cafesjian Family Foundation plans to spend $20 million on a project that would include a glass museum at the very feet of the Mother Armenia statue atop Victory Park in Yerevan. At last, the long suffering is over! The cries of anguished Armenians clamoring "give us a glass museum!" have finally been heard. And a grateful nation owes homage. Nor will it be just any museum, but a resting place for its benefactor, Gerard Cafesjian's personal $110 million glass collection. (Am I the last guy on the planet to know that anyone could care enough about glass to spend $110 million on it? I'll confess to having spent my share of bucks on those little globular snow scenes in airports, but I don't think that's what we're talking about here.) When Armenians brag of their inherent resilience, they speak of surviving genocide and earthquake and political upheaval, never mentioning the collateral psychic damage of being spawned from a country that has never in its multi-millennium history had the pride of ownership inherent to a glass museum. Cafesjian, from Florida - the state that turned farmers' orange orchards into billionaires' theme parks and gave the world alligator wrestling and topless doughnut shops - no doubt understands the efficacy of imposing cultural awareness as a poultice to mental anguish. Otherwise, he might cash in that $110 million collection and spend it on something frivolous. Like, oh, I don't know, paying teacher salaries so that the educational system in Armenia is run on merit and not on bribes. Maybe? Oh, and here's an idea for a $20 million structure: Put a roof over the sidewalk outside the US Embassy, so that the daily lines of people applying for visas to leave Armenia will have shelter from rain and sun. But I'm being shortsighted. No matter how bad other things might be - unemployment, corrupt government, unreliable utilities - those jobless, weary applicants would no doubt turn in their desperate tracks back to this country if only it had a glass museum. I am humbled by the brilliance of the plan. Apparently so was President Robert "Buy My Country, Please" Kocharian, who called a special session of Parliament to amend Armenia's tax code to make it easier for the millionaire to get rights to the building site. Word around Yerevan is that Cafesjian asked that the property be given him. Which is understandable, since a man who has spent $110 million on glass can't be bothered with actually having to pay for land. Unwilling to hand over the land, the National Assembly, by 56-55, was willing instead to change the tax laws, giving Cafesjian a break that makes it much easier for him to build his glasshouse. The fine print is that in exchange for eight hectares, Cafesjian must agree to renovate the Cascade - a monument of steps that leads from the center of Yerevan to the park where the museum will be built. Not since the Spaniards - again with Bob's blessing - gave us bullfighting, has Armenia needed anything less than it needs a glass museum. I sound too harsh, don't I? Let me acknowledge, then, that the Foundation has done good and charitable work in Armenia. In fact Cafesjian once even gave money to a media project that was the genesis of this website. Forgive me. But these thoughts fester, while, on my way to this newsroom I pass a dumping site from which I often see men, no doubt well educated and once employed - who will never get an audience with the President or a tax break - digging for empty glass bottles. They take those bottles out of the grime and wash them and then try to sell them for 10 drams - less than two cents. I'm trying to figure out how many bottles they'd have to gather to have a collection worth $110 million . . . A millionaire American is not to blame for their condition. A Government willing to be a whore, is. But a millionaire American willing to encourage the process by buying influence and flaunting wealth doesn't do much to help it. John Hughes

http://15levels.com/pm/oils/fields.jpg Pedros Malayan (1927-1997) http://15levels.com/pm/ Added new artworks, a entirely new folder of "Studies" which includes academic drawings from 1946-56. I hope you enjoy them. Portraits * A true master of portrait left a unique collection of human character... http://15levels.com/pm/html/portraits.html Drawings * A substantial collection of drawings and sketches... http://15levels.com/pm/html/drawings.html Water-Colors Series of water-colors reflect the vibrant palette of Armenian landscapes and the gentle gamma of the European cities.. http://15levels.com/pm/html/water-colors.html Oils * Compositional works, burning with color landscapes of Armenia and Israel ... http://15levels.com/pm/html/oils.html Studies * New folder Academic drawings and studies of plastic anatomy... http://15levels.com/pm/html/studies.html Illustrations During his lifetime the Artist has illustrated as many as 35 books... http://15levels.com/pm/html/illustrations.html Still-life * Executed in oil on canvas, water-color and tempera. http://15levels.com/pm/html/still-lifes.html The Artist Rare photographs of the Artist, taken between 1946 and 1997. http://15levels.com/pm/html/biography.html http://15levels.com/pm/html/photographs.html [ May 14, 2002, 09:16 AM: Message edited by: Rouben Malayan ]