New US Ambassador to Armenia

After 2 full years, Armenia has a new US Ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch. I'm not very happy about this, I prefer that no Ambassador be confirmed by the Senate unless they admit to the genocide - which none will do until the State Department changes its policy. At least Marie finally admitted the no g-word policy exists. Even this is progress in the backwards, evil policy of the State Department, which instead of being a beacon of light, democracy, justice and so on (why shouldn't it be?) is all about intrigue, supporting dictators and terrorists one day, then attacking them the next, and other retarded policies which do not even serve US interests.

And in the continuation of the "soccer diplomacy", Armenia and Turkey talks have been deepening, and it seems must inevitably lead to diplomatic relations. Even Azerbaijan has said some remarkably civil and optimistic things, which is very unusual for them. Talk of a big push to even settle Karabakh seem to be in the air, for what must be the hundreth time since the cease fire was signed in the early 90s.

Parev Giliguia !

After few months of silence, it might be time to put here’s news up to date…

What happened in my armenian horizons during the last months may not be interesting since it lost its topicality but let’s just mention quickly what comes to my mind to fill my duty :

- Bibliothèque nationale de France is looking for any Armenian publications of France, they have an important Armenian collection but they’d like to complete it seriously, it's again one of the nice suites of France official year of Armenia (last year) :o)

- Gas’ last blues album has been launched last june, and had a specific concert for it in St Etienne last april, of course i went ;op

the album called "oriental mood" is very colored with “arevelyan mood” and also hosts some haunting ghosts of Gaspard's past (http://www.myspace.com/gasblues), but let's be straight : album just great in my opinion !

- The London Times Archives are available for free on the net ... archives since 200 years !!http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/archive/ lots of articles if you make a search about "armenia" so use it well !!!

- and a rather unpleasant feeling that Armenia, its population and lovers around the world arrived to a sad turning point; this last point of view is not easily lived of course, and also has difficulties to be expressed since most of armenians are really unwilling to talk openly critically about armenianity, but in fact the critics would be rather virulent… so let’s hope, and keep on working for better days...

About more recent things now (and maybe more satisfying), I just finally visited Basilique St Denis where rests the Kings of France... and where also lies the last King of Armenia (who was French in fact, Léon de Lusignan, King of Cilicia), here's the pics taken last weekend.

I had to go there since years but since it's here, you know what it is : always deferring... until an innocent Italian friend proposed to go there for tourism purposes. I couldn’t decently refuse ! ;o)

It was a nice visit, thanks to the official year of Armenia, more detailed explanations were available in French, English, and Armenian (!!!), for our old last king Leon and Armenia’s history, nice point !

Urish ? The freshest point : after summer holidays, schools and universities re-opening, another Armenian academic event that took place this week : http://aiea2008paris.free.fr
It’s a rather important colloque (lots of conferences) about many various Armenian studies, during 3 days from 10th to 12th of september. The schedule of the lectures is linked to in the web-page above, showing that it reunites academics of many kind and places.

To tell the true, I don’t know much more about it, and it didn’t receive specific communication in Armenian usual medias so it’s passing without much notice amongst Armenians here. It seems to be really specifically dedicated to professional academics. The only reason why I know about it is because some Venice Armenian friends arrived this week in Paris to take part to those conferences, and so I enjoyed their presence again :o)

These friends are worthy to mention also cause they’re academics of Venice University, linked to Padus-Araxes Association who organises summer intensive courses of Armenian language and culture since more than 20 years. http://www.padus-araxes.com/

I participated to this summer course few years ago and still meet those highly noble, cultivated and open-minded people with great happyness. Furthermore, what goes on during this intensive course is something unique that can’t be described in few lines. As a short glance it’s enough to notice that people who once attended this course usually come back, encourage others to participate, and still meet each other with the same extreme pleasure. Such it was for me, as well as for other friends’. It’s the kind of experience that entertains hope, for humanity or more humbly for any other improvement you’d like to see around you.

So let’s quote Bobby McFerrin’s sacred lyrics : Don’t worry Be happy !

Ciao-cio !

Boooooo

So the soccer game is over, and I guess losing 2-0 is not too bad considering there are over 20x more people in Turkey than Armenia. It is impressive that the Armenian juniors team beat the Turkish juniors team a week earlier in fact!

During the Turkish national anthem, and during the game, the Armenian booing was very very loud. I guess this can only be expected, except that for a while now the Turks have loved to try and convince the world that it's only the Diaspora that has a problem with Turkey. That apparently natives of Armenia are fine with the genocide, the invasion and stealing of half of what was left of Armenia afterwards, the successful push to get Russia to give Karabakh and Nakhichevan to Azerbaijan, the lack of diplomatic relations, blockade and closed land borders. Oh, and now a new railroad to completely go around Armenia.

Yes, Armenians might be open to being treated like human beings, like equals - with relations, with trade, with person to person contact, but I hope that once and for all the myth of the groveling Hayastantsi that the Turks have been peddling has been crushed.

They're saying in Turkey this may lead to diplomatic relations, but not to get hopes up. Ooooo, aaaaaah, so generous of them to consider it.

When it comes time for reparations, they ought to have to pay them for as many years as they denied the genocide for, plus an extra penalty for all the years of closed borders as they tried to suffocate poor post-earthquake/post-Soviet Armenia.

Turkish President coming to Yerevan

I don't know what to think of this historic news. Of course I think it's great that this is a step towards dialogue and relations, but it's also strange to invite someone to your country who has purposely done you such harm, such evil. By keeping the borders closed, refusing to establish relations, refusing to recognize the genocide and even going out of his way to start projects like the railway from Kars to Georgia, just to keep Armenia completely isolated and cut off, this man has shown that he wishes Armenia would just wither up and die.

Time will tell whether this results in any real changes in Turkey's policies, but I guess that it is impossible for them to get worse. It will also be interesting to see thousands of Turkish fans in Yerevan. Truly a new chapter in Armenian history is about to unfold.