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Seminar on National Symbols, Independent Statehood and Armenian
Language conducted
YEREVAN, JULY 16, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian Center for National and
International Studies (ACNIS) convened a roundtable discussion today,
entitled `National symbols, independent statehood and Armenian
language,' focusing on the Armenian language as a foundation for
Armenian statehood and independence. The meeting brought together
leading analysts, policy specialists, public and political figures,
including the head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, Ambassador Sergey
Kapinos, as well as NGO representatives, and members of the press.
After welcoming the participants, ACNIS Director Richard Giragosian
noted that `today, the Armenian society can no longer remain a
spectator and its voice needs to be heard by the decision makers.'
Karine Hakobian, art critic and publicist, then discussed the matter
of cultural identity as a pillar for the formation of an independent
and a national state, and stressed that the Armenian language is the
axis of that identity. `Ever since the early 1990s, an insufficient
importance was placed on the role that culture, language, and national
symbols play in the establishment of independent statehood. As a
result, the studying of artistic heritage and the challenge of
national self-consciousness became a derivative, and this brought
about today's reality, when the Armenian language could turn into a
scapegoat for the current inconsolable state of education in the
country,' Hakobian maintained.
The second speaker, Director Ruzan Sarian of the Sarian Museum,
presented the history behind the creation of the second Armenian
republic's coat of arms. According to Sarian, this crest, which was
created by the great Armenian painter Martiros Sarian, had placed a
strong emphasis on Mt. Ararat as the main symbol. Sarian also quoted
Simon Vratsian, the last prime minister of the first Republic of
Armenia, who had criticized the first republic's cote of arms as being
a `unification of symbols that have no connection with the Armenian
identity.'
The roundtable discussants also included Raffi K. Hovannisian; analyst
Garegin Chugaszian; culture specialist Lala Mneyan; ethnographer Levon
Abrahamian; and several others.
The presentations were then followed by a series of questions and
answers, and featured a lively exchange with the audience. At the end
of the roundtable, numerous attendees joined an initiative group's
movement against the establishment of foreign-language schools in
Armenia.
From: A. Papazian
Language conducted
YEREVAN, JULY 16, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian Center for National and
International Studies (ACNIS) convened a roundtable discussion today,
entitled `National symbols, independent statehood and Armenian
language,' focusing on the Armenian language as a foundation for
Armenian statehood and independence. The meeting brought together
leading analysts, policy specialists, public and political figures,
including the head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, Ambassador Sergey
Kapinos, as well as NGO representatives, and members of the press.
After welcoming the participants, ACNIS Director Richard Giragosian
noted that `today, the Armenian society can no longer remain a
spectator and its voice needs to be heard by the decision makers.'
Karine Hakobian, art critic and publicist, then discussed the matter
of cultural identity as a pillar for the formation of an independent
and a national state, and stressed that the Armenian language is the
axis of that identity. `Ever since the early 1990s, an insufficient
importance was placed on the role that culture, language, and national
symbols play in the establishment of independent statehood. As a
result, the studying of artistic heritage and the challenge of
national self-consciousness became a derivative, and this brought
about today's reality, when the Armenian language could turn into a
scapegoat for the current inconsolable state of education in the
country,' Hakobian maintained.
The second speaker, Director Ruzan Sarian of the Sarian Museum,
presented the history behind the creation of the second Armenian
republic's coat of arms. According to Sarian, this crest, which was
created by the great Armenian painter Martiros Sarian, had placed a
strong emphasis on Mt. Ararat as the main symbol. Sarian also quoted
Simon Vratsian, the last prime minister of the first Republic of
Armenia, who had criticized the first republic's cote of arms as being
a `unification of symbols that have no connection with the Armenian
identity.'
The roundtable discussants also included Raffi K. Hovannisian; analyst
Garegin Chugaszian; culture specialist Lala Mneyan; ethnographer Levon
Abrahamian; and several others.
The presentations were then followed by a series of questions and
answers, and featured a lively exchange with the audience. At the end
of the roundtable, numerous attendees joined an initiative group's
movement against the establishment of foreign-language schools in
Armenia.
From: A. Papazian