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ARMENIAN ETHNOCULTURAL CENTRE PRESERVES CULTURE, ENCOURAGES UNITY
Astana Times, Kazakhstan
June 19 2014
By Dmitry Lee in Nation on 19 June
ASTANA - Hard work, dedication and entrepreneurial spirit, these are
the qualities represented by the three colours of the Armenian flag.
Red stands for the Armenian highland, its people's continued struggle
for survival and their maintenance of Christianity, independence
and freedom. Blue symbolises the will of the Armenian people to
live beneath peaceful skies. Orange marks Armenians' creativity and
hard-working nature.
Today, Armenians live in small communities in over 70 countries,
with the largest populations living in the U.S., Russia, France and
Lebanon. The Armenian diaspora totals about eight million people. More
than 25,000 Armenians live in Kazakhstan.
"In Yerevan [the capital of Armenia], there is an Institute of Ancient
Manuscripts that archives ancient manuscripts from all over the world.
Among these manuscripts there are scripts in the Kazakh language
but using Armenian words," Chairman of Astana's Van Armenian
Ethnocultural Centre Gagik Martirosyan told The Astana Times in an
exclusive interview. "This proves that Kazakhs and Armenians had ties
thousands of years ago," he said.
Historical records show that Armenian warriors and traders once roamed
freely in many parts of Central Asia, often fighting alongside local
warlords in return for trading privileges. In more recent history,
Armenians arrived in Kazakhstan in the 1860s, when the Russian Empire,
which at the time controlled Armenian-populated areas in the North
Caucasus, moved to explore the Kazakh steppes. Armenians accompanied
them, acting as interpreters for the Russians as well as consultants
and businessmen for the emerging oil industry.
Today, Armenians at the Van Centre are engaged in various industries
in their adopted nation, Martirosyan said, mostly in construction
and building.
"We have about 50 members in our ethnocultural centre who come from
different working backgrounds. Our deputy is a doctor, there are
retirees, some are businessmen, and whoever can help financially
contributes to our centre, where our goals are to maintain fluency
in our language. We teach the language to children ... teach them
to dance national dances, pay our dues to our ancestors and try to
keep our traditions and history alive, and to proudly represent our
nation," Martirosyan explained.
The community all chips in to maintain the centre, the chairman says.
The office is provided by a local ethnic Armenian businessman,
for example. In addition, Martirosyan said, "the city akimat (local
government) also allots funds to preserve our language and culture."
With so many local businesspeople involved in the centre, it has also
become a site for networking.
According to Martirosyan, Kazakhstan's favourable tax policy attracts
many Armenians.
"In Kazakhstan, you pay your taxes and sleep in peace; you don't have
to worry about other things. The taxing policy also helped create
the middle class and it grows stronger. The government relies on the
middle class, as opposed to Armenia, for instance, [where] there is
almost no middle class."
Today, the Armenian economy, with a population of about three million,
relies on the investment and support of Armenians abroad. In the Soviet
era, the country's economy was based largely on chemicals, electronics,
machinery, processed food, synthetic rubber and textiles, but with
the dissolution of the Armenian Soviet Republic, the economy collapsed.
Armenia's economy has grown since 1995 and inflation has been
negligible for the past several years. New sectors such as
precious-stone processing and jewellery making, information and
communication technology and even tourism are beginning to supplement
more traditional sectors of the economy, like agriculture. The 1994
cease-fire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has also helped boost
the economy.
Armenians, like the country's many other ethnic groups, are represented
in the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan (APK). The APK was
established by President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 1995; in 2007, the
President signed a decree giving the APK the right to contribute
nine of its members to the Mazhilis (lower house of Parliament),
a unique privilege for such an assembly.
"I would like to wish the [government] of Kazakhstan to continue the
flexible and righteous policy towards all peoples. As our President
says, our strength lies in the unity of all nations. All these nations
that live in Kazakhstan contribute something to the development
of the country. Today in Kazakhstan we can grow, build, continue
developing, work, live - we have peaceful skies over our heads,"
Martirosyan concluded.
http://www.astanatimes.com/2014/06/armenian-ethnocultural-centre-preserves-culture-encourages-unity/
Astana Times, Kazakhstan
June 19 2014
By Dmitry Lee in Nation on 19 June
ASTANA - Hard work, dedication and entrepreneurial spirit, these are
the qualities represented by the three colours of the Armenian flag.
Red stands for the Armenian highland, its people's continued struggle
for survival and their maintenance of Christianity, independence
and freedom. Blue symbolises the will of the Armenian people to
live beneath peaceful skies. Orange marks Armenians' creativity and
hard-working nature.
Today, Armenians live in small communities in over 70 countries,
with the largest populations living in the U.S., Russia, France and
Lebanon. The Armenian diaspora totals about eight million people. More
than 25,000 Armenians live in Kazakhstan.
"In Yerevan [the capital of Armenia], there is an Institute of Ancient
Manuscripts that archives ancient manuscripts from all over the world.
Among these manuscripts there are scripts in the Kazakh language
but using Armenian words," Chairman of Astana's Van Armenian
Ethnocultural Centre Gagik Martirosyan told The Astana Times in an
exclusive interview. "This proves that Kazakhs and Armenians had ties
thousands of years ago," he said.
Historical records show that Armenian warriors and traders once roamed
freely in many parts of Central Asia, often fighting alongside local
warlords in return for trading privileges. In more recent history,
Armenians arrived in Kazakhstan in the 1860s, when the Russian Empire,
which at the time controlled Armenian-populated areas in the North
Caucasus, moved to explore the Kazakh steppes. Armenians accompanied
them, acting as interpreters for the Russians as well as consultants
and businessmen for the emerging oil industry.
Today, Armenians at the Van Centre are engaged in various industries
in their adopted nation, Martirosyan said, mostly in construction
and building.
"We have about 50 members in our ethnocultural centre who come from
different working backgrounds. Our deputy is a doctor, there are
retirees, some are businessmen, and whoever can help financially
contributes to our centre, where our goals are to maintain fluency
in our language. We teach the language to children ... teach them
to dance national dances, pay our dues to our ancestors and try to
keep our traditions and history alive, and to proudly represent our
nation," Martirosyan explained.
The community all chips in to maintain the centre, the chairman says.
The office is provided by a local ethnic Armenian businessman,
for example. In addition, Martirosyan said, "the city akimat (local
government) also allots funds to preserve our language and culture."
With so many local businesspeople involved in the centre, it has also
become a site for networking.
According to Martirosyan, Kazakhstan's favourable tax policy attracts
many Armenians.
"In Kazakhstan, you pay your taxes and sleep in peace; you don't have
to worry about other things. The taxing policy also helped create
the middle class and it grows stronger. The government relies on the
middle class, as opposed to Armenia, for instance, [where] there is
almost no middle class."
Today, the Armenian economy, with a population of about three million,
relies on the investment and support of Armenians abroad. In the Soviet
era, the country's economy was based largely on chemicals, electronics,
machinery, processed food, synthetic rubber and textiles, but with
the dissolution of the Armenian Soviet Republic, the economy collapsed.
Armenia's economy has grown since 1995 and inflation has been
negligible for the past several years. New sectors such as
precious-stone processing and jewellery making, information and
communication technology and even tourism are beginning to supplement
more traditional sectors of the economy, like agriculture. The 1994
cease-fire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has also helped boost
the economy.
Armenians, like the country's many other ethnic groups, are represented
in the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan (APK). The APK was
established by President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 1995; in 2007, the
President signed a decree giving the APK the right to contribute
nine of its members to the Mazhilis (lower house of Parliament),
a unique privilege for such an assembly.
"I would like to wish the [government] of Kazakhstan to continue the
flexible and righteous policy towards all peoples. As our President
says, our strength lies in the unity of all nations. All these nations
that live in Kazakhstan contribute something to the development
of the country. Today in Kazakhstan we can grow, build, continue
developing, work, live - we have peaceful skies over our heads,"
Martirosyan concluded.
http://www.astanatimes.com/2014/06/armenian-ethnocultural-centre-preserves-culture-encourages-unity/