ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
03/24/2004
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://
1) Armenian President Meets with Coalition Leaders
2) Turkish Official Looks to Improved Relations with Armenia
3) ANC San Gabriel Valley, Assemblymember Caldron Meet on ANC Activities
4) ARF Reviews Faction’s Activities in Parliament
5) Moscow’s Week of Parajanov
1) Armenian President Meets with Coalition Leaders
YEREVAN (Presidential Press Office)–President Robert Kocharian met with heads
of the governing coalition on Tuesday, who conveyed their impressions and
observation of recent field visits to regions of Armenia. The representatives
agreed and stressed the necessity of continued visits to various areas.
On other topics, they suggested ways to make the legislative activities of
the
National Assembly and government more productive, and emphasized the need to
strictly adhere to the 2004 schedule in reviewing draft legislation.
2) Turkish Official Looks to Improved Relations with Armenia
YEREVAN (Combined Sources)–Leading the Turkish delegation at a session of the
Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Parliamentary Assembly that convened in
Yerevan on Wednesday, Salik Kapusoz of the Turkish ruling Justice and
Development party, said that the borders of Armenia and Turkey may open soon.
`The Justice and Development party has taken on the task to develop relations
with all neighbors of Turkey, and I hope that we shall soon see better times,’
he said, stressing that the opening of borders should serve as a solid
incentive to improve Turkish-Armenian relations. He also told reporters that
both nations should not cling to the past, and instead must look forward.
The BSEC Parliamentary Assembly body meeting in Yerevan is the Commission on
Culture, Education, and Social Issues. The head of Romania’s delegation and
Vice-chair of the commission Dumitru Buzatu, is presiding over the session
attended by parliamentary delegations from Turkey, Moldova, Bulgaria, Albania,
Ukraine, Russia, and Georgia. The Azeri delegation opted not to attend, citing
busy schedules. “I hope they will take part in future meetings held in
Armenia,” announced Buzatu.
The first sitting of the session took up the social, economic, and civil
rights of the disabled, with Russian representative Adam Tleuz addressing the
physical and social obstacles the disabled face.
Members of the session noted that in Armenia, rights of the disabled are
consistently violated, and that the country’s medical centers are far from
reaching international standards.
Paying special attention to the rights of disabled children and women,
participants urged BSEC governments and parliaments to advance their laws on
the disabled so that they correspond to international standards.
3) ANC San Gabriel Valley, Assemblymember Caldron Meet on ANC Activities
MONTBELLO–At the invitation of California Assemblymember Ronald S. Calderon
(D-58th Assembly District), Armenian National Committee (ANC) San Gabriel
Valley representatives held a work meeting with Calderon and his staff on
March
12, focusing on issues that concern the Armenian American constituents in the
district.
ANC representatives presented the local ANC’s activities in progress, which
include the addition of the Armenian Genocide in the Montebello School
District
curriculum; establishment of a sister city program between the city of
Montebello and Stepanakert, the capital of Mountainous Karabagh Republic; ANC
voter registration and voter outreach campaigns; and the upcoming April 23
vigil and April 24 rally at the Armenian Martyrs Monument in Montebello to
commemorate the 89th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Calderon, who is a staunch supporter of Armenian issues, provided valuable
suggestions, promising his assistance for the success of the specified
programs.
4) ARF Reviews Faction’s Activities in Parliament
YEREVAN (Yerkir)–The legislative activities of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF) were reviewed during a joint meeting on Wednesday between ARF
Armenia Supreme Body members and Parliament’s ARF faction members.
The ARF faction in Parliament has proposed six new pieces of legislation and
seven amendments to existing laws, with members co-sponsoring 25 legislative
initiatives proposed by others in parliament.
Details of visits to regions of Armenia by the faction members were also
reviewed.
5) Moscow’s Week of Parajanov
MOSCOW (Armenpress)–A week dedicated to commemorate what would have been
influential Armenian filmmaker Sergey Parajanov’s 80th birthday, and to
celebrate the great film director, artist, and sculptor’s art began in Moscow
on March 23 with an exhibit of items from the Parajanov Museum, including his
films, unique art collages, posters from his films, videos about his work, and
photographs by Yuri Mechitov.
Beauty as the highest value and truth as a creative principle were the most
important components of Parajanov’s art, which gave birth to a legend that
became known to the world as Parajanov’s film.
Born and raised in a traditional Armenian family in Tbilisi, Parajanov lived
his childhood very close to the tight Armenian community. These images of
childhood were later reflected in his work “Colors of Pomegranate.”
In 1945, with the end of the Second World War, Parajanov moved to Moscow and
enrolled in the Institute of Cinematography. In 1952, he moved to Kiev,
Ukraine, to start working at Dovzhenko studios. After a number of short films
and side projects, Parajanov finally started working on his first movie, “The
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors,” which turned out to be one of the greatest
masterpieces in the history of cinematography.
In a few years, Parajanov moved to his true homeland Armenia, and began to
work at the “Armenfilm” studio, where some of his short movies such as “Hakob
Hovnatyan” were born, and where he screened his biggest masterpiece: “Color of
Pomegranate.” Though the film’s cinematography won him international
notoriety,
the movie received no attention from the Soviet authorities. After forcefully
cutting 20 minutes out of the movie and re-releasing the short version for the
Soviet audience, Parajanov said: “My masterpiece no longer exists.”
It was the “Color of Pomegranate” that sparked the chain of events in his
life. Soviet censures did not particularly appreciate the numerous religious
images portrayed in the movie. Subsequently, a number of his screenplays were
rejected and he was later imprisoned under false charges–and sent to the
Gulag, one of the most abhorrent concentration camps in Russia.
He was released after a number of years as a result of global protests by
artists. Penniless, he moved back to Georgia in 1977, only to be imprisoned
again, but this time without a trial.
His work, “The Legend of the Souram Fortress” was completed in 1986; he began
work on “Ashik Kerib” the following year. Though both films became
world-renowned masterpieces, receiving a number of awards at movie festivals,
Parajanov did not get to see them. After undergoing treatment in France for
lung cancer, he passed away in 1989, in Yerevan.
All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier
and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and
subscription requests.
(c) 2004 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved.
ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for
academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through
mass media outlets.