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.