Month: June 2005

California Courier Online, June 30, 2005
1 – Commentary
By Harut Sassounian
California Courier Publisher
Armenians Should Teach
Time Magazine a Lesson
2 – Limited Edition DVD of ‘I Hate Dogs’
And ‘Back to Ararat’ Films Released
3- AUA Graduate Selected
As 2005 Yale World Fellow
4 – Retired State Department Officer Protests
Withdrawal of AFSA Award to Amb. Evans
5 – Koomruian Education Fund Announces
10 Scholarships Award for 2005-2006
6 – ARS-WR Executives Tour
ARS Schools in Karabagh
*************************************************************************
1 – Commentary
Armenians Should Teach
Time Magazine a Lesson
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
Armenians in the United States and Europe should launch a coordinated
campaign to ensure that Time magazine would never again allow itself to be
used as a tool for the dissemination of Turkish lies on the Armenian
Genocide.
The Ankara Chamber of Commerce had paid around $1 million to place four
full-page ads and a DVD in the June 6 issue of the European edition of Time
magazine which has a circulation of around 500,000 copies.
The ad pages contain pictures of Greek and Armenian historical sites in
Turkey. The DVD insert, which comes in a blank white wrapper and does not
carry the mandatory “advertising supplement” disclosure, contains a couple
of short ads on tourism and a 70-minute segment that includes dozens of
distortions and vicious lies about the Armenian Genocide.
It is very obvious that the real intent of the Ankara Chamber of Commerce,
and most probably that of the Turkish government hiding behind it, was not
so much to promote tourism in Turkey, but to denigrate the Armenian
Genocide.
This DVD, more aptly called a piece of hate mail, starts with the following
pompous declaration: “The most comprehensive documentary serial ever made
on the Armenian Question in the history of [the] Turkish Republic.”
An indication of the extent that the Turks have gone to distort the facts
of the Armenian Genocide is that they have prepared this DVD in seven
languages: English, French, Turkish, German, Spanish, Arabic and Russian.
The Turks claim to have conducted research in the archives of 11 countries,
including Armenia. It is noteworthy that while the Turkish Prime Minister
keeps repeatedly saying that Armenia must open its archives, Turkish
filmmakers are inadvertently proving him wrong by stating that they have
access to the Armenian archives!
There are so many lies in this DVD that one does not know where to start.
One would need to write an entire book to expose all of the distortions in
this 70-minute DVD.
The DVD accuses Armenians of committing genocide against the Turks;
collaborating with the Nazis; and distorting documents, while the
filmmakers themselves blatantly distort just about every fact. The DVD
blames the Kurds for the Armenian killings, while claiming that Armenians
were not killed. It misidentifies not only historical sites, but also
well-known places, such as calling the Glendale City College, “University
of Glendale,” and the Turkish Embassy in Paris, “the Turkish Consulate.” It
calls Amb. Henry Morgenthau’s documented reports on the Armenian Genocide,
“hearsay.” It cunningly describes as a “published letter” the paid ad
against the Armenian Genocide by some U.S. “scholars” who had received
grants from the Institute of Turkish Studies which was funded by the
Turkish government. It falsifies the
interview of Kemal Ataturk published in the August 1, 1926 issue of the Los
Angeles Examiner in which he admits that the Young Turks massacred millions
of Christians in the Ottoman Empire. It identifies Albert Amateau, a Jew,
as an Armenian who allegedly denies the Armenian Genocide. It wrongly
identifies an unknown interviewee as Prof. Radick Martirosyan, the Rector
of the Yerevan State University. It distorts the words of French
parliamentarian Francois Rochebloine who said after viewing the DVD: “My
words in there are taken out of context. I did not recognize myself in the
way I was presented.” It will not be surprising if the other interviews in
the DVD are also distorted.
Adding insult to injury, the narrator claims that Armenian “women and
children were to be carried by carriages” during the deportations. It
shamelessly states that “food was distributed, shelter was provided and
field hospitals which were established by the [Ottoman] soldiers served on
the way. Measures were taken for security. The Ottoman state was allocating
allowances for those moving despite the dire financial situation of the
state. The state orders were that those who were subject to the relocation
law would be provided with housing immediately at their destinations. In
addition, if necessary, those people would also be provided with food from
the ration of the Ottoman soldiers at war, they would be served hot meals
and meat.”
It is appalling that Time magazine would accept such a pack of lies as paid
advertising and then have the gall to say that it is not responsible for
its content. We are not talking here about depriving the Turks of their
right to express their opinion. Rather, we are dealing with a clear case of
false advertising, hate mail (a hate crime), and fraud (representing
outright lies as facts).
Time’s executives either knowingly accepted this fraudulent DVD and turned
a blind eye to its contents for the sake of pocketing the $1 million ad
revenue or they were negligent in verifying its contents. In either case
they have an obligation to set the record straight and make amends. They
should either do this voluntarily or would be compelled to do so by a court
of law.
The Armenian community should ask Time magazine to:
1) Publish an apology for disseminating this fraudulent DVD;
2) Issue a formal memo to all its divisions around the world not to
accept this DVD as an insert (the Ankara Chamber of Commerce has announced
its intention to place the same DVD in Time’s Asian and Pacific editions);
3) Issue a written warning to all its advertising executives not to
accept any more ads from Turkish entities that deny the Armenian Genocide
(just as they would not run an ad that denies the Jewish Holocaust and
glorifies Hitler; the New York Times recently rejected an ad from Turkish
organizations denying the Armenian Genocide);
4) Destroy the extra 116,000 copies of this DVD that are still in
Time’s possession;
5) Agree to insert and disseminate free of charge a DVD prepared by a
reputable research institute on the Armenian Genocide;
6) Donate the payment it received from the Turkish Chamber of Commerce
for this ad to an Armenian charity.
Should Time reject the above demands, Armenians should then:
1) Cancel their subscriptions and ads; and urge their friends and
business colleagues to do likewise;
2) File lawsuits in several European countries (France, Switzerland,
Belgium, Holland and Germany) where genocide denial or making statements of
racial hatred is against the law;
3) Issue a public appeal for funds to pay for the legal costs of these
lawsuits.
The most important issue is that Armenians should not remain silent in the
face of such an offensive ad. If they ignore it, they would then be
encouraging the Turks to place similar offensive ads not only in other
editions of Time, but also in magazines around the world. It is somewhat
fortunate that the Turks chose to run this ad in the European edition of
Time. Since several European countries have laws banning such hate mail, it
makes it easy for Armenians to take legal action. Armenians should take
advantage of this unique opportunity and make an example of Time magazine!
**************************************************************************
2 – Limited Edition DVD of ‘I Hate Dogs’
And ‘Back to Ararat’ Films Released
HOLLYWOOD – Markopolofilms and HB PeÅ Holmquist Films last week announced
the release of the special commemorative DVD featuring two critically
acclaimed, award-winning documentaries – I Hate Dogs-The Last Survivor
(2005) and Back to Ararat (1988).
“I Hate Dogs” is the new documentary short by Swedish producers PeÅ
Holmquist and Suzanne Khardalian. The film explores Garbis’, an energetic
99-year-old survivor, memories of the death march that he and his family
were forced to take in 1915 by the Ottoman Turks. Garbis examines the
effects of genocide and talks about the life he has built in France. “For
anyone having the slightest difficulty in understanding what genocide means
to the individual, this film is an absolute must,” said Kulturnytt.
“Back to Ararat” is an award-winning (Best Film, 1988 Sweden), documentary
produced and directed by Holmquist, Khardalian, Göran Gunner and Göran
Gurén. “It’s difficult to watch it without a sense of outrage,” said the
Los Angeles Times.
The first feature length documentary about the first genocide of the 20th
century, Back to Ararat examines several Armenian communities around the
world and features the struggles and challenges that the Diaspora faces in
dealing with issues of genocide. Viewed international by thousands, Back to
Ararat is considered to be one of the most comprehensive documentaries on
the Armenian Genocide.
“PeÅ and Suzanne are amazing visual storytellers who had the courage to go
where very few had dared at the time. These films bring genocide
consciousness to the big screen,” added Raffy Ardhaldjian, one of the few
surviving Armenians portrayed in Back to Ararat. Featuring bonus interviews
with filmmakers, the I Hate Dogs/Back to Ararat DVD sells US$20. The DVD is
available at most Armenian-American bookstores and will soon be featured
for purchase online at
To purchase the DVD or for more information on US sales, call 818.291.6490.
For more information on arranging private screenings of the film, call
Eliza Karagezian at 818.291.6490. For more information on the films and
filmmakers visit
The Ani & Narod Memorial Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt
US organization encouraging the welfare and development of Armenian women
and children through innovative cultural, educational, health and social
programs.
*****************************************************************
3 – AUA Graduate Selected
As 2005 Yale World Fellow
YEREVAN -Yale University President Richard Levin announced that Lusine
Abovyan, a graduate of the American University of Armenia’s Law Department
and currently an adjunct member of its law faculty, was selected from among
hundreds of qualified candidates to become one of 18 Yale World Fellows in
2005.
Yale World Fellows are selected from outside the US at an early mid-career
point, and come from a range of fields and disciplines, including
government, business, media, non-governmental organizations, the military,
religion and the arts.
Abovyan is a lawyer and journalist, and currently serves as a
constitutional law specialist for the Armenia Legislative Strengthening
Program, an organization charged with reforming the Armenian constitution.
She earned her Master of Laws (LL.M.) from AUA in 1999 and she has been an
adjunct member of the AUA law faculty since 2001, where she teaches Media
Law and Intellectual Property Law.
Matthew Karanian, the Associate Dean of the University’s law school, said
that Abovyan is a “shining star for Armenia, for AUA, and for the law
program,” where she studied and now teaches. “We’re proud of her
accomplishment, and are pleased to know that someone who we have long
recognized as a leader in legal scholarship is now also being recognized by
Yale.”
Abovyan received her first degree in 1995 from Progress University of
Economy and Law in Gyumri, Armenia. She has also earned an LLM from Tulane
University in New
Orleans, LA, as a recipient of the Edmund Muskie/Freedom Support Act
Graduate Fellowship CEP SCOUT Fellow. Abovyan is a member of International
Media Lawyers Association, AUA Alumni Association, and American Graduates
Association.
**************************************************************
4 – Retired State Department Officer Protests
Withdrawal of AFSA Award to Amb. Evans
WASHINGTON, DC – A member of the American Foreign Service Association
(AFSA) wrote to the organization in protest of the withdrawal of the AFSA
Constructive Dissent award to Ambassador John Evans for the recognition of
the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Turks.
In a letter cc’ed to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Jeannette John, a
Foreign Service Officer, now retired from duties at the US Department of
State’s USAID, expressed her “shock and utter dismay” at the withdrawal of
the award to the US envoy.
The retired FSO noted that her mother, Angele Magarian was 16 years old
when she was exiled with her mother and his sisters from Bandirma in
Western Turkey.
“My grandmother was born in 1869 and was a well educated woman,” John
wrote. “Her daughter, my dear mother could never talk about the Genocide.
When asked, tears would run down her face and she would turn her back on
me. I asked my grandmother about the Genocide and she told me about the
sheer horror of the Genocide. She said that they put mud on their faces so
as not to appear attractive, and they wore old clothes so they would not be
stripped of them. Many little children were raped and dismembered and wild
dogs often ate their remains. Those who could not walk anymore in the
burning desert sun suffered similar fates. They ended up in a mud hut in
Arshrafieh, a Druze village, two hours walk to Damascus. They were in
Arshrafieh for two years and two years in Damascus.
“From 1981 through 1983, I was assigned to Damascus as an Foreign Service
Officer, John wrote. “My mother, who had left Syria when she was 19 years
old, returned when she was 82 years old. I took her to Arshrafieh, the
Druze village, where she was treated with great respect and the elders
sympathized with her for what the Armenians had gone through during the
Genocide. Please do not tell me the Genocide did not happen. It did!
History has shown this. Both former President Reagan and current Governor
Schwarzenegger have publicly acknowledged the Genocide along with many
other countries such as Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Council
of European Parliamentary Assembly, France, Greece, Italy, Sweden,
Switzerland, Vatican City and more. I am urging you to reinstate the AFSA
Constructive Dissent award to U.S. Ambassador John Evans. I am the child
and grandchild of survivors!
” I am reminded of a quote from Adolf Hitler; ‘Our strength lies in our
intensive attack and our barbarity….after all, who today remembers the
genocide of the Armenians.’
“We must never forget the Genocide,” John observed. “I implore you to take
quick and decisive action not for just the Armenian people, but for all who
love freedom.”
**************************************************************************
5 – Koomruian Education Fund Announces
10 Scholarships Award for 2005-2006
LOS ANGELES – The Selection Committee of the Peter and Alice Koomruian
Armenian Education Fund announced the award of scholarships in the amount
of $1,500 each to 10 students for the academic year 2005-2006.
The recipients are: Amber Alice Benlian, Ilona Valeryevna Grigorian,
Natalie Shake Manachian, Tigran Martirosyan, Sheyda Melkonian, Rose
Ohanesian, Aram Levon Shemassian, and Shant Paul Stepanian.
Applications for the 2006-2006 academic year may be obtained from the
Koomruian Armenian Education Fund, c/o 15915 Ventura Blvd., Penthouse 1,
Encino, CA 91436 or Koomruian Armenian Education Fund, c/o Bank of America
Private Banking/2088000, 555 S. Flore St., 11th Floor, Los Angeles, CA
90071. Deadline for filing the application is April 30, 2006.
Requests for applications must include a self-addressed and stamped
envelope. Applicants must be of Armenian ancestry and enrolled as full time
students at a university of college in the US. The award is based on a
student’s academic performance and financial need.
**************************************************************************
6 – ARS-WR Executives Tour
ARS Schools in Karabagh
GLENDALE – A group of Armenian Relief Society of Western U.S. (ARS-WR)
regional executives, chapter members and supporters returned to the US
after a 15- day pilgrimage to Armenia and Artsakh (Karabagh) which began on
May 24.
This was the third pilgrimage organized by the Western Region. These
individually funded trips have multiple objectives, from visiting historic
sites of Armenia to visiting projects funded by the Western Region and
individual supporters; in addition to visiting sites for future projects in
collaboration with the ARS Central Executive, the Armenia Regional
Executive and Artsakh Regional.
The group members enjoyed the ARS Armenia Regional Executive’s care and
attention from the moment that they were welcomed at the Yerevan airport.
One of the highlights of the trip was the visit to the Sartarabad Monument
on May 27, which was followed by the participation of the whole group in a
“Shourch Bar” (circle dancing) around Mount Arakadz, with almost 250,000
Armenians from Armenia
& the Diaspora. This exciting dance tried to break a record.
The group proceeded to Artsakh for a four-day visit. They visited the
Kantsasar Monastery, the ARS Sosse Kindergartens and the opening of the
Home Museum of Nigol Tuman. Accompanied by Artsakh ungerouhis, the group
visited the Sosse Kindergartens that operate year round and serve 550
children. The 10 schools operate under the auspices of the ARS Central
Executive of which Ashan and Aganapert schools are sponsored by the Western
Region, in addition, the Western Region sponsors several renovation
projects at other schools. During the visits, the school children
entertained their guests with songs and recitations, while ARS-WR Regional
Chair, Angela Savoian, and Armenia Projects Coordinator, Jasik
Boniatian-Jarahian, made encouraging remarks to the staff and students.
The ARS-WR was responsible in providing two uniforms per student, and table
settings to the 10 ARS Kindergartens. The project began in September of
2004. During this trip, an additional 300 uniforms and 200 pairs of
footwear were delivered to the new students, and for the first time the
group witnessed the use of the new table settings. This project was funded
by donations of individuals and chapters from the Western Region. During
the visits to the Sosse kindergartens, ARS-WR Regional
Executive members, Alice Yeghiayan and Serpouhie Messerlian, helped to put
up the plaques for sponsorships by their respective chapters, “Mayr”
Chapter of Hollywood and “Sophia” Chapter of Fresno.
During last year’s visit to Armenia, Jasik Boniatian volunteered the
sponsorship of renovating the Dzaghgashad village
(formerly Ghshlagh) of Artsakh, including the Home Museum of Nigol Touman,
the hall, the tonir (the lavash bread bakery) and
the picnic area, in memory of her father, Souren.. The opening ceremonies
were officiated by Artsakh Prelate, Archbishop
Barkev Mardirossian on May 31, and was attended by numerous public
officials, the sponsor, the tour group, the senior graduating class of the
Ferrahian High School, and all the neighboring villagers who were invited
to attend the opening ceremonies and participate in the dinner celebration
that followed.
***************************************************************************
***************************************************************************
The California Courier On-Line is a service provided by the California
Courier. Subscriptions or changes of address should not be transmitted
through this service. Information in that regard should be telephoned
to (818) 409-0949; faxed to: (818) 409-9207, or e-mailed to:
[email protected]. Letters to the editor concerning issues
addressed in the Courier may be e-mailed, provided it is signed by
the author. Phone and/or E-mail address is also required to verify
authorship.
–Boundary_(ID_DBV6ENDdIDfYE8Tm86tNsw)–

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
06/27/2005
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) OSCE Parliamentarians to Debate International Security, Human Rights, Karabagh Conflict 2) ARF's Nalbandian at Party of European Socialists Meeting 3) Aliyev Links Higher Defense Spending to Russian Arms Relocation 4) Turkey Won't Accept Any New EU Criteria 5) ARS Javakhk Fund to Renovate Akhalkalak School 1) OSCE Parliamentarians to Debate International Security, Human Rights, Karabagh Conflict COPENHAGEN--Nearly three-hundred parliamentarians from Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) fifty-five participating States will meet in Washington, DC, July 1-5, to debate issues affecting the OSCE area, including Mountainous Karabagh, Abkhazia (Georgia), trafficking in human beings, gender equality and respect for human rights. The head of Armenia's delegation to OSCE Vahan Hovhannissian, who is also the Deputy Chairman of the Armenian National Assembly, will be in Washington for the session, which is expected to review Goren Lennmarker's report on Karabagh. Lennmarker, OCSE's rapporteur on Karabagh, reaffirmed in his March 2005 report that Mountainous Karabagh's status is of utmost importance, and that Azeri arguments concerning refugees and territory are secondary. "By bringing the Azeri refugee issue to the forefront, Azerbaijan must realize that the Armenian side has the right to raise analogous claims, that is, to insist on the return of Armenians to Baku and Sumgaitwhich is hardly possible as Armenians in Azerbaijan are doomed to a violent death," Hovhannisian said. Senior officials, including US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, will be addressing the annual Session. The current President of the Assembly is US Congressman Alcee L. Hastings of Florida. OSCE parliamentarians from North America, Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia will debate current issues based on resolutions prepared by the Assembly's Rapporteurs on political, economic, environmental, and human rights issues related to the Session's theme '30 Years since Helsinki: Challenges Ahead;' supplementary resolutions on specific issues will also be presented. Consideration will be given to topics such as piracy, trafficking in human beings, standards of conduct by international humanitarian workers, combating terrorism, trafficking in small arms, the Mountainous Karabagh conflict, gender equality, co-operation with Mediterranean states, Abkhazia (Georgia), money laundering and corruption, Moldova, anti-Semitism, election observation activities, and OSCE reform. The Final Document, to be adopted on the last day of the meeting, will include recommendations on these and other issues. Meeting for the first time in the United States, OSCE parliamentarians, will also--for the first time--have the opportunity to meet and hear an address by the newly appointed Secretary General of the OSCE Ambassador Marc Perrin de Brichambaut. The Assembly will also honor Ukraine Television Channel Five with the tenth OSCE Prize for Journalism and Democracy on the first day of the Session. The meetings of the Assembly will take place in the premises of the JW Marriott Hotel in Washington, DC. All documents and forms for the Session, including press applications, resolutions and other general information, can be found on the Assembly's website: <; The Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE, created by the CSCE Summit in Paris in 1990, is the parliamentary setting for the 55-nation Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. The primary task of the 317 member Assembly is to facilitate inter-parliamentary dialogue, in an overall effort to meet the challenges of democracy throughout the OSCE area. 2) ARF's Nalbandian at Party of European Socialists Meeting YEREVAN (Yerkir)--The Council of Party of European Socialists (PES) marked its first anniversary as an independent European political party on June 24-25, when it met in Vienna to discuss European Union (EU) enlargement, as well as the party's organizational reforms. Mario Nalbandian, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Bureau's representative in the Socialist International, represented the party and met with various party delegates to discuss issues related to Armenia. The first session, "Our Europe," reviewed the common vision of social democrats on the role and direction of the EU. This debate was of particular importance after the results of the referenda in France and the Netherlands. The debates continued the next day with discussion on "Decent jobs for all: a new growth and investment strategy for Europe," and "Meeting Europe's demographic challenges." The council adopted a resolution on building a more visible and influential PES, one which is democratic and involves both its members and partners. The resolution, in part sates: "Today's EU policy agenda is more active and fast-paced than it has ever been. It has also never affected more parts of our core social democratic agenda; the EU agenda is constantly evolving in areas that influence the very heart of what we stand for. Conversely, we can set a proactive, new, progressive agenda at European level if we mobilize ourselves collectively with that purpose." Socialist parties of EU member states comprise PES. Its Council works to strengthen the PES as a political actor at EU level and to champion the priorities of European social democrats. 3) Aliyev Links Higher Defense Spending to Russian Arms Relocation (AP)--President Ilham Aliyev said Saturday that Azerbaijan was increasing its defense spending in response to the relocation of Russian weapons from Georgia to Armenia. Even though Moscow said weapons would remain under Russian military control and would not be turned over to Armenia, the redeployment "requires adequate steps," Aliyev said in a speech before military school graduates. "We have undertaken such steps, having increased our military spending, which will continue to grow in the future," Aliyev said. He said Azerbaijan's military spending was set to increase from $175 million in 2004 to $300 million this year. "Our army is the strongest in the Southern Caucasus," Aliyev said. "We have achieved superiority and will continue to strengthen it." Russia said it had redeployed the weaponry to Armenia under pressure to speed up its military withdrawal from Georgia. Despite Russian assurances that the move wouldn't destabilize the region, Azerbaijan has remained strongly critical of the relocation. Aliyev also said Saturday that Azerbaijan will also work to strengthen its relations with NATO. Azerbaijan has taken part in NATO's Partnership for Peace program and it has presented a plan that would further foster cooperation with the alliance, "bringing Azerbaijan-NATO relations to a new level," Aliyev said. 4) Turkey Won't Accept Any New EU Criteria ISTANBUL (AP)--Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the country will not agree to any new conditions for European Union membership, adding that Turkey expects "honest politics" as it begins negotiations to join the bloc. For EU membership talks to begin, Turkey must recognize Cyprus before the talks open in October, show progress on Kurdish rights, improve the economy and limit the military's influence in politics. Ankara is also expected to treat ethnic and religious minorities equally and implement penal code reforms. Still many European voters are balking at letting in the poor, predominantly Muslim country of 70 million people, a decision that would extend the EU's borders to Iran. EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said this week that the bloc should have an open debate about Turkey's candidacy. The country is scheduled to start membership negotiations with the EU on Oct. 3. "Turkey is not...renegotiating anything," Erdogan told reporters late Saturday. "If you impose new things on countries from one day to the next, especially at a time when negotiations are about to start, that would not be right," he added. "We are used to honest politics, that's what we expect and want." Concerns about Turkey's membership were highlighted by the recent rejection of the EU's proposed constitution by French and Dutch voters, many of whom cited Turkey's bid as the reason they cast ballots against the charter. Erdogan praised British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who this week urged the EU to continue expanding. Blair warned that shutting the door to new members would give rise to nationalism and xenophobia in Europe. "In politics, I like those who have a backbone...I don't like the rest," Erdogan said. 5) ARS Javakhk Fund to Renovate Akhalkalak School AKHALKALAK (A-info)--The Armenian Relief Society's Javakhk Assistance Fund has started renovation on Ghato village's local school, located in the Akhalkalak region. The school is one of the oldest in the region. Due to the efforts of the ARS Javakhk Fund, the Akhlalkalak-based "Shinarar" organization has undertaken the renovation of the dilapidated school, and is scheduled to finish work in September--in time for the 2005-2006 school year. The ARS Javakhk Fund works in the Javakhk, Tsalka, Akhaltsikh, and Ninotsminda regions to renovate and repair not only local schools, but also clinics in need of care. With many projects already underway, the Fund also provides the clinics necessary supplies. 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) 2005 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.

The New York Sun
June 22, 2005 Wednesday
Democracy for Lebanon
by Nibras Kazimi
‘Lebanon has plenty of freedom, but very little democracy,” the adage
goes, suggesting that no one should mistake the holding of
parliamentary elections in that country as a democratic exercise. But
still, there are hopes for better, democratic days to come.
And here’s why: Two seismic developments occurred in the last two
staggered phases of the Lebanese elections during late May and early
this month that will eventually set that battered country up for a
real functioning democracy. The first occurred when a maverick
ex-general by the name of Michel Aoun unexpectedly took over the
leadership of the Maronite Christian minority by trouncing his
political contenders in the Maronite bible bubble of Kisrawan, and
putting up a good fight elsewhere in mixed Christian-Muslim
constituencies. The other happened when the traditional and powerful
feudalists lost in the north of the country. Both are indicators that
the Lebanese people are ready to change the old established political
routine.
In Lebanon, the individual is beholden to the luggage of sectarian
identity and history. Individual ambitions have no room for
expression beyond the stringent and narrow categories of what god one
prays to, and who’s your grandfather. Even the grand equalizer of
striking it big in the realm of finance translates into communal
leadership rather than national leadership. This system was set in
place by traditional power elites that milked the country – and its
entrepreneurial spirit – for all it had. However, as long as you
don’t question the setup, you are free to do as you please.
The French colonial administration that drew up Lebanon as an
enlargement of the Maronite enclave, and gave the Maronites the reins
of power, created a very curious mistake. Those borders also included
Sunnis, Shias, Greek and Catholic Orthodox Christians, Druze, and a
smattering of other minorities. Lebanon became the incubator of a
Middle Eastern contradiction: how to reconcile several thousand years
of history and a multitude of identities that constitute the larger
picture of the Middle East with modern, homogenizing ideologies. Not
one single Middle Eastern country (all drawn up in one way or another
by 20th-century colonial powers) can claim to have a homogenous
ethnic or religious make-up. In such a country, and in such a region,
can all the intricacies of history be dismissed in the face of a
dominant, uniform Arab Islamic identity?
Lebanon paid a price tag of 150,000 dead in its 15-year civil war to
come up with an answer: No. The tension leading up to the civil war,
and still pervading the political atmosphere to this day, was how to
reconcile on-the-ground diversity in the face of the pan-Arab
nationalism sweeping the Middle East in the 20th century. In the wake
of nationalism’s decline, a new all encompassing ideology has emerged
in the form of Islamic fundamentalism, increasingly led by Al
Qaeda-type Salafi-Wahhabists and a sympathetic and well-funded
religious establishment in Saudi Arabia. But would such an ideology
succeed where nationalism failed, and where would that leave a
country with the heterodox makeup of Lebanon?
Just north of the heart of Beirut, which is traditionally the bastion
of affluent Sunnis and Greek Orthodox, is the Armenian neighborhood
of Bourj Hammoud that is populated by the descendants of victims of
Turkey’s first round of experimenting with nationalism in the waning
days of the Ottoman Empire. Their forefathers and mothers had escaped
the wrath engendered in response to Armenian nationalism that sought
to create a homeland in eastern Anatolia during the First World War.
They ended in slums then situated on the outskirts of Beirut’s
coastline. Today, in that neighborhood, there is a very curious
sight: the local branch of the Arab Bank has its marquee up in
Arabic, English, and Armenian.
A little farther north of Bourj Hammoud, the steep ridges of mountain
ranges interrupt the coastline and abruptly descend into the sea at
the Dog River. Over the millennia, many visitors to Lebanon have
remarked on this geographical statement, and conquering armies, from
the Babylonians through the Crusaders and down to the French, have
left markers to show that they had passed through this point. Beyond
it lies Kisrawan, where the visitor is immediately welcomed by a
giant, arms-outstretched statue of Jesus Christ.
Southward along Beirut’s coast, one runs into the Shia shantytowns
teeming with those that escaped the fighting between the Israelis and
the Palestinians three decades ago in their southernmost heartland of
Jebel Amil, where Shi’ism had been holding on against many oppressive
odds since the schism that divided the early Muslims into Sunni and
Shia some 1,400 years ago. Keep going along the coast, and then take
a sharp turn left up the Shouf Mountains, where the Druze, a
secretive sect of Muslims that went beyond the accepted bounds of
orthodoxy a thousand years ago, hide out among enchanted forests of
pine and a few surviving cedars, the latter needing a couple of
thousand years to reach maturity.
There has to be a different kind of ideology that makes sense of a
country like Lebanon, and provides a workable model for the rest of
the Middle East, and that can only be democracy. One indigenous
Lebanese model, called the National Covenant of 1943, was a verbal
agreement among the traditional leaders of the various communities to
share power: the presidency for the Maronites, the premiership of the
cabinet to the Sunnis, and the speaker’s post of the parliament to
the Shias. And what goes for the top posts devolves down the chain of
bureaucratic hierarchy; even the 30 jobs at the fire department of
Beirut International Airport are divided up along similar sectarian
patterns. Should one need a job in government, and even if a remote
village needed asphalt for a road leading to it, then the only place
to go is to the respective leader of one’s community, which suited
the traditionalists just fine and cemented the power that they sought
to inherit to their sons.
But this model is a farce and is continually challenged and
reformulated when the demographic trends of the various populations
change. There are fewer Maronites as a proportion of the population
than there were 60 years ago, and more Shias. The Lebanese need to
come up with something different or they will always be beholden to
the legacy of strife and civil war, something that turns incredibly
messy and bloody within its natural and historical patchwork of
communities.
The journey toward democracy involves moving away from disparate
sectarian identities into a unifying Lebanese one. The language for
that is oddly encapsulated in the Ta’if Accords of 1989 that brought
an end to the civil war. It calls for the annulment of sectarian
politics and power-sharing and provides the first step: a new
electoral law that allows the Lebanese to vote on nonsectarian lines
for the parliament. The signatories of the Ta’if Accords were the
ossified icons of the old way of doing business, the traditional
leaders, and they conveniently kept this clause on ice. Now is the
time to bring it forth and use it to cajole the Lebanese into taking
their first steps toward both freedom and democracy.
President Bush could help by appointing a special presidential envoy
for democracy in Lebanon. He should pick someone of Lebanese descent
(there are an estimated 1.5 million Americans who fill this category)
and untainted by the past “status quo” policy of dealing with the
Middle East. General John Abizaid of Centcom would be the ideal
candidate, or otherwise the yardstick. The task of this envoy would
be to sit down with the new parliament and get them to pass laws that
facilitate the emergence of a new Lebanese identity. For example,
there are about 150,000 households in Lebanon of mixed marriages
between sects. In order to get a marriage license, a mixed-marriage
couple needs to go to Cyprus or Europe. They are prevented from doing
so in their own country. Legalizing same-citizenship marriages should
not be such a hurdle and would find a supportive constituency.
A new electoral law needs to be cobbled together that takes into mind
the sensitivities of the traditionalists but charts the path forward.
The Ta’if Accords suggest the formation of a House of Lords where all
the sectarian chieftains can hold court and put on airs but not
disrupt or corrupt the functions of government. New electoral
districting can be drawn to map out enclaves of sectarian uniformity,
thereby ensuring that those who get elected actually represent their
sectarian communities, which is not the case under the current law.
In order to get the ultra-insecure Maronites on board, the Lebanese
Diaspora still holding on to Lebanese citizenship – overwhelmingly
Christian – should be allowed to vote, and that costly logistical
process could be underwritten by American financial aid. The Shias
who are increasingly transforming themselves from a dispossessed and
marginal sect into the comforts of the bourgeoisie, and who are
closely watching the Shia-American alliance in Iraq, must be
encouraged to give up their support for Hezbollah by allaying their
fears of armed Palestinians, usually seen as the shock troops of the
Sunnis. Saad Hariri, now leading the Sunnis, should be tasked with
getting the U.N.-mandated disarmament of the Palestinian militias
done as a prelude to disarming the Lebanese Hezbollah.
General Aoun has illusions and aspirations of being a national leader
and can deliver the Maronites at this stage. In an effort to
dismantle the sectarian edifice of government, he can be allied to
the smattering of democrats who defeated the traditionalists in the
north. This is a golden opportunity coming out of a creaking and
unsustainable structure, and the beginning of a grassroots challenge
to the arcane traditional idea of a “free yet undemocratic” Lebanon.
There is a lot more to be done, but only America can re-enter the
Lebanese scene to push democracy forward. If democracy succeeds in
Lebanon, then the rest of the Middle East has an answer as to what
form of government and spirit of governance would suit their
multidimensional and confusing region. Otherwise, Islamic
fundamentalism becomes the only contender for a future vision.
America would have to attempt to intervene on behalf of all the
Lebanese, rather than following the model of the French, Saudi,
Syrian, and Iranian interventions and getting involved on behalf of
one Lebanese client community. If America can help make a success
story of a thriving democracy out of a contradictory and wounded
country, then the rest of the people of the Middle East will take
notice as they grapple with similar questions.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
June 27 2005
Turkey and the EU Referendums
View: Sedat LACINER
According to some European politicians and journalists Turkey has
nothing to contribute to the European Union (EU). Many of them see
that Turkey will deplete the EU sources and cause great economic
depression. Moreover, the Christian Democrats and some other
`anti-Turkish’ circles in France and Germany argue that Turkey is not
part of `the European civilization’.
Turkey is generally considered poor, problematic and an awkward
candidate for the EU. Worst of all, some abuse the `Turkey problem’
in order to curtail their failures as witnessed in the French and
Dutch referendums. The French and Dutch politicians have refused to
question their mistakes and Turkey has become a scapegoat.
***
First, in France and Netherlands, the peoples rejected the `new
economic order’. They were not happy with the new global competitive
market conditions. They were losing their jobs. The Western European
companies have been investing in the Eastern Europe, Central Europe,
the Balkans, Turkey and China. And the EU has to enlarge to be more
competitive. Thus the employments and investments have gone to the
Eastern Europe from the Western Europe. Furthermore the Polish,
Hungarian, Russian and other Eastern Europeans legally or illegally
poured into the Western European employment markets. This trend
decreased wages.
Competitiveness has also forced the EU to cut social rights. The
welfare state has been dying in the EU countries since 1990s.
Education, health, unemployment and other social budgets have been
dramatically cut and the taxes were increased in Germany, France and
many other EU members.
Under these circumstances the old members of the EU has been
radically transforming. The problem is that the continental Europe is
not flexible enough to be transformed at this speed when compared
with the Anglo-Saxon economies (US, UK etc.). Another problem is that
Western Europe has not enough time to make such structural changes in
employment, social rights, health services, education systems, and
other public services. The rapid changes have caused serious problems
and resistance. The French and Dutch `no’s were part of this
resistance. In another word, the problem is more serious, and `Turkey
issue’ as a scapegoat may only delay the problems. The French and
other Western European leaders have to face the reality.
***
Civilazational Factors
The `no’s were not only against `the competitiveness efforts’ and
globalization’s impacts on the social life and employment. No one can
ignore `civilizational factors’. Significant percent of the French
and Dutch voters saw `Turkey’ or `Muslim issue’ as a factor to vote
`non’. After the Van Gogh Murder in particular the ethnic and
interfaith relations have become thornier. About 7 million Muslims
live in Netherlands and France (6 m. in France and 1 m. in
Netherlands). Most of them are Arab and from Northern Africa, and
most of them are French or Dutch citizens. Second and third
generation has very little link with the `homeland’. However `the
Christian citizens’ do not see the Muslim French and Muslim Dutch
citizens as true citizens. In the post- 9/11 era, the Van Gogh Murder
muddled the ethnic relations even in the Netherlands which was one of
the perfect example of ethnic harmony. Though the number of Turks is
less than 15 percent, the French and Dutch peoples do not make any
distinction between Turks, Arabs, Malaysian, Indonesian and Iranians.
In fact the ethnic origin of any Muslim is not important for the
biased and angry masses. They say Muslim, but they mean Arab, Turk,
or Iranian. However only Turkey has a `chance’ to become EU member:
The EU leaders at the 17 December EU Summit decided to start
full-membership negotiations with Turkey on 3 October 2005, and
recognized that there was no serious structural problem for Turkey’s
EU membership. In fact the EU first time in its history recognized
Turkey as true European and opened the doors of the EU to the Turks.
This made anti-Turkish political parties and groups in the Western
Europe panicked. Racist and anti-Muslim groups argued that Turkey’s
entry will make Europe a Muslim continent. Turkey, according to these
groups, with 75 million Muslims was not a true European. Apart from
the racist, radical and religionist parties, the `incurable’
anti-Turkish lobbies (Armenians, Greeks and the PKK militants) made
anything possible to show Turkey and Muslims as a threat to `Europe’.
Armenians for instance, in France argued that Turkey had to recognize
Armenian allegations regarding the 1915 Relocation Campaign before
accepting by the EU. According to the Armenians, Turks had committed
`genocide’ against the Ottoman Armenians while Turkey says there was
an Armenian riot and more than 523,000 Turks were massacred by the
armed Armenian groups during the last years of the Ottoman Empire.
Who is right is a formidable question, yet the timing is interesting.
The French Armenians and many French politicians started anti-Turkish
campaigns before the EU Constitution referendum. None of them could
remember the Algerian Genocide committed by the French troops though
the Algerian President and Algerian people were still expecting a
sincere sorry from Paris. But Turkey was at the heart of all of the
EU debates. Both sides accused Turkey for almost anything. The
opposition accused Chirac of giving support to Turkey’s EU
membership, and Chirac replied that Turkey cannot be a EU member in
foreseeable future, and that the French people will decide whether
Turkey can be a EU member or not. Chirac totally supported the
Armenian diaspora, and even sent a supportive letter to a former
ASALA terrorist.
***
In brief, neither France nor the Netherlands fully questioned the
real problems. The politicians and so-called `leaders’ accused the
`others’ and never dare to confront the realities. They provided a
ground for the `non’s actually. Worst of all, it seems that they
cannot read the results of the referendums. They still accuse Turkey
and the Muslims in EU. France has tried to prevent any enlargement
since the referendum; German CDU’s leader Merkel says the EU cannot
integrate Turkey. None of them touches the real problems.
The referendums proved that the French and Dutch peoples are against
globalization and they are getting more and more prejudiced (if not
racist) about the Muslims. At this point palliative measures cannot
solve the problems. The EU states, as EU member or alone, have to be
more competitive, and the EU citizens will continue to suffer from
limited welfare state. Enlargements are possibly the only way in the
short term to be more competitive against China, India and other
countries. In another word, enlargement is not the problem, but a
prescription for the EU to be more competitive and stronger economy
Second, anti-Turkish or anti-Muslim politics are dangerous for Europe
as the NAZÝ politics before the Second World War. There are more than
150 million Muslims in `greater Europe’ (including Turkey, Turkish
Cyprus, the former USSR, Balkans and Muslim diasporas). The American
policies in the `greater Middle East’ worsened the civilization
relations. The situation in Iraq is worse than the Saddam Hussein
era. American policies in Iraq and Palestine increased
anti-Westernism not only in the region but also among the
Euro-Muslims. American human rights abuses in Guantanamo and Iraq
prisons have deepened hatred between the civilizations. French and
Dutch politicians are talking about declaring a war against Islamism.
Many politicians abuse the ethnic relations in the EU states. The
Christian solidarity is still alive against Turkey in Cyprus issue,
Armenian problem or any problem in the Aegean Sea. Strangely the EU
accuses Turkey in any issue if the other side is Christian. Many
Turks and Muslims perceive a return to the Medieval Ages. Under these
circumstances, if an ethnic or religious mass conflict erupts in any
European capital, both sides will lose. The EU and the EU members’
leaders however seem not aware of the mortal situation, and have no
prescription. They just nourish the misunderstandings and historical
biases.
In this framework, it can be argued that Turkey provides the right
prescription in both of the problems (competitiveness and
civilizational relations), and the EU has no alternative but Turkey:
– Turkey is the greatest Muslim economy in the world,
– Turkey is the oldest and most healthy democracy in the Muslim
world,
– Turkey is the most liberal economy of the Muslim world,
– Turkey has the most stable and reliable economic and political
structure in the Muslim world,
– Turkey is the most Westernized and modernized Muslim country in the
world,
– Turkey has a strong representative power among the Muslim states,
– Apart from the Muslim world, Turkey is considered the leader of the
150 million-Turkic world,
– More than half of Turkey’s foreign trade with the EU countries,
– Turks do not equate Christianity with the West, and Judaism with
Israel. Turkey can be critical about both of them when it has good
relation with Israel and the West,
– Turkish people do not see radical Islamists as `heroes’. It can be
said that Turkish religious understanding is the only antidote to
counteract against Usame Bin-Ladin approach,
It can be said that Turkey is an invaluable candidate for the EU at
this point. Apart from the civilization contributions, Turkey’s
competitiveness and economic potential may also help the suffering EU
economies. Turkey is now the 17th bigger economy of the world and it
has dramatically been climbing the list. On the other hand what the
EU can contribute to Turkey is debatable. The EU has no funds to pour
to Turkey as it did to the new comers. The EU cannot offer employment
for Turkish unemployed as it did during the 1960s and 70s. The EU
also cannot finance Turkish agriculture sector as it did the French
agriculture in the past.
We do not want to underestimate the EU’s possible contributions to
Turkey, but at the same time, it should be noted that Turkey’s
possible contributions should not be underestimated. The EU cannot
overcome its crises by only accusing Turkey, but fully understanding
the potential of Turkey to cure its weaknesses.
[email protected]

PRESS RELEASE
June26, 2005
Contact at HFH Armenia:
Haykuhi Khachatryan
Aygestan 8-th str, h 5,
Yerevan-025, Armenia
Tel: (374 10) 556-114
e-mail: [email protected]
For the 22nd annual Jimmy Carter Work Project (JCWP), held in Benton
Harbor and Detroit Michigan June 19- 24, 2005 Armenia was selected as
a partner country.

In conjunction with the Jimmy Carter Work Project to take place in
Michigan U.S.A., Armenia has organized several special Building
events: with the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, the
Embassy of the United States in Armenia and, the Armenian Church
leaders serving in Armenia in particular with the Aragatsotn Diocese.

“Building a House, a Community and, a Motherland” this is the slogan
which led each person to participate in the Habitat volunteer movement
taking place from June 20 – 22 in Armenia.
In the idea of volunteerism there is no politicians, it is just an
idea around which people come together to help each other, to help
those in need.
On June 20 Ararat region in Nor Kharberd National Assembly of Armenia
(about 20 people) including president of National Assembly Arthur
Baghdasaryan made opening of volunteer-building movement in Armenia.

“It is very important for us to get involved in the idea to help those
in need” said Arthur Baghdasaryan the president of National Assembly
” I have never done so much for any construction, but today it is a
very special day and we all are very excited to have our contribution
in changing families lives”

June 21 followed with USA Ambassador in Armenia John M. Evans and some
staff members (about 20 people), who joined these buildings events to
have their contribution in Kotayk region village Mayakovski.
“In my country we used to help those in need. Habitat for Humanity
gives us a great opportunity to manage time and be next the families
who need our care” said John Marshal Evans US ambassador in Armenia
“This is one of those organizations which affiliated approximately all
over the world, and it means that one being in any part of the world
could find a place to make his/her volunteer contribution”.

Whole day long the ambassador was working in the sweat of his brow
shoulder to shoulder with the homeowner and very excited of such an
expressive idea of helping those in need.

To bless all the works had been done before and to join all the
volunteers on June 22 Very Rev. Father Torgom monk Tonikyan vicar of
the Aragatsotn dioceses with a group of priests from Aragatsotn
dioceses and Yerevan came to build with homeowners. This build day
was concurrent with the building events in Michigan where the
Catholicos and Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians His Holiness Karekin
II has participated.

“To lend a helping hand to those in need is the moral of Christianity,
never forget about them and always find a place in our prayers for
those in needs” said Father Torgom. “Today we found time for not only
praying but also being next to them, and we also know that today
nearly 6000 people came together for the same idea, then let’s help
those in need”.

The participation of NA Speaker and MPs, USA Embassy, the Aragatsotn
dioceses in this project is a good example for others to support
homeless families. These were of those days when one could feel
him/herself a part of a whole, where regardless of geographical place
you are involved in one idea to help those in need.

To schedule an interview please email Haykuhi Khachatryan,
Communication Coordinator for Habitat for Humanity Armenia
[email protected]. See for more information.
Founded in 1976, Habitat for Humanity International is a
non-denominational Christian, non-governmental, non-profit housing
organization that has helped more than 1000,000 people of all races,
religions and backgrounds to have a simple, decent and affordable
place to live. Habitat for Humanity becomes a global leader in
addressing poverty housing. Habitat for Humanity is active in 100
countries worldwide, including 19 in Europe and Central Asia.
THE END

Agence France Presse — English
June 26, 2005 Sunday 3:53 AM GMT
With the shooting quiet, a war on the airwaves rages over Karabakh
STEPANAKERT, Azerbaijan June 26
Shells have ceased to explode over the self proclaimed Nagorno
Karabakh republic and shootings across a tense ceasefire line are no
longer a daily affair, but the war of words between the capital
Stepanakert and Baku remains just as fierce as a decade ago.
In a small radio studio in Nagorno Karabakh, an ethnic-Armenian
enclave that won its de facto independence from Azerbaijan in a
grueling 1993-1994 war, Ophelia Gasparian read the text of a report
on the separatist region’s recent parliamentary elections.
An ethnic-Armenian who fled hostilities in her Azeri hometown of
Fizuli when the war began, Gasparian spoke unaccented Azeri into a
microphone transmitting news with a pro-Armenian slant, deep into
Baku-controlled territory.
Listeners tuning into the Radio Justice short wave station on the
other side of the ceasefire line were likely surprised to learn that
“despite protests from Azerbaijan, another election in the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic has been held successfully and in stable
conditions,” according to Gasparian.
In Azerbaijan the very existence of the would-be state is denied.
Since the war, telephone access to Karabakh and Armenia has been cut
from Azerbaijan and with all borders transformed into a militarized
front-line, trade between Armenians and Azeris is virtually
non-existent.
In the years since the break-up of the Soviet Union, the media in
Azerbaijan have demonized Armenia, while both former Soviet republics
continue to trade recriminations over atrocities committed during the
conflict.
Azerbaijan considers the area currently controlled by ethnic-Armenian
forces — approximately 14 percent of its internationally recognized
territory — to be a hostile occupation of its lands by the Republic
of Armenia.
It is a view that Radio Justice, which claims to be sponsored by
private businessmen in Karabakh, aims to change, according to its
director Mikael Hajiyan, himself an Armenian refugee from Baku.
“They can live there, and we will live here. We want to build our own
home and they can come visit us as guests after they recognize our
status,” Hajiyan told AFP in his office in Karabakh’s State Radio and
TV building.
Today’s population of the enclave, approximately 145,000 people, is
almost purely Armenian.
But before the war some 25 percent of its residents were Azeri.
Hundreds of thousands of Azeris who lived in what are today largely
depopulated Azeri regions under Armenian control, were forced from
their homes.
Under Communist rule the two communities lived side by side, often
speaking each other’s languages and readily borrowing from each
other’s cultures.
Many Christian Armenians in Karabakh still greet each other by saying
“Salaam Aleikum” as their former Muslim neighbors did.
But wounds from the war have yet to heal.
In total the Nagorno Karabakh war claimed some 25,000 lives and
forced another million residents, including 250,000 Armenians, from
their homes.
According to Hajiyan and the message Radio Justice broadcasts four
times a week, it is time for Azerbaijan to recognize Karabakh’s de
facto independence.
“We’re building a radio-bridge of trust between our people,” Hajiyan
said.
Part of building that “bridge,” he says, has been the broadcasting of
the voices of Azeri soldiers captured by Armenian forces for their
families to hear.
The project has drawn criticism from the Red Cross which deals with
prisoner-of-war issues here. Hajiyan says he does it for purely
“humanitarian reasons.”
Meanwhile Radio Justice is countered by Armenian-language broadcasts
of the Azeri version of events from the Azeri capital Baku.
Azerbaijan’s Central Election’s Commission, which claims control over
any voting held on the territory of Karabakh, said the recent poll
there was illegal.
“Elections and referendums on the occupied territories must be
conducted only after the territory’s restoration to Azerbaijan,” the
commission said last week.

The Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts)
June 22, 2005 Wednesday
A young and ambitious ‘Boris’
by Andrew L. Pincus
LENOX
If you know opera, you know “Boris Godunov.” But do you know “Boris
Goudenow”? Not likely. Johann Mattheson’s opera, composed 159 years
before Mussorgsky’s dark-as-night portrait of the Russian czar, is
just now receiving its world premiere, 295 years after its birth.
Call it a prequel from a time before there were prequels. The Russian
Mussorgsky’s tragedy picks up where the German Mattheson’s happier
work from 1710 leaves off: with Boris’ 1598 coronation as czar of
Russia.
Mussorgsky’s Boris, racked by hallucinations and guilt, ultimately
goes mad and dies.
Fresh from its premiere run in Boston, the Boston Early Music
Festival’s production of Mattheson’s “Boris” opens the Tanglewood
season in performances at 7 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday. Festival
co-directors Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs are music directors, and
Lucy Graham is stage co-director and choreographer.
The international cast is headed by Vadim Kravets, a Russian, in the
title role. Ten soloists will be joined by adult and children’s
choruses, a 30-piece baroque orchestra and a troupe of dancers, with
period costumes and sets. If past performances in the festival’s
opera series are any guide, the kind of spectacle beloved by baroque
musicians and audiences will be on parade.
The Mussorgsky and Mattheson operatic portraits are “almost
opposites,” says Stubbs. “With Mussorgsky, you have the dark and mad
side of the story.” In Mattheson, “it’s the ambitious, bright, crafty
young Boris who winds his way to the coronation by a combination of
statesmanship and deceit. It’s a young hero, and the whole opera ends
with the happy coronation of the young hero. The two things are
absolutely like day and night.”
But why, you ask, has a three-centuries-old opera by one of the
leading lights of German baroque music — he was Handel’s mentor —
never been seen before? Only an unstaged performance of a different
edition in Hamburg, Germany, this year preceded the staging here.
The short answer is that the score turned up only a few years ago in
Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. O’Dette and Stubbs came upon it
during their explorations of baroque opera for their biennial Boston
festival.
“Boris Goudenow” is the fifth production in the series [all brought
to the Berkshires] since its inception in 1997 with Luigi Rossi’s
“Orfeo.”
A fuller explanation goes back to 1710, when Mattheson was a leading
composer, singer and conductor — “a star in his own time,” according
to O’Dette — at the Hamburg Opera. Internal difficulties at the
company, including doubts whether the musicians could perform
Mattheson’s “Boris,” denied it a premiere. He left the company and,
while still in his 30s, began going deaf and had to give up
composition and performance.
[Mattheson tells a story about himself: In 1704, after singing the
part of a character who commits suicide in his opera “Cleopatra,” he
went to the harpsichord to conduct the rest of the performance.
Handel, who was in command at the keyboard, refused to yield. The two
men fought a duel in which only a large button on Handel’s coat saved
him from being run through. They apparently reconciled; a year later,
Mattheson sang the leading roles in two Handel operas. ]
Soon after Mattheson’s departure from the opera company, it collapsed
amid financial and political problems. He retired to a life of
contemplation and writing critical and theoretical tomes about music.
His four operas, along with his 27 oratorios and numerous other
works, were forgotten.
We fast-forward now to World War II, when Hamburg Library officials,
knowing their city was about to be bombed, sent their most valuable
holdings to a remote castle near Dresden for safekeeping. When
Germany was defeated, Russian soldiers carted off the trove as booty.
It wound up in St. Petersburg, later to be claimed by an Armenian
scholar for Yerevan.
In 1998, as O’Dette tells the story, the secretary to German
Chancellor Helmut Kohl “phoned the director of the Hamburg Library
and said, ‘Meet me in Bonn tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock with a
tractor-trailer.’ ” There, the Armenian ambassador to Germany
presented the librarian with 42 crates of Hamburg Library holdings
from before the war, including the complete works of Mattheson.
O’Dette and Stubbs learned about the recovered score while doing
research for their 2003 festival opera, Johann Georg Conradi’s 1691
“Ariadne.” Wanting to continue their explorations into the
development of German opera, they settled upon “Boris Goudenow” for
this year’s festival.
A selection of Mattheson’s other works complemented the opera in the
Boston festival, which ended Sunday. The overall festival theme was
“East Meets West: Germany, Russia, the Baltic.”
“What emerges,” says O’Dette, “is a picture of an outstanding
composer who has never been recognized by music history because,
tragically, he became deaf at a young age and had to give up
composing and gave all of his music to the Hamburg Library.” As a
scholar, O’Dette adds, Mattheson “wrote so much that music historians
have focused on all of his books and have neglected to look at his
music before it disappeared. So that now we have to opportunity to
evaluate and enjoy the music of a composer who was considered one of
the great German composers of the early 18th century — in fact, the
person Handel went to Hamburg to study how to compose operas with.”
Mattheson’s operatic style is a mix of German and Italian elements,
with some arias in each language. Not yet in the comedy-free opera
seria style favored by later composers, “Boris Goudenow” has love
interest — three couples, all happily united at the end — and a
comic servant. The highly varied solos and ensemble numbers are
shorter than in later operas.
There is no pretender to the throne driving Boris to madness, as in
Mussorgsky.
“It is in every way a different kind of experience from going to see
Mussorgsky,” says Stubbs. “It doesn’t mean that if you love
Mussorgsky, you’ll hate this, or vice versa. But it is an entirely
different thing and much more like a drama with music, with
spectacular scene endings, with dancing and singing and everything.”
In September, the production moves on for two performances each in
Moscow and St. Petersburg, offering Russians a different perspective
on Mussorgsky’s tormented hero. Other cities in the United States and
Europe have also expressed interest but, paradoxically, the opera
can’t be seen in Hamburg, its birthplace.
The festival organizers have discussed a Hamburg staging with
presenters there, says O’Dette. But “then we were confronted with a
rather obscure and nasty clause in the German copyright law which
enabled a local amateur in Hamburg to make kind of an edition of the
work on his laptop and claim he owns performing rights in Germany to
it.”
A machination worthy of Boris. Litigation may offer a way out.
GRAPHIC: Colin Balzer performs the role of Gavust, a foreign prince,
in the Boston Early Music Festival production of ‘Boris
Goudenow’.Nell Snaidas sings the role of Olga, a Russian princess and
Aaron Sheehan portrays Ivan, a Bojar, in ‘Boris Goudenow’.In the BEMF
production of “Boris Goudenow’, standing left to right, Vadim Kravets
performs the role of Boris Goudenow; Ellen Hargis portrays Irina,
wife of the Czar and sister of Boris Goudenow; Marek Rzepka is Fedro;
and in the background, the chorus of old men.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian opposition set to stage “velvet” revolution
Arminfo
24 Jun 05
YEREVAN
At present, the Armenian opposition has four allies – the people,
youth, the West and individual representatives of the political and
economic elite who understand that the existing situation in the
republic threatens national security, Vazgen Manukyan, leader of the
National Democratic Union [NDU], said at the 16th congress of the
party.
He said that currently 90 per cent of Armenia’s interests coincide
with those of the West. “The 10-per-cent discrepancy between these
interests is due to the national peculiarities of the Armenian
people,” Manukyan said.
He pointed out that “lawlessness” and “corruption” are terms that
classify the current situation in Armenia. “The ruling regime is
plundering the republic, its economy, nature and the diaspora’s
contribution. If this continues, they will eat up even the “fruits” of
the liberation struggle for Artsakh,” Manukyan said. He said that the
existing situation might remain unchanged for a long time if the
Armenian people do not wish to carry out structural reforms in
Armenia. At the same time, he said that the spirit of the Armenians
has been broken and even if there are the best programmes to develop
the republic, there will be no-one to implement them. “If the current
situation remains unchanged, then the West will lose its hope for
Armenia’s democratic development. The West will tell us – if you are
not in a position to build your statehood, what do you need Nagornyy
Karabakh for? Let it belong to those who deserve to have it,” Manukyan
said.
Despite this, he expressed his confidence that the opposition will win
the struggle with the authorities, but to this end, the opposition
should submit a precise concept of activities and their consequences
to the people.
In turn, Aram Sarkisyan, leader of the opposition Republic Party, who
was present at the NDU congress, said that irrespective of anything, a
national democratic velvet revolution will be staged in Armenia. At
the same time, he said that in order to stage a revolution, the
consolidation of political forces is not so important as the public of
the country.
The leader of the socialist forces of Armenia, Ashot Manucharyan, said
that not only the country’s authorities but also the opposition are to
blame for the existing situation in the country. Manucharyan
criticized the ruling regimes both in Armenia and Nagornyy
Karabakh. He said that the policy of the current authorities of the
Nagornyy Karabakh Republic did not differ from the policy of the
Azerbaijani authorities in the period when Nagornyy Karabakh was part
of Azerbaijan.
[Passage omitted: the congress was also attended by pro-government
forces]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azeri president in favour of increasing military spending
ANS TV, Baku
25 Jun 05
[Presenter] The Azerbaijani army is the strongest in the Caucasus,
President Ilham Aliyev has said. Aliyev said military spending will
increase every year. He said this was a response to the relocation of
Russia’s military bases from Georgia to Armenia. Quote, we are taking
the necessary measures to eliminate problems.
[President Aliyev, shown speaking to cadets] In 2003, Azerbaijan’s
military spending totalled 135m dollars. It was 175m dollars in 2004
and 300m dollars in 2005. The military spending has increased by 70
per cent in a year.
We will continue this policy in the future. As you know, the Milli
Maclis [parliament] recently amended the military budget on the basis
of my letter. This is in connection with the fact that Russia is
relocating its bases from Georgia to Armenia. It is true that the
military hardware will not be handed over to Armenia. It will be kept
in Russia’s military bases. But we also know that they are being
relocated to Armenian territory.
So we had to take appropriate measures. We did so immediately and
increased our military spending. Military spending will continue to
increase in the future. As Azerbaijan’s economic potential grows, the
country will resolve all its problems.
The most important issue for us is that the Azerbaijani army should be
strong enough to resolve the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict. Today the Azerbaijani army is the strongest in the South
Caucasus. We have achieved this military supremacy and we should
strengthen it. This supremacy should be stronger. And we will achieve
this as well.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NATO shares Azerbaijan’s concern about Russian bases in Armenia
Regnum, Moscow
25 Jun 05
“NATO is concerned about the relocation of Russian troops from Georgia
to Armenia. We will raise this issue with the Russian leadership in
the near future,” NATO Assistant Secretary-General for Defence
Planning and Operations John Colston has said in Baku.
He welcomed the Moscow-Tbilisi agreement on the relocation of the
Russian military bases from Georgia, noting that the Russian
Federation has implemented some of its commitments undertaken at the
OSCE summit in Istanbul.
“We welcome the withdrawal of the troops, however, this step should
not disrupt stability in the South Caucasus,” he said.
Colston also stressed that all the staff and arms from the bases in
Georgia should be withdrawn only to Russian territory.