Jerusalem: A lute for all seasons

Jerusalem Post
Oct 27 2006

A lute for all seasons
By GAVRIEL FISKE

The Jerusalem International Oud Festival kicks off this week with an
ambitious lineup of local and international musicians. Organized by
Confederation House, the festival has expanded considerably since its
inception seven years ago, and is now one of Israel’s major musical
events. This year the program features two full weeks of concerts in
Jerusalem and, for the first time, three days of performances in
Nazareth.

The oud is an 11-stringed lute that occupies a place in
Middle-Eastern music very similar to that of the piano in Western
music: a required introduction for all music students and the
universal instrument for teaching music theory. An essential part of
nearly any middle-eastern ensemble, the oud is also an exceptionally
expressive solo instrument.

Although the festival takes its name from this ancient instrument,
the programming is more focused on singers and ensembles, and
features music from a wide variety of traditions.

"I don’t want to keep the Oud Festival just Jewish and Arabic music,"
explains artistic director Effie Benaya, the driving force behind the
festival. "I always want to feature other cultures. Palestinian,
Iraqi, Turkish, Persian… all the countries that were influenced by
Islam."

This year’s theme is the Golden Age of Spain, which is usually placed
between the 8th and 11th centuries, while Islam ruled most of the
Iberian Peninsula but before the successes of the Christian
Reconquesta. Known romantically as a time of tolerance and
civilization, the golden age was characterized by inter-cultural
interaction in art, politics, science and music.

"For me, the whole festival is a small golden age," says Benaya. "I
wanted to make a journey to Muslim Spain, because Jews and Muslims
lived in harmony and this [culture] was very influential. I want to
bring that here, today."

He continues: "We are doing concerts in Nazareth… I want to reach
out to the Arabic community, and for this to be a festival of the two
peoples. I think this is very important."

The festival opens at the Jerusalem Theater on Thursday, November 2
with a tribute by Taiser Elias and ensemble to Egyptian composer
Sayed Darwish, who passed away in 1923 at the age of 31 and is
regarded as the father of modern Arabic music. Elias is a masterful
oud player and director of the middle-eastern music program at the
Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance at The Hebrew University.

On Sunday November 5 Jerusalem’s own Shaharit Ensemble presents the
poetry of Abraham Ibn Ezra, who lived from 1093-1167. Born in Tuleda
in southern Spain, due to prosecutions of the Jews he spent the later
part of his life wandering through North Africa, Europe and the
Middle-East. Shaharit is dedicated to composing original music for
piyutim (religious poems), and will present Ibn Ezra’s works with
melodies specially composed for this event.

The following evening, Monday November 6, a special performance will
be presented at Beit Shmuel by Eduardo Paniagua’s Ensemble for
Ancient Music from Spain. An artist with Sony Classical, Paniagua has
dedicated himself to medieval Spanish/Arabic music for decades, and
has released many albums and performed throughout Europe and the
Middle-East. His ensemble performs authentic Arab-Andalusian
classical music with Arabic, Hebrew and Spanish vocals, and features
musicians from both Spain and Morocco.

Another international ensemble performing at the Oud Festival is the
father-and-son team of Armenian-Americans Onnik and Ara Dinkjian, who
will play at the Jerusalem Theater on Saturday, November 11. Ara
Dinkjian, who performed at last year’s festival, is an oudist and
composer whose music is very popular in Turkey and Israel. His father
Onnik is an accomplished singer of traditional Armenian popular and
liturgical music who has been performing for five decades. Their
ensemble consists of Turkish, Greek and Israeli musicians, including
master percussionist Zohar Fresco.

The festival of course features a fantastic array of local artists as
well. Among the performances scheduled are: a tribute by Yair Dalal
to the Iraqi Jewish musicians who immigrated to Israel in the 1950s,
a selection of Palestinian folk songs by exquisite singer Amal Murkus
and ensemble, a concert of piyutim and rock with the Yona Ensemble,
Barry Sacharoff and Meir Banai, an appearance by Israeli rock/ethnic
experimenters Orphaned Land, a performance directed by Elad Gabbai of
the Arabic and Ladino songs of 20th century Jerusalemite composer
Asher Mizrahi, and many more.

The final concert in Jerusalem on Thursday, November 16 at the
Jerusalem Theater features the virtuoso Persian melodies of the Lian
Ensemble from Los Angeles, home to a huge community of Iranian
expatriates and often called "Irangeles." The Lian Ensemble features
the best Iranian musicians in the West, including acclaimed vocalist
Naderi Vaseghi Soleyman and percussionist/vocalist/nai player Houman
Pourmehdi. To their base of classical Persian and sufi music the Lian
Ensemble has added a strong jazz influence, giving their music a
unique East-West feel while retaining their roots in the ancient
music traditions of Persia.

The concerts in Nazareth take place from November 22-24 at the
Nazareth Cinemateque, and are encores of concerts that will be
performed in Jerusalem during the main festival. They include: a
specially commissioned selection of Islamic, Christian and Jewish
religious music performed by singer Inas Masalha and ensemble, a
recital by young oud virtuoso Wisam Gibran based on the controversial
and popular work of early Islamic poet al-Mutanabbi, and a concert by
the Tarshihah Orchestra dedicated to the mighty Egyptian singer Farid
al-Atrash.

A full schedule for the Jerusalem International Oud Festival can be
found at or by calling (02) 624-5206.
Prices range from NIS 75-110 with discounts for those attending
multiple performances or for group purchases. Advance reservations
are strongly recommended, as most of the concerts last year were
sold-out. Tickets can be ordered at the following numbers: (02)
623-7000, (02) 622-2333 and (03) 604-5000.

www.confederationhouse.org

ANKARA: PACE head criticizes both French genocide bill & Article 301

The New Anatolian
Oct 27 2006

PACE head criticizes both French Armenian ‘genocide’ bill and Turkish
supporters of Article 301

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) President Rene
van der Linden yesterday strongly criticized France’s lower house of
Parliament for passing a controversial bill that aims to ban
questioning of Armenian genocide claims.

"This is not in line with one of the basic principles of human
rights, freedom of expression," Linden said during his visit to
Ankara yesterday. PACE head underlined that reconciliation efforts
among countries need more freedom of expression among all involved
parties, not unconstructive moves to restrict people’s free
expression of their ideas. Van der Linden also criticized those in
Turkey who are using the French bill as a pretext not to change
controversial Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) which sets
out penalties for "insulting Turkishness." The PACE head clearly
stated yesterday that the Turkish government has to amend the
article, which has been used to bring charges against dozens of
journalists, publishers and scholars.

Van der Linden, during his visit to Ankara yesterday, met with
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and Turkish deputies. Before
his departure from Ankara, the PACE president spoke to journalists.

Recalling his support for Turkey’s EU membership process and
highlighting the importance of continuation of the reform process,
Van der Linden underlined that this was in the interest of both
Europe and Turkey. He said that the second phase of the reform
process, the implementation was understandably much more difficult,
since it necessitated the change of mentalities and convincing
people.

Saying that Turkey seems overly frustrated by the criticisms of
Europe, Van der Linden said that most of these criticisms were in
fact aimed at assisting Turkey in the reform process. In a move to
further encourage Turkey on its EU accession process, he said that
Turkish people should not overestimate current discussions in Europe
and see that it will be EU in 15 years later which Turkey will join.

On the debates of so-called Armenian genocide, PACE head stressed the
necessity for all countries to come into terms with its history for a
better future, but he criticized France’s lower house of Parliament
passing a controversial bill to ban questioning of Armenian genocide
claims. "This is a back-step from the freedom of expression, a bad
example," Van der Linden told reporters, and expressed hope that the
controversial bill will not be passed by the upper house.

On the possible "train crash" between Turkey and EU late this year
due to the Cyprus problem, Van der Linden said that this is in no
one’s interest and continuation of Turkey’s EU process was in the
interest of both Europeans and Turkey.

The PACE president will attend a roundtable discussion with legal and
human rights experts at Bilgi University in Istanbul today. On
Saturday he will lay a wreath at the Gallipoli War Memorial and visit
the war graves there as well as meet with a delegation from the
Canakkale Provincial Council.

FM of Armenia highly estimates activity of Marshall Fund in region

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Oct 27 2006

FOREIGN MINISTER OF ARMENIA HIGHLY ESTIMATES ACTIVITY OF MARSHALL
FUND IN REGION

YEREVAN, October 27. /ARKA/. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia
Vartan Oskanian received a group of experts in conflict from Marshall
Fund and representatives of the U.S. Congress.
On Thursday Press and Information Department of the RA Foreign
Ministry informed ARKA News Agency that Oskanian had highly estimated
activities of the Fund and its continual contacts with the regional
states, which enabled to learn more about various directions of
politics of those countries.
During the meeting participants discussed regional problems,
cooperation of Armenia with the NATO and the EU, several aspects of
Russian-Georgian relations.
Oskanian presented the process of peace talks over the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as touched upon the
Armenian-Turkish relations.
The Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is a nonpartisan
American public policy and grantmaking institution dedicated to
promoting greater cooperation and understanding between the United
States and Europe.
Founded in 1972 as a permanent memorial to Marshall Plan assistance,
GMF maintains a strong presence on both sides of the Atlantic. In
addition to its headquarters in Washington, DC, GMF has six offices
in Europe: Berlin, Bratislava, Paris, Brussels, Belgrade, and Ankara.
S.P.-0–

Henry Cuny: Sure by next visit Armenia’s borders will be opened

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Oct 27 2006

ANRI CUNY: I AM SURE IN THE COURSE OF MY NEXT VISIT ARMENIA’S BORDERS
WILL BE OPENED

October 27 Secretary of the Security Council under RA President, RA
Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan met with the Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary of France to RA Anri Cuny, completing his
diplomatic mission in the Republic.
According to the information DE FACTO received at the RA MOD Press
Service, while speaking of the Armenia-France relations strengthening
day by day Serge Sargsyan noted Jacque Chirac’s visit to Yerevan
testified to the fact.
In his turn Anri Cuny stated he highly appreciated Armenia’s warm
attitude to France. `’I have a special feeling to the Armenian nation
and its culture. I am sure when I visit the county next time there
will be peace here and the borders will be opened. A closed border is
an anachronism and it is absurd for a country claiming to join the
European family”, Anri Cuny noted.
Having expressed his gratitude to the Ambassador for the efficient
job carried out in Armenia RA Defense Minister wished Anri Cuny
success in his further activity.

ArmenTel selects ZTE for DSL rollout

TeleGeorgraphy, DC
Oct 27 2006

ArmenTel selects ZTE for DSL rollout

Armenia’s national PTO ArmenTel has signed a contract with ZTE of
China for the supply of the country’s first DSL broadband network,
writes Telecompaper. In August this year ArmenTel selected ZTE to
build it a CDMA450 wireless in the local loop (WiLL) network to
complement its existing fixed line infrastructure, providing coverage
in areas not presently served by the telco’s PSTN.

According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, ArmenTel was
established in March 1995 as a joint venture between the Ministry of
Communications and US-owned Trans World Telecom. In 1997 the MTC
launched the privatisation of the telco, and at the end of that year
Greece’s Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) won an
international tender, paying USD143 million for a 90% stake in
ArmenTel in March 1998. OTE has been looking to offload its holding
however, and in October 2006 UAE-based operator Etisalat was reported
to have won the tender for the stake, although it has since denied
this.

Indian Documentaries much-talked about at Turkey Intl Docu Film Fest

Screen Weekly, India
Oct 27 2006

Indian Documentaries much-talked about at Turkey Intl Docu Film
Festival

Rwita Dutta
Posted online: Friday, October 27, 2006 at 0000 hours IST

Istanbul is history reincarnated. With the Asian part on one side and
Europe on the other, the city represents universality. Especially the
nine days of The `International 1001 Documentary Film Festival’
(September 29 to October 5, 2006) has accentuated the universality of
the seventh art form called `cinema’. The Association of Documentary
Filmmakers’ of Turkey may not have a mega budget to provide its
guests with sumptuous cocktail parties every night, but shows utmost
dedication in terms of choosing the right kind of documentaries
coming from all over the world. The festival provided a warm
atmosphere for the documentary filmmakers and spectators from all
over the globe to meet and get to know each other through cinema.

Nurdan Arca, the Director of this otherwise humble looking, low
profile festival declared the mission of the Association Of
Documentary Film Makers’ of Turkey who hosted this festival. They
hold the eternal belief that it is possible to live in a world
without wars. Quite formidable and indeed pertinent!

The festival has so far hosted more than 100 documentary makers with
754 films from 44 countries since 1977. They have till date 50,000
audience and more. This year, itself, they have a wide spectrum of
124 films from 29 countries. The documentaries exhibit varieties of
subjects. From human portraits to encounters in daily life as well as
social issues are hindered upon. This 9th edition of Documentary Film
Festival had twelve sections screened in four most significant venues
in the city: the Italian Cultural Center, the French Cultural Center,
Kamal Ataturk Cultural Center and Nazim Hikmet Cultural Center.

The focus country was Finland. It beautifully projects films, which
tell us the stories of a country perceived to be cold and distant.
Among the seven films travelling from the northern tip of the globe,
Arto Halonen was the famous one. On the closing day, the audience was
bemused by the retrospective of Arto’s six films. From Tankman of
Cuba, he has come a long way in the amazing Pavlov’s Dogs – his
latest on Russia.

Created in cooperation with the Polish TV, the four documentary films
from Poland looked at history by using footages from archives. There
were also few selected Armenian films from their one and only
International Film Festival `Golden Apricot’.

Jan Vrijman Foundation is an offshoot of the founder of the biggest
documentary film festival, IDFA in Holland, Amsterdam. This
foundation is a boon for the talented, upcoming, independent
filmmakers from across the continents as it funds and supports
various projects every year. The ninth 1001 Documentary Film Festival
presents a collection of films supported by the foundation.

The Kultur and Culture is the joint venture of the documentary makers
of USA and Turkey. One of their latest productions Time Piece is an
ensemble of collective documentaries based on different time slots in
a single day. This film had its world premiere in this festival.
Celebrated documentary makers from USA such as Albert Maysels and Sam
Pollard were also present with their works.

In the segment named `Cultures-Colors’, eight documentaries were
screened. All of these tell us the stories of colors, cultures and
languages that are dying. For instance, Elizabeta Koneska, an
ethnologist from Macedonia traced back the existence of a Turkish
ethnic, nomadic group in Macedonia whereas a film from China
highlights the triumphs and traumas of acrobatic industry there.

Everybody Has A Story made a thoughtful insight into the everyday
lives of people, their stories and the hidden heroes among them.

Stories of forced migration and immigrants who struggle to establish
roots in their new countries seem to bear a universal theme. In Far
from Home, after most of the films and the audience enjoyed the
opportunity to meet with the filmmakers. Several panels were
organized amongst which were `Reproduction of violence in the media
and in documentary films’, `Growing influences of documentaries’.
There was also a master class of editing named `Editing Films:
Editing Life’.

The package of Bengal was extraordinary. Tales from both East and
West Bengal were truly represented in documentaries coming from
Bangladesh as well as Kolkata. Lots of questions were asked about
Indian documentaries, which were probably been satisfactorily
answered by the Indian Film Critics present there.

Documentaries are questioning life and presenting the ethereal. They
broaden our horizons open up new windows for us to discover what lies
behind the visible. The festival in the `City of two Continents’ was
successful in bringing out the crux of the power of documentaries!

ory.php?content_id=13956

http://www.screenindia.com/fullst

NKR: Problems of young people: reality and prospects

Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
Oct 27 2006

PROBLEMS OF YOUNG PEOPLE: REALITY AND PROSPECTS

NORAIR HOVSEPIAN

On October 20 and 21 the first conference of young people of Artsakh
took place in Artsakh, and about 60 young people from all over the
country, from the capital, the rural areas, the universities and youth
organizations were invited. During these two days, a number of
participants made interesting reports and came up with bold proposals,
which often gave rise to heated debates and arguments.

NOT RURAL OR URBAN YOUTH BUT ARTSAKH YOUTH

Unfortunately, the relation between the urban and rural youth is very
weak. We may even say there are no ties at all. The participants of
the conference are also aware of this. And often by saying "the young
people of Artsakh" we refer to the young people of Stepanakert, more
exactly, its part involved in some youth organizations. Mostly young
people representing the youth organizations of Stepanakert take part
in the all-Armenian events outside the republic. This gap is
especially tangible, considering what a small number of young people
are involved in youth organizations.

COMMON PROBLEMS REQUIRE JOINT TACKLING

The representatives of the regions reported the problems of rural
areas. Despite some peculiarities, the same problems are in all the
regions. The first is the isolation of young people from the capital
and from the other regions. In addition, the representatives of the
regions point to two circumstances: first, almost all the youth
organizations, which count over a dozen, are based in Stepanakert, and
usually they do not cooperate with the regions; second, the department
of youth of the NKR ministry of education, culture and sport also
focuses on the capital. Although there is already a tendency to invite
young people from the regions to different events, it is a fact that
there is much more to do. The importance of direct cooperation with
young people from rural areas is also important because in most
regions the Internet and even the telephone are not available
yet. Hence, the level of awareness partly determines the degree of
involvement of the youth of the regions, which makes think. The other
problem of employment. The question was viewed from two aspects:
first, the necessity to create jobs, second, appointing young people
to the existing jobs. The problem of entertainment was also raised. It
became clear that in most areas there are no places of entertainment
at all, such as in Kashatagh.

"ENTERTAINMENT IS NOT A MAJOR PROBLEM"

This was stated by the representative of the region of Martuni. He
said, and the representatives of the other regions agreed that the
first danger is the migration of young people from the villages. This
factor affects all the other spheres. When young people or young
families migrate, the number of schoolchildren drops, and schools face
closing. "Our goal should be the general development of rural
communities, for in a prosperous village young people will surely find
ways how to entertain themselves," was the core of the report. And the
best way of having young people stay to live in rural communities is
to create sufficient conditions for life and work. Most people are
employed in schools or in the army. But naturally, these two
organizations cannot employ everyone. The gap is possible to overcome
by enabling young people to set up agricultural business. But most
young people do not have money for this, and they cannot expect
long-term loans without security. Housing is another major problem,
both in rural communities and in the capital. Often this problem
affects the rate of marriages.

"GOVERNMENT NEVER FORGETS ABOUT THE PROBLEMS OF THE YOUTH"

The participants of the conference met with the deputy prime minister
Ararat Danielian and the minister of education, culture and sport Kamo
Atayan. Ararat Danielian said there is progress in all the spheres of
life in the republic. He pointed to the policy of grants for NGOs and
youth organizations. He also said that the government is working out a
policy of support to young families and seeks for more flexible
mechanisms of stimulating the birth rate.

MEETINGS WILL BECOME REGULAR

The young people participating in the conference brought together the
proposals and opinions that were heard during these two days and made
a statement. The final proposals concerned the regions mainly. The
first was the proposal on "decentralization". The participants urged
the department of youth of the ministry of education, culture and
sport to hold more events in the regions. This will help to raise both
awareness and involvement. The youth organizations based in the
capital are also supposed to contribute to this goal. To be more
realistic, it was proposed to make the Internet available in the
regions. Another proposal was referred to including funding of youth
policies in the annual budget of the regional administrations. The
necessity of providing long-term loans to young people was another
important issue raised during the conference. Marianna Hakobian, the
head of the department of youth assured that these proposals will be
conveyed to the relevant agencies. She also commended the conference
and assured that the meetings will become regular.

NKR: When young people get down to work

Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
Oct 27 2006

WHEN YOUNG PEOPLE GET DOWN TO WORK

NORAIR HOVSEPIAN

In Karabakh every young person will tell you that in rural communities
they have more problems than in the capital. But unfortunately, the
youth organizations, which are supposed to deal with the problems of
young people, are mostly based in the capital. Although from time to
time they make efforts to involve the regions as well. For instance,
the Armenian Club opened in Kashatagh, and the Discussion Club opened
in Martuni, which have the same goal – make young people more
active. Yet we saw a more practical initiative in the village of
Haterk, Martakert. A young man named Vardan Grigorian set up a
vocational college. "We noticed that the students of high school are
interested in crafts. And we thought why not, we can create conditions
for these boys to learn a craft and at the same time study at school,"
says Vardan Grigorian. His idea found supporters. The basement of the
school of the villages was provided for the college. They got
necessary equipment, mostly thanks to Vardan. The work they did not
remain unnoticed. The minister of education visited the village and
promised to help. Now the vocational college is a branch of the
vocational college of Stepanakert, and the students, who count about
15, get a secondary school certificate after two years of
studies. Besides the subjects of the secondary school they learn a
craft. If they continue to study for another year, they get a diploma
of the vocational college of Stepanakert. The director of the college
Vardan Grigorian assured that they will make efforts to make the
routine of the students more interesting. They are going to get new
equipment and literature which will help improve the skills of the
future carpenters. Vardan Grigorian says there is demand for
carpenters in Martakert, which motivates the students. For the time
being, they get the scholarship of the NKR Ministry of Education,
Culture and Sport, 4600 drams per month.

Three justifications

Aravot, Armenia
Oct 27 2006

THREE JUSTIFICATIONS

Every time when our drivers hardly drive round the holes on Tigran
Mets or Comitas streets of Yerevan, they curse the authorities of
Armenia. Because nobody wants to be responsible for the holes digged
4 months ago, and the citizens think that everybody is guilty.

In answer to the citizens’ complaint, the authorities bring three
type of justification; 1/ we were thinking during digging in summer
that «Lins’» money will be sent, 2/ we have no money to repair, 3/
Upper Lars is closed, we can’t get bitumen.

The first justification is nonsense. Every normal person when arrange
an action he accounts what he must to finish it in the determined
limit. If no, he has no right to be even the father of family.

The second justification isn’t also so convincing. I suggest the
following settlement. For example the mayor holds the following
action: 10 oligarchs of the authority refuse of having dinner a day
and give that money for repairing the streets. All TV Companies are
invited and show the following scene; the oligarchs with their
bodyguards stand on Comitas avenue and eating shortcakes look how the
streets are repaired by their money.

The third justification though has an objective ground but it isn’t
complete. As our authorities declare every time that their Russian
partners are their `close brothers’. Ask them to solve that problem.
When it is spoken about your positions, you are brothers, but when
the problem is the security of inhabitants, you are remote relatives.

October is over soon, and it may snow in November. Do you imagine how
many cars will drive into those holes in case of ice? Who is
responsible, the municipality, government, `Lins” Yerevan office? Or
maybe Russian-Georgian strained relations.

Aram Abrahamian

Either policy or benevolence

Aravot, Armenia
Oct 27 2006

EITHER POLICY OR BENEVOLENCE

The RA laws insist in this alternative, as the benevolence
mustn’t pursue political purposes.

Whether the `Prosperous Armenia’, RPA and Democratic Party infringe
the RA legislation when one of them dispenses potatoes in RA regions,
another supplies with laboratory equipment and the other dispenses TV
sets. In answer to our question whether the parties have right to
carry out benevolent activities, chief of NA state-juridical
commission Rafik Petrosian said: «According to the law about parties
the parties aren’t considered benevolent organizations. These are
political organizations. According to the law about benevolence, the
benevolent organizations mustn’t connect their benevolent activities
with political issues». Factually, Mr. Petrosian stated that the
activities of «Prosperous Armenia», RPA and Democratic Party were
illegal. But as Rafik Petrosian himself is a RPA member he tried to
justify such activities. «It is asked today whether PA steps can be
observed as electoral bribes. I think they can’t, as the
pre-electoral campaign hasn’t launched yet. If that part has carried
out such activities why it shouldn’t it continue when it is useful
for the population.’

Anyway the benevolent activities of the parties aren’t the
infringement of the law only in pre-electoral period. If PA, RPA and
Democratic Party want to carry out charitable activities they must
correspond their activities with the law «About Benevolence», and
according to the 11th article of that law benevolent organizations
are formed by public unions, foundations and other ways determined by
law. Party isn’t one of those ways. According to the same article the
«name of benevolent organization must include the «benevolent» word».

And the law «About Parties» forbids the participation of benevolent
organizations in political activities. According to the 25th article
of that law, the parties aren’t allowed to get contribution by
benevolent organizations and the 18 th forbids making pre-electoral
propaganda to benevolent organization.

In short, there is a certain difference between political and
benevolent activities.

Aram Sargsian, the parliamentarian of `Justice’ faction, DPA leader,
in answer to our question whether he agrees that those activities
aren’t electoral bribes as they aren’t realized in pre-electoral
period, said: `No, I don’t agree, I even declared in the NA that CEC
must be led by the articles of the law about parties, according to
which the parties have no right to carry out economic activities. Now
let’s imagine that a party by its membership fees provide not only
its everyday activities but has even accumulated a certain amount of
money.

We should mention first of all what party members of this poor
country have become so prosperous. And if there are personal
resources, they have no connection with the party. Benevolence made
by the parties opposes to the laws «About parties» and «About
Benevolence».

Anna Israelian