Month: November 2006

IN A COUPLE OF YEARS ARMENIA MAY TURN INTO DESERT

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 29 2006

As a result of illegal deforestation, Armenia will shortly turn into
a desert. This is shown in a documentary presented in the Tekeyan
Center in Yerevan, Wednesday.

The authors of the film say that according to the research held by
the World Bank and the "Armenia Tree Project" benevolent fund, 80% of
the country’s territory is suffering deforestation at the moment. In
his conversation with an ArmInfo correspondent, Mher Sadoyan, the
ATP regional deputy director, noted that during the past 12 years,
about 1.5 mln trees have been planted in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh
by the Fund’s efforts.

The presentation of collected articles entitled "To Spread the Idea is
to Plant a Tree" (1.5 thousand copies), as well as a seminar of ecology
specialists and teachers were held in the Center. In the course of the
activities, the participants discussed a number of issues related both
to their work and ecology in general. About 55 teachers of ecology
from Yerevan, as well as from Lori, Kotayk and Syunik regions, took
part in the seminar. As regards the collection, it is meant for 4-9th
formers and comprises theory and practice on protection of nature and
environment. To note, the Fund was established in 1994. Its activity
is aimed to restore and protect the bio-system of Armenia.

SPEAKER OF ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT AND CUBAN AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA DISCUSSED ISSUES OF ARMENIAN-CUBAN COOPERATION

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 29 2006

Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Tigran Torosyan and Cuban Ambassador
to Armenia Jorge Martinez discussed the issues of the Armenian-Cuban
cooperation, Wednesday.

The Armenian parliamentary press-service told the ArmInfo news agency
that the Ambassador emphasized Cuba’s interest in activation of
the Armenian-Cuban cooperation and gave T.Torosyan the invitation
of Chairman of the Cuban Parliament to pay an official visit to
that country. J.Martinez also thanked Armenia for supporting Cuba
while discussing the issue of economic sanctions in international
structures. He also stressed the necessity of increasing the volumes
of bilateral commodity turnover and establishing joint ventures.

Presenting the economic development of Cuba, J.Martinez noted that
the sugar production is no longer a priority in the Cuban economy;
now tourism, production of nickel and oil, bio-technology, and
production of medicaments rank first. For studying the prospects of
cooperation in these spheres, an agreement on Armenian entrepreneurs’
visit to Cuba has already been reached, the Ambassador said. He also
noted that in December, Cuba will mark the 50th anniversary of the
revolution and the 80th jubilee of President Fidel Castro.

In his turn, T.Torosyan emphasized that there have never been any
contradictions between Cuba and Armenia, and the two countries are
separated only by a long distance. He said that the two countries have
historic commonness which is a good basis for deepening the bilateral
cooperation. The Speaker stressed that people of Cuba have been the
symbol of liberty and heroism. He said that Armenia knows very well
what a blockade is, and emphasized that these problems should be
solved by means of negotiations in compliance with international
legal norms. T.Torosyan also wished good health to the legendary
Cuban leader.

THE POPE IS RIGHT: LET TURKEY INTO THE EU

National Post (Canada)
November 29, 2006 Wednesday
Toronto Edition

Rarely do pontiffs create geopolitical sparks of the sort Pope
Benedict XVI set off yesterday during a visit to Turkey. According
to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Pope stated
that he now supports Turkey’s bid to join the European Union —
a reversal from his pre-papal opposition to EU membership for the
largely Muslim country. The Pope also told the press: "The best way
forward is via authentic dialogue between Christians and Muslims,
based on truth and inspired by a sincere wish to know one another
better, respecting differences and recognizing what we have in common."

All these fine words may have been motivated by the Pope’s desire
to mend fences in the wake of his controversial Sept. 12 speech,
which many Muslims believed contained a grave insult to Islam.

Nevertheless, the Pope’s flip-flop on Turkey joining the EU is welcome.

Turkey is an officially secular nation. Indeed, it applies the division
between church and state more strictly than any Western country. It
is also a NATO member, a Western ally in the Middle East, a friend
to Israel and a loyal partner in the war against terrorism.

After over 40 years as an associate member of the European Union,
and with an improving human rights record, the country deserves an
opportunity for full membership.

That is not to say the Turks’ membership application doesn’t have
its blemishes. For instance, the country is maddeningly stubborn
in refusing to admit its genocidal treatment of Armenians during
the First World War. Ankara also has shown itself inflexible in its
quarrel with the EU over the status of Cyprus, itself an EU member.

In particular, Turkey refuses to trade with the Greek-speaking half
of the island. This, despite the fact that the EU made it clear more
than a year ago that ending this dispute would be a condition for
entering formal EU membership talks.

But such matters can be negotiated and should not be allowed to stand
in the way of cementing Turkey’s place in the Western camp by allowing
it into the EU.

The Pope was correct when he told Prime Minister Erdogan that Turkey
is a bridge between religions and cultures. Now that so much of
the interaction between the Muslim world and the West has all the
appearances of a clash of civilizations, this is the sort of bridge
that Europe — and the entire Western world — very much needs.

BAYRAKDARIAN COMES TO WELLAND
by: Lynn Peppas

Welland Tribune (Ontario)
November 29, 2006 Wednesday

World-renowned soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian will be performing Love
Songs and other familiar favourites this Thursday, Nov. 30 for the
Welland-Port Colborne Concert series at Centennial’s J.M. Ennis
Auditorium. Bayrakdarian will be accompanied by pianist Serouj
Kradjian, who is, not only her partner on stage but in marriage
as well. Bayrakdarian and Kradjian have recently returned from an
international tour that included stops in Japan and throughout the US,
including New York City’s Carnegie Hall.

It’s an exciting honour to have a performer of this calibre performing
on stage in the city of Welland. Bayrakdarian is a celebrated opera
singer who’s graced many of the world’s major opera houses; she’s
wowed them in the UK as Susanna in Mozart’s Nozze di Figaro at the
Royal Opera House in London, England. She opened the season at the
Metropolitan Opera in New York, as Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflote
and is a regular performer at the famous opera house.

Always searching for a musical challenge, Bayrakdarian has most
recently co-starred in Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s one-act opera To
Hell and Back, with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Broadway
superstar and Tony award winner Patti LuPone. Based on a Greek myth
of the rape of Persephone, this work is a modern tale of a young woman
coming to terms with both an abusive marriage and her mother-in-law.

The Lebanon-born, Armenian-Canadian singer moved with her family to
Toronto as a teenager. She studied at the University of Toronto and
has an honours degree in biomedical engineering. Her first performances
in front of an audience were at church, and her life story is captured
in a CBC TV film A Long Journey Home, which chronicles her first trip
to Armenia. The country she has returned to record a CD of songs
written by Armenia’s national composer Gomidas Vartabed, with her
husband and the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 2000, Bayrakdarian won first prize in the Operalia competition,
and hasn’t looked back since. The highly acclaimed artist has won
three Juno awards, the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Award,
the 2005 Virginia Parker Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts,
and a Metropolitan Opera National Council Award in 1997.

Throughout her career, she’s recorded on numerous albums including a
CBC record entitled Mozart; the 2006 Juno award winning Best Classical
Album Pauline Viardot-Garcia recorded with husband and was featured
singing Evenstar on the Oscar award-winning soundtrack for Lord of
the Rings: The Two Towers composed by Howard Shore.

Although the series is sold-out, opportunities to see individual shows
are available through member cancellations and can be purchased by
calling 905-788-1648.

EU NOT READY TO ADMIT TURKEY AS FULL MEMBER

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.11.2006 15:13 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The European Union is not ready to admit Turkey as
a full member, Diba Nigar Goksel, the Editor of the Turkish Policy
Quarterly, Analyst of the European Stability Initiative stated in
Yerevan. In her words, presently Turkey looks for other ways to
consolidate its positions in the region and Europe.

"Turkey’s activities in the BSEC, for example, can promote the march
of the South Caucasian states towards the EU. Turkey is convinced
that the BSEC member states must play key role in ensuring security
and stability throughout the region. As to Turkey’s integration into
the European structures, one can mark out two basic directions to
develop relations, these being prospects of the state and obligations
to Europe. Unfortunately, neither of the directions yields results,"
she underscored.

She also remarked that the EU can finally lose trust to the states of
the region if they fail to achieve stability. As to the Russia-Turkey
relations, Ms Goksel said that the two states develop cooperation
within the BSEC. "Thus, plenty of regional problems, specifically
energy issues, will be resolved," she added.

POLITICIANS HAMPER ESTABLISHMENT OF DIALOGUE BETWEEN ARMENIA AND TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.11.2006 15:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Both sides speak of the Armenian Genocide, at that
positions of the states are absolutely opposite. Each side produces
figures, refutations or confirmations, Nursun Erel, a political
observer of The New Anatolian told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In her
words, Armenians and Turks should overcome all taboos and start open
dialogue. "As you know, a conference on the Armenian Genocide, that was
constantly postponed, was held in the Istanbul University. At last it
took place. Documents referring to the rule of Young Turks were made
public. I have read two absolutely different versions of the decree by
Interior Minister Talaat pasha on the deportation of Armenians. One
contains his telegram ‘on deportation of all Armenians irrespective
of gender and age", the other quotes an extract from his diary,
where he writes he could not issue such an inhuman decree. Thereupon,
all the documents should be made public," she said.

At the same time Ms Erel underscored that politicians hamper the
establishment of dialogue between the two states. In her opinion, it’s
wrong to use a bypass route instead of the Kars-Gyumri highway. "We
should communicate and maybe the relations between our states will
improve," she emphasized.

TURKISH MEDIA AGAINST ARTICLE 301

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.11.2006 15:36 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code is
incorrect and should be amended, Nursun Erel, a political observer
of The New Anatolian told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In her
words, Turkish media stands against the Article and presses for
its cancellation or at least alteration of the chapter penalizing
‘insulting Turkishness’. "The Turkish government faces difficulties
under the pressure of media and EU to amend or cancel Article 301
of the Penal Code. I hope we will succeed. It’s impossible to write
about serious things if the Article is not amended. For most part the
matter concerns the Armenian Genocide, The New Anatolian observer said.

TURKEY SHOULDN’T TAKE ANY STAND ON KARABAKH ISSUE

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.11.2006 16:56 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The European Union and Turkey speak much of the
Cypriot issue but the hope for the resolution of the problem is
vague, Nursun Erel, a political observer of The New Anatolian told a
PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In her words, certain hopes are anchored
with the UN plan that can get things moving. However an atmosphere
of distrust and disappointment reigns among Cypriots and Turks. We
should undertake joint steps to improve the situation," she remarked.

As to Azerbaijan’s role in the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish
relations, Ms Erel said ‘Turkey should not take any stand on the apple
of discord, that is the Nagorno Karabakh problem’. In her opinion
this fact impedes badly the establishment of neighborly relations in
the whole region. Azerbaijan is very jealous of the Armenian-Turkish
contacts. The Milli Mejlis chairman was very ‘discontent’ with the
meeting of the Turkish and Armenian parliament speakers. I think that
we should communicate with Armenians at all levels. This nation left a
deep trace in Turkey’s history and culture. Let us take, for example,
the temple of Akhtamar, which has been recently reconstructed by a
Turkish architect of Armenian origin," Erel said.

ILHAM ALIYEV: WE APPROACH LAST STAGE OF KARABAKH TALKS

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.11.2006 17:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "For three years already the talks in the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict have proceeded within the Prague Process that
included numerous meetings of Presidents and Foreign Ministers. We
have overcome certain stages and are approaching the last one," Azeri
President Ilham Aliyev told AzTV. In his words, all the questions were
considered during these three years and the positions of the states
have been completely formed. "Now we are at a stage when the future
of the negotiation process depends on us. From this standpoint I give
a positive estimation to the latest meeting. We held serious talks
and discussed vexed points. We coordinated the issues that were not
settled before but there certainly remain items on which our opinions
differ. However we discussed them as well. Azerbaijan’s position is
unchangeable. We stand for the settlement of the conflict within the
principle of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity," the Azeri President
said, reports Azeri Press.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PROSECUTOR DEMANDS ONLY 4 YEARS OF IMPRISONMENT FOR MAD CROWD LEADER

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.11.2006 18:03 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Hearings on the case of Ruslan Melnik, the probable
leader of the Mad Crowd grouping were held in the federal court of
Pushkin district of Saint Petersburg. As reported by the Agency of
Journalist Investigations, the state prosecutor insists on finding
Ruslan Melnik guilty on all the accusation items except calls to
enticement of national hatred through media. This episode, according
to the prosecution, has not been proved. On the remaining points
the prosecutor demanded 4 years of imprisonment. The other members
of the Mad Crowd were sentenced to 2-3 years of imprisonment in
December 2005. According to the investigators, Mad Crowd was formed
for committing assaults on foreign citizens.

The grouping is accused of assault on McDonald’s in the Nevsky Avenue
in April 2003, beating of a native of Azerbaijan and Chinese citizens
in October 2003 and assault on an Armenian citizen.