Month: April 2007

Tigran Mansurian digs deep for his craft

Perhaps Armenia’s top living composer, he says writing music is always a
struggle

Los Angeles Times
April 20, 2007

By Chris Pasles, Times Staff Writer

Armenian composer Tigran Mansurian may not be a household name. But in
his homeland, in Armenian diaspora communities and in Europe’s new music
circles, he is regarded as Armenia’s greatest living composer. Recently,
he’s been getting even wider notice.

The taste-making German label ECM has issued four CDs of his music
("Monodia" was nominated for a 2005 Grammy), and a fifth is planned.
Within the last month, New York has heard two U.S. premieres: "Con
Anima" for string sextet at Merkin Concert Hall and an Agnus Dei for
clarinet, violin, cello and piano at Carnegie Hall. And between tonight
and Wednesday night, the Glendale-based Lark Musical Society, which
sponsors the enterprising Dilijan Chamber Music Series, is presenting "A
Mansurian Triptych" – three concerts programmed to commemorate the 92nd
anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

Mansurian’s epic a cappella choral work, "Ars Poetica," will be
performed tonight at the downtown L.A. Colburn School’s Zipper Concert
Hall. Selections from his chamber music, including the Agnus Dei, will
be played Monday at Zipper. And on Wednesday, orchestral works,
including the U.S. premiere of his Violin Concerto No. 2, titled "Four
Serious Songs," and his Viola Concerto, " … and then I was in time again
… ," will be played at the Alex Theatre in Glendale.

What audiences will hear is "very strong emotional music," according to
Anja Lechner, cellist of the Munich, Germany-based Rosamunde String
Quartet, which has recorded three Mansurian works for ECM. "That’s maybe
why it goes directly to people’s hearts."

Mansurian himself believes that music has a spiritual purpose. "There
are two main roots to music," he said in an interview this week. "The
first one is the religious, Christian aspect, the issue of pain and
spirituality, the pain of Christ being crucified and the guilt that
comes from it and our relationship to God. The second one is our
instinctive search for Paradise Lost. That’s what makes music."

Because he shifted between Armenian and Russian, Mansurian was speaking
through several interpreters at the Lark Musical Society offices. A
gentle, elegant man with flowing white hair, he spoke in a light,
precise tenor, often animating his remarks with eloquently shaped
gestures that belied the struggle he said composing has always been for him.

"Since childhood to now, my fingertips are bleeding from the conflict,"
he said. "It was always my personal fight or mission."

Born Jan. 27, 1939, to Armenian parents in Beirut, he moved with his
family to Soviet Armenia in 1947 and then in 1956 to the capital,
Yerevan, where they settled. He studied at the Yerevan Music Academy and
at the Komitas State Conservatory, where, after earning a doctorate, he
taught and later became rector.

He won two first prizes in the All-Union competition in Moscow in 1966
and 1968 and the Armenian State Prize in 1981.

Armenia is still his home, but his daughter, Nvart Sarkissian, lives in
Glendale, and because his wife, Nora Aharonian, died last year, he plans
to spend more time here.

His early works combined neoclassicism and Armenian folk traditions.
Subsequently, he adopted 12-tone and serial techniques. His more recent
works are a mix of all these influences.

"I have tried to find myself in the old Armenian music," he said. "I
have tried to find myself in Boulez’s serialism. When you go deep in
these traditions, you will find the things that are true to your
individual roots. Generally, I compose what’s been developing and
growing inside me for a long time."

In addition, he said, he has always been drawn to the written word. "As
a musician, the Armenian language was one of my first teachers," he
said. "One’s childhood tongue and the first impressions of language are
very important for any musician."

"Four Hayrens," for example, is a setting of Armenian poems. "Ars
Poetica" consists of poems by Yeghishe Charents, a victim of Stalin’s
purges. The title of his Viola Concerto, " … and then I was in time
again … " is a line spoken by Quentin Compson, the doomed hero of
Faulkner’s "The Sound and the Fury."

"I have devoted 10 years of my life to Faulkner," he said, before
spontaneously reciting the opening of that novel in Russian.

"He’s difficult, but once you go into Faulkner, there is no higher joy.
If I were to choose the person who was most significant to me, it would
have been Quentin because of his incredible honesty."

Mansurian read the book first in Russian, but upon later reading an
Armenian translation, he said, he discovered that the Soviet version had
been heavily censored.

"Just like the Soviet state got involved in every other aspect of life,
it got involved in translations," he said. "That’s how things were done."

Living under the Soviet system, he added, was "some sort of different
Faulknerian tale. It was another monumental feeling of loss."

For all his identification with his homeland, Mansurian said he prefers
to regard himself as a composer rather than an Armenian composer.

"To be truthful to myself, I have to rely on my genetic memory and my
way of praying and my whole being, which is of course very Armenian," he
said. "But not in order to be called Armenian – just in order to be true
to myself."

Email Chris Pasles at: [email protected]

*

‘A Mansurian Triptych’

Where: Zipper Concert Hall, Colburn School of Performing Arts, 200 S.
Grand Ave., L.A.

When: 8 p.m. today (choral works) and 8 p.m. Monday (chamber works)

Also

Where: Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale

When: 8 p.m. Wednesday

Price: $20 to $75 ($15 for students and seniors) for each concert

Contact: (818) 500-9997 or

ht tp:// pr20,0,6959414.story?coll=cl-music-features

Robert Fisk: Caught in the deadly web of the internet
Any political filth or personal libel can be hurled at the innocent

Published: 21 April 2007

Could it possibly be that the security men who guard the frontiers of
North America are supporting Holocaust denial? Alas, it’s true. Here’s
the story.

Taner Akcam is the distinguished Turkish scholar at the University of
Minnesota who, with immense courage, proved the facts of the Armenian
genocide – the deliberate mass murder of up to a million and a half
Armenians by the Ottoman Turkish authorities in 1915 – from Turkish
documents and archives. His book A Shameful Act was published to great
critical acclaim in Britain and the United States.

He is now, needless to say, being threatened with legal action in Turkey
under the infamous Law 301 – which makes a crime of insulting
"Turkishness" – but it’s probably par for the course for a man who was
granted political asylum in Germany after receiving an eight-year prison
sentence in his own country for articles he had written in a student
journal; Amnesty International had already named him a prisoner of
conscience.

But Mr Akcam has now become a different kind of prisoner: an inmate of
the internet hate machine, the circle of hell in which any political
filth or personal libel can be hurled at the innocent without any
recourse to the law, to libel lawyers or to common decency. The
Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink was misquoted on the internet for
allegedly claiming that Turkish blood was "poisonous"; this total lie –
Dink never said such a thing – prompted a young man to murder him in an
Istanbul street.

But Taner Akcam’s experience is potentially far more serious for all of
us. As he wrote in a letter to me this month, "Additional to the
criminal investigation (law 301) in Turkey, there is a hate campaign
going on here in the USA, as a result of which I cannot travel
internationally any more… My recent detention at the Montreal airport
– apparently on the basis of anonymous insertions in my Wikipedia
biography – signals a disturbing new phase in a Turkish campaign of
intimidation that has intensified since the November 2006 publication of
my book."

Akcam was travelling to lecture in Montreal and took the Northwest
Airlines flight from Minneapolis on 16 February this year. The Canadian
immigration officer, Akcam says, was "courteous" – but promptly detained
him at Montreal’s Trudeau airport. Even odder, the Canadian immigration
officer asked him why he needed to be detained. Akcam tells me he gave
the man a brief history of the genocide and of the campaign of hatred
against him in the US by Turkish groups "controlled by … Turkish
diplomats" who "spread propaganda stating that I am a member of a
terrorist organisation".

All this went on for four hours while the immigration officer took notes
and made phone calls to his bosses. Akcam was given a one-week visa and
the Canadian officer showed him – at Akcam’s insistence – a piece of
paper which was the obvious reason for his temporary detention.

"I recognised the page at once," Akcam says. "The photo was a still from
a 2005 documentary on the Armenian genocide… The still photo and the
text beneath it comprised my biography in the English language edition
of Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia which anyone in the world can
modify at any time. For the last year … my Wikipedia biography has
been persistently vandalised by anonymous ‘contributors’ intent on
labelling me as a terrorist. The same allegations has been repeatedly
scrawled, like gangland graffiti, as ‘customer reviews’ of my books at
Amazon."

Akcam was released, but his reflections on this very disturbing incident
are worth recording. "It was unlikely, to say the least, that a Canadian
immigration officer found out that I was coming to Montreal, took the
sole initiative to research my identity on the internet, discovered the
archived version of my Wikipedia biography, printed it out on 16
February, and showed it to me – voilà! – as a result."

But this was not the end. Prior to his Canadian visit, two
Turkish-American websites had been hinting that Akcam’s "terrorist
activities" should be of interest to American immigration authorities.
And sure enough, Akcam was detained yet again – for another hour – by US
Homeland Security officers at Montreal airport before boarding his
flight at Montreal for Minnesota two days later.

On this occasion, he says that the American officer – US Homeland
Security operates at the Canadian airport – gave him a warning: "Mr
Akcam, if you don’t retain an attorney and correct this issue, every
entry and exit from the country is going to be problematic. We recommend
that you do not travel in the meantime and that you try to get this
information removed from your customs dossier."

So let’s get this clear. US and Canadian officials now appear to be
detaining the innocent on the grounds of hate postings on the internet.
And it is the innocent – guilty until proved otherwise, I suppose – who
must now pay lawyers to protect them from Homeland Security and the
internet. But as Akcam says, there is nothing he can do.

"Allegations against me, posted by the Assembly of Turkish American
Associations, Turkish Forum and ‘Tall Armenian Tale’ (a Holocaust denial
website) have been copy-pasted and recycled through innumerable websites
and e-groups ever since I arrived in America. By now, my name in close
proximity to the English word ‘terrorist’ turns up in well over 10,000
web pages."

I’m not surprised. There is no end to the internet’s circle of hate.
What does shock me, however, is that the men and women chosen to guard
their nations against Osama bin Laden and al-Qa’ida are reading this
dirt and are prepared to detain an honourable scholar such as Taner
Akcam on the basis of it.

I don’t think the immigration lads are to blame. I once remember
listening to a Canadian official at Toronto airport carefully explaining
to a Palestinian visitor that he was not required to tell any police
officer about his religion or personal beliefs, that he should feel safe
in Canada.

No, it’s their bosses in Ottawa and Washington I wonder about. Put very
simply, how much smut are the US and Canadian immigration authorities
taking off the internet? And how much of it is now going to be flung at
us when we queue at airports to go about our lawful business?

k/article2469270.ece

Soprano shines in ‘Anne Frank’

Ani Maldjian comes into her own in the solo work — staged in a garage,
no less

OPERA REVIEW

Los Angeles Times
April 19, 2007

By Mark Swed, Times Staff Writer

Of the many horrors of war, claustrophobia may seem like a lesser
torment. But confinement takes its toll.

Anne Frank’s diary – left behind by a young Jewish girl who hid from the
Nazis for two years in an Amsterdam attic – attracted enormous attention
upon its publication in 1947. Not only an early mass-media revelation of
the Holocaust, it also served as an inspirational story of coming of age
under awful circumstances.

A play and a film followed. And in 1969, a Russian composer, Grigori
Frid, made excerpts from Anne’s text the basis for a one-woman opera,
which Long Beach Opera presented Tuesday night at Sinai Temple in
Westwood. In its parking garage!

Such structures are places most of us want to get out of as quickly as
possible. And that was exactly the point of presenting this opera in
one, the company’s general and artistic director, Andreas Mitisek, said
in a pre-performance talk.

Not that patrons had it all that bad. The seats weren’t uncomfortable,
despite difficult sightlines. Coffee and cookies were served beforehand.
The air was breathable, at least for the 75 minutes of the performance.
And the intimacy and surprisingly good acoustics added significantly to
the effect.

Still, I doubt many felt inclined to linger afterward.

Frid’s opera is competent and clearly heartfelt. As a monodrama for
Anne, it focuses on her inner life in 21 short sections. The composer’s
musical style is not strongly Russian, although there are hints of
Shostakovich along with others of Weill and Hindemith. The score – a
chamber version was used – is effectively illustrative in its
suggestions of sour marches, somber waltzes and moody folk songs. The
vocal writing fits the words closely and offers a technical and
emotional tour de force for a game soprano.

Mitisek, who conducted as well as conceived and directed the production,
found just that soprano in Ani Maldjian, who is 24 and last appeared
with the company in the chorus. She is involved in the young artist
programs of Seattle Opera and San Francisco Opera. Tuesday at 8 p.m.,
one might have said she was an emerging artist in the earliest stages of
a career. By 9:30, she had emerged. And she is surely the first in opera
history to have done so from a car park.

The stage, designed by Alan E. Muraoka, consisted of a platform strewn
with a few props. Clotheslines served as places for Anne to clip a few
photos, but the space was basically raw, and Maldjian dominated it.
Mitisek added a little spoken text from the diaries to help set some of
the scenes, and the soprano proved a lively, engagingly girlish actor.
Her singing was commanding and brilliant, fresh and strong from
beginning to end.

Frid’s music may not fully convey the profound changes that took place
in Anne as she grew from a childish 13-year-old to a wise 15-year-old,
but it provided enough basic material for Maldjian to fill in. Mitisek’s
direction was a fairly typical application of the expressionist
theatrical techniques common in contemporary German and Austrian
stagings. But it worked.

I don’t know how many times a soprano has held a light to her face and
sung of deep pain (Heather Carson designed the appropriately harsh
lighting). But when Maldjian did so during the Nazi roundup sequence,
her voice shining brighter than the light while the strings created an
eerie backdrop, the collective blood pressure in the garage must have
risen dangerously.

Mitisek’s use of spoken text was smart. But he wanted more, and he
invited Laura Hillman – an author, poet and Holocaust survivor – to
periodically read from her own writings. Born in 1923, six years before
Anne, she was like Anne today, had Anne survived. Hillman’s is eloquent
testimony, but I think she might have served better appearing separate
from the drama. Her bitter reminder of the fate of 6 million Jews added
a weight that Anne only partly understood when she wrote, lived and loved.

The Holocaust is, perhaps, too easy a card to play, given the emotions
it evokes whether an artwork is good or not. But discovering talent like
Maldjian’s is no easy feat.

And this production functioned on an authentically high level. Mitisek
conducted with complete authority, and his nine-piece ensemble was
exceptional.

[email protected]

*

`The Diary of Anne Frank’

Where: Long Beach Opera, Sinai Temple Parking Structure, 10400 Wilshire
Blvd., West L.A.

When: 8 tonight

Also

Where: Lincoln Park Parking Garage, entry between Pacific and Cedar
avenues, Long Beach

When: 4 p.m. Saturday

Price: $60 and $70

Contact: (562) 432-5934 or

MEMBERS OF CIS IPA COMMISSION FOR MONITORING OF PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION IN ARMENIA TO ARRIVE IN YEREVAN ON APRIL 19

Arka News Agency, Armenia
April 18 2007

YEREVAN, April 17. /ARKA/. Members of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary
Assembly (IPA) Commission for monitoring of the parliamentary election
in Armenia are to arrive in Yerevan on April 19.

The press service of Armenia’s Parliament reported that the delegation
will be headed by Vice-Speaker of the Federation Council of the
Russian Parliament Anatoly Torshin and the Secretary General of CIS
IPA Michael Krotov.

On April 19, the Commission members will meet with the Chairman of
the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Armenia Garegin Azarian and
representatives of the parliamentary groups of the Republican Party
of Armenia (RPA), Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsiutiun
Party, United Labour Party, National Unity Party, Orinats Erkir Party,
"Justice" alliance and the "Prospering Armenia" party.

The meetings with the Armenian President Robert Kocharian, Prosecutor
general Aghvan Hovsepian and Armenian Parliament Speaker Tigran
Torosian are scheduled for April 20.

The Monitoring Commission members are also to participate in the
meeting in Yerevan office of CIS International Institute for democracy,
development of parliamentarism and monitoring of human rights.

The Monitoring Commission members will give a press conference in the
Armenian parliament to sum up the outcome of the meetings.

AIC PROJECT MARKS GENOCIDES HORROR
By Mary Ellen Lowney

The Republican, MA
April 18 2007

Posted by The Republican Newsroom April 17, 2007 21:36PM
[email protected]

SPRINGFIELD – The northeast corner of the campus green at American
International College is now a grim reminder of more than 11 million
people killed in six genocides over the past century.

The memorial – 25,000 popsicle sticks planted in the grass – was
created Monday night through this morning by 30 students aiming to
raise awareness of some of history’s more gruesome moments. It will
remain in place into next week.

"It’s important for us to build awareness of the issues facing the
world," said freshman Darren A. James. "We get caught up in the local
issues of our lives and forget to see the big picture."

But for junior Edina Skaljic, who coordinated the effort, the Genocide
Awareness Week memorial is far more than a history lesson.

The 22-year-old is a genocide survivor, having lived through the
Serbia-Bosnia war that resulted in the deaths of 200,000 Bosnians in
the early 1990s. She looks back on the time as a childhood stolen.

"I had no childhood. Every single day, someone died. People dropped
like flies around you," said Skaljic, whose parents and younger
brother now live in Boston.

She lost a grandfather – he was burned alive – and several cousins
to the war that officially went from 1992 to 1995, though the effects
continued for years.

Skaljic said that shortly after Feb. 26, when the United Nations
International Court of Justice acquitted Serbia of committing genocide
in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Balkan war of the 1990s, she
felt compelled to put genocide front and center on her campus and
wherever she can.

"I was there. I saw what happened," she said.

Skaljic has spoken at American International College, as well as
elsewhere, including Elms College in Chicopee, about her childhood
and the horrors of genocide.

Today’s event was sponsored by the AIC International Club, the Model
Congress and the Young Professionals for International Cooperation,
a student group affiliated with the U.N.

Students placed one stick for each 500 people killed in genocides
since 1915. The holocaust section alone accounts for 12,000 sticks.

The memorial spans nearly a century, starting with the Armenian
genocide at the hands of the Turks between 1915 and 1918, when 1.5
million Armenians were killed.

Students put colored popsicle sticks in the Darfur section, because
the genocide there is ongoing. Since 2003, 450,000 have died in the
ethnic conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan.

"In Darfur, things can be changed. We can make it right. All these
other places, it’s too late," Skaljic said.

OBAMA BACKS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ALLEGATIONS

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 18 2007

US Senator Barack Obama, a presidential candidate for the 2008
elections, revealed he supported Armenian allegations of genocide at
the hands of the Ottoman Empire, Armenian reports said.

The Democratic senator, speaking at a breakfast briefing in Washington,
D.C., with participants from Illinois, said: "For those who aren’t
aware, there was a genocide that did take place against the Armenian
people. It is one of these situations where we have seen a constant
denial on the part of the Turkish government and others that this
occurred. It has become a sore spot diplomatically."

He was responding to a question from an official from Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA), an influential Armenian lobbying group
in the US, on whether he would support a resolution urging the US
administration to recognize the alleged genocide.

ANCA Eastern Region Executive Director Karine Birazian commended
Obama for his stance. "Armenian Americans in Illinois and across the
nation look forward to Senator Obama becoming a co-sponsor of the
resolution," she said, according to PanArmenian.net. Two separate
resolutions have been presented to the US Senate and the House of
Representatives urging the administration to designate the events
as genocide. Ankara has warned that passage of the resolutions would
damage ties with US considerably.

TURKISH, US SCHOLARS DISCUSS TURKISH-ARMENIAN RELATIONSHIP
VelÝ Baysal Dallas

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 18 2007

Turkish and US scholars discussed relations between Turkey and Armenia
at a conference titled "Turkish-Armenian Question:

What to do now?" held in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday and organized by
the Raindrop Foundation, a nonprofit group founded by Turkish students
in Houston for cultural and educational purposes.

Participants mentioned the importance of coexistence and said,
"It is time to speak instead of sowing seeds of hatred and to start
a new era in history." Turkish and US historians emphasized that the
tension that has existed between the two societies since 1914 can be
settled with discussion.

The conference started with an opening address by Ýstanbul’s Armenian
Patriarch Mesrob II, who said, "The nations can live together in
peace, but everyone should treat each other as he is without making
a distinction of language, religion and race."

Huseyin Demirci from Erciyes University said Armenian-Turkish relations
can be improved by efforts based on dialogue. Stating that in visits
he paid to Yerevan and other Armenian cities he saw that relations
between the two peoples are still at the highest level, Demirci said
the diaspora and politically based actions damage relationships. "It
is time we repaired the cracks with constructive efforts as much as
we can," he urged.

Dr. Gregg Webb from Baylor University congratulated the Raindrop
Foundation, which organized the conference, and said he hoped the
organization would pave the way for further friendships. Quoting
Benjamin Franklin, "All I want is to make the enemy in front of me
into a friend of mine,"

Turkish scholar Dr. Naci Bostancý said: "We wish Armenian views
were also expressed here. What we want is to come together on
broader platforms. Dialogue does not mean people fix their ideas
and speak accordingly. Dialogue does not mean making speeches based
on written texts. On the contrary, it is a journey among words where
the speech has a wide frame." Journalist Ali Bayramoðlu also stressed
the importance of the Armenians and Turks’ coming face-to-face and
discussing their problems, noting, "We all should learn to face
each other."

Dr. Michael Fontenont of Southern University at Baton Rouge said,
"Handling the Armenian issue one-sidedly means ignoring the historical
and social events,"

Turkish and US scholars joined the conference organized by the Raindrop
Foundation; however, Armenian scholars declined the invitations
sent to them. Several Turkish and Armenian students followed the
meeting. "Bridges can be established between Armenians and Turks,"
said Raindrop Foundation Chairman Yaþar Tiryakioðlu.

Tiryakioðlu said the enmity between Armenians and Turks should be left
in the past and that ways of dialogue should be sought. He described
the goal of the conference as follows: "Our goal was to build the
first leg of the bridge today. We believe we have achieved this. We
will already make our plans to organize new events to establish a
closer relationship between the two societies."

–Boundary_(ID_HK4jKBLYjbTGMK77k yswXg)–

TURKISH JEWS SEND LETTER ON ARMENIAN RESOLUTION

Jewish Telegraphic Agency, NY
April 18 2007

Jewish groups are relaying to the U.S. Congress a letter from the
Turkish Jewish community advocating against a resolution that would
commemorate the Armenian genocide.

The non-binding resolution, which is being pushed by Rep. Adam
Schiff (D-Calif.) — a Jewish congressman with a substantial Armenian
constituency — is encountering fierce Turkish resistance. A delegation
of top Turkish parliamentarians is meeting with top administration
and congressional officials this week to warn that the resolution
would harm Turkish-American relations.

Turkey is America’s closest Muslim ally and maintains close relations
with Israel. Turkey is a harsh critic of Israel’s treatment of the
Palestinians, but bristles when Israeli politicians suggest that the
killing of Armenians in World War I was genocide.

The Turkish delegation also met with U.S. Jewish leaders, as did a
Turkish Jewish delegation last month. Turks want Jewish groups to
advocate against Schiff’s resolution, but only one group, the Jewish
Institute of National Security Affairs, has done so.

Other Jewish groups, mindful of the history of Holocaust revisionism,
do not want to deny Armenians the opportunity to commemorate their
own genocide, which Israeli researchers have said was a precursor to
the Holocaust. So in a compromise, the American Jewish Committee,
Anti-Defamation League and B’nai B’rith International will relay
the Turkish Jewish letter to Congress later this week, but will not
necessarily endorse it.

39.html

I’LL WED WINNIE IN KENYA: ARTUR MARGARYAN
Story By Francis Thoya

Daily Nation , Kenya
April 18 2007

The man at the centre of newspaper reports of a plot to kill Opposition
leaders has vowed to wed his sweetheart Winnie Wangui in Kenya despite
a ban from entering the country.

Mr Artur Margaryan said he expected to wed Ms Wangui between June
and July, with or without a valid entry permit.

In a telephone interview from Sri Lanka, Mr Artur said: "Neither the
Security minister nor the police commissioner will stop me from coming
to Kenya."

He further said: "I expect a lot of dignitaries drawn from all over
the world to attend. For a week, I’ll be in Kenya, the next week in
Dubai and finally in Armenia."

Mr Margaryan is locked in a controversy over claims that a senior
government official approached him to assassinate Baringo Central
MP Gideon Moi. A story detailing these claims and published by The
Standard, prompted police commissioner Hussein Ali to summon the
entire senior management of the group to record statements on Monday.

They were freed that night after hours of questioning. Security
minister John Michuki also dismissed the report.

But yesterday, Mr Margaryan said he had damning information against
several Cabinet ministers.

At the same time The Standard Group said it was willing to give more
information on the story. Speaking to the Nation by telephone, its
group editorial director Kwendo Opanga said apart from the information
and the tapes they provided to the police on Monday, they have not
been asked for more.

Further proof

"We’re committed to assisting in further investigations if called
upon to do so," said Mr Opanga.

Yesterday, The Standard management met with its lawyers following
Monday’s incident in which four of it top managers were quizzed by
CID detectives over the Arturs story. The government has ordered
investigations into the newspaper reports.

Mr Margaryan insisted that summoning of the Standard Group managers
was aimed at hiding the truth.

He promised to reveal the names of all individuals he had dealt with
in President Kibaki’s government before he was whisked out of the
country hurriedly last year after causing a security scare at the
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

HMML SIGNS AGREEMENT IN YEREVAN TO UNDERTAKE LARGEST MANUSCRIPT DIGITIZATION PROJECT IN HISTORY
Michael Hemmesch

CSB/SJU, MN
Saint John’s University
April 18 2007

The Rev. Columba Stewart, OSB, executive director of the Hill Museum
& Manuscript Library (HMML), signed a formal agreement with the
Matenadaran Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts in Yerevan,
Armenia, April 13 that will allow HMML to undertake the largest
manuscript digitization project in history.

The collection in Yerevan, totaling almost 17,000 manuscripts, is by
far the most extensive and richest repository for Armenian manuscripts
in the world. These manuscripts are known for their outstanding
illuminations, considered to be among the most beautiful ever created.

"The collection in Yerevan is the most important Armenian manuscript
collection in the entire world," Stewart said. "Our collaboration with
the Matenadaran is the culmination of our Library’s current emphasis
on eastern Christian manuscripts."

HMML was founded 40 years ago in response to the devastating loss of
manuscripts and books during two World Wars. It is the only institution
in the world exclusively dedicated to the photographic preservation
and study of manuscripts, particularly in locations where war, theft
or physical conditions pose a threat. Since its inception, HMML
has built the largest collection of manuscript images in the world,
having photographed almost 100,000 manuscripts totaling more than 30
million pages.

To preserve the manuscripts in Yerevan, HMML will use the latest
technology to capture high-quality digital images. HMML will provide
the equipment, training and salary to local photographic technicians,
as well as ongoing technical support to the Matenadaran.

HMML will give the Matenadaran copies all of the digital images and
will also provide for the safe storage of another copy of the digital
images in a highly secure location here in Minnesota. Scholars wishing
to consult complete manuscripts may apply to HMML for copies after
agreeing to conditions that reserve all copyright and commercial
interests to the owning libraries.

Sample images from the Armenian manuscripts will then be added to
"Vivarium," HMML’s Web-based program that provides scholars, students
and the general public with free access to sample manuscript images
and other digital materials. Reproduction rights to the Yerevan images
will remain the exclusive property of the Matenadaran.

Armenian manuscripts form the largest single corpus in the latest
phase of HMML’s work. This new initiative with the Matenadaran will
build significantly on this foundation with work beginning as early
as September 2007.

"No other nation on Earth has a library like the Matenadaran," Stewart
said. "And, no other people have a collection of manuscripts as its
greatest national monument. We Benedictines are famous for our care
of sacred and secular manuscripts, but next to the Armenian people,
we’re amateurs. It’s a tremendous honor to be trusted as their partner
in preserving this unparalleled wonder of the world."

Sen Arevshatyan, director of the Matenadaran Mashtots Institute of
Ancient Manuscripts, co-signed the agreement with Stewart. Levon
Lazarian, Armenia’s Minister of Education, hosted the signing
at the Ministry of Education to show his support for this historic
partnership. His Holiness Karekin II, the Catholicos of All Armenians,
based in the See of Etchmiadzin near Yerevan, has given his full
support and blessing to the project, as it will ensure the preservation
and propagation of centuries of Armenian religious culture.

For more information about this momentous digitization project, please
e-mail Phil Steger, deputy director of manuscript preservation at
the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, or call him at 320-363-2130 .

Michael Hemmesch Director of Media Relations College of Saint
Benedict/Saint John’s University Phone 320-363-2595 Fax 320-363-2016
[email protected]