Month: May 2008

ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER VISITS MILITARY UNITS ON THE BORDER WITH AZERBAIJAN

Azeri Press Agency
May 4 2008
Azerbaijan

Yerevan-APA. Armenian defense minister Seyran Ohanian has visited
military units in north-eastern direction on the border with
Azerbaijan.

Ohanian told journalists the president urged him to learn work done
for improvement of engineering installations on the border and problems
concerned local residents, APA quotes Novosti-Armenia. "We have visited
the battle-front and made decisions for strengthening of settlements
defense. We will build several more engineering installations for
strengthening of defense line". Ohanian said he ordered militaries
not to retaliate fires from the opposite side.

"WITHOUT TIES" MEETING OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR HEADS TAKES PLACE IN TSAKHKADZOR

Noyan Tapan
May 4, 2008

YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN. A meeting "without ties" of the heads
of the IT sector was held in Tsakhkadzor on May 1-3. The meeting was
entitled "The Ways of Information and Communication Development". It
was attneded by 80 heads of nearly 50 companies, and 20 representatives
of the RA ministry of economy, the State Customs Committee, the State
Tax Service, the Public Services Regulatory Commission, the RA State
Commission on Protection of Economic Competition, international donor
organizations and about as many representatives of the mass media.

During the meeting, round tales were conducted on the following
subjects: The Tax ans Customs Legislation and Administration of the
Republic of Armenia, The Education of Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT), and the Communication and Security.

The main problem raised during discussions on the last subject was
related to the factors affecting the quality and price formation
of data transmission services via the Internet. It was stated
that although the sector of Internet services has been liberalized,
ArmenTel CJSC does not actually provide other providers with channels
for provision of last mile Internet services to ultimate users. The
company also avoids connecting its channels to the networks of other
companies and provides itself Internet access and data transmission
services through fixed-line phone connection.

This creates for ArmenTel conditions for monopoly and the opportunity
to provide the indicated services at cheapest prices, which makes it
impossible for other companies to compete with ArmenTel in the sector
of last mile services and to attract investments to this sector. On
the last day of the meeting, discussion on this subject was held with
the participation of the RA minister of economy Nerses Yeritsian. He
proposed that representatives of the companies of the telecommunication
sector clarify the situation through research and propose possible
ways out in order to find legislative solutions to the problems. The
version of constructing a new fiber-optic cable for international data
transmission and a fixed-line network was not ruled out at the meeting.

During the round table on the subject "ICT Education", it was pointed
out that the use of information and communication technologies in the
comprehensive education system is being regulated gradually by such
steps as connecting schools to the Internet, the budgetary financing
of schools’ Internet traffic and the creation of school electronic
content. As for the issue of training of ICT specialists, there are
still problems with presentation of orders for preparation of experts
of the higher educational system, qualification of lecturers, and
the absence of levers on the private sector’s impact on the quality
of education and the educational programs.

According to N. Yeritsian, it is envisaged to solve the problem
related to tax and customs administration through introduction of
automated systems of new orders and registration.

The meeting was organized by the Union of IT Enterprises, the
USAID-financed Competitive Armenian Private Sector (CAPS) Project,
and the RA ministry of economy with the support of U Com company.

MONTH-LONG SAROYAN PROJECT CELEBRATES FRESNO CULTURE
By Betsy Lumbye

Fresno Bee
May 4 2008
CA

I was young, 11 or 12, reading my way through another hot Virginia
summer. He was already in his late 50s, dividing his time between
Fresno and Paris.

Actually, William Saroyan never knew I existed. And l didn’t know
about him until I read "The Human Comedy," which my brother, Paul,
and I discovered among the stacks of books my librarian mother would
bring home.

Paul and I felt like we’d discovered fire. I can’t even remember
all the reasons, but we thought Saroyan was just about the greatest
author ever. Somehow he just knew how the world looked to kids, in
all its sadness, adventure and sweetness. Authority figures could be
bewildering in their stupidity. Adult relatives could be funny and
even crazy, but within a safe, extended family framework.

We’d never heard of Armenians before, but as we learned a little
about Saroyan, we thought they must be just like Southerners, only
a lot more interesting, and apparently louder.

Click here to experience an online tour of the famed Fresno native’s
life, including: "Follow," a previously unpublished novella Audio
clips from the author A Saroyan timeline An interactive map of Fresno
in Saroyan’s day Numerous historical photos

If I’d known then what I’ve learned from the stories we’ll publish
in The Bee and on fresnobee.com for the rest of the month, I would
have been even more enchanted. And if I’d read "Follow," the novella
we begin publishing in installments today about a strong-willed
teenager who strikes out to find his place in the world, I’d have
been completely hooked.

It’s my fervent wish that other kids now will make the same discoveries
I have. Saroyan is cool, and so is Fresno. Because in many ways,
I’ve come to see as a transplant the past 11 years, the more you
learn about one, the more you know about the other.

Saroyan was a poor immigrant kid who turned out to have a lot more
going on than people suspected. He wasn’t much of a student, and truth
be told, was a square peg who gave up on mainstream education fairly
young. But he devoured books and looked and listened. He was funny,
earthy, independent and resourceful.

Unlike Fresno, which suffers from a chronic inferiority complex,
Saroyan had an ego as big as the Sierra. Like Fresno, but in a
different way, he was decidedly hot! Just check out the picture on
the front page of today’s paper. He wasn’t always the mustachioed
eccentric most often depicted these days.

I hope that our month-long Saroyan project sparks a revival of interest
in the author. I’d guess that even in Fresno, to a lot of kids Saroyan
is just a name on a theater or an elementary school. If they’d read
his work or even about him, they’d not only have a great time, but
they’d develop a new respect for the place where they live.

For the Saroyan project, reporters Donald Munro, Guy Keeler and
Don Mayhew are writing about Saroyan’s life, celebrity and literary
legacy. Reporter Doug Hoagland will write about the discrimination
experienced by Armenian immigrants, which Saroyan refers to in
"Follow."

On fresnobee.com, we’ve assembled dozens of photographs of Saroyan
and old Fresno, with help from the Pop Laval Foundation, the Fresno
Armenian Society and historian Bill Secrest Jr. of the Fresno County
Library. Assistant Photo Editor Renee Fernandes has created slideshows
from Saroyan’s life, with background music from the period.

If you miss any part of the novella in print, you can find it all on
fresnobee.com. There’s a bonus on the online version: Managing Editor
Jack Robinson has annotated the manuscript with hyperlinks to click
on for explanations of names or places that might not be familiar.

Bee staff artist SW Parra and Web designer Jason Melgoza have created
an interactive map comparing the Fresno of Saroyan’s youth with
the city of today. We also have produced an interactive timeline of
Saroyan’s life.

Then there are the audio clips taken from an interview with Saroyan,
first broadcast in 1976, on KFCF, FM 88.1.

One of the most interesting quotes is about his hometown:

"Fresno is a good place. It’s the world, and how good can the world
be in any case, wherever you go? How much different from Fresno is
Paris? If you’re there, you’re there, and you can see and feel a
culture, and you can see and feel a culture in Fresno, too."

It makes sense. In the end, culture is about people and their stories,
ideas and feelings — all the things Fresno is lush with. Read
Saroyan’s novella, browse through the pictures online, listen to
him talk about Fresno, and think about how much more this soil has
nurtured over the years than grapes and peaches.

It’s a mystique that definitely captured the imaginations of a couple
of kids in Virginia 40 years ago.

Betsy Lumbye is executive editor and senior vice president of The
Fresno Bee. She can be reached at [email protected] or (559)
441-6207.

IT WAS UNDESIRABLE FOR COALITION GOVERNMENT MEMBER TO START ACTIVITY WITH A SCANDAL, "RPA" FACTION SECRETARY SAYS

Noyan Tapan
May 4, 2008

YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN. The Prosperous Armenia party (PAP)
welcomes the prime minister Tigran Sargsian’s idea that in order to
achieve solidarity in society, the rich should change their attitude
to life and adopt a posture becoming an Armenian man, members of
the National Assembly PAP faction Naira Zohrabian said at the May 4
briefing in the parliament. In her words, PAP chairman Gagik Tsarukian
clearly instructed his employees and body guards "never to break law".

As regards participation of the newly appointed minister of transport
and comunication, member of Orinats Yerkir party (OYP) Gurgen Sargsian
in the vote on the government program in the NA (this fact was covered
by the mass media), N. Zohrabian said that if one of PAP ministers
acted in such a way, there would be an adequate response of their
party chairman. She added that the the issue related to this incident
should be solved by the OYP chairman and the prime minister.

Expressiing his negative opinion about the minister’s participation
in the vote, the secretary of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA)
faction Samvel Nikoyan underlined that the main purpose of forming
the ruling coalition is to create an atmosphere of tolerance and
cooperation in the society, and it was undesirale for the member of
the political force making part of the coalition to start his activity
by creating a scandalous situation.

He reminded about the prime minister’s statement that the latter
intends to keep an eye on publications on government activities in
order to deal with the problems indicated in these publications,
while in case of their not been confirmed, he intends to defend
government memers from undue attacks.

S.Nikoyan expressed confidence that in connection with the above
mentioned case the government should answer the question of whether
the mass media discredits the government member or this information is
true. In both cases there is a problem whose solution, according to the
deputy, is within the jurisdiction of the prime minister and president.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CANDIDACY OF NEW MEMBER OF "PAP" FACTION NOT CLARIFIED YET

Noyan Tapan
May 4, 2008

YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN. The issue of a replacement of Vahe
Hovhannisian, non-party member of the RA National Assembly "Rposperous
Armenia Party" (PAP) faction, will be clarified after the NA deputy’s
resignation officially takes effect, the faction member Naira Zohrabian
announced at the May 4 briefing.

V. Hovhannisian was elected a deputy by the proporional election
system so his mandate will be given to the candidate next on the PAP
list. According to N. Zohrabian, two next candidates on the list –
PAP members: the head mistress of school after Daniel Varuzhan Ofelia
Petrosian and the dean of the agronomics department of Agricultural
Universirty Gagik Santosian have submitted applications rejecting
their nomination. The next candiadte on the list is PAP member Ruben
Harutyunian, head of the polyclinic of the city of Abovian.

PROCEEDINGS INITIATED IN CONNECTION WITH POSSIBILITY OF ANTICOMPETITION AGREEMENT IN LIQUEFIED GAS MARKET

Noyan Tapan
May 4, 2008

YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN. A special sitting of the RA State
Commission on Protection of Economic Competition was held on May
4, during which proceedings were initiated in connection with the
possibility of an anticompetition agreement in the liquefied (natural)
gas market.

The Commission’s monitoring showed that after the end of subsidizing,
in the last 2-3 days there has been a sharp increase in the price of
gas purchased by gas filling stations and then sold by them. According
to the press service of the Commission, during the proceedings,
all facts will be examined, and the justification for the rise in
the price of filled liquefied gas and the possibility of violation
of the RA Law on Economic Competition will be analyzed.

MONUMENTAL STONE CROSS, THE FIRST ON DISPLAY IN A U.S. MUSEUM, ON SPECIAL LOAN TO METROPOLITAN MUSEUM

Art Daily
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May 4 2008

NEW YORK.- A monumental 12th-century Khatchkar – a 2,000-pound, nearly
8-foot-tall block of basalt, carved on its surface with symbols of
the four evangelists, a massive cross, small birds at fountains, and
surrounding patterns of interlacing – is now on display in the Mary
and Michael Jaharis Galleries for Byzantine art at The Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York. It is on special long-term loan from the
State History Museum of Armenia in Yerevan.

This is the first display of a Khatchkar – a commemorative object whose
name means cross (khatch) of stone (kar) in Armenian – in any museum
in the United States. The Khatchkar now on view originated in Lori,
the Republic of Armenia’s northernmost province, which is known for its
spectacular forested landscapes. The Hagop Kevorkian Fund generously
supported the transportation and installation of the Khatchkar.

"This Khatchkar is an exceptional example of the importance of the
Gospels to the Armenian people," said Helen C. Evans, the Mary and
Michael Jaharis Curator of Byzantine Art at the Metropolitan, "in that
it depicts of the cross of salvation rising from the symbols of the
four evangelists who wrote the Gospels – the angel of Matthew, the
lion of Mark, the ox of Luke, and the eagle of John. We are extremely
grateful to the many members of the Armenian community, both in Armenia
and here in the U.S., who made possible this loan, which represents
the great medieval artistic tradition of the Armenian people."

The Armenians, who recognized Christianity as their state religion
at the beginning of the fourth century, have long maintained an
independent Christian tradition. Located on the eastern border of
Byzantium during medieval times, they frequently installed imposing
Khatchkars as memorials to the dead and to mark local events of
significance. The Khatchkar now on view at the Metropolitan Museum
comes from the northern region that fell to the Mongols in 1238,
not long after it was carved. It features designs typical of the
decoration of Armenian Gospel manuscripts, particularly pages from
canon tables, and is thought never to have had an inscription. The
exquisitely carved interlaces form a ‘frame’ around the monumental
cross, which rests above the symbols of the evangelists. The large
head of Saint Matthew’s angel presides over the smaller heads of
Saint Mark’s lion, Saint Luke’s ox (on its side), and Saint John’s
eagle (in profile). The presence of evangelist symbols is rare in
Khatchkars of the medieval period.

The installation was organized and overseen by Helen Evans. She
traveled to Armenia with Jack Soultanian Jr., Conservator in the
Department of Objects Conservation at the Metropolitan, to select
the Khatchkar under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture and
the State History Museum, and in consultation with the Office of the
President of Armenia.

This fall, additional works of Armenian art will be installed in a case
adjacent to the Khatchkar, including manuscripts from the collection
of the Metropolitan Museum and works on loan from other institutions.

NESTLE ISSUED A FORMAL APOLOGY TO AZERBAIJAN

Trend News Agency
May 4 2008
Azerbaijan

The Swiss-based multinational food company, Nestle, has apologised
to Azerbaijan after a gift attached to a breakfast cereal backfired,
BBC reported.

The CD-ROM featured information about countries around the world but
the data on Azerbaijan caused outrage there.

It said that Azerbaijan had started a war against neighbouring Armenia
and that the hotly disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh belonged
to Armenia.

Nestle has withdrawn the cereal and promised to seize the offending
CDs.

Conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the early 1990s over
Nagorno-Karabakh killed an estimated 30,000 people.

Hundreds of thousands of refugees were created on both sides.

And despite a peace deal in 1994, the situation remains tense and
volatile.

Nestle inadvertently stumbled into a minefield.

The Azeri government vowed to take action, and there has been
widespread talk of a public boycott.

Nestle has now issued a formal apology but some Azeris are still
not happy.

They accuse Nestle of playing Armenia’s hand, and are demanding more
than just an apology to chew on.

AZERBAIJAN: BUSH’S REMARKS IRRESPONSIBLE

PRESS TV
May 4 2008
Iran

Azerbaijan Republic officials have branded recent comments by President
Bush’s on a lack of free expression in their country irresponsible.

Ramiz Mekhtiev, the head of president’s office and Khazar Ibragim,
foreign ministry spokesperson said in speeches on Friday that freedom
of press and human rights in Azerbaijan is far more substantial than
in other south Caucasus’s states such as Armenia and Georgia.

According to the US, human rights and democracy is considered as
established only in countries that have undergone a bloody power
struggle and been mired in great chaos and the loss of innocent
lives. Since Azerbaijan has not experienced any of those conditions,
its circumstances are simply beyond US perceptions the Azerbaijani
officials explained.

The head of Azerbaijan’s president office also noted that the US
Embassy in Baku has paid out USD 3.2m for the upcoming presidential
election–thereby directly meddling in state affairs. He said a
change in the American opinion about the situation in Azerbaijan
would be welcomed.

RICE’S ASSESSMENT OF SITUATION IN AZERBAIJAN BIASED – BAKU

Interfax News Agency
May 3 2008
Russia

Azeri leaders have criticized U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice’s assessment of Azerbaijan’s democracy record.

"Rice’s statement is based on unreliable information and is not
serious, in my opinion," presidential chief of staff Ramiz Mekhtiyev
told journalists on Saturday.

What the U.S. secretary of state said suggests that while the political
situation and other problems have been resolved brilliantly in Georgia
and in Armenia, Azerbaijan remains a backward regional country,
Mekhtiyev said.

"By Rice’s logic, if our country is to win any appraisal from her,
the situation in Armenia in February-March must repeat itself in
Azerbaijan," Mekhtiyev said.