Month: August 2008

WHOSE IS IT ANYWAY?

Today’s Zaman
14 August 2008, Thursday
Turkey

Despite the gradual improvement in relations between Greece and Turkey
over the last decade, it seems that there is still much to squabble
about. Both countries have laid claim to the origins of the shadow
theater show (Hacivat and) Karagöz, or in Greek Karagiozis.

Newspapers reported this week that the Turkish Ministry of Culture and
Tourism will be launching an attack on Greek efforts to appropriate
the Turkish folk figures. Their efforts are part of their attempt
to register Karagöz at the planned 2009 UNESCO Convention for the
Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. They are planning a
range of actions, including preparing a dossier of historical research
proving that Karagöz originated in Turkey, naming office buildings,
parks and public squares after him and encouraging TV producers to
show programs about him and his sidekicks. They will also be trying
to revive the tradition of touring shadow theater companies performing
across the nation by employing actors and training them in the art of
puppetry. A Karagöz research institute will be founded, his stories
will be reprinted and a book of Karagöz images will be published.

Who is this Karagöz that everyone wants to have a piece of? He’s a
puppet with six or seven centuries of history behind him, the Ottoman
equivalent of Mr. Punch (though somewhat less violent). Popularly
thought to be based on the lives of two garrulous laborers whose
comic chatter slowed down work on a construction of a mosque in
Bursa, after their execution they became folk heroes. Karagöz is
the not-too-bright representative of the common man, and Hacıvat is
a low-ranking official of sorts. Generally whatever scheme the two
come up with during the course of a play, Karagöz ends up ruining it
through his buffoonery, and Hacıvat reacts like the long-suffering
Oliver Hardy dealing with the incompetent Stan Laurel.

The shows were incredibly popular in Turkey, but the advent
of television has almost wiped them out (except at cultural
festivals). However, the 2006 film release of the popular costume
drama "Who Killed Hacıvat and Karagöz?" sparked new interest in
the puppets, both in Turkey and across the sea in Greece. Three
months after the film came out Turkish papers were reporting that
Karagiozis was playing to packed Athens theaters, telling a story
of Greek suffering under the Ottomans. Turkish theater artist Emin
Å~^enyer said that the Turkish government’s unwillingness to invest in
keeping traditions alive was allowing the more active Greek government
to present this particular shadow puppet to the world as if he was
their own.

Karagiozis: inspiration for poor

In Greece there are those who are happy to accept that Karagiozis made
his way to the country via the Turks, but there are also alternative
theories that Greek merchants brought shadow theater from China,
or that a Greek invented the art during Ottoman rule in order to
entertain the sultan. Despite these differences, experts agree that in
the 1880s the stories and adventures of Karagiozis were adapted for
a newly independent Greek society through the invention of numerous
local characters. Karagiozis’ popularity flourished from 1915 until
1950, a difficult time for the nation with its wars and social
unrest. The puppet hero was a continuous inspiration for the poor,
an uncompromising protagonist who tried in vain to change his fate
and protest against social injustice. The character is still regarded
with great affection.

Of course these are not the only cultural elements that the two
nations argue over. Comments responding to a recent news story
illustrate some of Turkey’s fears: "Let’s not wake up to the danger
too late; we need to be ever vigilant. … They’ve taken yoghurt,
feta and baklava; we’ve lost döner and helva, too. None of these
are known as ours anymore." Should UNESCO choose to involve itself
in the nebulous area of cuisine, they may never extricate themselves
from the arguments. Several dishes are fiercely contested:

Dolma/sarma: The Turkish word dolma means stuffed, and can be used
to describe any vegetable with a mince and rice filling, whereas
sarma means wrapped, and refers to the vine leaf or cabbage leaf
version. Called dolmades by the Greeks, it’s probably acceptable to
infer that if the word actually means something in Turkish then the
dish originated here. There are variations of dolma throughout the
Middle East and Eastern Europe.

The food wars

Baklava: The Lebanese, Armenians and Greeks all claim that they
invented this sweet, sticky pastry, and they did probably all have
early variants. However, the form we know today — with its syrupy,
nutty filling — was devised in the kitchens of the Ottoman court; the
word means diamond-shaped in Turkish. On May 16, 2006 Turkish baklava
producers held a demonstration and press conference in Ä°stanbul,
attended by then-State Minister for Economy and chief EU negotiator
Ali Babacan. The demonstrators were protesting Greek Cypriot claims
that baklava had been their national creation. The placards read:
"Baklava is Turkish. We will not allow Greek Cypriots to feed it to
the world."

Feta: The Greeks won this battle, not just against Turkey but against
the entire EU. Under a European Court of Justice ruling, feta — like
Champagne and Parma ham — became protected. As of 2007, producers of
this crumbly white cheese who do not actually make it in Greece cannot
call it feta or even feta-style cheese. Turks call their version of
this beyaz peynir, or white cheese. According to cookery expert and
chef Hulya Erdal, "Feta cheese can only come from Greece. Any other
cheese that remotely resembles this delightful fare is really only
an imitation and cannot be called anything other than white cheese."

Yoghurt: Known worldwide as Greek yoghurt, this plain white substance
was probably a spontaneous appearance caused by wild bacteria in animal
skin bags used for carrying milk. There are records of 11th century
yoghurt consumption by nomadic Turks in the Diwan Lughat al-Turk. The
Greeks call it yiaourti. The name may be derived from the Turkish
word yogurmak, which means to knead, although the etymological link
is tenuous. Hulya Erdal states: "If you know anything about food,
then you’ll know that yoghurt was without a doubt invented, cooked
up, made, produced, whatever you want to call it, in Turkey. Forget
what anyone else tells you. It’s an original Turkish food product
and always will be. Of course, that’s not to say that "Greek-style
yoghurt" or "French-style yoghurt" isn’t original, but notice their
choice of words. Let’s make sure that we all understand: It’s just
a variation on a tried and tested Turkish recipe."

Döner: Outside of Turkey and Greece, this roasted spitted meat dish
seems to be equally well known as a Turkish and Greek dish. In the
UK and Ireland it is predominantly recognized as Turkish; in Sydney,
Australia, it is Turkish döner, but 800 kilometers away in Melbourne
it is Greek souvlaki, and in Adelaide it is called gyro (this means
rotating, as does the word döner). In America it is mainly gyro,
but in Canada it’s döner. In the Netherlands they say both gyro
(pronounced geero with a Dutch, throat-searing g) and döner. In
Moscow it’s sheverma. Shall we call this one a draw?

Whoever made the food or created the puppet seems by and large
irrelevant, provided we can all enjoy them. It’s not like putting meat
(or a puppet) on a stick ranks up there with the discovery of the
theory of relativity. Still the debate rages on. Take, for example,
the cuisine of Cyprus: Despite the two ethnic groups’ long history
of close proximity to each other’s kitchens, each side still tries
to distinguish one food or another as theirs.

In reality it’s more complicated than this. Cyprus, for instance, is an
island fraught with history. Its history is reflected in its cuisine,
with recipes originating from the Middle East, Greece, Turkey, Italy
and even Africa. Recipes include molohiya, a leafy green vegetable
long known to grow only in Cyprus and on the banks of the Nile River
in Egypt. The dish kolokas is a stew made from a large, brown-skinned
yam that probably originates in Sudan or thereabouts. The food of
Cyprus cannot be claimed by one nation or another; this is a cuisine
that mixes old and new, that represents almost the entire world.

Perhaps the best solution to some of these debates is to follow the
EU plan on how to handle the long-running Cypriot cheese debate. Last
year Nuno Miguel Vicente, in charge of Cyprus at the EU Directorate
General of Agriculture, made a statement declaring that the best case
scenario for everyone would be to register the cheese bilingually as
both hellim and halloumi.

–Boundary_(ID_tjCWGX9JUqTJyygcw++MQw)- –

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

LOCAL STORES WITH GLOBAL ORIGINS
By Elizabeth Marcellino

Palisadian-Post
August 13, 2008
CA

The Palisades Village has a friendly, small-town feel. But look behind
the cash register at neighborhood shops and you’ll find a cosmopolitan
mix of business owners.

Immigrants from around the world have established or bought local
shops, restaurants and service businesses and developed their own style
of entrepreneurship. Their origins are diverse, but these retailers
raise common themes in interviews about their emigration. Most left
home to seek a better life and have worked tirelessly to provide
their children with the opportunities that most Palisadians can
take for granted. Marriages that last decades are the rule, not
the exception, even for those who spend the entire working day
together. The importance of and reliance on family is crucial.

One more thing these entrepreneurs share is goodwill toward their
Palisades customers. Most went out of their way to talk about
the personal connection they have with shoppers, to offer thanks,
and to note how supportive their patrons have been during difficult
times. Irena Potashnik seemed to sum up their sentiments when she said,
‘I’m so happy to stay in this village.’

SPECIAL MOMENTS

873 Via de la Paz

>From the time she was five years old, Amelia ‘Mely’ Travostino
[Parmalee] told everyone she would never marry. Despite a lack of
interest in a wedding of her own, she started a business in bridal
design in Milan, Italy. Then, in 1973, Travostino met Tim Parmalee,
an opera tenor from the Palisades studying music in Italy, and married
him just nine months later.

‘To come to the United States for me was another world,’ says Mely,
citing Americans’ frequent moves and life changes as just one of many
cultural differences.

But Mely believes that everything that has happened in her life, no
matter how contrary to her original plans, is destiny, ‘written in
the book,’ as she said. That includes her decision in 1985 to open
Special Moments, a lingerie store with an emphasis on personal service.

Mely still maintains her family home in Lago Maggiore and usually
travels back to Italy at least once a year.

EUROPEAN SHOE REPAIR

15200 Sunset, Suite 109

The oppressive Communist economy drove Boris and Helen Papikian to
leave Armenia in 1988. Even as an orthodontist, Boris earned a salary
from the government and wasn’t free to establish a truly private
practice. With the help of his uncle, who lived in West Hollywood,
they obtained visas for themselves, their 11-year-old son, Ruben,
their eight-year-old daughter, Ripsime, and Boris’ parents.

Boris worked first with his father, a shoemaker, and later bought
European Shoe Repair on Sunset in 1992. Helen works by his side
every day and sees the payoff of their hard work in the freedom and
opportunities available to their children.

The same options are no longer open to their countrymen. ‘Before,
the Soviet Union wouldn’t let people go. Now, the U.S. won’t let
people come,’ Helen says.

The Papikians have always worked long days, but were lucky enough in
their early years to have Boris’ parents to help with the children
and the support of the local Armenian community in Glendale.

Today, even though the children are grown and married, the entire
family still gets together every Sunday. ‘It’s very important to
keep your roots and family,’ says Helen, now a grandmother to her
daughter’s 19-month-old daughter.

TAJ PALACE INDIAN CUISINE

15200 Sunset, Suite 112

A generation younger than many of their Chamber of Commerce peers,
Sukhwinder ‘Sunny’ Singh, 33, and his brother, Gurinder, 31, ‘Nick,’
have owned Taj Palace for more than five years.

Their move to the U.S. from Punjab in 1995 was orchestrated by their
parents. Their father, Joginder, came to America in the late 1970s to
earn a better living. By the time his wife and children joined him,
nearly all of their extended family were already in the U.S.

Sunny and Nick seem completely assimilated into Western culture,
until one learns that the family of seven, including their sister
and her husband, lives together in Sunny’s North Hills’ home with
his wife, Afsana.

The brothers bought the restaurant to capitalize on the fact that their
parents are both great chefs, and ‘worked non-stop,’ Sunny says. ‘I
took off five years from the plan I had for [graduate education],’
Nick says, ‘in order to make the business a success.’

EURO TAILORING AND BOUTIQUE

843 Via de la Paz

Two women from the Ukraine with no prior ties find themselves operating
adjacent businesses on Via de la Paz. Irena Potashnik owns Euro
Tailoring and Boutique, which backs up to Bella Solodkaya’s Spinning
Yarns shop.

Irena earned a living in Kiev as a costume designer. Her emigration
was motivated by family ties in America, the prospect of better
economic opportunities, and her own fears in the aftermath of the
Chernobyl disaster.

She moved with her husband and mother-in-law in 1993 and spent a year
learning English. Then she studied fashion design at Los Angeles
Trade-Technical College, adapting to Western pattern making and
design. She bought the alterations business, originally on Monument,
a decade ago.

Bella’s family tried to leave the Ukraine in 1979, but was denied. Her
job at a defense contractor may have played a part, or simply offered
the government a good excuse for rejection. Ten years later, in a very
different political climate, she and her husband reapplied and were
allowed to leave the country with their six-year-old daughter, Alex.

While Bella acknowledges that ‘the [American] dream is still a dream,’
the economic realities of her old life are hard to imagine. ‘Lines
and lines of people would wait for the chance to buy two pounds of
sugar,’ she says.

Once the family was in the U.S., Jewish organizations helped with
financial support and job placement, and Bella worked in a variety
of clerical and management roles before buying the knitting business
in 2004.

This fall, Alex, 25, will start the final year of a graduate program
in art history and museum administration at Boston University.

NATURALLY!

15200 Sunset, Suite 105

Kayvan ‘Kevin’ Kayvanjah and Fatane ‘Faith’ Dabahani are double
immigrants. In 1985, they moved to Sweden from Iran, following the
Iranian Revolution. The Swedish government granted them citizenship
quickly and many of their relatives remained, but the couple found
the Scandinavian temperatures far too frigid. In 1991, they moved
to California with their 10-year-old daughter Kiana, sponsored by
Faith’s uncle.

Because Iran was quite westernized under the shah’s rule, little was
truly foreign about U.S. culture. ‘I grew up with American movies
and TV,’ says Kevin, who watched ‘Gunsmoke’ and ‘I Spy’ in translation.

The fourth generation in a line of professionals working in corporate
and government jobs, Kevin never expected to be an entrepreneur. But
buying Naturally, a caf’ offering healthy smoothies, sandwiches and
salads, has kept Kevin and Faith busy working side-by-side six days
a week since 1992.

The ‘best thing’ about coming to the U.S.? Kiana will complete a
post-graduate degree in pharmacy science at UC San Diego next year.

IRAN’S "LOST SHARE" TO COMPETE IN ITALIAN FESTIVAL

MehrNews.com
2008/08/13
Iran

TEHRAN, Aug. 13 (MNA) — Hassan Najafi’s "Lost Share" will be screened
at the Religion Today Film Festival, to be held from October 17
through 31 in Trentino, Italy.

A joint production of Iran and Azerbaijan, the film is the story of
an Azerbaijani couple whose child suffers from an incurable disease
and they seek help from an Imamzadeh (a Persian word that refers to
an immediate descendant of a Shia Imam) in Iran.

Shams band to tour U.S.

TEHRAN — Shams band will perform "Songs of Rumi and Peace" concerts
in four cities in the United States in September and October.

Conducted by Keikhosro Purnazeri, the band features Farshad Jamali as
vocalist and some Turkish and Armenian virtuosos. Dervishes from Konya
would also be performing the ritual Sama dance during the concert.

Sahar TV spotlights Turkish Shia

TEHRAN — "The Porch of Thought", a documentary series directed by
Mojtaba Rezaeieh Azadi, will be aired from Sahar, Iranian TV station
available on satellite.

The documentary spotlights the social position and activities of
Turkish Shia who reside in Turkey’s cities such as Ankara and Ezmir.

It also features their rituals performed during religious ceremonies
and days of mourning in various mosques and religious sites in
the Turkey.

Iranian illustrator to participate at Berlin Literature Festival

EHRAN — Iranian illustrator Farshid Shafiei will participate at the
9th International Literature Festival in Berlin from September 24 to
October 4.

He will recite stories from his books and teach illustration of
literature for the children’s and young people’s section of the
festival.

Bairami’s "Sabalan Stories" published in U.S.

TEHRAN – The Mazda Publisher in the U.S has recently released an
English version of "Sabalan Stories", a collection of Persian stories
by Mohammadreza Bairami.

The U.S.-based Iranian scholar Mohammadreza Ghanoonparvar has
translated the book into English.

TWO FOURTH PLACES FOR CUBA TODAY
Juan E. Batista Cruz

Periodico 26
Aug 12, 2008
Cuba

Beijing-2008

The Tunas, Cuba (August 12, P-26). – Two fourth places in judo and
rising of weights, it was the best result that got the Cuban delegation
in Tuesday’s journey in the Olympic Games of Beijing-2008, the less
productive one until the moment, mainly because it was expected more.

The legendary Driulis Gonzalez could not achieve medal in his fifth
Olympics, in spite of the fact that she carried out an extraordinary
effort in the division of the 63 kilograms of the feminine lid of
judo, before falling for bronze in front of the player of Holland,
Williborde, when it was penalized by passivity, in extra time.

Driulis overcame for chuy to the olympic subchampion Heil,from Austria
and later to Tang Wei of China Taipei by means of wazari advantage,
but it lost for ippon in front of the Japanese Tanimoto.

The experienced of the creole judoca was about to equal the feat of
the Japanese Ryoko Tani that it won the fifth medal in appointments
accomplishes each four years, for what increases the merit of this
fourth place in a tournament to which all that worth and shines of
this millennial martial art in the world, attended.

The other fourth position of Cuba during this fourth day of the Games
of Beijing, got it the rising weight of the 69 kilograms, Yordanis
Borrero who achieved its best historical result with a biatlon of
328 kilos (148 in outburst and 180 in the envion.

Two fifth places achieved the fighters of the classic style: Yagnier
Hernandez, in the division of 55 kilograms, overcome in the dispute
of the bronze, by the Armenian Roman Ameyan and Roberto Monzon,
one of the main Cuban hopes of medal who fell in its case with the
kirguizio Tiomanbaev.

In another result of the representatives of the Island of the Freedom,
Tamara’s couple Larrea and Dalixia Fernandez, suffered her first defeat
in the competition of volleyball of sand in front of the double one
North American, with partial of 15-21 and 16-21.

MORE ON GEORGIA’S ETHNIC CLEANSING LAWSUIT, ETHNIC CLEANSING OF GEORGIANS IN ABKHAZIA, & RELATED ISSUES
By Damozel

The Moderate Voice
August 13th, 2008

I wrote yesterday about the conflicting ambitions and hatreds in play
here (which Russia is manipulating to further its own ambitions). The
situation is an immense tangle of conflicting ambitions–in the form
of the desire for land and resources– and furious ethnic hatred.

As I noted yesterday, Georgia is now bringing a lawsuit against Russia
for ethnic cleansing:

"Today, the Georgian ambassador to the Netherlands filed a law suit
to the International Court of Justice called ‘The state of Georgia
against the state of Russia’ because of ethnic cleansing conducted
in Georgia by Russia in 1993 to 2008," Lomaia told Reuters.

The ICJ confirmed Georgia’s filing, in which the country accused
Russia of violating an anti-discrimination convention during three
interventions in South Ossetia and Abkhazia from 1990 to August
2008. Georgia requested the court to order Russia to comply with
the convention, cease all military activities in Georgia, including
South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and withdraw its troops, Georgia said in
a filing released by the ICJ.

The Russians have allegedly assisted citizens of Georgia’s separatist
enclaves in driving out Georgians in the past.

The Georgians can live here no longer, in Abkhazia they can only die"

According to Wikipedia–and read this with whatever caveats apply,
of course–:

The Ethnic Cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia, also known as Genocide
of Georgians in Abkhazia (according to the Georgian side and by number
of western scholars)…. or the Massacres of Georgians in Abkhazia
— refers to ethnic cleansing massacres and forced mass expulsion of
thousands of ethnic Georgians living in Abkhazia (de jure Autonomous
Republic of Georgia) during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict of 1991-1993
and 1998.

Between 10,000 to 30,000 Georgians were killed by the Abkhaz
separatists, foreign mercenaries, and, allegedly, by Russian Federation
forces. Local Armenians, Greeks, Russians and moderate Abkhaz were
also killed.

The International Criminal Court is currently investigating allegations
of genocide and crimes against humanity in Abkhazia. The ICC was
provided with the documents selected from the 300 volumes of evidence
about the genocide of Georgians in Abkhazia. These materials were
collected by the Georgian Prosecutors’ Office beginning in 1993 and
allegedly contain horrific accounts of atrocities committed by the
Abkhaz fighters and mercenaries from Russia. The reports included a
detailed description of how the separatists played soccer with the
heads of dead Georgians on the field after the executions in Gagra.

The Russians have aided the separatists in both Georgian enclaves
financially and probably also militarily. (BBC News, Steven Eke)
On August 8, the BBC’s Russian affairs analyst wrote:

[Russia] has supported the separatist regime financially and
militarily, and reportedly has a considerable number of security and
intelligence operatives there.

Georgia also claims that Russian mercenaries are active in South
Ossetia….

The "frozen" nature of the South Ossetian conflict – as well as that in
the other, separatist Georgian region, Abkhazia – has allowed Russia
to preserve a vital lever of influence over its southern neighbour,
a country it now views as wayward, if not hostile….

Russia has issued most South Ossetians with Russian passports,
potentially justifying direct intervention (on the grounds of
protecting "its own" citizens).

Recent heightened military tension had effectively given Russia a
more solid pretext for intervention.

With respect to the South Ossetian/Georgia conflict:

There are also clear fault lines between Russia and the West in
dealing with the immediate tensions.

A Russian-drafted UN Security Council statement calling on both
Georgia and South Ossetia to renounce the use of force failed to
secure British and US backing. (BBC News)

On the other hand, there are currently allegations that the Georgians
have engaged in ethnic cleansing in South Ossetia. The Washington
Post reported:

Despite Western governments’ public statements of support for
Saakashvili, some Western diplomats now privately say that the Georgian
leadership or military made a serious and possibly criminal mistake
last week by launching a massive barrage against the South Ossetian
capital of Tskhinvali, which inevitably led to major civilian deaths
and casualties.

Russian officials have said 2,000 people were killed in the Georgian
offensive, a figure that has not been confirmed independently. But
it is indisputable that large numbers of civilians were killed in
and around Tskhinvali.

Reports are still coming in concerning deaths in South Ossetia
resulting from Georgia’s attack last week:

Russia says 1,600 South Ossetian civilians have been killed,
while Georgia has reported close to 200 killed and hundreds of
wounded. Neither set of figures has been independently verified.

The United Nations said on Tuesday that nearly 100,000 people had
been driven from their homes.

"We have started to receive communications on this," the ICC’s
Moreno-Ocampo told Reuters by telephone from The Hague.

Asked if he would be launching a preliminary investigation, he said:
"It is a possibility." He gave no further details.

As I wrote yesterday, I’m not clear whether either party has any
moral high ground on this score, particularly at this stage. I’m
still not. On the other hand, Russia’s alleged continued bombing of
the city of Gori raises questions about their own intentions toward
the Georgians. And with respect to the South Ossetians, there’s this:

Georgian officials and U.S. officials said Tuesday night that
Ossetian paramilitary forces were killing remaining civilians in
Georgian villages near the South Ossetian-Georgian frontier and that
Russian forces were failing to stop them despite entreaties from the
authorities in Tbilisi. "It’s bloodcurdling," one Western diplomat
said. (WaPo)

It is painful to watch such tragedies unfold again and again.

Reflecting on them, it’s very hard not to conclude that the notions
that human life is cheap, that individual lives are of less value
than access to real estate and that some lives are of less value than
others, really are ineradicably encoded in the human brain. It’s a
specialized form of sociopathy that we see in controlled and diluted
form in our own culture. Spectacles such as these make one wonder
whether this sort of conflict and reflexive hatred is the norm and
western civilization, with its emphasis on multiculturalism and
celebrating our differences, the anomaly. Under sufficient pressure,
would we always revert to a Golding sort of world? I don’t want to
believe it, but sometimes it’s very hard not to.

In the meantime, Russia is apparently doing its all to work these
hatreds to its own advantage while trying to position itself as
intervening out of a disinterested wish to keep the peace. I do not
believe them.

On a related topic, see Joe Windish’s piece on the current cyberwar
in Georgia and the surrounding questions.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 at 7:05 am and
is filed under BBC, Foreign Policy, Hypocrisy, Totalitarianism, News
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BELARUS’ CEC EXPECTS ARRIVAL OF CIS COLLEAGUES FOR PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

National Legal Internet Portal
13/08/2008 03:57 PM
Belarus

The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Belarus is expecting the
arrival of representatives of the central election commissions of
the CIS member states to observe the elections to the House of
Representatives of the National Assembly, CEC chairperson Lidia
Yermoshina told BelTA.

The CEC has sent invitations to all CIS countries but for Georgia. This
is connected with the fact that Georgia has never invited Belarusian
observers to monitor its elections and did not do that even during
the time when Eduard Shevardnadze was president of that country.

The visit to Belarus was confirmed by the chairman of the Central
Election Commission of Kyrgyzstan and officials of the Central
Election Commission of Armenia. The head of the Armenian CEC will
not be able to visit Belarus as Armenia is also holding an election
campaign during this period.

Lidia Yermoshina is confident that representatives of central election
bodies of other CIS countries will arrive in Belarus. The invitations
to them were sent not long ago, she said.

The OSCE/ODIHR and CIS Executive Committee have already deployed their
missions. The CIS mission will include more than 300 people. The OSCE
will send approximately the same number of observers to monitor the
parliamentary elections.

OSSEZIA: TREGUA TRA RUSSIA E GEORGIA, MA IL PROBLEMA RIMANE

Unimondo.org
13 agosto, 2008
Italy

Russia e Georgia hanno accettato in generale un piano di pace
proposto dall’Unione europea, ma la tensione per lacrisi in Ossezia
del Sud rimane alta, mentre si levano voci sempre più critiche verso
l’operato di Mosca – riporta l’agenzia Asianews. Ieri a tarda sera il
presidente georgiano Mikhail Saakashvili si è detto d’accordo sul
piano propostogli da Nicolas Sarkozy, attuale presidente dell’Ue,
anche se con piccole variazioni rispetto a quello accolto dal russo
Dimitri Medvedev poche ore prima. Nel pomeriggio di ieri, prima
dell’incontro con Sarkozy, Medvedev ha dato ordine di fermare tutte
le operazioni militari russe in Sud Ossezia e Abkazia, ma diversi
osservatori affermano che focolai di scontri continuano ancora
oggi. Il piano di Sarkozy, che sara presentato oggi ai ministri
europei degli esteri per l’approvazione, prevede il ritiro delle
truppe russe e georgiane ai confini prima del conflitto scoppiato una
settimana fa e l’apertura di canali umanitari per aiutare i feriti
e i rifugiati. Sarkozy l’ha definito non "un accordo di pace", ma
"un atto provvisorio di cessazione delle ostilita" che però potrebbe
mettere le basi per una risoluzione del Consiglio di sicurezza Onu.

La Georgia, però, oggi ha gia accusato la Russia di violare la
tregua, ma Mosca lo ha negato categoricamente – riporta l’agenzia
Ansa. Una fonte giornalistica sul posto ha detto però all’Ansa
che miliziani sud osseti hanno preso posizione nel centro della
citta e terrorizzano la popolazione. Secondo la fonte, inoltre,
una trentina di blindati ha preso posizione fuori da Gori. "I tank
russi puntano ad accerchiare Tbilisi" e Mosca intende "uccidere la
nostra democrazia": ha detto il presidente della Georgia Mikhail
Saakashvili, in un’intervista alla Cnn. "Non c’e’ alcun cessate il
fuoco" – ha aggiunto Saakashvili, paragonando la situazione a quella
dell’invasione sovietica dell’Afghanistan negli anni Ottanta. "Non
ci arrenderemo mai"- ha concluso il presidente georgiano.

Intanto il ministro degli esteri russo Serghei Lavrov sottolinea
che Mosca ha accettato, ai fini del cessate il fuoco, l’emendamento
georgiano al piano di pace in sei punti concordato nella capitale
russa dai presidenti Dmitri Medvedev e Nicolas Sarkozy; ma sottolinea
che la questione dello status di Abkhazia e Ossezia del sud, della
quale Tbilisi ha voluto la cancellazione dall’accordo, non potra
venire evitata ai fini di un definitivo regolamento della situazione.

L’Unhcr ha inviato ieri il primo volo carico di materiali per
i civili coinvolti nel conflitto: l’Onu ha gia registrato circa
3.500 sfollati ma si prepara ad aiutare almeno 30mila persone mentre
il totale degli sfollati sarebbe circa 100mila. L’Unhcr ha offerto
assistenza umanitaria sia alla Russia che alla Georgia dove l’agenzia
può contare su più di 50 operatori che si occupavano gia prima del
conflitto attuale di circa 275mila tra sfollati, rifugiati, apolidi e
rimpatriati. Secondo i funzionari locali dell’Unhcr gran parte della
popolazione è fuggita nel timore di nuovi attacchi.

I combattimenti sono scoppiati il 7 agosto scorso, quando la
Georgia ha inviato l’esercito per riguadagnare il controllo della Sud
Ossezia, una regione che appartiene di nome alla Georgia, ma che vive
un’indipendenza di fatto – sebbene non riconosciuta internazionalmente-
e dove la maggioranza dei cittadini ha passaporto russo.

Nonostante la tregua "il problema di fondo rimane" – commenta Andrea
Rossini dell’Osservatorio sui Balcani. "E’ quello dei numerosi
conflitti rimasti congelati nello spazio post-sovietico. Non si
tratta solo della questione osseta. Ci sono anche l’Abkhazia,
la Transnistria e il Nagorno Karabakh. Questa guerra ha permesso
ai russi di dare una dimostrazione di forza, ribadire che sono la
grande potenza senza il cui accordo non possono essere alterati
i confini o gli equilibri attuali". "Se le soluzioni militari non
sono certo accettabili, non è neppure concepibile continuare ad
ignorare questi conflitti. Quest’area, a ridosso dell’Unione Europea,
è di fondamentale importanza non solo per questioni energetiche,
ma per la stabilita stessa dell’Unione" – continua Rossini. "Se
Bruxelles non affronta con una politica complessiva i rapporti
con la Russia e la situazione nel Caucaso, rischia di ripetere gli
stessi errori commessi nei Balcani negli anni ’90. E di pagarne gli
stessi prezzi. E’ necessaria una forte iniziativa diplomatica che
permetta di affrontare e definire queste crisi con tutti gli attori
coinvolti. Con la forza delle parole, non delle armi. Anche se adesso
sara più difficile". [GB]

L’Osservatorio sui Balcani che da alcuni anni ha attivato la sezione
‘Osservatorio sul Caucaso’ dedica un dossier sulla Crisi in Georgia

–Boundary_(ID_cjvnsxAwLUd6mSoRFcRBRQ)–

GEORGIA: GLI INTERESSI IN GIOCO
Andrea Rossini

PeaceLink
12 agosto 2008
Italy

L’attacco georgiano, il velleitarismo occidentale, la furibonda
reazione russa. Intervista a Paolo Calzini, studioso di relazioni
internazionali e esperto dell’area post-sovietica

Fonte: Osservatorio Caucaso – 12 agosto
2008 Era prevedibile quanto sta avvenendo in questi giorni?

Sì, ma non con queste dimensioni. La reazione russa è stata furibonda,
e non si è fermata di fronte a quello che ormai sembra essere il
completo ritiro delle forze georgiane dall’Ossezia del Sud.

È possibile un’ulteriore estensione del conflitto?

Nonostante quanto sta avvenendo in queste ore, non credo la Russia
abbia alcun interesse a invadere la Georgia.

Quali sono gli interessi di Mosca?

Riaffermare e far valere la propria presenza nella regione, e la sua
posizione di garante sulle due repubbliche separatiste, l’Abkhazia
e l’Ossezia del Sud.

Quali iniziative possono prendere Europa e Stati Uniti?

L’Occidente, a parte iniziative diplomatiche, non può fare nulla. La
Russia ha una posizione preponderante, il rapporto di forze è
chiaramente a favore russo, gli Stati Uniti non sono andati al di la
di qualche dichiarazione.

Di chi sono le responsabilita della crisi in corso?

Le responsabilita sono reciproche. C’è una situazione di fondo
irrisolta, quella dei numerosi conflitti rimasti congelati nello spazio
post-sovietico. Nella fattispecie il diritto internazionale da ragione
alla Georgia, Abkhazia e Ossezia del Sud fanno parte della repubblica
georgiana in base a quella che era la divisione amministrativa nell’ex
Unione Sovietica. Le leadership separatiste hanno approfittato della
situazione creatasi dopo il 1991, e hanno goduto dell’appoggio russo
mantenendo una situazione di indipendenza de facto. L’avvio di questa
ultima crisi è tuttavia dovuto all’attacco georgiano di giovedì notte.

La Russia potrebbe approfittare dello scenario di guerra per annettere
le repubbliche secessioniste?

Non credo. La Russia ha sempre preferito una situazione di stallo
che permettesse di mantenere una posizione di influenza e ricatto nei
confronti della Georgia, alleato degli Stati Uniti e snodo fondamentale
per il passaggio dei flussi energetici tra Mar Caspio e Turchia.

Perche dunque una reazione così dura?

I russi approfittano di questa situazione per rendere chiaro che
colpi di forza e iniziative militari non possono spostare gli
equilibri esistenti ne risolvere nulla. Non si tratta solo della
questione osseta. Ci sono naturalmente anche l’Abkhazia, oltre alla
Transnistria e al Nagorno Karabakh. Questa guerra ha permesso ai russi
di dare una dimostrazione di forza, ribadire che sono la grande potenza
regionale senza il cui accordo non possono essere alterati i confini
o in generale gli equilibri attuali. L’esito di questa crisi sembra
essere un rafforzamento delle posizioni e dell’influenza militare
russa nella regione a fronte dell’impotenza occidentale.

E gli Stati Uniti?

La politica occidentale appare velleitaria. Da un lato si mantiene una
stretta alleanza con la Georgia, esperti militari americani preparano
i reparti di sicurezza georgiani e le forze di Tbilisi partecipano
alla guerra in Iraq. D’altro canto tuttavia la situazione è bloccata
dai rapporti di forza esistenti sul terreno, che sono chiaramente
a favore della Russia per ragioni geostrategiche. A Bucarest del
resto la Nato ha reso chiaro che non intende forzare la situazione
spingendo per una rapida adesione di Tbilisi all’Alleanza. Inoltre,
come veniva notato anche sull’Herald Tribune questa mattina [ieri,
ndr], gli Stati Uniti hanno bisogno della Russia nei rapporti globali,
per fare fronte a dossier complessi quali ad esempio quello iraniano,
e non possono cedere alle intenzioni di un alleato minore, che peraltro
è anche scomodo.

In che senso?

Saakashvili ha messo in imbarazzo l’Occidente e in particolare gli
Stati Uniti. Da Washington erano arrivati al presidente georgiano
chiari consigli sul non far precipitare la situazione. Ora i georgiani
restano da soli e si allontana ancor di più la prospettiva di un
ingresso del Paese nella Nato.

Qual è il suo giudizio sul politico Saakashvili?

L’attuale presidente è un politico dalle chiare inclinazioni
autoritarie, che tuttavia gode di una certa popolarita e ha ottenuto
buoni risultati nel ristabilire l’ordine e la stabilita nel Paese
dopo il periodo Shevardnaze. La Georgia è una democrazia che sotto
diversi aspetti si può considerare incompleta, si può certamente
discutere su quanto siano state libere le recenti elezioni, ma il
dibattito nel Paese è aperto.

Perche questo attacco in Ossezia del Sud?

Si può ritenere che Saakashvili, facendo entrare le truppe georgiane
a Tskhinvali, abbia pensato di forzare la situazione con un colpo
di mano. Ha però fatto male i suoi conti. I russi possono accettare
l’esito di elezioni che siano in qualche modo a loro sfavorevoli,
come è accaduto in Georgia ma anche ad esempio in Ucraina, ma non
soluzioni di tipo militare.

Quanto conta il precedente del Kosovo nella crisi attuale?

Mosca ha sempre sostenuto che la soluzione adottata in Kosovo
rappresenta un precedente, non un caso particolare.

E il fattore etnico?

La dimensione etnica è giocata e sfruttata da tutte le parti in
causa. Dopo il ’91 nelle repubbliche secessioniste, ma specialmente
in Abkhazia, è avvenuta una pulizia etnica a danno della popolazione
georgiana. In Ossezia inoltre il leader della autoproclamata
repubblica, Kokojty, ha sempre agitato la carta etnica della
ricongiunzione con gli osseti del Nord. Gli osseti, che sono di
religione ortodossa, hanno sempre rappresentato una popolazione
tradizionalmente filo russa. La Russia del resto, oltre ad appoggiare
economicamente le leadership secessioniste, ha anche concesso il
passaporto ai cittadini osseti e abkhazi. Molti in questi anni hanno
dunque acquisito la cittadinanza russa.

Quale può essere la posizione dell’Unione Europea in questa crisi?

Bruxelles esprime la posizione di maggiore debolezza. Non c’è una
posizione unitaria, la Francia e in parte la Germania sembrano più
vicine alla Georgia, ma se gli americani non possono nulla questo
discorso vale ancora di più per gli europei.

Quali prospettive per uscirne?

In tutta l’area post sovietica il mantenimento di uno status
quo precario può degenerare prima o poi in scontri violenti e
conflitti aperti. Serve una politica lungimirante, non posizioni
attendiste. Questa è un’area a ridosso dell’Unione, decisiva per
i rapporti tra Mosca e Bruxelles, dove non è sufficiente gestire
l’esistente. E’ necessario un accordo tra Occidente e Russia nella
direzione della stabilizzazione, ma alla luce di quanto sta accadendo
questa è forse una visione utopistica.

–Boundary_(ID_kr8ZdaNctCkQnGl+3nGMYQ )–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

LEVON ARONYAN GRABS SOLE LEAD

arminfo
2008-08-13 11:10:00

ArmInfo. Armenian grand master Levon Aronyan has grabbed sole lead
in Sochi FIDE Grand Prix beating Boris Gelfand from Israel. Aronyan
has taken sole lead with 7/11, followed by Wang Yue, Karjakin and
Radjabov with 6.5/11, Sports.ru reports.

COUNCIL OF CHURCHES USA TO MEET IN DENVER

Thousand Oaks Acorn
August 14, 2008
USA

Plans are underway for the annual General Assembly of the National
Council of Churches USA and Church World Service in Denver from
Nov. 11 to 13.

The theme of the 2008 General Assembly is, "Jesus Said . . . Whoever
is Not Against You is For You," from Luke 9:50.

The theme focuses on the words of Jesus, a response to his disciple’s
complaints about a man they didn’t know who was casting out demons
in Jesus’ name.

The words invoke the brokenness of a world in which suspicion and
distrust govern relationships and create obstacles to church unity.

Topics planned for discussion at the General Assembly raise questions
about the Christian obligation to be good neighbors: immigration
reform, the meaning of Christian unity in a pluralistic era and the
"phobias" that stand in the way of ecumenical unity, racial justice
and interfaith dialogue.

Registration and hotel information forms may be downloaded from

The registration fee is $250 until Sept. 29, when the price increases
to $275.

The assembly will be presided over by the president of the National
Council of Churches, H.E. Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, who represents
the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern). The assembly
is composed of delegates and visitors from the 35 member communions
of the NCC and CWS.

Young adults from member communions will gather in Denver prior to
the General Assembly for an agenda that is in the planning process. As
in past years, young adults will form a group of stewards to support
the logistics and business of the General Assembly. An application
form for stewards can be downloaded at the website listed above.

In addition, a women’s caucus and luncheon will be held early in the
assembly schedule.