Month: October 2008

TO TELL HOW THE LIFE IS REVITALIZED IN ARTSAKH
Sussanna Balayan

Azat Artsakh Daily
10 Oct 08
Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR]

Books of the writer, film director Boris Baratov about Armenia and
Artsakh are exceptional by their contents and high artistic
illustrations. But our reader either has heard about them, or is not
familiar at all.There are some reasons: they haven’t armenian version,
there is a great deficit of russian version, english version is in the
library of MFA. And these books are really rare. The new book about
Karabakh is almost ready: about 700 illustrations and about 400 pages.
All that, which depends on the author ` text, illustrations, model of
the book, he has made ready, but it’s difficult to comply with printing
expenses, he explains. `The book should be published in one of the best
printing-houses, in order that it is taken into hand and is read not
only in Artsakh but by leaders of other states. Anyway I will elucidate
the book, merely it’s a problem of time’. Baratov was born and grew
up in Moscow in armenian family moved from Hadrut to Moscow. And during
his childhood he visited Hadrut many times. During karabakhian blockade
of 1988-89 Baratov was one of the firsts who came Artsakh for telling
the world that how all the population and its created beauty was being
abolished.Three years he worked on the first book abou
t
Artsakh-Karabakh ` `Artsakh’s angel’, which was elucidated (with great
difficulties) in 1992 at once in four europian languages. brought the
author many congratulating responses. The book today is preserved in
the UN’s iabaray(Geneva), in many libraries of Europe, America and
Russia, informed the author.’But it was too little. When the war was
finished, it was necessary to create a new book. I called the book
`Travel to Karabakh.Ruined paradise’. Elucidation of the second
book, in contrast to the first, was managed to realize more quickly.
`The book was printed in russian and english. But tragic death of
L.Petrosyan hampered, and then I didn’t touch upon the project’.
Last years Boris Baratov wrote also two books, but he attached great
importance to the book, which he wrote two years ago.’ Books of
azerbaijanian authors about Karabakh are printed much in the world. The
latters study the history of our territory and roots of our people,
re-form and distort. Not only telling the truth, but for the reason,
that it was interesting just for us, we decided to write a big book
about Armenia ` `Armeniada’: I wanted to tell about ancient and new
Armenia’. Let’s notice, that the book was also elucidated in
various languages except armenian, and the responses about the book are
rather positive. After success20of `Armeniada’ Boris Baratov has
decided, that the time of creating such a book about Artsakh-Karabakh
has come. `It’s necessary to tell the world, that NKR as a state
exists, not only for the reason that, the president’s institution
operates, but other state institutions ` legislative, executive,
judicial bodies, civic society. It’s necessary to tell how the economy
develops after the war’s blows, how industry, agriculture, particularly
vine-growing gather full speed.Many positive things are done today in
Artsakh and it’s necessary to tell about it not only in NKR, RA,
Diaspora, but Europe, the world. But in the book not only today’s but
yesterday’s and previous days’ Artsakh will be recreated in three
planes ` with monuments appearance, in the war and with this restoring
day’ B.Baratov has met the NKR President Bako Sahakyan either in Moscow
or in Artsakh, who has treated perceptibly to that intention. Such
books are necessary especially today, when today in conncetion with new
worldpolitical situation, again the interest towards southcaucasusian,
especially Karabakh problem has grown. `I’m sure, that our book like a
kind stranger, can enter any country, any house. If the book is good,
it will have a demand’.

CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT BAKO SAHAKYAN

Azat Artsakh Daily
10 Oct 08
Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR]

In Connection with the Day of Stepanakert and the 85th Anniversary of
the Capital (October 11, 2008) Dear friends and residents of
Stepanakert, I cordially congratulate you on the Day of Stepanakert and
the 85th anniversary of our capital. The city that is more than 1500
years old became capital only in 1923. Since then Stepanakert has been
the face of Artsakh and the pride of Karabagh people. It is a hub of
scientific, cultural and economic potential of our country. This is why
even in the harsh years of Artsakh war, when the city was one of the
main targets of the enemy, state authorities and citizens did
everything possible for fast restoration of the capital. Today the
rapidly developing and prospering city of Stepanakert appears before
the world in a new status – as the capital of free and independent
Nagorno Karabagh Republic, which has special significance and role for
the entire Armenian people. The issues related to the development of
the capital are in the spotlight of the state’s authorities. A number
of projects that aim to give a new impetus to economic development and
improvement of living standards of the population have been realized.
Great attention is paid to sports and cultural life. Among the top
priorities is water supply of the capital. This project has alrea
dy
been launched and will be completed in a few years. A new impulse is
given to of house construction, development of suburban areas and
improvement of courtyards. Friends, all these projects can be
successfully fulfilled if each of us becomes more compassionate and
attentive towards our native city, works with a greater devotion and
diligence and does everything possible to keep our native Stepanakert
always clear and beautiful, happy and young, strong and prosperous. I
am confident that the present day residents of Stepanakert will do
everything to multiply all the good traditions formed in the course of
the city’s history, preserve its glory and historical character. I
heartily congratulate all of us on this memorable day once again and
wish peace, prosperity and further success to our capital, its old and
new, adult and young citizens. They are the true wealth of our city.
Happy holiday, dear citizens!

Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
Saturday, October 11, 2008

Caucasus Reporting Service

Armenia: Economy Hit by Georgian War

Authorities say country suffered substantial economic losses as a
result of August conflict.

By Naira Melkumian in Yerevan (CRS 463, 10-Oct-08)

The war between Russia and Georgia has cost the Armenian economy
nearly 700 million US dollars, the Yerevan authorities believe.

They say the economy was hit by severe blows to foreign trade, tax
collection and international investment. `The conflict [has been] a
serious test for the sustainability of the Armenian economy,’ said
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsian.

Commentators say foreign trade plunged largely because of war-related
damage to the principal transportation routes between Armenia and
Georgia, through which much of the country’s imports and exports pass.

As a result, Georgian imports were cut by an estimated 121 million
dollars, slashing import tax revenue. At the same time, exports losses
amounted to about 52 million dollars.

The regional turmoil has also curbed the government’s ambitious plans
to boost income tax collection by 30 per cent this year. `Tension in
the area as a result of the South Ossetian conflict meant Armenia did
not collect the levels of income from tax anticipated in the budget,’
said Gagik Minasian, the head of parliament’s financial, credit and
budgetary issues commission.

But experts say the greatest damage caused to Armenia by the war has
been the temporary suspension of foreign investments, totaling about
300 million dollars.

`The region itself is not very attractive in terms of investment, and,
today, it has become way too insecure,’ said Heghine Manasian,
director of the Caucasus Research and Resource Centre, CRRC.

Manasian said the situation in Georgia had increased inflation and
curbed economic growth.

`If prices go up and people’s income remains the same, consumption is
likely to decline, meaning that traders won’t be able to sell their
goods. A difficult situation aggravated by the world financial crisis
might emerge,’ said Manasian.

However, the authorities denied that consumers had been hit by the
conflict, insisting that any price increases were caused by panic
buying.

`People queued for petrol for two days ` because they panicked [that
supplies were going to run dry],’ said Sargsian, noting that state
reserves of fuel had not been touched.

In the wake of the conflict ` which officials believe has cost the
economy 680 million dollars ` analysts say it is important Armenia
does not rely so heavily on the import and export of goods through
Georgia in future.

`Two-thirds of foreign goods are coming through Georgian territory,’
said Andranik Tevanian, the director of the Institute for Political,
Economic and Legal Research. `This is why the Georgian conflict caused
delays to and even suspended the transportation of cargo.’

While an alternative transport route through Iran has been proposed as
a solution, Tevanian believes it would be a prohibitively expensive
option.

There are also indications that Armenia is looking at alternative ways
of transporting goods through Georgia.

On a recent visit to Georgia, Armenian president Serzh Sargsian raised
the prospect of the building a new highway linking Yerevan with the
city of Batumi, the capital of the autonomous republic of Adjara in
southwest Georgia ` cutting the current 700 kilometre route by about a
third.

Previously, much of Armenian exports were ferried through Georgia’s
land border with Russia, but the conflict has meant that Yerevan will
become more reliant on its neighbour’s Black Sea port.

`If we start working [on the Yerevan-Batumi route] today, in two
years’ time, we’ll have a transport route that is very important for
Armenian economy,’ Armenian transport and communications minister
Gurgen Sargsian told journalists recently.

Experts have also cited the importance of developing alternative trade
partners, emphasising the role Turkey could play. They say that the
continued closure of the land border between Turkey and Armenia costs
the economy around 500 million dollars annually.

The Armenian government hopes that the recent thawing of relations
with its western neighbour might offer new trading opportunities.

A direct electricity supply from Armenia to Turkey will start in 2009,
following the signing of an energy agreement during the visit of the
Turkish president Abdullah Gul to Yerevan in September.

`Developing closer political and economic relations with Turkey could
be a precursor for¦developing Armenia’s economy,’ said Minasian.

But other analysts remain sceptical. While Tevanian acknowledged that
normalising relations with Ankara was important for the economy, he
pointed out that Armenia had so far gleaned few benefits from the
rapprochement.

`We’ve made a step towards Turkey, but it is Turkey that had so far
reaped political dividends in Europe ` we see no tangible results from
the so-called warming yet,’ he said.

Naira Melkumian is an IWPR-trained journalist.

The FINANCIAL, Georgia

Georgian PM Visits U.S.

11/10/2008 13:40
The FINANCIAL — According to Civil Georgia, Georgian Prime Minister
Lado Gurgenidze and Finance Minister Nika Gilauri left for the United
States on October 11 to discuss the current economic situation in
Georgia with U.S. officials.

The Georgian officials will hold talks with the representatives of the
World Bank, International Monetary Fund, European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development, as well as with Under Secretary for
Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs Reuben Jeffery.

During the visit Lado Gurgenidze will also meet with his Armenian
counterpart Tigran Sarkisyan, according to the government’s press
office.

A1+

ARE THERE NATIONAL TRAITORS IN ARMENIA?
[02:09 pm] 10 October, 2008

Will the Armenian leadership regulate the Karabakh conflict to the
detriment of Armenia? In reply to A1+’s question, Zharangutiun
(Heritage) Party Secretary Stepan Safarian said: `I see no national
traitors in Armenia. I can only blame the authorities for illiterate
and unjustified steps. And if the steps are directed against Armenia I
think we should be blamed for their consequences.’

Stepan Safarian thinks the Karabakh issue is in a stagnant rather than
in a critical state.

With regard to the PACE assessment to Armenia’s political domain
Stepan Safarian said, `The PACE will surely give a rough
assessment. Even if Serzh Sargsyan grants amnesty to the prisoners the
PACE will not change its opinion. Besides, let me remind you that many
political prisoners said they need no amnesty as they plead not guilty
of any crime.’

Generally, the Zharangutiun Secretary is discontent with the activity
of the NA ad hoc Committee looking into the March 1 events. `Levon
Ter-Petrossian accuses Kocharian of the March 1 unrest and says
Kocharian gave the order to fire at people. In his turn, Kocharian
blames Ter-Petrossian for his calls for mass disorder and attempts of
power overthrow. Neither Kocharian nor Ter-Petrossian has been invited
to an examination,’ he added.

Assyria Times, CA

Why I Refuse to Vote?

10/10/2008 11:24:00

By Theodoros Karakostas

Every time there is an election, there is the usual well intended
public campaign to encourage voting. I am perhaps being cynical but I
do not wish to participate in a process that for all intents and
purposes is devoid of legitimacy. The fundamental topic of this
commentary pertains to foreign policy and the defector media blackout
of certain issues, but the farce that constitutes present day politics
deserves at least a slight mention as can be seen by the
intellectually bankrupt displays that were showcased at both the
Democratic and Republican National Conventions this past summer. Both
of them constituted nothing more than entertainment value.

There is a documentary film entitled, "Days Made of Fear" which
features footage shot in Kosovo between 1999 and 2004. The difference
between this film and what American television media outlets
traditionally aired is that this features footage of the Serbian
community. This film is evidence of the ethnic cleansing process of
Serbs that has taken place under the auspices of NATO, the European
Union, and the United Nations. Hundreds of Serbian Orthodox Churches
and Monasteries were destroyed by Albanian Muslims during this period
without any intervention on the part of the Western powers. Even
worse, this footage has never been aired on American television
because apparently it contradicts official anti-Serb hysteria that
fueled the 1999 war on Belgrade.

Earlier this year, the Bush administration emulated the Balkan
policies of the Clinton administration and supported "independence"
for Kosovo. American and European diplomats paid lip service to the
rights of the Serbs in Kosovo, but no one addressed the horrific
mistreatment of Serbs in Kosovo, nor have the westerners taken
measures to impose sanctions on the Kosovo leadership in response to
the mistreatment of Serbs and the destruction of Churches and
Monasteries that have enormous spiritual and historic value.

In addition, the Bush administration opposed passage of a
Congressional Resolution that would have recognized the Armenian
Genocide. During the period of 1914-1923, the Islamic leadership of
the Ottoman Empire and its successor under the murderous figure of
Mustafa Kemal slaughtered at least three million Armenian, Assyrian,
and Greek Orthodox Christians. Turkish policies of ethnic cleansing
have continued through the infamous anti-Greek pogroms of 1955, the
Turkish invasions of Cyprus, and the present war by the Turkish
paramilitary State against the Ecumenical Patriachate. Between 1993
and 2007, there have been at least six attempts to murder the
Ecumenical Patriarch, but if one watched American television, one
would not have noticed a thing.

Events in Turkey, as with Kosovo and Serbia serve to demonstrate that
censorship is a fact! The glorification of the late Turkish dictator
Mustafa Kemal by numerous American think tanks and other interests
doing the sinister bidding of the Turkish Islamo-military ruling
coalition demonstrates for me the utter futility of participating in
an election where the winner will inevitably be influenced by the
notorious and well financed Turkish lobby into manipulating both
history and supporting policies of ethnic cleansing against the Greeks
of Cyprus. The degree to which American policy is manipulated can be
seen by the fact that the official foreign policy establishment
successfully persuaded both the Clinton and Bush administrations into
betraying Greece by recognizing the government of Skopje under the
name of "Macedonia".

An enormous tragedy is playing out for the Christians of Iraq. During
this past summer, the Archbishop of the Chaldean Catholics was
murdered for refusing to pay extortion money to Islamic
extremists. The Christians were at least secure under the former
dictatorship that the Bush administration and its neo conservatives
overthrew. The administration that waged war on Iraq never took into
consideration what would happen to the Christians who have been
fleeing to Syria, another potential target for the neo
conservatives. Damascus is the home of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate
of Antioch and there are at least one million Christians in Syria who
will be secure, unless the next administration decides to implement
"regime change" there.

What has happened to the "war on terror"? The only discernible war to
be noticed is the war on the Christian East which has been under way
for decades. The West permitted Muslim Turkey to take Constantinople
and Asia Minor in 1922, the Turkish invasions of Cyprus, and gave
Kosovo, Serbia’s Jerusalem to the Muslims. In Kosovo, Saudi Arabia is
funding the construction of Mosques while Orthodox Churches and
Monasteries burn. In the occupied territories of Cyprus, over five
hundred and fifty Churches and Monasteries have been converted into
Mosques, or are being used as stables where settlers from Turkey are
housing their farm animals.

In light of the appalling turmoil and tragedy that continues to engulf
the Christian East, and in light of the fact that no matter which
party comes to power, the think tanks will continue to press the next
administration to continue with policies that have been to the
detriment of Hellenism and Orthodoxy, I refuse to participate in the
"voting" process since I believe that such participation would
legitimize the undemocratic think tanks that continue to shape
policies toward the Balkans, Turkey, Russia, and the Middle East.

In conclusion, I lament and mourn the Churches and Monasteries of
Kosovo and Cyprus, and their missing faithful. Very soon, there may be
no more Greek Orthodox Christians in Turkey. Democratic Presidential
Candidate Barack Obama has been accused of being a Muslim. The fact
remains that no matter who becomes President, foreign policy could not
possibly be any more pro-Islamic to the detriment of the Christian
East than it already is. May the persecution of the forgotten
Christians of the East come to an end.

The Weekly Standard

A Faltering Big Red Machine

Republicans may lose their hold on Ohio’s second district.

by David Wolfford
10/20/2008, Volume 014, Issue 06

Cincinnati

Ohio’s second congressional district is up for grabs. A Republican
stronghold for over 30 years, it stretches from Cincinnati’s east
side, up the Ohio River to Portsmouth. Rob Portman won it handily from
1993 through 2004, usually breaking 70 percent. But in 2005, Portman
left the House of Representatives to serve in President Bush’s
cabinet, and 11 Republicans eager to represent OH-2 leaped into a
special primary. Jean Schmidt, a social conservative and past state
representative, beat 10 male contenders. That meant the hard fight was
over, or so she thought.

Today the district is no longer safe. Schmidt barely won her two
general elections–with 51.6 percent and 50.5 percent
respectively. This November, Democrat Victoria Wulsin, a physician
from the affluent Cincinnati suburb of Indian Hill, will challenge
Schmidt for the second time.

Political analyst Stuart Rothenberg concluded earlier this year that
OH-2 "may well be the worst congressional contest I’ve ever
witnessed." As Election Day nears, he may drop the qualification.

Fairly or not, Rep. Schmidt soon earned a reputation for her stern
manner. She stands 5²2³, with piercing eyes and hair tightly
pulled back. Her fierce work ethic, intense persona, and sharp
off-the-cuff comments have caused some to dub her "Mean Jean." Within
three months of being sworn in, she ridiculed Rep. John Murtha (D-PA)
on the House floor as she spoke against his resolution to redeploy
U.S. troops from Iraq. Allegedly quoting a Marine from her district,
Schmidt said to Murtha, "Cowards cut and run, Marines never do." The
House erupted in hisses and boos. Murtha got scant support on his
resolution, but doubtless more collegial support than Schmidt after
the rookie representative unduly attacked the decorated
Marine. Saturday Night Live parodied Schmidt in her trademark red,
white, and blue as this became the gaffe that defined her.

If only it had been her last. She downplayed the revelations of
inadequate provision for wounded veterans at Walter Reed Hospital,
expressed openness to an unpopular nuclear waste site in her district,
and has been under fire for misrepresenting a college degree.

Schmidt’s challenger–who has an M.D. from Case Western Reserve and a
doctorate from Harvard School of Public Health, has worked in public
health management, and founded a charity combatting AIDS in
Kenya–narrowly lost to Schmidt in 2006, taking 49.39 percent of the
vote. But rather than running on her merits, Wulsin has chosen to run
against Schmidt’s mistakes. "Tired of the Schmidt!" she announced at
one of her early press conferences. Her campaign committee is
sponsoring a website, EmbarassedbySchmidt.com, that exposes the
congresswoman’s missteps. When asked how Wulsin differed from Schmidt,
her spokesperson was quick to laud her as "more than an SNL skit."

The wild card in this race will be independent David Krikorian, a
Cincinnati entrepreneur of Armenian background with expertise in
economics. He will have raised about $200,000 before the race is done,
has five paid campaign staffers, and was the first candidate to go on
television. He’s received the endorsement of the Cincinnati Fraternal
Order of Police. His own campaign’s poll of Democratic and Republican
primary voters showed Krikorian at 19 percent. His "Had Enough?"
strategy includes refusing PAC money.

The outlook for Election Day is uncertain. A recent SurveyUSA poll
commissioned by Roll Call shows Schmidt and Wulsin in a 48 to 40
percent split, with 10 percent declaring they’d vote for somebody
else. But one thing is plain: The voters are not keen on either
nominee. More look unfavorably upon them than favorably (Schmidt, 40
percent unfavorable to 35 percent favorable, Wulsin, 36 percent to 28
percent).

All three candidates appeared in a televised debate on October
6. Wulsin announced that she would "tell the truth" as a
representative, subtly calling Schmidt’s ethics into question, while
Krikorian tried to capitalize on the public’s disdain for Schmidt’s
vote in favor of the second attempt in the $700 billion rescue. Opined
Krikorian, who knows the district, "Capitalism without bankruptcy is
like religion without Hell."

The "I’m better than Mean Jean" strategy may work. Some local
Republicans question whether she’s the best person to represent OH-2,
given her public image and her past close races including two
challenges in Republican primaries. But while Schmidt is despised on
the left and not beloved by all in her party, she is an acquired
taste. The Cincinnati Enquirer has endorsed Schmidt on the eve of her
past congressional elections, even while acknowledging her "tendency
to step in it." Anyone who has met her sees her determination and
passion for families.

"Dynamite comes in small packages," Terry Johnson, the Scioto County
GOP chairman, says of Schmidt. The county party endorsed her in the
primary. "She’s our congresswoman. She’s a beacon of conservative
values. She’s paid a lot of attention to us as a representative, and
we really appreciate that," Johnson adds. Scioto is a swing county
that often determines the outcomes of statewide elections in
Ohio. Schmidt has also got quite a following in her home county of
Clermont, though the number of registered Democrats there is on the
rise.

The Democratic party has had its eye on OH-2 ever since Portman
stepped aside. During the summer of 2005, the party sent resources and
manpower into the district. Murtha has appeared in commercials in the
past and will stump with Wulsin. The Democratic Congressional Campaign
Committee has added the district to its "Red to Blue" list of priority
races, and we can expect advertising from both congressional campaign
committees soon.

As far as presidential coattails go, Schmidt will presumably ride the
district’s overwhelming preference for McCain. Ohio could go either
way, but this district wants McCain over Obama by 19 points. With that
advantage and support from the party, Schmidt may well defeat Wulsin
on November 4. Whoever wins, after November 4, the losing party will
likely seek out a stronger candidate and prevent round three.

David Wolfford is a government and politics teacher and writer in
Cincinnati.

The Plain Dealer – cleveland.com, OH

Painter John Motian surprises himself as he sees where the paintbrush takes him

by Karen Sandstrom / Plain Dealer Reporter
Saturday October 11, 2008, 12:00 AM

Gus Chan/The Plain Dealer

John Motian works on "Karen’s New Dress," a painting he made over an
old junk-shop canvas. Behind him are some of the hundreds of paintings
he has done since the mid-1980s. An e-mail went out to Cleveland
artists several years ago from a young woman seeking someone to help
her father organize the paintings and drawings he had been making for
years.

Karen St. John-Vincent, a fine-art photographer, answered the call and
soon found herself parked outside the Union Avenue home of John
Motian. She figured she’d stop in for an hour and see what the job
looked like.

St. John-Vincent was greeted by Motian’s outgoing daughter, Rachel,
and by Motian himself, humble and a little introverted. She stayed
five hours. And it wasn’t just one world she fell into. There were
scores of worlds, drawn on paper and painted on canvases.

She found impressionistic landscapes full of color, portraits of women
sketched in pencil and charcoal, pictures of Jesus and images of the
crucifixion.

"Initially, I was overwhelmed, but it wasn’t that I wanted to escape,"
St. John-Vincent recalls. "It was that I wanted to see more. It almost
felt like a religious experience."

She came away with the conviction that other people needed to see
Motian’s art. Now they can. Thirty-nine of Motian’s paintings and
drawings on are view through Wednesday, Oct. 29, at the Gallery at
Brecksville Center for the Arts.

Though Motian has had shows of his work in the past — in his
hometown, Cleveland, as well as in California, where he lived for 20
years — it has been a while. And though the Brecksville gallery isn’t
exactly in the heart of any of Cleveland’s art districts, Motian hopes
people stop in for a look.

"That’s the trouble with me, I need the feedback," he says. "I don’t
get any feedback."

At 75, Motian brings a young man’s energy to his work. He rises in the
pre-dawn hours, brews coffee, greets and feeds Leche and Picasso, his
sweet, raggedy Pekingese-Maltese-mix dogs.

Then he gets busy in his studio — a south-facing living room in an
apartment above a defunct storefront.

Motian inherited the building from his late mother, Rose. Over the
decades, the street-level store has been a butcher shop, a church and,
more recently, a junk shop whose owners abandoned some of their
inventory. That included a "little kitsch painting," Motian says, with
a walnut frame worth preserving.

In the tradition of frugal artists across the ages, Motian has covered
what he says was a pretty bad landscape with an ethereal, almost
abstract painting that glows in colors of gold, green and
cream. Ghostly figures have emerged sketchily over the time Motian has
been working on the painting. It’s still not done.

The most distinct of the figures is perhaps more female-looking than
the others. Motian calls the painting "Karen’s New Dress," and says he
thinks that St. John-Vincent doesn’t know he has had her in mind as he
has been working on the piece.

"Karen’s the only beautiful woman I’ve met recently," he says.

And beautiful women have always been part of his inspiration.

But only part.

A life devoted to creating art

The son of two Armenian immigrants, Motian earned middling grades in
Cleveland schools but showed an early affinity for art. At around age
10, he borrowed a library book about French Impressionism. "I knew
then that I was going to be an artist," he says.

When he got older, he took classes at the Cooper School of Art, the
Cleveland Institute of Art and the Art Students League in New York
City. He served in the Army from 1953 through 1955, and took jobs in
labor and construction to earn a living while making art.

In 1966, he packed his car full of art supplies and headed to
California. There, he found other artists who inspired and mentored
him; met a woman he describes as the love of his life, who ultimately
moved back to her East Coast home; and had daughter Rachel and son
Noah with wife Nancy, to whom he was married from 1971 to 1984.

During those years, he did hard, physical jobs to make money — but he
lived to make art.

"I even told my wife, if it’s her or the art, the art comes first,"
says Motian, who admits the message didn’t go over well.

A year after his marriage ended, he returned to Cleveland to care for
his widowed mother, who died in 1991.

He also threw himself further into painting and drawing.

In the years since he moved back, he has filled his house with his own
work. Canvases, finished and mostly finished, are stacked against the
bedroom walls.

Most are representational, though some veer toward abstraction. He has
paintings that evoke van Gogh, Cezanne, Gauguin and Matisse, but
they’re always overlaid with Motian’s own sensibility.

"I’m unimpressed by photographic reality [in art]," Motian says. "I
want poetry, mystery."

Canvases filled with stories

A weekly attendee at Broadway Christian Church, where he says the
Rev. Mike Frank has become "my best friend," Motian describes himself
as a spiritual person who generally rejects religious dogma. And he
admits that he can’t quite figure out why Christ and the crucifixion
so often work their way into his compositions.

That is part of the mystery, and the mystery is a huge part of what
propels John Motian to his worktable each morning. When he starts a
new project, he simply begins to move his paintbrush or pen along the
surface of the paper without much of a plan.

With painting in particular, the materials begin to speak back. They
drive the next movement, he says, and they’re powerful.

"I make things with a lot of energy," he says. "That’s when I really
feel good. It reveals more and more."

Images emerge. Themes emerge. Ideas, half-articulated, invite the
viewer’s response rather than dictating it.

St. John-Vincent says she believes she’s so drawn to Motian’s art
because she loves stories, and his canvases and watercolors are filled
with them. They surprise her.

They surprise him, too. "I have to surprise myself, or I can’t work,"
Motian says.

These days, Motian’s daughter, son and grandchildren all live out
West. With his family obligations behind him, he greets every day as a
new opportunity to be surprised by the process of making art.

He even draws at church, where his hearing aids fail to pick up the
words of prayers and sermons. His friend, the pastor, gave him
sketchbooks to fill during services, but someone stole them. Motian
finds things to draw on. Almost anything will do.

The point of all that relentless passion is the delight of discovery:
What will show up as the piece is in process? What will show up when
it’s finally done?

But Motian doesn’t want the discovery to be his alone.

"I wasn’t that ambitious about money," he says. "I just sort of wanted
to be known. I need the approval."

He wants observers of his work to share some of what he experiences in
making it. Self-deprecating and angst-ridden as he is, Motian can
nonetheless look at his own work and find it beautiful.

He wishes viewers would, too. When they look at his paintings, he
says, "I like them to feel the way I feel."

HAVING AMBITIOUS PROGRAMS IS GOOD
GEVORG HAROUTYUNYAN

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
11 Oct 2008
Armenia

But the simplest problems are not resolved

Interview with GEVORG POGHOSYAN, Head of the Armenian Sociological
Association

`Mr. Poghosyan, do we make too much haste or is the process of making
changes in the country really too slow?’

`There is such an impression that no changes are taking place. Even the
predication that L. Ter-Petrosyan would soon go abroad didn’t come
true. And now they say the `congress’ has exhausted itself and should
quit the political arena. And the activists of the so-called congress
insist that each new meeting of theirs is going to be the most
decisive, and something is going to change. Both parties exaggerate.
Whereas the congress should become an active political pro-opposition
force and continue working. And the authorities should work as well.

No ultimatums, threats or demonstrations can change anything. The
political arena cannot exist without the opposition. Society is
disappointed both with the opposition and the authorities equally. This
is the saddest fact. The people are dissatisfied with the role of both
parties.

In our country, establishing a Ministry, providing it with a space,
furniture, human resources and equipment turns out to be easier than
forming a public council under the President. Striking though it is,
such=2
0is the truth. Whereas, no particular space or expenses are
required for setting up the public council. This creates an impression
that there’s very little need for setting up the council.

Yes, a country like Armenia which has such a big Diaspora should have
established a relevant Ministry long ago. Because the absence of such
body in Armenia is as unusual as the absence of an Oil Ministry in a
country rich in oil resources. We all say that our chief potential is
the human being; we export `brains’ and labor force, and the foreign
transfers constitute the major part of our Gross Domestic Product. The
Diaspora is our oil, but it is only now that we are going to have a
Ministry of Diaspora.

Now, both the President and the Prime Minister of the country say that
tour intellectual potential is the principal resource for us to be
considered competitive on the global level. This structure is necessary
in terms of making the public domain active and participating in the
strengthening of the state.

Especially considering that the political opposition appears on the
arena occasionally, mostly at election time, and then, suffering a
defeat, goes underground again. It is necessary to have a permanently
working institution on the political arena; and this is no less
important than having a Ministry of the Diaspora.’

`Why do you think the process of forming the Public Council is being 0D
delayed?’

`There are hundreds of `whys’ like that. It turns out that the
authorities choose to discredit themselves. The promises that are being
given and the ambitious programs that are being published are very
attractive and desirable. The ideas of becoming a regional center of
energy supply, financial resources, tourism, healthcare and technology
are brilliant. It is an axiomatic truth that our society and economy
should be based on knowledge. We, all the scientists, are happy that
the statements we have been making for 10 years are now being pointed
out by the authorities.

All the statements are right and commendable, and all the ambitious
programs are desirable. But eventually, even the simplest and
easy-to-solve programs remain unsolved. There is obviously a wide gap.
Even in the elitist shops and expensive boutiques the controlling
cashboxes were never installed, but we are planning to become a
regional financial centre. Unless we resolve the simple problems, no
one will believe that we are capable of implementing complex and
ambitious programs. It is also possible to solve small-scale problems
along with the implementation of the complex and ambitious programs,
but that is never done.

This is a way towards self-discrediting. As a matter of fact, nothing
changes in everyday life. It turns out that the authorities make
declarative statements which is really dangerous.’

EVERYTHING IS ABNORMAL IN ARMENIAN WORLD

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
11 Oct 2008
Armenia

According to the President of Armenian Sociological Association Gevorg
Poghosyan: `The legal field is deteriorated in our reality. Should the
ruling power be strong in the legal field the opposition will become
stronger. Our ruling power is strong because they can solve any issue
by circumventing the law. In this field the opposition changes its
orientation or goes underground.

At the moment the ruling power is vulnerable and the opposition is far
not engaged in criticizing the ruling power. Our opposition is not in a
rivalry with the ruling power. Both the internal political field and
the behavior of the opposition is abnormal in our realty.’