ABKHAZIA GOING TO DEVELOP COOPERATION WITH KARABAKH
PanARMENIAN.Net
03.10.2008 19:28 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Abkhazia intends to develop cooperation with
the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in trade, economic, political and
cultural fields, reported the press office of Abkhazia president’s
administration.
Abkhazian Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba held a meeting with NKR Deputy
FM Eduard Atanesyan and National Assembly Speaker Ashot Ghulyan to
discuss bilateral relations, Rosbalt reports.
MEETING OF ARMENIAN AND AZERBAIJANI FOREIGN MINISTERS TO TAKE PLACE IN BISHKEK
AZG Armenian Daily
04/10/2008
Karabakh issue
The next meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers
Edward Nalbandian and Elmar Mammadyarov may take place on October 9
in Bishkek in the framework of the meeting of CIS Council of Foreign
Ministers.
"The official Baku is analyzing the results of negotiations held
between foreign ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia on
September 26 in New York in the framework of the UN General Assembly
session", said Azerbaijani President’s special representative on
Karabakh issue, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Araz Azimov in an
interview given recently to journalists.
DEFENSE MINISTER AND JAMES RAYNOLDS SIGN AGREEMENT
Panorama.am
20:25 03/10/2008
The Defense Ministry Committee on captives, hostages and lost
citizens of RA and Red Cross international delegation to Armenia
signed an agreement on "collecting information about people lost in
the aftermath of Karabakh conflict", reported the press secretary of
the Defense Ministry Seyran Shahsuvaryan.
According to the press secretary, the contract is signed between the
President of the Committee, Minister Seyran Ohanyan and the head of
the delegation James Raynolds.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
ARMENIA GREETS IDEAS TO ESTABLISH SECURITY IN THE REGION
Panorama.am
20:35 03/10/2008
The initiative of Ankara to create Security Caucasian Platform is
based on establishing stability, security and cooperation, announced
the Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandyan and added that not
a single country can act against such ideas.
The Foreign Minister said that yet there are many gaps concerning
the implementation, participants and mechanisms of the platform.
"In general Armenian side greets any idea to contribute to the
establishment of stability and security in the region," said
Mr. Nalbandyan.
JUBILEE CEREMONY TO VAZGEN I
Panorama.am
20:43 03/10/2008
The Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians Garegin II, President Serzh
Sargsyan, NA Chairman Hovik Abrahamyan, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
and other high ranking officials were present at the 100 anniversary
jubilee ceremony devoted to Vazgen I Patriarch.
"The time was decisive when the notion of apostolic church was
changed during Soviet Era. Due to his consistency St. Etchmiatsin
has been reconstructed. His speech was inspiring for our nation. He
has sanctified the Independence of Armenia and Artsakh liberty,"
said Garegin II.
IMPEVA LABS JOINS WORLDWIDE FOCUS ON ARMENIAN HIGH TECHNOLOGY AT ARMTECH ’08
IT News Online
2008-10-04
India
Global Asset Monitoring Leader Affirms Opportunity for Synergy with
the Worldwide Armenian Business Community and the Rising Technology
Sector of Armenia
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and YEREVAN, Armenia, Oct. 4 /PRNewswire/ —
Impeva Labs, Inc., the leading supplier of continuous global asset
visibility (tracking, tracing, monitoring and security), today
announced its participation in ArmTech Congress ’08, to be held
October 4-5, 2008, at the Fairmont Hotel in Yerevan, Armenia. The
company has a key software engineering and technology development
team in the Republic of Armenia and has contributed to the event
through the activities of key executives – including Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tony Moroyan, who will deliver
a keynote address. The Republic of Armenia has adopted ArmTech
’08 as the official high technology industry event of Armenia, and
plenary speakers will include His Excellency Tigran Sargsyan, Prime
Minister of the Republic of Armenia, and other high level officials
from the Armenian government; executives from operating corporations
in Armenia; university representatives; and counterparts from the
U.S. and other countries. For more information about ArmTech ’08 and
Armenian Technology Congress, please visit .
"Impeva Labs’ extensive participation in ArmTech ’08 reflects our
deep commitment to Armenia as a center for world-class technology
development and its rising status as a destination for investment
and expansion," said Tony Moroyan, Chairman and CEO of Impeva
Labs. "Building on the success of the inaugural ArmTech ’07 in Silicon
Valley, we are eager to support this year’s conference in Armenia, and
confident that attendees will gain essential insights and information,
deepen their appreciation of the technology resources of Armenia,
and make valuable worldwide connections."
About Impeva Labs
Impeva Labs is the leading supplier of continuous global asset
visibility (tracking, tracing, monitoring and security). Impeva’s
services enable effective asset management and the most efficient
transportation of goods by providing a Continuous Chain of Custody
(C-3) Shipping System(TM). Impeva’s customers can see real time data,
receive event alerts, and take corrective action from anywhere in the
world, without leaving the office. Impeva Labs is a privately held
company based in Mountain View, California with offices in Florida,
Brazil and Armenia. With Impeva Labs: Whatever, Wherever, Whenever,
You’ll Know(TM).
IF ARMENIA WANTS BORDERS OPEN, IT MUST LEARN TO PROPERLY SPEAK TO ITS NEIGHBORS: TURKISH DELEGATION TO PACE
Trend News Agency
04.10.08 16:31
Azerbaijan
France, Strasburg, 4 October /Trend News corr. A.Maharramli/ Exclusive
interview of Trend News with Ozlem Turkone, the member of Turkey’s
delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE), deputy chairman of the Foreign Relations Department of the
Turkish Justice & Development Party:
Question: Will the Caucasus Security & Stability Platform be able to
stand as alternative to the OSCE Minsk Group?
Answer: The platform is in no way an alternative or an obstacle to
the current systems, rules and relations. Tension is escalating in
Caucasus and the war that raged between Russia and Georgia can at
any moment cover other countries. If there is a possibility for
such war to break out, so Azerbaijan, Turkey and Armenia may top
the list of most damaged countries. We want the history to be given
a proper estimate. Europe has a plenty of values, such as unity,
justice, democracy and independence. Has Europe reached this all in
a single day? When did this take place? All this must be properly
estimated. The European Union is a pass leading from the end of
wars to reconciliation. If there are energy issues or other issues
standing in the basis of confrontation in Caucasus, so we will be able
to determine the common values and to find a way to bring them to a
high level, leaving aside many conflicts. Our task is to establish
a safer and more peaceful Caucasus in favor of the citizens of our
countries. The Caucasus Cooperation Platform suggested by Turkey at
the end of 90s of the last century was the result of the idea. We
must learn a lesson from the newest history. Then we will be able
like Europe to do without victims counted in millions and to create
a safer atmosphere in the region.
Question: What must the countries in the region do to implement the
Caucasus Security & Stability Platform?
Answer: Naturally, the platform will not interfere into the state
specificity of countries in the region. Our objective is not to
establish organization like the European Union. Only one thing is known
that we can solve these problems without military confrontation. At
least, we want to establish such a format. We speak about our
problems at the Council of Europe, the United Nations, whilst we –
border countries do not have such a format amongst ourselves. We have
problems. If anything like confrontation between Russia and Georgia
takes place again in South Caucasus, our nations will suffer, but
not Europe. We should make progress in this cooperation together and
achieve the purpose, because it is necessary for our citizens’ future.
Question: What is your appraisal of the chances to implement the
Platform?
Answer: Naturally, there are some problems, which includes the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Armenian
‘genocide’ between Armenia and Turkey, Russia’s attitude to Azerbaijan,
which is difficult to name as positive, as well as problem between
Georgia and Russia. On the other hand, we witness Russia’s support to
Armenia in the issue of the Armenian ‘genocide’. One factor should
be stressed that Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline is an important
beginning. Each of us has common contiguities in the region. BTC did
not pass via the Armenian territory because of two reasons. First,
it would be injustice for fraternal Azerbaijan and the second reason
is incorrect position basing on claims, which are connected with
false Armenian ‘genocide’. Therefore, it was decided to lengthen
the route of the pipeline. Armenia could not take advantage of the
project. Everybody should display reasonable approach in the Caucasus
Security & Stability Platform, forgetting feelings. Armenia should
leave Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan. If
Armenia wants borders open for its nation, it must learn to properly
speak and cooperate with its neighbors. We can begin this process
and realize it on the base of dialogue. Perhaps, most of people may
approach to my speech as a dream, whilst everybody should remember
that dreams will come true, when we believe in them. If we look
over history of Europe from 1918 to 1945, we will not see anything,
but tears, bitterness and regret. However, Europeans could overcome
over all of them through dialogue and achieve the current level. I
want all countries, which have borders with Caucasus, to support
the Platform. I believe, if we hold dialogue now, we will be at a
different level in ten years.
RUSSIAN MFA SPOKESMAN ANDREI NESTERENKO INTERVIEW WITH RIA NOVOSTI CONCERNING RUSSIAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS SERGEY LAVROV’S WORKING VISIT TO ARMENIA
Ministery of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
October 1, 2008
Question: Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
Sergey Lavrov will pay a working visit to Armenia on October 3 at
the invitation of Edward Nalbandian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of
the Republic of Armenia. What is the agenda of the upcoming talks?
Answer: This is not the first meeting of our minister with his
Armenian counterpart. Edward Nalbandian, appointed to the post of
Minister by a decree of the President of Armenia this past April,
has already visited Moscow twice this year.
At the upcoming Russian-Armenian talks a substantive, forward-looking
exchange of views will take place on topical issues related to the
deepening of mutually advantageous allied partnership and on key
international and regional problems.
Question: How is cooperation evolving between Russia and Armenia at
different levels? In particular, how do you assess the dynamics of
bilateral political dialogue?
Answer: The highly dynamic evolution of relations between Moscow and
Yerevan in recent years stems largely from the sides maintaining a
regular, content-saturated political dialogue, at the highest level
in particular. This creates a favorable atmosphere for the expansion
and improvement of Russian-Armenian cooperation in different fields.
The ministers will touch upon certain topical issues in
Russian-Armenian relations. Over the recent period, economic
problems have moved to the fore in cooperation between Moscow and
Yerevan. Russia confidently leads among the major foreign economic
partners of Armenia. Primary attention is being paid to interaction
in the fuel and energy sector.
Question: What themes will be touched on during the talks between
the Russian and Armenian ministers of foreign affairs?
Answer: Closer cooperation towards security and stability in
Transcaucasia will figure high on the talks’ agenda. The ministers
will discuss conditions in the region after the recent irresponsible
and adventurous actions of the current Georgian regime that led to the
dramatic events at the southern borders of Russia. Our assessments
of the situation, resulting from Georgia’s aggression against South
Ossetia and from the decisions taken by Russia to recognize the
independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, will be conveyed to
Edward Nalbandian.
We look forward to the continuation of our joint close work
within the CIS and CSTO (considering that Armenia currently chairs
the Organization) as well as in other prestigious international
organizations, including the UN, Council of Europe and OSCE.
Question: Will Nagorno Karabakh settlement issues be discussed?
Answer: Yes, of course. This complicated problem remains urgent. Russia
intends to continue assisting the parties in conflict to find a
mutually acceptable solution. Supporting in this context the efforts
of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia reaffirms the invariability of its
principled stand on Nagorno Karabakh settlement. We presume that the
chief responsibility for the final choice of a settlement formula lies
with the Armenians and the Azerbaijanis themselves. Russia would be
ready to back up the solution option which will suit the parties in
conflict, and in the event of a compromise agreement being reached –
will act as the guarantor of the settlement.
Sergey Lavrov’s upcoming visit must contribute significantly to an
effective pursuit of the Russian and Armenian leaderships’ course
toward the all-out development and consolidation of bilateral
relations, including their foreign policy component.
[URBAN LEGENDS] TATAVLA BRINGS REMBETIKO SPIRIT BACK TO ISTANBUL: A COSMOPOLITAN BAND UNITED THROUGH MUSIC
Today’s Zaman
04 October 2008, Saturday
Turkey
A century ago, Ä°stanbul and Ä°zmir were cosmopolitan cities with
diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds whose vibrant entertainment
scenes reflected this diversity in cafe amans (musical cafes) and
massive Milanese-style opera halls which now exist only in photos.
It was not a "multicultural" era where everyone merely tolerated one
another and never merged culturally; it was a time when cultures really
did merge, staging theater shows and playing music together. Greeks,
Turks, Levantines, Jews, Arabs and Armenians appeared side-by-side
creating something unique together. As a centuries-old empire
collapsed, the unexpected demographic movements of the era’s diaspora
had important cultural consequences, such as the emergence of new
artistic and musical forms. Rembetiko music was one such consequence.
Rising from the pain and misery experienced during this diaspora, this
new musical form talked about urban life in cities like Ä°stanbul,
Ä°zmir and Piraeus and about immigrant life for those caught up
in the diaspora. It was an era and a musical style that encouraged
cultural merging in a real sense. For example, Roza Eskenazi, the
greatest rembetiko singer of the era, was an Ä°stanbul-born Jew who
died in Athens in 1980 at the age of 97. She called out Turkish,
Greek and Armenian names when thanking the musicians in her orchestra
at her shows.
Tatavla, now known as KurtuluÅ~_, which still is one of the most
ethnically and culturally diverse neighborhoods in Ä°stanbul, was
so important to the era’s entertainment life that people would talk
about going to Tatavla to have a bit of fun that night and would
return home from Tatavla awe-struck, ecstatic about a new encounter
and filled with songs and joy.
Why am I talking about this long-forgotten era now, almost 100
years later? Because I have the impression that this era might not be
completely lost and that it can be rescued from oblivion. What gave me
this impression? A new band called Tatavla. Named after the Tatavla
neighborhood, Tatavla is a rembetiko band whose performances offer
a musical journey through time. Their audience is composed mainly of
members of the new Greek community in Ä°stanbul as well as those who
have an ear for world music. All are eager to do a bit of belly dancing
to oriental tunes. These oriental tunes are in two languages, Greek and
Turkish. They talk about the same sort of events occurring to people
on both sides of the Aegean before and after they left their homelands.
Tatavla is a multicultural band. The band has two Greek members,
and the rest is a mix resembling the United Nations. Tatavla has
six members: Harris Theodorelis Rigas on bouzouki, Nicholas Royard
on violin, Nicholas on lavta, Yiannis on percussion and Alper Tekin
and Fulya Ozlem on vocals and castanets. The band plays a rembetiko
repertoire of songs in the Izmir style and the Piraeus style.
It must be quite fun to see them on stage, but I have never had the
chance because I’ve always been on the stage. However, from the way
people madly dance, jump up and down and shake their bellies during
Tatavla concerts, I get the impression that a Tatavla concert is
definitely one activity not to miss if you are anywhere near Istanbul
these days. It is also a great opportunity to meet the new — and
old — Greek community in Istanbul: all the young Greek bankers,
businesspeople, freelance journalists, academics and teachers. Even
the Greek Consulate attended one of the many Tatavla gigs, so Tatavla
is highly appreciated even at a diplomatic level.
Reminiscing with the zeybekikos
One might freak out while looking at the increasing number of Greeks
who dance the "zeybekikos" and the "kasapikos" while Tatavla plays on
stage, saying: "Oh my gosh! They are back! The Greeks are back! Didn’t
we throw them into the sea?" I am joking, of course. There is
nothing more beautiful then the hope that Istanbul will return to its
cosmopolitan roots once again with a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and
multicultural crowd who have fun side by side in addition to working
and living together. Each time there is a Tatavla gig, I am filled
with hope that, perhaps 30 years from now, Istanbul might have a chance
to regain what it once was, namely, its status as a cosmopolitan city.
Who is Tatavla and what brought its members together? Harris is an
Athens-born Greek. He studied classics at Oxford and international
relations at the London School of Economics, but since his childhood,
music was a fundamental part of his life. He took bouzouki,
baglamadaki and singing classes and formed rembetiko bands wherever
he went. Forming a rembetiko band in London was not half as fun for
him as forming one in Istanbul because here there is so much energy
around this music. This music fundamentally relates to, and actually
is, the music of this city, historically. He is working on a Ph.D. in
political science at Bosporus University. He speaks excellent Turkish
and is great at reading fortunes from coffee grounds, a skill he
learned from his grandmother, who was originally from Ä°stanbul.
We have two Nicholas’s. The violinist Nicholas is from Quebec,
Montreal actually, but he is originally Armenian. His father is a
Cairo-born Armenian whose father fled Turkey in 1915. Nicholas’s
father immigrated to Quebec, so Nicholas is Quebecquois now. He is a
linguist who also studied jazz guitar. He plays oud and spent years in
countries like Morocco and Tunisia working with oud masters. He is in
Turkey to learn more about Turkish music. He says it is melody he loves
most in music, and for melodic beauty as opposed to harmonic, Turkish
music is the music to follow. When you listen to his fiery taksims
(solos) on the violin, you can tell he made the right choice. His
violin funks up the whole venue to his heart’s content.
The lavtaist Nicholas, is from Montpellier, France. His grandfather
was Algerian, and hence he has a genetic affinity for maqam music. He
played guitar for many years and received a master’s degree in
ethnomusicology, writing his master’s thesis on lavta, which he
spent two years in Athens researching. Now he speaks perfect Greek,
alongside his native French, acquired Spanish, with English and Turkish
in progress. He is now researching lavta in Istanbul in theory and
in practice while playing in Tatavla.
Yiannis works in the public relations department of a private
university. He joined the band recently and is doing great job of
adding a funky beat to the Tatavla sound and is teaching us how to
count the rhythm of "zeybekiko" for real.
Alper Tekin is from the Enez region in Thrace. He was born into
this cultural mix and has been listening to this kind of music since
childhood. People can’t believe how good Alper’s accent is when he
sings in Greek. His developed his rich repertoire by listening to
Greek music religiously. He recounts how he learnt songs from Greek
radio, tuning to Greek radio stations when his family went down to
their summer house by the Aegean every summer. He is a student of
economics at Yıldız Technical University.
As for me, the singer/castanet player of Tatavla, all I want from God
is to be the reincarnation of Roza Eskenazi and, as my high-pitched
voice mixes with the pounding of bright castanets in my fingers,
to feel and sound as gramophonic and nostalgic as she does.
When I look at the diversity of backgrounds that comes together to form
the band Tatavla, it is hard not to imagine a historical resemblance
to the rembetiko bands of the 1920s, when musicians from all walks
of life came together playing music. This nostalgic but vibrant and
entertaining element is what makes the Tatavla sound distinctive. Yet,
the question is, even if the music is recovered and re-introduced to
Istanbul by Tatavla and even if the young descendants of the people
who fled are somehow brought back to Istanbul from wherever they have
been scattered to, is Istanbul the same Istanbul? Can it ever be the
welcoming city it once was? Can it once again be a city where people
listen to each other’s songs and languages at least at live music
cafes? Let us hope so. In the meantime, keep an ear out for the next
Tatavla show, this cosmopolitan gang of musicians who have the most
fun each time they play together.
–Boundary_(ID_K0bGAxrf9k2PgSkBmbTTBQ)- –
$38.52MLN WORTH PROGRAM ON RETURN OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE STARTS IN ARMENIA
ARKA
Oct 3, 2008
YEREVAN, October 3. /ARKA/. A three-year program on return of
internally displaced people (from borderland) to their homes is to be
implemented in Armenia in 2008-2010. Appropriations for the program
total $38.52mln, Head of Migration Agency of Armenian Territorial
Administration Ministry Gagik Yeganyan said.
The program is to reduce migration within the country and help native
population of the border area return to permanent residence, Yeganyan
told a press conference.
According to the results of a study conducted by Armenia’s Migration
Service together with Norwegian Refugees’ Council, 26,044 people
left Armenia and 21,270 people moved to other places within the
country as a result of bombardments of 186 Armenian villages at the
border with Azerbaijan during the military operations in 1992-1994,
Yeganyan reported.
"We had interviews with 18,091 people and found out that 9,604 of them
would return to their place of residence on their own, whereas 2,604
people (or 1,005 families) clearly stated that they would return home
if appropriate conditions are provided to them," Yeganyan said.
Under the first component of the program, support is to be provided
to an annual of 330 families in returning home. Each family is to get
$600 for establishing a farm and buying cattle, seeds, agricultural
equipment, as well as=2 0a one-time allowance of $105. Transport
costs to be covered are $45 per every member of a family, he added.
Under the second component, partly or completely ruined houses and
apartments of the borderland are to be rehabilitated. Allocations
for 16,433 partly destroyed houses are $1,500 per house or
apartment. $7,700 is to be provided for rehabilitation of each of
completely ruined 1,694 apartments, Yeganyan said.
He also reported that $825,000 is to be spent on settlement of
the territories and $37.7mln for rehabilitation of houses. Under
a government decree, clear instructions are given to respective
government agencies to start seeking for international donors,
Yeganyan said.