Month: February 2012

168 ZHAM: VARTAN OSKANIAN, PROSPEROUS ARMENIA FACING MAJOR CHANGES

Tert.am
16.02.12

The newspaper comments on the Armenia’s former FM Vartan Oskanian’s
admission to the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP).

Both are facing major changes. The ex-minister has to join a party,
with its leader and his great financial potential being its major –
if not only – asset.

The PAP must admit a person with a radically different frame of mind
than that of the PAP leader and members. “Grown-ups do not normally
change. It would be naïve to think that, as political allies, Vartan
Oskanian and Gagik Tsarukyan, would betray their principles, values
and work style. No doubt, one of them will have to make serious
concessions at the expense of self-respect.”

ARE POLICE ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL?

hetq
12:56, February 16, 2012

A Hetq reporter snapped this picture of a truck with no visible
license plates loaded to the brim with cut timber. It was on the
Goris-Kapan road.

Another suspicious truck carrying questionable goods.

One wonders if the police driving up and down this stretch of highway
ever notice such violations, or if they even care.

YEREVAN MAYOR PROMISES NO KIOSK CONSTRUCTION UNTIL ISSUE RESOLVED, BUT ACTIVISTS SAY NO GUARANTEES

epress.am
02.16.2012

Environmentalists who for five days straight have been protesting the
construction of kiosks in the park next to the maternity hospital on
Mashtots Ave. in Yerevan did not reach an agreement with the city’s
mayor at a meeting on Wednesday.

Speaking to Epress.am, the young activists said Heritage Party MP
Anahit Bakhshyan, Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) MP
Lilit Galstian, Yerevan’s chief architect Narek Sargsyan, Association
for Sustainable Human Development President Karine Danielyan and
three activists were present at the meeting, which lasted 2.5 hours.

Environmentalist Yeghia Nersisyan said the group was invited to
attend another meeting with Narek Sargsyan later in the evening,
which they agreed to; however, she says they have no guarantees that
workers won’t return to the work and continue building the kiosks.

“The mayor promised us that until this committee is created there
won’t be any construction. Despite his promise, we’re in the park and
continue our vigilance. Speaking with the mayor we understood that
these kiosks won’t be removed, though he spoke from that position. We
aren’t changing our position and continue to fight,” she said.

“They connected this issue with the Old Yerevan architectural project.

In my opinion, the question of this space and that project have no
connection to each other. As for what will happen to Old Yerevan,
I don’t know, but those kiosks shouldn’t be placed in the park,”
said MP Anahit Bakhshyan, speaking to Epress.am.

The opposition lawmaker is convinced that the mayor won’t annul his
earlier decision to install the kiosks because “it’s not as if they
belong to random people.”

“It’s obvious that the mayor is hostage to some liabilities,” she said.

MP Lilit Galstian mentioned that Old Yerevan is a project that hasn’t
been realized, and during the meeting the mayor tried to convince
them that this construction project is a temporary solution and the
main plan has been confirmed till the year 2020.

“On my suggestion we’ll meet today because they haven’t provided
us with the legal basis for the project, the package, on which
the construction is to be implemented. Today [Wednesday evening]
everything will be clear, but I continue to be the defender of
public green spaces. The urban development plan in Yerevan has to be
civilized. The approaches and times of [outdoor] markets [and kiosks]
have passed. It’s civilized to have a green, breathable city,”
she said.

One thing is clear, Galstyan added: one must be awfully stubborn in
this situation in order to prove that one plus one equals two.

From: A. Papazian

POLICE GIVE ACTIVISTS PROTESTING KIOSK CONSTRUCTION IN PARK HALF HOUR TO PACK UP

epress.am
02.16.2012

An altercation took place earlier today between police and activists
who for the sixth day have been protesting the construction of kiosks
in the park next to the maternity hospital on Mashtots Ave. in Yerevan
(between Aram and Buzand streets).

A statement issued by the civic movement “We are the owners of our
city” states that the activists today tried to attach a sheet of
plastic over the metal frames of the partially built kiosks as shelter
from the snow; however, three people approached them and told them
to remove the cover.

According to the statement, the protestors called police who told
the youth that “there are orders from above saying you’re not allowed
to tie plastic sheets there” and gave the activists half an hour to
remove the plastic cover.

Currently the youth are in the park. Epress.am will report on details
later, as more information becomes available.

CHARLES DICKENS’ BICENTENARY TO BE MARKED IN YEREVAN

epress.am
02.16.2012

The British Council in Armenia, joining celebrations marking Charles
Dickens’ 200th birthday as part of Dickens 2012, on Feb. 17 at 5 pm is
organizing a Dickens Ring, in which 32 students from 4 schools will
compete over questions related to the English novelist’s biography
and work (with special attention paid to Oliver Twist and A Christmas
Carol).

In a press release issued today, the British Council recalled that it,
along with the website Dasaran.am, last December had announced an
essay contest on such topics as “What would Dickens write today?”,
“Dickens’ hero, my friend” and “Dickens’ image as a hero in social
networking sites”. Students submitted more than 600 essays written
in English, from which the 32 best were selected. The competition
results will be announced at Congress Hotel in Yerevan on Feb. 25
at 2 pm and four essays will be awarded such prizes as a computer,
DVD player and Kindle e-readers.

>From Feb. 27 to Mar. 1, the British Council, along with the Tumo
Center for Creative Technologies, will offer film screenings and
discussions on the theme of Dickens’ work.

WE WON’T GO TO BAKU AS MARTYRS, BUT ‘RISK IS ALWAYS A PLEASURE’: ARMENIAN ROCK BAND DORIANS ON EUROVISION ENTRY

epress.am
02.16.2012

Before the Azerbaijan factor, Armenian rock group Dorians didn’t have
any intention of participating in the Eurovision Song Contest. The
band’s singer, Gor Sujyan, conveyed this news to local daily 168 Zham
(“168 Hours”), referring to Baku hosting this year’s song contest.

Note, Sujyan has submitted the band’s song to Armenia’s Public TV,
which will make the final decision on whether Armenia will participate
or not.

“Today the Azerbaijan factor is more about risk and responsibility,
and perhaps that’s what attracted us. We have our message through
our song, which we’ll direct to the world, and why not, also to
Azerbaijan,” said Sujyan.

The singer asserts that if the contest wasn’t taking place in
Azerbaijan, the group would’ve never participated in Eurovision.

On the possible risks and hazards associated with going to Azerbaijan,
Sujyan said: “If it’s been decided that Armenia will be going to
Eurovision, for which a document was also signed – I don’t think
that there’s the threat of physical danger. Perhaps there will be
mental pressure or said on stage are bad words, catcalling; it’s
possible they might even throw paper, but I don’t think that there’s
a physical threat. Of course, Baku will be on alert that nothing is
suddenly thrown on stage, but risk is always a pleasure.”

Nevertheless, Sujyan is sure that “they definitely won’t be going to
be martyrs.”

To the paper’s question that their song “This is our world” has
a clear subtext and, according to the artists, how will Azerbaijan
respond when a call for peace is made to the world, Dorians’ producer
Vahagn Gevorgyan said: “This song is sung for the entire world,
where all people are in the same situation. Any normal human being
wants health and peace because they want to be happy. Of course, we
understand also that wars bring money to people – to put it another
way, [war] is business. On the Internet, our supports have left such
types of comments… For example, ‘What does it mean to end wars,
cut the barbed wire? [Let them] give our lands back’. This is a sick
approach. I think that if we are considered to be the winning nation
in the [Nagorno] Karabakh War, then the approach of the victorious
nation making calls of peace is more noble.”

The journalist also asked the lead singer about his political
orientation in the upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia,
to which Sujyan said they are neither for nor against anyone.

“We have our own world where we live. There’s a lot of discontent in
Armenia and smiles are few – it seems munnat [discontent] prevails
among us. We like to sit on the bed, wait for fate, but you should act,
work, and understand, what is the purpose of your life?” he concluded.

HRANT DINK LAWYERS FILE CHARGES AGAINST 24 TURKEY PUBLIC SERVANTS

epress.am
02.16.2012

Lawyers for murdered Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink have
requested that the Istanbul Deputy Chief Prosecutor’s Office file a
criminal case against 24 public servants for their alleged role in
the 2007 killing.

“If [police informant] Erhan Tuncel was found not guilty and could
be acquitted, and if he did not take part in the crime, then there
are other guilty [parties] out there,” Cem Halavurt, one of the Dink
family’s lawyers, told the Hurriyet Daily News.

The public servants in question include Muammer Guler, former Istanbul
governor and a deputy for the ruling Justice and Development Party
(AKP), Celalettin Cerrah, who was Istanbul police chief at the time but
has since been promoted to the post of Osmaniye governor in southern
Turkey, as well as Ramazan Akyurek, who was serving as the head of
police intelligence at the time.

“The aforementioned civil servant suspects … have committed the crime
of ‘intentional murder through negligent conduct’ by not fulfilling
their obligation to prevent Hrant Dink’s assassination by the armed
organization that committed the murder, and by not taking him under
their protection,” read the Dink family’s lawyers’ petition.

Both Cerrah and Guler refused to comment to the Daily News on the
matter.

“We are aware of the presence of the managers and members of
the organization that committed the Dink murder among the Trabzon
Provincial Gendarmerie Command, the Istanbul and Trabzon Provincial
police departments [and] the Police Department Intelligence Branch
Presidency staff. We know that all these relations will come to light
if an effective investigation is conducted,” the petition said.

Authorities did not give permission for an investigation to be
launched against the public servants in question, the lawyers said in
the petition. An appeal was consequently brought before the European
Court of Human Rights following the exhaustion of domestic judicial
alternatives.

DEMONSTRATORS IN TURKEY MARK 13TH ANNIVERSARY OF PKK LEADER ARREST

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 16, 2012 – 11:55 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Demonstrators took to the streets on Feb 15 to mark
the 13th anniversary of the capture of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed
leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), clashing with
police in Istanbul and in the southeastern province of Å~^ırnak,
Hurriyet Daily News reported.

Shops in many provinces across the country’s southeast remained closed
throughout the day, as security forces took strict measures against
banned demonstrations. Public transportation also came to a halt in
Diyarbakır and Hakkari, according to reports.

Riot police took some 30 people into custody in Istanbul’s Taksim
Square, including Asiye Kolcak and Ali Rıza Bilgili from the Peace
and Democracy Party (BDP), after a group of 40 demonstrators held a
sit-in protest on Bekar Street. Protesters and police in exchanged
barrages of blast bombs, rocks, molotov cocktails, pressurized water
and tear gas in Å~^ırnak.

PKK leader Ocalan has remained behind bars at a prison on İmralı
Island for the past 13 years. He was captured in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb.

15, 1999.

Throughout his stay at the island prison in the Sea of Marmara, Ocalan
has met with his lawyers nearly 600 times, and with relatives around
200 times, the Dogan news agency reported yesterday. On Nov. 17, 2009,
five prisoners, four of them convicted PKK members, were transferred
to İmralı to accompany Ocalan.

The İmralı Prison is kept under surveillance by 55 cameras, while the
prison and the island’s security is served by a staff of over 1,000,
a figure which includes SAS commandoes.

Ocalan, who has lost 20 kilograms since he was transferred to İmralı,
has frequently complained of respiratory infections.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SPIELBERG WON’T SHOOT GENOCIDE MOVIE

PanARMENIAN.Net
February 16, 2012 – 11:55 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Armenian National Film Center refuted reports
about talks with the famous U.S. director Steven Spielberg to produce
a film dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

“Director of the National Film Center Gevorg Gevorgyan spoke about this
back in 2010, and all of a sudden we came across this information on
some websites,” a spokesperson for the Film Center told PanARMENIAN.Net

According to Ruzanna Bagratunyan, they have considered the idea of
producing such a film, and the idea is still there. “It is a huge
load of work, and we are trying to do it in time; all of us understand
what this date means for the whole Armenian nation,” she stressed.

It should be noted that a year ago Spielberg did voice an intention
to develop a full-length feature film on the Armenian Genocide,
and strangely enough this information is again being rumored now.

“QAJAR PERSIA” IN THE EYES OF ITALIAN PHOTOGRAPHER HITS BOOKSTORES

04 February 2012 15:42

A cover of the Persian version of “Qajar Persia” TEHRAN — Pictures
taken by the Italian photographer Luigi Montabone have recently been
published in a book named “The Qajar Persia”.

Compiled by Mojgan Tariqati, the bilingual book was edited by Iraj
Afshar. Shahriar Adl and Mohammad Sattari have written a preface for
the book released by Mirdashti Publications.

The book contains 71 photos taken by Montabone. The photos are
collected from three albums; two of them are now in Tehran’s Golestan
Palace and another is kept in Biblioteca Marciana in Venice, Tariqati
mentioned in book’s prelude.

She mentioned that Montabone has added or removed photos from albums.

For example, he removed four photos of ladies, three of them were
Italians and one of them was Armenian lady from Tbilisi, from the
albums dedicated to the Golestan Palace.

Instead, the albums contain photos featuring urban landscapes,
people’s social culture, historical sites, people’s costumes, jobs
as well as people from different social classes.

Arguably, Luigi Montabone (? – 1877) might be called the first and only
Italian photographer in nineteenth century in Iran. He was commissioned
to join an Italian delegation to Persia to take pictures of anything
that could be of interest to the members of this delegation.

The mission, consisting of sixteen persons, mostly diplomats and
scholars, left Geneva in 1862 for Constantinople, and from there
travelled via Tbilisi, Yerevan, Tabriz, and Qazvin to Tehran. The
delegation aimed to establish diplomatic relations and to promote
commercial affairs.

Montabone not only took portraits of all sorts of people, but also took
photographs of a variety of architectural structures, landscapes and
city views. He climbed buildings or hills to find beautiful panoramas
or just the right angle to take his photographs.

He also experimented with coloring his photographs which was and still
is a unique aspect within nineteenth century photography in Persia.

From: Baghdasarian