Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

PanARMENIAN.Net

Armenian President Congratulated Armenian People on Republic Day

27.05.2006 15:00 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Robert Kocharian has sent a
congratulation message to the Armenian people on the occasion of the
Republic Day. The letter specifically says, «Independence was a
centuries-old goal for the Armenian people, which came true owing to
the national liberation struggle and especially heroic battles in May
1918. The First Republic of Armenia inspired the people with
strength. It was the basis, on which the Soviet Armenia and the
current state were founded,» the congratulations runs. In the
President’s words, May 28 is a milestone on the way of building a
nation state, freedom and democracy.
From: Baghdasarian

REGIONAL GOVERNOR OF ARARAT IS SURE THAT REGION WILL NOT HAVE PROBLEMS
WITH DRINKING WATER IN SOME YEARS

ARTASHAT, 24 MAY, NOYAN TAPAN. The supply of the irrigation water in
the village economy of the marz of Ararat does not run normally, In
many places the water-pipe streams have not been cleaned up. Almost
all the community heads of the marz mentioned about this during the
enlarged sitting of regional council held on May 24 in Ararat.

Considering this problem issue number one of the marz, Regional
Governor Alik Sargsyan ordered the regional heads and heads of water
user companies to improve the situation as soon as possible. At the
same time, the Governor informed that within the framework of the
Millennium Challenge program, 38 million US dollars are envisaged for
solving the irrigation problems and for road building in the marz of
Ararat. He assured that a few years later, the marz will have no
problems with drinking water. As the Noyan Tapan correspondent was
informed at the Regional Administration of Ararat, issues concerning
the sanitary situation in the dwelling places of the marz, street
cleaning and public regulation works carried out in communities, as
well as undertaking measures against bird flu, finding and curing sick
animals and birds were also discussed at the sitting. Introducing the
writ of execution of the 2005 budget of the communities of the marz,
Lernik Khachatrian, the head of the Financial Department of the
Regional Administration, informed that as compared to the previous
years, this year much more revenues were registered on the line of all
kinds of payments.
From: Baghdasarian

Watertown TAB & Press, MA
May 26 2006

Barooshian retrospective at ALMA

By Ann Hablanian/ Correspondent
Friday, May 26, 2006 – Updated: 11:07 AM EST

New York artist Martin Barooshian’s relocation to his home-state
Massachusetts is being commemorated by a retrospective of his work at
the Armenian Library and Museum of America.

Spanning over half a century (1956-2006), Barooshian’s body of
work, like that of many artists, passes through definable periods,
yet his work has a distinct continuum. Traces from Greek mythology
merge or reappear in altered form to be further explored. Vividly
colored roosters, disappearing Cheshire cats with leonine faces and
storybook Alices re-create a wonderland of their own.

Barooshian is not an artist who alleviates his angst by dabbing
paint on canvas; immediate and short-lived gratification is not his
destination. As a superior printmaker, he brings precision and
meticulous attention to color nuance to bear on every inch of canvas.
In his latest paintings, which take on a geometric symmetry rendered
in neo-pointillism, the impression is that each dot was weighed,
balanced and analyzed. While the overall effect is a vibrant
scintillation, it suggests an amazing internalization of push-pull or
complementary color theory, as evidenced in his canvases, “The Four
Seasons” and “Colors, Primary, Secondary.”

There is no question that Barooshian’s early work shows some
influence by Arshille Gorky and his contemporaries. Yet already in
the 1960s these “gardens of erotic delights” reflect Barooshian’s
intense attention to detail and artistic control. His amorphous
biomorphic forms, where the animal and vegetable worlds merge into
one, are superimposed by cubistic elements, and influenced by his
book-illustration prints, such as the “Alice in Wonderland” series.

In the 1970s, one sees the emergence of a clear individual style
with strong surreal tendencies. This is an exciting period, perhaps
the artist’s first signature period. “Vision 15,” also titled “Enigma
of the Armenian Sphinx” (48×40-inch oil on canvas with gold leaf), is
indeed a vision. One might state that all of Barooshian’s works are
visions, from exotic birds in small color intaglio etchings to larger
paintings.

Some of the same images appear in the 1990s, such as the more
spacious and less content-packed “The Dream,” where flying men, face
segments, lotus blossoms and vertebrae decorated with flowers, float
among amoeboid-segmented bodies, and a woman with smooth young face
and muscular body. Sounds bizarre? Not really. The overall impression
is that this artist is a seeker of beauty and harmony.

The works of the 2000s are no less enticing. The merging of ideas is
evident, such as in “Mardi Gras in New Orleans,” a small painting
(20×15-inch) with its lush painterly quality and flat geometric
squares. Nor is the work all brow-imposed eroticism. There is humor
in a work such as the “Boogie Woogie” dancers (2006); and re-emerging
are the storybook creatures in a pointillism such as “The Cat, Bird,
and Duck” (2003) a 20×20-inch piece. “Bach, Beethoven, and Shubert”
does not clearly define the music or the masters (fugue, symphony or
Lieder?), one is left wondering why the names within the work, except
as the artist’s license to expose his skill and give homage to his
favorite composers. In general these pointillist-like works such as
“Dada Swing” and “Hip Hop/Hip Hop” are highly refined. If at first
glance these works remind one of classroom geometric coloring
exercises, the comparison ends where complexity and interwoven detail
begin.

Barooshian’s synthesis of acknowledged American painters of the
last century is complex. It is deliberate. It is intelligent. In
reviewing this retrospective, an overall impression is that an
analytical brain is holding the paintbrush.

Barooshian, with degrees from the Boston Museum School of Fine
Arts and Tufts University, a graduate degree from Boston University
and further training in Europe (Paris mainly), has won fellowships
and awards, and his works are in the permanent collection of museums
such as the Metropolitan and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, at
the Boston MFA, galleries in Washington, D.C., and countries such as
Armenia, Canada and India.

What Barooshian needs and should achieve is well-deserved
recognition as one of America’s outstanding artists of the latter
part of the 20th century and beyond.

Barooshian’s art

Martin Barooshian: a 50Year Retrospective of Paintings and Prints
opened on May 5 and continues through May 28 at the Contemporary Art
Gallery (third floor) at the Armenian Library & Museum of America, 65
Main St. Call 617-926-ALMA (2562).
From: Baghdasarian

ALL KINDS OF EVERYTHING ON A THURSDAY NIGHT
John Cleere

Kilkenny Advertiser, Ireland
May 24 2006

This is a serious music column for serious music fans. With that in
mind I sat down last Thursday to watch and listen to the semi-final
of the Eurovision Song Contest. Twenty three countries sang, danced
and undressed for nearly two hours. I can now wear the Tee-shirt that
says “I sat through a whole Eurovision show and survived”.

It started out with Armenia, who sounded very Armenian. The backing
singers spent most of the song trying to tie up the main guy with
strips of leather. If they did not like the song they could have just
told him so. Bulgaria next, then Slovenia who sang the immortal line,
“You came to me at night, like a ray of light”. To which I hum,
“and your song is really s**te”. Twenty more to go and I’m beginning
to doubt whether I will stick it out.

Andorra has girls dressed only in underwear, Belarus has a guy with
his underpants on over his jeans. I think I’m going mad. Brian Kennedy
comes on and restores some sanity. Sensible clothes and a sensible song
from Ireland. I am writing this before the results are in. Prediction:
he hasn’t a hope in hell. Double chins and well clad backing singers
in nice frocks are not what this party is all about.

The male backing singer looks as if he has strayed in off the set of
the Father Ted Euro Song episode. Halfway through the performance
Brian Kennedy goes down on his knees. Did someone shoot him? Is
he praying? He gets back up and finishes the song on a high note,
literally.

A few more countries flash by then it’s Poland. They actually manage
to sound a bit Irish and one of them even has green hair. They mix
a rapper and some medieval sounds, a bit like Damien Dempsey meets
Clannad. This is one step too far in the current Irish/Polish mutual
admiration society. Finland send on a heavy metal band in costumes and
masks, Lord of the Rings meets Spinal Tap. Lordi is their name and they
proceed to try to dismantle the arena. Great stuff, they have not won
it in forty years and this is not going to be any different. Lithuania
is very confident as they sing, “We are the winners of Eurovision”. I
don’t think so boys. The final act is a lady called Sylvia Night
from Iceland. The most prominent line in her song is “You rubbish
nation”. Honesty is not a good policy at this event. This does not
go down too well and she leaves to a chorus of boos and catcalls. I
reach for the phone. Number 23 please, I feel like I am ordering a
Chinese takeaway, but Iceland get my vote. It takes guts to stand up
in front of 16,000 fanatics and manage to insult them all.

The sand flows through the biggest egg timer in the world and soon
the ten minute voting period is up. Marty Whelan gets excited as
the qualifiers are announced. Russia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Lithuania
(the guys who sang “We are the winners of Eurovision”, how did they
know?), Finland. Ukraine. I sit back with an ‘I told you so, Ireland
haven’t a hope smirk’. Then qualifier number nine is announced. It’s
Ireland! Marty goes ballistic, you would think we had won the World
Cup, the Lotto and three All Irelands in a row. That’s it, we have
to sit through it all again on Saturday. You must be joking, Munster
versus Biarritz takes priority. Now that’s where you will hear some
real singing.

*I have just looked up Ms Sylvia Night’s website. Seemingly she was
not singing “Rubbish Nation”. What she sang was “Eurovision Nation”.

What got the crowd so upset were lines like the following:

“Born in Reykjavik in a different league – no damn eurotrashfreak

The vote is in, they say I win.

Too bad for all the others.

Hello is it God?

What’s up dog?

It’s your favourite person in the world Sylvia Night

I’m saving the world”.

No sense of humour these eurotrashfreaks.
From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA DENIES A-320 CRASHED OVER LACK OF FUEL

PanARMENIAN.Net
24.05.2006 13:30 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian General Department of Civil Aviation
(GDCA) denies lack of fuel as a version of A-320 jet crash. Besides the
GDCA requests to refrain from untimely disputing over various versions
of the crash. “The record box has not been decoded yet. It’s premature
to sound any versions of the crash. We refrain from any comments and
advise the others to do the same,” Spokesperson Gayane Davtyan said.

At that Gayane Davtyan said the Armenian General Department of Civil
Aviation and Armavia reiterated that A-320 had over 10 tons of fuel
what was sufficient for a 4-hour flight. The plane was in the air an
hour and 24 minutes, reported RIA Novosti.

To remind, Armavia-owned A-320 crashed into the Black Sea early on May
3 killing all of 113 people aboard, including 8 crewmembers. Yesterday
some Russian media reported that the tragedy happened over lack
of fuel.
From: Baghdasarian

AGRICULTURE OF LORI MARZ SUFFERS DAMAGE OF 635 MLN DRAMS BECAUSE OF TORRENTIAL RAINS

Noyan Tapan
May 22 2006

VANADZOR, MAY 22, NOYAN TAPAN. The torrential rains and hail on
March 17 and 18 caused damage to many farms of Lori marz. The head
of the agriculture and environmental protection department of Lori
marz Volodya Buniatian told NT correspondent that the total amount
of damage done to 19 marz communities made 635 mln drams (about 1.4
mln USD). According to preliminary information, 70% of fruit gardens
and 50% of areas under crops were damaged. Potato sowing failed as
a result of continuous rains in Tumanian and Stepanavan regions.
From: Baghdasarian

INTENSIVE PROCESS OF GAS SUPPLY RESTORATION TO BE COMPLETED IN ARMENIA BY LATE 2006

Noyan Tapan
May 22 2006

YEREVAN, MAY 22, NOYAN TAPAN. As of January 1, 2006, the number of
actual users of ArmRusgazprom company made 531,853 against 485,585
users in the Soviet time. ArmRusgazprom’s Director General Karen
Karapetian said during the May 22 round table that 41 cities and 376
rural communities of Armenia have been provided with gas supply. It
is planned to provide Davidashen and Nor Nork communities of Yerevan
(where there was no gas supply network previously) with gas supply in
June-July. K. Karapetian said that gas supply provision work of 899.3
mln drams (about 2 mln USD) was done in the first quarter of this
year, as a result of which the number of actual users has increased
by another 11,624, while that of possible users – by 5,100. It was
noted that the intensive stage of gas supply restoration process will
be completed in Armenia by 2007. The company has launched a move,
under which those to submit an application for gas supply provision
in the period from April 1 to August 1 may become ArmRusgazprom’s
users without making a prepayment of 40,000 drams. According to
K. Karapetian, under agreements signed with Converse Bank and Anelik
Bank, credits will be given to citizens to carry out in-house assembly
work. The credist are repayable over a year and carry interest rates
of 18-22%. The in-house work is done by ArmRusgazprom only.
From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN, GREEK CYPRIOT EFFORTS TO BLOCK MISSILE SALE TO TURKEY FAIL

Cumhuriyet
Turkish Press
May 22 2006

Press Review

Attempts by four US congressmen close to the Armenian and Greek
Cypriot lobbies to prevent the US selling air-to-ground SLAM-ER
missile systems have ended in failure. Pentagon officials said that
the congressmen’s objections weren’t enough to block the sales of
the missile systems. The Pentagon made an announcement to Congress
on April 28 about selling 50 AGM-84K air-to-ground SLAM-ER missile
systems to Turkey for the use of Turkish Air Forces. The planned sale
of the project is worth up to $162 million.
From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN LAW IN FRANCE DROPPED FOR NOW
By Ali Ihsan Aydin

Zaman, Turkey
May 19 2006

The legislative bill penalizing those who deny the so-called Armenian
genocide in France has been postponed indefinitely.

The motion discussed in yesterday’s morning session of the French
Parliament was dropped as the allotted time ran out.

Parliamentary Speaker Jean-Louis Debre had to twice pause the tense
session to reestablish order.

Deputies and Armenians supporting the motion accused Debre of extending
other discussions deliberately to drop the motion.

Armenians angered by the result caused a commotion in the parliament’s
audience gallery.

Foreign Minister Philippe Doust-Blazy, speaking on behalf of the
government, objected to the motion and appealed to French deputies
to not to inscribe history with laws.

The Socialist Party (PS), which made the legislative proposal, placed
the genocide bill as a second item on the agenda although it had the
right to arrange it anyway it wanted.

While talks on the first item on the agenda continued, some socialist
parliamentarians reacted saying talks were extended deliberately.

Since the proposal would automatically fail if it were not voted
at the first section where PS had the right to arrange the agenda,
parliamentarians wanted to start the genocide proposal sooner.

President of the parliament Jean-Louis Debre, upset with the protests,
reminded that it was not himself who formulated the agenda but the
socialists.

When the socialist parliamentarians rebelled again, tension increased
in the parliament.

Members of PS accused Debre of his attempts to fail the proposal
since Tuesday.

Members of UMP, who support the proposal, said, “Do not fall into
their trap, they want to deceive you”.

Upon the increase of the tension Debre gave two breaks.

Many parliamentarians, who wanted to discuss the first item on the
agenda, did not make their speech to proceed to the genocide proposal.

It took an hour to proceed to the proposal, but Debre ended the
section after a few talks because of the time constraint. Thus,
the proposal was dropped out of the agenda.

PS Group Leader Jean Marc Ayroult held the government and Debre
accountable for the cancellation of the bill.

Ayroult said UMP did its best to postpone the bill and accused UMD
of playing small tricks to reach its goal.

Armenian Originated French politician Patrik Deveciyan, who was angry
after the session, said the postponement of the bill is a result of
the lobby activities Turkey launched in all areas.

The Armenians who came to the parliament to watch the session created
chaos after the bill was postponed.

The crowd sang the French National Anthem and did not leave the
building.

PS Secretary-General Francois Hollande approached them requesting
them to remain calm.

The Armenians organized demonstrations near the parliament and
protested the decision.

The Turks, on the other hand, chained themselves and taped their
mouths. Some held banners in their hands saying “Do not restrict our
freedom,” and “Do not prevent the realities from being revealed.”

French Government Opposes Genocide Bill

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, representing the
government in the parliamentary session yesterday, said if the bill
is enacted the French Parliament will have interfered in history and
cited his opposition to the proposal.

The minister, who recalled the agreement on “leaving the history to
the historians” invoked in the parliamentary discussion regarding the
law of colonialism said, “The French Parliament is again attempting
to interfere in written history.”

The foreign minister said enactment of the bill will harm long-standing
Turkish-French affairs and the dialogue process between Turkey and
Armenia.

Douste-Blazy reminded that more than 300000 Turkish people lived
together with people of Armenian origins in France, and said the bill
will affect “human relations.”
From: Baghdasarian

NO BACKING FOR GENOCIDE BILL

Gulf News, United Arab Emirates
May 19 2006

Paris: The French government said yesterday it would not support
a proposed Bill to punish anyone denying Armenian genocide claims
because it would upset Turkey, the alleged perpetrator of the killings.

Turkish officials have warned France of “irreparable damage” to
bilateral ties if Paris passes the law, presented in parliament by
the opposition Socialists.

Ankara recalled its ambassador to France this month and a leading
deputy there warned of a possible boycott of French goods.

But without the support of the ruling UMP party, the Bill is unlikely
to ever become law.

Turkey denies claims that 1.5 million Armenians perished in a
genocide committed by Ottoman forces during and immediately after
World War One. Around 400,000 people of Armenian descent live in
France, Europe’s largest Armenian diaspora.

“We cannot accept this proposed law,” Foreign Minister Philippe
Douste-Blazy told deputies during a debate on the Bill.

“The Armenian cause is just and should be defended and respected,”
he said. “But the Bill you have submitted today would, if passed,
be considered as an unfriendly gesture by a large majority of Turks,
whether you want this or not.

“That could have serious political consequences and weaken our
influence, not only in Turkey but in the whole region.” Turkish media
say the Bill is an attempt by politicians to court the Armenian vote
as France gears up for presidential elections in 2007.

Turkey says the Armenians who died after World War One were victims
of partisan fighting that claimed even more Turkish lives as the
Ottoman Empire collapsed.

The Bill suffered a second blow yesterday when deputies had to cut
short the debate for time reasons. The next time they can review it
under the procedure used for this debate is next November, they said.

Groups of Armenians and Turks demonstrated outside the National
Assembly as the debate was taking place.
From: Baghdasarian