Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

RA NATIONAL ASSEMBLY STARTS PARLIAMENT SPEAKER’S ELECTION
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 1 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 1, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. During the first 20
minutes of the June 1 special sitting, the RA National Assembly adopted
the 23 drafts and legislative packages discussed on the previous
day, the most part of which envisaged amendments and additions to
acting laws. The Parliament started discussion of the issue on the
NA Speaker’s election. On behalf of the “RPA” faction, latter’s head
Galust Sahakian proposed NA Deputy Speaker and RPA Deputy Speaker
Tigran Torosian’s candidature. Hakob Hakobian, a member of the
“People’s Deputy” group elected from Etchmiadzin, according to the
beforehand given promise, proposed Galust Sahakian’s candidature
but the latter presented withdrawal. The only candidate proposed
for the NA Speaker’s post, presented briefly to the Parliament his
approaches concerning the future activity of the Parliament, not
considering purposeful to present his own biography and the working
activity implemented up to that moment. He only mentioned that he
has worked at the Parliament during the recent 7 years and occupied
the Parliament’s Deputy Speaker’s post which has always considered
honourable and obliging for him. According to him, undertaking the NA
Speaker’s post for a short time, he attaches importance to solution
of 3 problems. Those are: full involvement of the constitutional
amendments in the legislation, holding and preparation of coming
elections in correspondence with all the international standards and
creation of a necessary political atmosphere both in Parliament and
out of Parliament. According to T.Torosian, in the case of working
together, it will be possible to create all the necessry bases for
solution of the above-mentioned problems. He also stated that he
had worked jointly with former NA Speaker, Chairman of the “Orinats
Yerkir” (Country of Law) party Artur Baghdasarian for 3 years “in a
peaceful and very effective way,” and he himself would not like at
all that “anybody makes an attempt to interprete presenting of those
questionings as a contrast to that work,” that had been implemented
during the last 3 years.
From: Baghdasarian

FIASCO IN ANTI-CORRUPTION STRUGGLE IN PARLIAMENT
Lragir.am
31 May 06
On May 31 the National Assembly debated and rejected two bills,
which were said by the authors to be steps against corruption. These
bills were introduced by the government, and were supported by the
Republican majority, and were not adopted. One of the bills was on
the declaration of property and income of natural persons, the other
was on imprisonment for tax evasion.
“They speak about anti-corruption policies, transparency,
accountability but the changes to the Crime Code connected with tax
evasion is not passed. The bill on declaration of property and income
of natural persons, which is targeted at people whose monthly income
and salary exceed 500 thousand drams, is not adopted,” said Armen
Alaverdyan, Deputy Chief of the State Tax Agency, to news reporters
after the failure of the bills. Moreover, he says, if adopted, the
law on declaration would be enforced in 2008. Armen Alaverdyan says
the members of parliament demanded to change the bill on imprisonment
for tax evasion.
“We had made it softer, turned the threshold gradual, replaced
three million with six million. Property 40 million. The members of
parliament who did not vote last time, did not vote this time either.
I do not know why. Why are we talking about battling corruption,
pre-election programs and so on? Now shall we battle corruption or
not?” asks Armen Alaverdyan, who was very much upset by the failure
of the bills.
The majority of members of parliament who were, in fact, against
these laws, and either voted against or did not vote at all, explain
their action by the interests of people. They say a farmer does not
earn that much to declare his income and pay taxes. Armen Alaverdyan
thinks that this explanation is false and impertinent. “They blame
farmers for everything. You are sure not to find a farmer whose monthly
income is 500 thousand drams,” says Armen Alaverdyan. He concludes
from the failure of these bills that the members of parliament serve
the interests of people who earn over 500 thousand drams monthly and
are reluctant to declare anything rather than people.
From: Baghdasarian

RUSSIAN MILITARY EQUIPMENT WITHDRAWAL TO ARMENIA NOT TO DESTABILIZE POLITICAL SITUATION IN REGION
Yerkir
31.05.2006 15:25
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – The part of the ammunition being withdrawn to
Armenia from the Russian base in Akhalkalaki (Georgia) cannot lead
to political destabilization in the region, Russian Vice-Premier,
Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov stated at a news conference in Baku
May 30 when commenting on the outcomes of the sitting of the CIS
Council of Ministers.
“For most part impedimenta but not ammunition is being withdrawn,”
Sergey Ivanov said emphasizing that Russia doesn’t violate the
obligations undertaken within the Conventional Armed Forces in
Europe Treaty.
The Russian Minister noted that the major part of the equipment is
being withdrawn from Akhalkalaki to Russia via Azerbaijan. “As for the
Batumi base, the terms of its withdrawal will be determined later,”
Ivanov resumed.
From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN INTERNET COMMUNITY OFFERS KOMMERSANT DAILY TO APOLOGIZE FOR MISINFORMATION
PanARMENIAN.Net
29.05.2006 14:07 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ As it was reported earlier, Russian magazine
Kommersant Dengi (¹19) affixed a booklet advertising Turkey’s places
of interest. In addition the readers found a CD with a 70-minute
film about the “Turkish genocide perpetrated by Armenians”. As
reported by the Yerkramas, the newspaper of Armenians of Russia,
the Armenian Internet Community (, ,
forum.hayastan.com and others) launched a protest action and offered
all people concerned to write a letter to the magazine editorial office
with a suggestion to apologize for having spread false information.
The numerous letters sent to the Kommersant Dengi say that
“the Armenian Diaspora of Russia is one of the biggest in the
world. Armenians have worked for Russia’s welfare for centuries. The
Republic of Armenia is Russia’s strategic partner and the two states
enjoy allied relations. An anti-Armenian action of the kind carried
by Turkey through your edition cannot but arouse discontent among
the Armenian population of Russia. We appeal to you with a request
to apologize to the readers for having spread information that does
not correspond to historical reality and offends the feelings of the
heirs of the Armenian Genocide victims. The denial of the Armenian
Genocide is actually equal to complicity in the crime.”
–Boundary_(ID_xyf1Esl46eD8l0u+k90P9A)–
From: Baghdasarian

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