Author: Chalian Meline

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
July 29, 2005, Friday

THE CSTO AND NATO: ALLIES OR ENEMIES?

SOURCE: Voenno-Promyshlennyi Kurier, No. 27, July 2005, p. 2
by Gennady Pulin

A year ago, a document on the main areas of cooperation between the
CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and NATO was
adopted at a meeting of the CSTO collective security council in
Astana. That document outlined directions and mechanisms for
cooperation between the two organizations in regional and
international security. For example, it spoke about taking joint
measures in combating terrorism, drug trafficking and WMD
proliferation.

Recently Nikolai Bordyuzha announced, “They (NATO) have simply
ignored us (CSTO).” The General Secretary of CSTO added, “I am
convinced that this has been a deliberate step and it is not
beneficial for them to cooperate in the format “organization with
organization.”

Bordyuzha also stressed that the CSTO frequently proposed cooperation
to NATO but did not receive a response to its proposals. According to
him, NATO recently announced its interests in Central Asia and in the
East. He also said, “In such format it is easier for them to
counteract to certain integration in the framework of the CSTO.”

We see that the General Secretary of the CSTO takes NATO as a rival
on one geopolitical field. What do the leaders of NATO think about a
possibility of military and military political cooperation with the
CSTO?

In June 2005, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer met with
Vladimir Putin in Moscow and announced that the parties agreed to
strengthen interaction including interaction of NATO and CSTO.
Military attache of France in Tajikistan Stefan Samaran considers the
opposition of NATO to the CSTO wrong from the very start. According
to him, “It is not necessary to take NATO as an enemy of the member
states of the CSTO.” The French diplomat believes that these notions
are relics of the past inherited since the time of the “cold war.”

At any rate, these are mere words. What about the deeds? Alexander
Nikitin, Director of the Russian Center for Political and
International Studies, says that in the near future it is impossible
to expect that NATO will make a political “package” decision on
cooperation with the CSTO. Nonetheless, the expert believes that the
fact that NATO does not try to demonstrate its alienation from the
CSTO too obviously is positive.

Nikitin said, “This is confirmed by the agreement of the headquarters
of NATO to organize a presentation briefing of the CSTO in Moscow for
100 senior NATO officers from 26 countries in June.”

He added, “Although there is no decision of Brussels ‘to make
friends’ with the CSTO, the policy of involvement of NATO into the
practical projects joint with the CSTO like visiting of the exercises
and coordination of the border issues regarding the Tajik-Afghan
border where the zones of responsibility of both organizations touch
each other is a correct way.”

Nobody doubts that this is a correct way. However, Russia and CSTO
believe that certain deeds and results are also important for them in
friendship with NATO and there are no such deeds and results. For
four years the numerous coalition forces of NATO have been trying to
enforce order and “sow” democracy in Afghanistan: the government has
been elected and parliamentary elections are upcoming. It would seem
that peace is enforced there with assistance of NATO but along with
this the drug flow from Afghanistan to the CIS countries and Europe
has grown tremendously. There are facts showing that
terrorists-citizens of Afghanistan have participated in the events in
Adnizhan.

The CSTO proposed NATO to control and to cooperate in combating of
drug trafficking but received silence in response. Meanwhile, NATO
plans to increase its military contingent in Afghanistan to 10,000
servicemen to ensure security of elections in the country. What about
terrorists and drug trafficking? Who will do this?

Meanwhile, US and NATO officials do not hide their plans regarding
Central Asia. On his visit to Kabul, General Richard Mayers from the
US Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced that decision of the US to deploy
full-sized bases in Afghanistan “is partially caused by the wish to
hinder Iran and to monitor its military forces.” It was also
partially caused by the intention to create as many military objects
as possible in the vicinity of the Middle East being very important
for the US because of the huge oil reserves of the region. The US and
NATO have similar goals in the Central Asian republics of the CIS.

Thus, probably it is not worth while for the CSTO to try to make
friends with NATO but it is necessary to build its own security
system proceeding from interests of the countries-allies of Russia?

Answering this question, Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov, Vice
President of the Geopolitical Academy and former chief of the main
international military cooperation department of the Defense
Ministry, said that it is necessary to maintain contacts with NATO.
He added, “Cooperation between the organizations is quite possible.
But this should not be cooperation for the sake of cooperation. There
should be cooperation for the sake of achievement of some goals in
the issues of security and protection of our interests.” Ivashov also
points out how the CSTO should act to strengthen its positions in the
CIS and around the world.

Ivashov proposed, “It seems to me that first of all it is necessary
to organize interaction with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
It is necessary to build zones of collective security, for example,
with Iran in the South Caucasus or in the Caucasus-Caspian region
(CSTO-Iran). Now the CSTO can establish contacts with Turkey and this
will be more productive than interaction with such large organization
as NATO which will never have consensus towards the CSTO. On the
contrary, in such bilateral or multilateral form it is possible. ”

According to Ivashov, “It is necessary to declare our certain goals
pursued by the organization and to avoid this empty rhetoric imposed
on us by the West. It imposed on us combating of terrorism,
migration, drug trafficking and WMD non-proliferation. This is not
what is needed because the organization is not capable of this. Let
the relevant structures do this.”

Incidentally, the CSTO itself outlined these very tasks in the
document adopted a year ago. Probably it is really necessary to
revise the integration goals and tasks outlined there? How? Ivashov
answers this question too, “The main thing is that it is necessary to
announce that in accordance with article 4 of the treaty of May 15,
1992, the main task of the CSTO is joint collective defense of our
countries from aggression of other countries, protection of our
political space from outside interference and so on. It is necessary
to state this clearly and harshly to make them understand for what
our organization is striving. In this case direction of possible
cooperation will be determined.”

Many military experts agree with the opinion of Leonid Ivashov. Along
with this, they also say that there is no need to create a problem
because NATO is not going to maintain active contacts with the CSTO.
Colonel Vladimir Popov from the Military Sciences Academy said,
“Russia is the leader in the post-Soviet zone. That is why it should
determine its long-term strategy with regard to interaction not with
NATO but primarily with the allies in the CIS. Policy should be clear
and understandable at this point. How can we counteract to challenges
and threats in cooperation? Which joint forces we need to have there?
– These questions should be the main issues for us.”

Lieutenant General Yury Netkachev, veteran of the “hot spots” of the
CIS, commented, “Joint military capacities of the CSTO are only just
being created. In the South it is represented by the military group
in Armenia, in the West by the united defense space of Russia and
Belarus and collective rapid response forces operate in Central Asia.
If all this potential is compared on the scale of the Eurasian
continent with the potential of NATO, the inferiority is obvious.
NATO has almost three times as many tanks, armored personnel carriers
and artillery than CSTO member states, and about twice as many
airplanes and helicopters. However, this is no reason to crawl to
NATO. Russia together with allies maintains operational and strategic
superiority over NATO in all vitally important regions of the
post-Soviet space. The task is to build up these groups and to do our
best to prevent similar attempts by NATO. Then the interests of
Russia and the CSTO will be protected.”

Thus, it is becoming quite obvious that cooperation between the CSTO
and NATO is not a priority for Russia and its allies. Along with
this, creation of collective defense in the CIS requires much effort
and resources. In any case, CSTO member states will need to undertake
the spending required to ensure security and to counter possible
threats (overt and covert), including those emanating from NATO.

Translated by Pavel Pushkin

U.S Dept of State
28 July 2005
U.S. Diplomat Highlights Work of OSCE Mission in Armenia

Constitutional reform, women’s issues, Melange disposal, corruption
American diplomat Paul W. Jones on July 28 praised the work of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission in
Yerevan, Armenia, highlighting in particular its assistance on
constitutional and electoral reform and efforts to promote women’s
participation in local elections and in fighting corruption.
Addressing the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, Austria, Jones also praised
the OSCE office’s plan to eliminate Melange stockpiles in Armenia through
environmentally sound means.
Melange comprises the two component liquid propellants used for larger
Soviet rockets and guided missiles. The large quantities of Melange stored
on the territory of the former republics of the Soviet Union pose a serious
disposal problem because they are extremely active, easily evaporating and
highly toxic. The OSCE in partnership with NATO has held a series of
technical workshops on Melange.
Jones was responding to a report to the Permanent Council by OSCE Head of
Office in Yerevan Vladimir Pryakhin.
Following is the text of his statement as provided by the United States
Mission to the OSCE:

United States Mission to the OSCE
Vienna, Austria
July 28, 2005
RESPONSE TO THE OSCE HEAD OF OFFICE IN YEREVAN VLADIMIR PRYAKHIN
As delivered by Chargé d’Affaires Paul W. Jones to the Permanent Council

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The United States also would like to welcome very warmly the Head of Office
in Yerevan, Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin to the Permanent Council. We
deeply appreciate all the hard work you and your Office have done across all
dimensions of OSCE activities over the past seven months.
We wish to bring special attention to the Office in Yerevan’s assistance in
both the Constitutional and Election Reform Processes in Armenia.
On July 7, 2005, the government of Armenia submitted its revised
constitutional reform amendments to the Council of Europe’s Venice
Commission. The United States welcomes the Venice Commission’s agreement to
these amendments and looks forward to their adoption at the November
national referendum.
One highlight of these reforms is improved separation of powers between
branches of government. Another proposed amendment would create increased
plurality and independence of the media and develop a fairer system for
distribution of frequencies within Armenia. Such an act would be another
step forward for freedom of the media, and further strengthen Armenia’s
commitment to this OSCE principle.
We look to the Office in Armenia to facilitate this ongoing process,
including work to increase public knowledge about the referendum to aid its
success. The United States stands ready to assist in this effort.
Additionally, the Office in Yerevan continues to coordinate electoral
related issues. Its most recent success is the amended election code of May
19, 2005, which received expert input from ODIHR and the Venice Commission.
The United States looks forward to the good-faith implementation of these
reforms during the upcoming Autumn 2005 local elections and thereafter.
We welcome the Office’s continued efforts to promote women’s participation
in local elections. The Office’s recent program for 8th and 9th graders to
address the importance of women in society is innovative and
forward-thinking. The United States anticipates further developments in
this field.
The Office in Yerevan recently presented a plan to eliminate Melange
stockpiles in Armenia through environmentally sound means. After the
project’s planned completion next summer, the United States looks forward to
the project’s experts sharing their knowledge with other countries.
In May and June of 2005, the four members of the Armenian Ombudsman’s office
received intensive on-the-job training from Polish and Lithuanian
counterparts. On July 7, largely due to this professional training, the
Office of the Armenian Ombudsman unveiled the Government of Armenia’s first
Human Rights website. Adoption of the new constitutional reforms will make
this a permanent office within Armenia.
In the fight against corruption, the Office in Yerevan organized several
seminars. Some examples include a seminar to address the operations of
financial and economic institutions and another to address law enforcement
institutions. The United States notes the high attendance of government
officials at these seminars. Their attendance allowed direct dialogue
between state officials and civil society to promote openness and
transparency in the government.
The United States supports the Office’s economic and environmental work done
in the Syunik Region of Armenia. Of particular note is the Office’s new
initiative to assist small and medium-sized enterprises build capacity for
free market operations.
We would like to mention the Government of Armenia’s support for a new
project office in Kapan, the region’s capital. This project office will
help develop local ownership for the initiative. This is a good example of
the way the Government of Armenia supports the Office’s efforts in the
economic and environmental dimension.
Thank you, Ambassador Pryakhin, for speaking to us today, and for your
ongoing hard work on behalf of the OSCE. We wish you and your staff
continued success in Yerevan and look forward to your next report to the
Permanent Council.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: )

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

HIS HOLINESS RENEWS THE ASSURANCE OF FRIENDLY TIES BETWEEN
THE ARMENIAN AND ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX CHURCHES

His Holiness Aram I held an official luncheon on 26 July in honor of
Patriarch Paoulos, the spiritual leader of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church,
who is being hosted by the Catholicosate of Cilicia in Lebanon.

The luncheon was held in the St. Asdvadzadzine Monastery in Bikfaya. It
hosted the delegation accompanying the Ethiopian Patriarch in Lebanon, the
Ambassador of Ethiopia to Lebanon, Bishop Kegham Khatcherian (Primate of the
Diocese of Lebanon). MP Hagop Pakradouni, members of the inter-church
committee and well-known personalities also attended the luncheon.

The Seminary students delivered religious hymns and spiritual songs during
the luncheon, entertaining the guests.

His Holiness Aram I welcomed the visit of the Ethiopian Patriarch,
considering it a tangible expression of the honest and warm ties between the
two churches. Aram I renewed the assurance of friendly ties between the two
churches.

Patriarch Paoulos pointed out that his meetings in Lebanon and the
inauguration of the new Ethiopian Church had been carried out in a very
organized manner. He thanked His Holiness Aram I who had accepted to be the
spiritual caretaker of the Ethiopian community of Lebanon.

The Patriarch is in Lebanon for a one week official visit the main purpose
of which was the inauguration of the new Ethiopian Church.

##

View pictures here:

*****

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

Edicom, Suisse
Mercredi 27 juillet 2005

L’ambassadeur de Suisse en Turquie défend les enquêtes pour négation
du génocide arménien

Ankara (AP) L’ambassadeur de Suisse en Turquie, Walter Gyger, s’est
rendu mercredi au Ministère des affaires étrangères à Ankara pour
discuter de l’enquête ouverte à l’encontre d’un politicien turc dans
les cantons de Vaud et de Zurich pour négation du génocide arménien.
Face aux critiques de la Turquie, il a renvoyé à la norme pénale
contre le racisme et à la stricte séparation des pouvoirs en Suisse.
Alors que, du côté turc, on affirme que l’ambassadeur suisse a été
convoqué par le ministère, le porte-parole du Département fédéral des
Affaires étrangères (DFAE) Ivo Sieber déclare au contraire que la
rencontre a eu lieu sous l’impulsion de la Suisse. Quoiqu’il en soit,
l’entretien a permis aux deux pays de faire connaître leur point de
vue.
L’ambassadeur a rappelé à la Turquie que le code pénal suisse
contenait une norme contre le racisme, qui punissait tout propos tenu
en public niant, minimisant ou tentant de justifier un génocide. Il a
par ailleurs renvoyé à l’indépendance du pouvoir judiciaire en
Suisse. Une nouvelle rencontre sur le sujet est prévue jeudi à Berne
entre l’ambassadeur de Turquie en Suisse et le chef de la division
politique du DFAE.
Ce nouveau refroidissement dans les relations helvético-turques fait
suite aux propos tenus ces derniers jours par le chef du Parti des
travailleurs à l’occasion de la commémoration du Traité de Lausanne,
qui a délimité les frontières de la Turquie moderne en 1923. Dogu
Perincek a notamment déclaré que le génocide arménien de 1915 était
un «mensonge des impérialistes».
Les autorités d’instruction zurichoises et vaudoises ont ouvert une
enquête pour violation présumée de la norme pénale contre le racisme.
Dans la presse turque, le ministre des affaires étrangères Abdullah
Gül a jugé inacceptable l’interrogatoire auquel Dogu Perincek a dû se
soumettre sur sol helvétique.
Les relations entre la Suisse et la Turquie étaient déjà assombries
par une autre procédure pour négationnisme ouverte à l’encontre de
l’historien Yusuf Halacoglu. En guise de protestation, Abdullah Gül
avait alors différé une visite en Suisse.
Dans un entretien au «Tages-Anzeiger», le président de la Commission
de politique étrangère Erwin Jutzet (PS/FR) a déclaré que la Turquie
devait cesser de réagir aussi sensiblement sur la question du
génocide arménien, si elle voulait un jour entrer dans l’Union
européenne (UE).

Los Angeles Times, CA
July 27 2005

A match made in Yerevan
An Armenian brandy and the perfect almond kataif — you’d think you
were in the Caucasus.

By Charles Perry, Times Staff Writer

I first had Armenian brandy in a remote burg in northeast Uzbekistan.
We sat around the breakfast table eating steamed Uzbek sweet potato
dumplings and drinking Armenian brandy while watching “Casper, the
Friendly Ghost,” dubbed in Russian.

The family I was staying with seemed to think breakfast was a little
early for brandy, but my host was simply breaking out the good stuff
for the guest, as Central Asian etiquette demands. Armenian brandy is
highly regarded in the countries of the old Soviet empire, above all
in Russia and Ukraine, which between them import millions of bottles
a month.

I was pretty sure Uzbek sweet potato mantu are not the ideal match
for Armenian brandy. But the issue remained academic until recently,
when I discovered a huge selection of Armenian brandies at Mission
Liquor in Pasadena. Because Southern California has a sizable
Armenian population, Mission stocks about two dozen versions, from
3-year-olds at about $9 to rarities more than 30 years old in the $90
price range.

Another benefit of having such a large Armenian colony is that we
have top-notch Armenian bakeries. Putting the two sources together, I
tasted a variety of brandies and pastries and found a particularly
delicious combination: a 25-year-old brandy called Mesrob Mashtots
paired with the excellent almond kataif from Sarkis Pastry in
Glendale. The buttery, crunchy pastry has the toasted flavors to
flatter an oak-aged spirit, and its plush almond center makes a
particularly agreeable background for this smooth, ethereal but
mouthfilling brandy, with its magisterial notes of smoke, licorice,
dried fruit and wild herbs.

Out of Arax

Most Armenian brandy is made in the agricultural heart of the
Republic of Armenia, the Arax Valley, which Armenia shares
(reluctantly) with its neighbors Turkey, Iran and Azerbaijan. It’s
distilled from local grape varieties such as Garan Damak, Kangu and
Voskehat – not surprisingly, since it was somewhere in the Caucasus
that winemaking originated, as the story of Noah suggests. Armenia
also makes wine from its local grape varieties, but neighboring
Georgia is better known for wine.

Whether because of the grapes or the Krasnodar oak barrels used for
aging, Armenian brandies tend to be light and elegant, but you
wouldn’t mistake them for French brandy. In place of the honey,
caramel and floral qualities of Cognac, their flavors often seem to
include toasted nut and exotic fruit notes. In the mouth, they tend
to a suave, papery dryness.

For decades, all the distillers had to sell whatever they made to the
Yerevan Brandy Co., which marketed under the brand name Ararat. After
the Soviet collapse, the French liquor giant Pernod-Ricard bought the
118-year-old Yerevan/Ararat brand and started upgrading the
operation.

In the meanwhile, some of the small distillers have started marketing
brandy themselves. The French connection with Armenian brandy goes
beyond Ararat, by the way – Armenian distilleries send some of their
grandest brandies in cask to France, to be put in rather floridly
shaped bottles, like giant perfume bottles, because Armenia lacks the
facilities to do so. From there they are shipped to Armenian
communities around the world.

Places, faces and flavors

Probably because Armenian brandy-making was centralized for so long,
labels rarely refer to where the brandy was made. To be sure, many
older brandies are named for mountains or other geographic features
of Armenia (or famous figures in Armenian history), but those are
brand names. Younger brandies have three to six stars on their
labels, a star for each year of aging.

Frankly, I’m still just getting my feet wet, as it were, in Armenian
brandy. Besides the Mesrob Mashtots, I’ve tried a small
representative range, starting with a 6-year-old Eghvard (named for a
famous church), which had a plush butterscotchy aroma that made me
think of an old Madeira.

Then I had Artavazd (10 years; named for an Armenian king), which
superimposed a smoky quality – almost like tobacco smoke (one of my
colleagues thought it smelled like butterscotch in an ashtray).
Vaspurakan, an 18-year-old named for a medieval Armenian kingdom, had
a quite different emphasis, something like dried apricots and orange
peel. That’s quite a variety of styles.

I was particularly knocked out by the Mesrob Mashtots/kataif
combination. But many Armenians pair brandy with everything.

“There’s definitely a split in the Armenian diaspora about when to
drink brandy,” says Melkon Khosrovian, owner of the flavored vodka
company Modern Spirits. “There are some who drink brandy with
virtually every part of the meal, treating it in much the same way as
wine or vodka. In our family, we drink it mainly with the mezze and
then again with desserts.”

But for me, the best time is after a nice dinner. An agreeable
sensation of crunch and sweetness, a mouth-filling flood of brandy,
then a long aftertaste that drifts away into the night.

Mesrob Mashtots Armenian brandy (about $35) is available at Mission
Liquor, 1801 W. Washington, Pasadena, (626) 797-0500. Almond kataif
is $7 a pound (about 10 pieces) at Sarkis Pastries, 1111 S. Glendale
Ave., Glendale, (818) 956-6636.

ArmenPress
July 22 2005

GEORGIAN CHIEF PROSECUTOR BRUSHES ASIDE ANY CONNECTION BETWEEN
SUSPECT AND ARMENIA

BILISI, JULY 22, ARMENPRESS: Georgia’s chief prosecutor Zurab
Adeilashvili told after a meeting with his Armenian counterpart
Aghvan Hovsepian in Tbilisi that an ethnic Armenian citizen of
Georgia, Vladimir Harutunian, arrested on suspicion of throwing a
hand grenade at US president George W. Bush last May will be indicted
for trying to carry out an assassination attempt on Bush’s life.
“The suspect is a Georgian citizen, the incident took place in
Georgia and naturally it has no relation with Armenia. We are looking
for all evidence and information in Georgia. They are here and
nowhere,” he said. Vladimir Harutunian, 27, was arrested in a fatal
clash with the police late on July 20, admitted to tossing a
hand-grenade into a crowd during President Bush’s speech in May.
Georgian interior ministry disseminated information about the case
through a video footage shot by the ministry’s press office and
broadcasted by the Georgian television stations.
The footage issued by the ministry early on Thursday showed an
apartment where the suspect lived. Several hand-grenades, uniforms, a
night vision device and several gasmasks, as well as military
guidelines were seen on this tape. Later on Thursday the Ministry
issued a short interview with the suspect. The footage shows
Harutunian, who was injured in a shootout with the police on July 20,
in his hospital room. When answering the question asked by spokesman
of the Interior Ministry Guram Donadze: “Did you toss a
hand-grenade?” Harutunian replays: “Yes.” When asked why he did it,
the suspect starts answering: “because Bush…” and then the footage
is bleeped out, apparently to censor swearing.

WORLD PREMIERE OF 9 SONGS BY KOMITAS TODAY

Hasmik Papian and Vartan Mamikonian to Perform in Yerevan

Azg/arm
20 July 05

At 8:00 pm on July 20, famous soprano Hasmik Papian and pianist Vartan
Mamikonian will play a two-part concert at Aram Khachatrian Concert
Hall dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Armenian Genocide and 70th
anniversary of Komitas’ death.

Along with known melodies by Komitas, they will perform compositions
that have never been presented. While a student in Berlin, Komitas
was inspired by the works of Goethe, Lenau, Uhland and created songs
that long rested at Culture and Literature Museum after Charents.
Hasmik Papian took up the task of reviving the aforesaid songs in
Vienna, representing them in different concert halls of the world
and writing them on CDs. Those 9 songs of early Komitas, bearing
the influence of Schuman, Hugo and Wolf, are valuable for being the
predecessors of well-known and beloved “Antuni” and “Kroonk”.

After the premiere of Komitas’ German songs in Yerevan, Bayerischer
Rundfunk will record them in Munich. Afterwards, the songs will be
preformed in New York, Paris and Munich.

“It’s difficult to come out with such a program after 11 months of
tough concert tour and amid summer heat but those two anniversaries
are obliging”, Hasmik Papian said adding, “This is a devotion, an
incense to great Komitas”.

“It’s a great responsibility for us to perform unknown songs of Komitas
in Armenia first”, Vartan Mamikonian says, “Komitas’ melodies passing
beyond national boundaries do not leave foreigners indifferent. I am
sure the Yerevan concert will draw people’s attention”.

By Anahit Hovsepian

YERVAND ZAKHARYAN ADVOCATES ELECTION OF YEREVAN MAYOR BY ELDERS

YEREVAN, JULY 18. ARMINFO. The Yerevan municipality and Yerevan
itself are ready that the capital’s mayor will be elected, mayor of
Yerevan Yervand Zakharyan stated journalists today.

In his words, the main task is that the capital is to be developed
during his period of office, regardless of the fact that he will be
appointed or elected. “Both the municipality and the Yerevan
residents are ready to cooperate and develop Yerevan in future”,
Zakharyan noted. He also informed that he advocates the election of
Yerevan mayor by elders.

To note, within the constitutional reforms process framework the CE
Venice Commission recommended Armenia not to appoint a Yerevan mayor,
but elect.

Bad News Bears
By Michael Rechtshaffen

Hollywood Reporter, CA
July 15 2005

Bottom line: Not bad, but this Billy Bob Thornton-Richard Linklater
remake falls short of News-worthy.

There’s good news and not-so-good news about “Bad News Bears,” the
new take on the beloved 1976 Michael Ritchie-helmed comedy starring
Walter Matthau as a beer-soaked Little League coach who finds himself
managing a ragtag team of foul-mouthed underachievers.

First, the good news: With Billy Bob Thornton and his “Bad Santa”
writers on board and on-a-roll Richard Linklater (the critically
acclaimed “Before Sunset” and the audience-acclaimed “School of Rock”)
calling the shots, there was sufficient cause for hope that the picture
would emerge as something else than yet another pointless remake.

Fortunately, Thornton, playing an only slightly less caustic version
of his ill-mannered department store Kris Kringle, remains in fine
inappropriate form and Glenn Ficarra & John Requa’s respectfully
faithful script and Linklater’s typically unforced directing style
combine to generate many moments of laugh-out-loud comedy.

But somehow those moments never add up to a fully satisfying viewing
experience. There’s a momentum-killing, start/stop quality to the
sequences that prevents this underdog story from rounding the bases
and sprinting for home with the spirited energy of a Jack Black in
“School of Rock.”

Without that crowd-pleasing boost and with an assault of potty language
that gives that PG-13 rating a run for its money (at the risk of
shutting out the younger kids), the Paramount Pictures release likely
will land more closely in the “Kicking & Screaming” ballpark rather
than going “The Longest Yard” distance.

For those with a scorecard, the first “Bad News Bears” inspired a
pair of inferior follow-ups — 1977’s “The Bad News Bears in Breaking
Training” and 1978’s “The Bad News Bears Go to Japan” — neither of
which featured Matthau or were directed by Ritchie.

The new version is definitely better than the two sequels,
with Thornton bringing his own curmudgeonly irreverent spin
to the role of Coach Buttermaker, here a former pro baseball
player-turned-exterminator who spent all of a couple of innings in
a big league game.

Coaxed into taking on the hopelessly inept team of misfits by a
high-maintenance attorney with her own agenda (Marcia Gay Harden),
Buttermaker makes a half-hearted go of it, occasionally locking horns
with Ray Bullock (Greg Kinnear), the self-satisfied coach of the Bears’
longtime rivals, the Yankees.

Aside from injecting some of that meaner-spirited, but admittedly funny
“Bad Santa Jr.” dialogue, writers Ficarra and Requa stick very close
to the original Bill Lancaster script, while adding a few characters
who better reflect the contemporary cultural landscape.

Joining the brat and the nerd and the angry fat guy, there’s now an
Armenian, a kid in an electric wheelchair and a Mark McGwire-smitten
black kid, and, true to its comic roots, the movie proves to be an
equal-opportunity offender.

But Buttermaker’s lackadaisical approach to life seems to have
rubbed off on Linklater’s direction, which really could have a shot
of adrenaline to move things along, particularly in the late innings.

Given that a number of the young newcomers were cast first for their
athletic ability over previous acting experience, the juvenile
performances are pretty uneven, especially when held up to the
original’s lineup led by Tatum O’Neal and Jackie Earle Haley.

Behind the scenes, taking a cue from the ’76 version, composer Edward
Shearmur uses Bizet’s “Carmen” to underscore the game sequences,
but somehow what came across as inspired three decades ago just feels
odd and rather out of place today.

Bad News Bears Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures presents a Media
Talent Group production in association with Detour Filmproduction
A Richard Linklater film Director: Richard Linklater Screenwriters:
Bill Lancaster and Glenn Ficarra & John Requa Based on “The Bad News
Bears” written by: Bill Lancaster Producers: J. Geyer Kosinski,
Richard Linklater Executive producer: Marcus Viscidi Director of
photography: Rogier Stoffers Production designer: Bruce Curtis Editor:
Sandra Adair Costume designer: Karen Patch Music: Edward Shearmur
Cast: Coach Morris Buttermaker: Billy Bob Thornton Coach Roy Bullock:
Greg Kinnear Liz Whitewood: Marcia Gay Harden Amanda Whurlitzer: Sammi
Kane Kraft Kelly Leak: Jeffrey Davies Tanner Boyle: Timmy Deters Mike
Engelberg: Brandon Craggs Toby Whitewood: Ridge Canipe Timmy Lupus:
Tyler Patrick Jones Prem Lahiri: Aman Johal Matthew Hooper: Troy
Gentile Garo Daragebrigadian: Jeffrey Tedmori Ahmad Abdul Rahim:
Kenneth “K.C.” Harris Miguel Agilar: Carlos Estrada Jose Agilar:
Emmanuel Estrada MPAA rating: PG-13 Running time — 114 minutes

Baku plans Garabagh infrastructure upgrade after conflict settlement

Baku, July 14, AssA-Irada

The Azerbaijani government plans to carry out renovation of
infrastructure in Upper Garabagh after the conflict with Armenia is
settled politically. Considerable investments will be made in the
upgrade of roads and railways, Deputy Minister for Transport Musa
Panahov said.

“All transport communications will be restored after the occupied
lands are liberated. The process will be realized as part of a
special program.”

Panahov declined to cite any figures but said the amount of funds
designated for rehabilitation work will be determined after the plight
of roads and railways is examined. “The transport communications
in the occupied areas will be undoubtedly restored after political
issues are solved”, he said.

“Considerable funds will be required for restoration activities,
as roads in the occupied areas extend for about 5,000 kilometers,
while railways – for over 70 kilometers.”

The Deputy Minister also said that the projects will be implemented
within the plans to be developed by the Ministry.*