Author: Ekmekjian Janet

MAHNMAL FUR DIE ARMENIER; "LA MASSERIA DELLE ALLODOLE" VON PAOLO UND VITTORIO TAVIANI
Alexandra Seitz

Berliner Zeitung
14. Februar 2007 Mittwoch

Der wohl brisanteste Film der 57. Berlinale ist "La Masseria delle
Allodole (The Lark Farm)" von Paolo und Vittorio Taviani. Er basiert
auf dem Roman "Das Haus der Lerchen", in dem die italienische
Literaturprofessorin Antonia Arslan teilweise die Geschichte ihrer
eigenen armenischstammigen Familie rekonstruiert. Geschildert wird das
Martyrium der Avakians, die dem Volkermord an den turkischen Armeniern
zum Opfer fallen. Je nach Schatzung forderten die Massaker und
Todesmarsche, die sich zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts im Osmanischen
Reich zutrugen, eine halbe bis eineinhalb Millionen Tote.

Nach wie vor tut sich die turkische Regierung außerordentlich schwer
damit, einen angemessenen Umgang mit den historischen Ereignissen
zu finden: Von einem "Genozid" konne keine Rede sein, heißt es,
vielmehr habe es sich um Reaktionen auf armenische Ubergriffe oder
Kollateralschaden des turkischen Befreiungskrieges gehandelt. Wie
heikel das Thema ist, wurde erst vor wenigen Wochen wieder deutlich,
als der armenisch-turkische Journalist Hrant Dink ermordet wurde.

Kurz darauf bedrohte der Attentater auch den turkischen
Literatur-Nobelpreistrager Orhan Pamuk. Der war wegen seiner
Kritik an der Leugnung des Genozids bereits einmal wegen
"Beleidigung des Turkentums" angeklagt. Auch die EU meidet, um die
Beitrittsverhandlungen mit der Turkei nicht zu belasten, das Wort
"Volkermord".

Vor diesem Hintergrund erhalt "La Masseria delle Allodole"
seine Bedeutung: als couragierte Absage an eine Verschworung des
Verschweigens. Ein Schweigen, das zahllose Tote ein zweites Mal auf
dem diplomatischen Parkett opfert. Ihr Film sei aus einem Gefuhl
der Schuld heraus entstanden, erklaren die Bruder Taviani: Schuld,
weil das armenische Volk schon viel zu lange auf eine angemessene
Erinnerung an das ihm zugefugte Unrecht wartet. Schuld, weil Suhne
immer noch aussteht. Nun mag das Werk der beiden Altmeister des
italienischen Kinos im Dienst einer guten Sache stehen. Allein,
es braucht auch guten Willen, um darin einen gegluckten Film zu sehen.

Die Handlung kommt schwer in Gang; spater verliert sie sich
wiederholt in Fragmenten von Parallelgeschichten. Zudem drohen
Kolportage-Elemente und Chargen-Klischees den außer Frage stehenden
Schrecken des Geschehens zu unterminieren. Alles ist immer deutlich
exemplarisch gemeint. In der Folge fuhlt man nicht mit den Figuren,
sondern entsetzt sich auf abstrakter Ebene uber ihre Situation. Das
Ganze wirkt gerade so, als seien die Tavianis erstarrt angesichts
des Grauens, das zu zeigen sie sich vorgenommen haben. Erstarrt wie
Frau Avakian, als man ihr den abgeschlagenen Kopf ihres Mannes in
den Schoß wirft.

Dass er das Verdrangte in Bilder fassen will, wird "La Masseria
delle Allodole" letztlich zum Verhangnis. Denn das Verdrangte dringt
hier mit einer Macht an die Oberflache, vor der mogliche filmische
Vermittlungsstrategien kapitulieren. Einen Film uber einen Volkermord
zu drehen ist riskant, weil seine reale Gewalt das Denken sprengt.

La Masseria delle Allodole: 14.2. 21.30 Uhr, Filmpalast; 15.2. 17.45
Uhr, Cubix.

–Boundary_(ID_rl4ATcMfbis5GKb9XJfeUQ)–

KARABAKH’S BABAYAN POISED FOR ELECTION CLASH WITH SARKISIAN BROTHER
By Karine Kalantarian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Feb 14 2007

Samvel Babayan, the former commander of Nagorno-Karabakh’s army,
is gearing up for an intriguing challenge against a controversial
brother of Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian during this spring’s
Armenian parliamentary elections.

An aide to Babayan on Wednesday confirmed that the once powerful
general will run for parliament in a constituency in southeastern
Armenian on which Aleksandr Sarkisian has reportedly set his sights.

The single-mandate district No. 37 covers an area in the Syunik region
which is close to Karabakh.

"The party and its leader have decided that he will nominate his
candidacy in the district No. 37," a senior member of Babayan’s Dashink
(Alliance) party, Andranik Tevanian, told journalists. He said Babayan
will run there in addition to topping Dashink’s list of candidates
for the system of proportional representation.

Even though Aleksandr Sarkisian has not ascertained his election
plans, it is expected that he will seek a seat in the next National
Assembly from that constituency. Sarkisian, who is notorious for
his flamboyant behavior and extravagant lifestyle, was elected to
the current parliament from the proportional slate of the governing
Republican Party (HHK). The HHK is now headed by his powerful brother
and is therefore likely to throw its weight behind his bid.

It is not clear if Babayan will enjoy the backing of any government
factions in the potentially tense race between the two Karabakh-born
men. The Dashink leader, who commanded the Karabakh army during its
victorious war with Azerbaijan, claims to be in opposition to President
Robert Kocharian. But some opposition leaders and commentators suspect
him of secretly cooperating with Kocharian.

There are also lingering questions about Babayan’s eligibility to
contest the May 12 elections. Under Armenia’s constitution, only those
Armenian citizens who have permanently resided in the country for the
past five years can run for parliament. Although Babayan received an
Armenian passport during the early 1990s, he moved from Karabakh to
Armenia less than three years ago.

Still, Tevanian insisted that Babayan is eligible to be a candidate.

He pointed to a 1989 act by the Soviet Armenian parliament that
declared Karabakh a part of Armenia. Kocharian, who also comes from
Karabakh, invoked the same declaration when he was controversially
registered as a presidential candidate in 1998.

Critics have argued that the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic declared itself an independent state after a referendum
in 1991, something which was reaffirmed by its recently enacted
constitution. They also note that Karabakh residents have not been
allowed to vote in elections held in Armenia since then.

VARTAN OSKANIAN TO VISIT FRANCE AND IRELAND

ArmRadio.am
13.02.2007 14:40

February 17 in Paris RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian will
participate in teh events to be organized in the framework of teh
Year of Armenia in France within the delegation headed by President
Robert Kocharyan. Preceding that, on February 16 together with the
leadership of "Hayastan" Fund he will meet with representatives of
community organizations engaged in the restoration of villages in
Armenia and Atrsakh.

February 27-28 Minister Oskanian is scheduled to pay an official
visit to Ireland.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Feb 10 2007

`Nationalism race’

by
MÜMTAZ’ER TÜRKÖNE

`They shall digest Turkishness!’ says Republican People’s Party (CHP)
Leader Deniz Baykal, speaking about the controversial Article 301 of
the Turkish Penal Code.

The said article defines the crime of `insulting Turkishness,’ whose
commission entails an imprisonment of up to three years. With the
murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, the long-debated
article became the focal point of political discussions. Political
identities and attitudes were divided along the support/opposition
line to the article. Most importantly, some discussions referred to
the provocative climate created by the article as the primary reason
for Dink’s murder. He was prosecuted under the article on the grounds
that he insulted Turkishness.
The crime of `insulting Turkishness’ as outlined in Article 301 may
have different meanings because of speculation as to what
`Turkishness’ connotes. The majority of Turkish citizens are of
ethnic Turkish origin. The Constitution transforms this ethnic
identity to an expression of citizenship bonds. By providing that
`Everyone bound to the Turkish state through the bond of citizenship
is a Turk,’ Article 66 of Turkish Constitution transforms the term
`Turk’ from an ethnic reference to a legal description. For this
reason, skeptics argue that the `Turkishness’ invoked in Article 301
reconstructs the ethnic references and thus contradicts with the
Constitution.
Last November, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan called on civil
society organizations to work on possible amendments to Article 301.
While initial attempts failed, after Dink’s murder, the amendment
process was revitalized. Last week, another meeting attended by civil
society organizations was held to address the issue, but once again,
the attempt was unsuccessful. Just recently, the organizations
announced they reached an agreement on an amended text. The statement
provides that because of the vagueness of the present text, different
meanings could be inferred; hence `Turkishness’ should be replaced by
`Turkish nation.’ The newly invented formula will apparently not work
out. Because the notion `Turkishness’ is preserved intact, the
accompanying term `Turkish nation’ will unlikely eliminate the
different interpretations and change the definition of the existing
crime. Those who put forward this proposal, while using the notion
`Turkishness’ in the ethnical sense, think they use `Turkish nation’
as the match of modern `nation.’ But the problem is not in the
description of the `Turkishness’ notion but in the description of
`Turkish nation’ so as to embrace all Turkish citizens. As such,
those who interpret this article may demand the interpretation of the
`Turkish nation’ in parallel with the ethnic content of
`Turkishness.’
Because they did not agree with the proposal, the leftist Turkish
Physicians Association and labor union DÝSK left the meeting. In its
present form, the amendment proposal lags even behind the already
controversial existing article text.
The entire discussion process shows that supporting the full
preservation of the article in its present form is cited as the
benign manifestation of an extreme nationalist and even chauvinist
stance. Baykal’s remark, `They shall digest Turkishness,’ represents
this extreme nationalist view. CHP asserts Article 301 should be kept
as it is. The only leftist party of Turkish political landscape
aligns itself with the extreme nationalist circles. Let us recall CHP
is a member of Socialist International.
Citing Matt Bryza from the US State Department, Yasemin Çongar noted
that nationalism was viewed by the US administration as the only
common concept of Turkish politics. Bryza asserted the rise of
nationalism was not at an alarming level. He is not so wrong.
Nationalism has already created the discussion ground on which the
upcoming elections would be based. The primary actors of the
political landscape question the nationalist stance of their
opponents. Prime Minister and AK Party leader Recep Tayyip Erdoðan,
while openly accusing the MHP, the party that managed to transform
the nationalist ideology into a political movement, of racism,
asserts that his party adopts a positive nationalist approach. In
order not to lag behind in the race, the only leftist party CHP, as
already noted, adopts an ethno-centric nationalist paradigm as a
political discourse.
Apparently, the secularism-reactionary movement debate that has long
dominated the realm of political discussions is being replaced by the
conflicting views on nationalism. The message President Ahmet Necdet
Sezer gave last week on the occasion of 70th anniversary of the
inclusion of secularism principle in the constitution harbored some
elements that certainly need further discussion. Quite unusually, the
president barred the judiciary from making comments on secularism.
The lack of attention to this message, which did not trigger new
debates, demonstrates how busy the political environment is with the
nationalism discussions.
How does the domination of competition by all political actors along
nationalist lines affect Turkey’s future?
The answer to this question should be sought in the sociological base
that feeds nationalism. Society — particularly the younger
generations — are experiencing a state of common anomie in
connection with the crash of the tradition under modernity’s impacts.
Unemployment, poverty and the huge income disparities as reflected
through the TV screens lead the youth to hatred and anger. They seek
a scapegoat to blame for all mistakes. Nationalism serves as a
channel to embrace this anger. Every challenge in foreign or domestic
policy is transformed into a concrete enemy. The already growing
anti-Americanism is further fostered by nationalism. The developments
in northern Iraq since the US occupation and the likely division of
Iraq in three separate states rise serious concerns. The Kirkuk issue
has become the most important foreign policy issue of the Turkish
state. The EU is accused of double standards and hypocrisy vis-à-vis
Turkey. The Cyprus issue has become the most favorite discussion of
nationalist politics.
The nationalist race among political parties will inevitably deepen
the already existing nationalist concerns. A race that will take
place between the different tones of nationalism will most probably
create a much more serious breakdown than secularism debates did in
the near past. The race that took place along the secularism debate
was easy to control because of its state-oriented character. When the
generals became reluctant to express their concerns over secularism,
the tension was eased in its natural course. Conversely, nationalism
has the potential to politicize the social issues and create distinct
sides by partitioning the entire society into opposing poles. It is
already evident that nationalism embodies strong feelings. A
political discourse seized by sentiments and emotions will only
promote hatred and enmity.
To resolve a political equation with multiple unknown variables, we
must be able to provide a satisfactory answer to this question: Will
the tension that politics creates be reflected in the society in its
entirety? Or will the competition that fosters nationalism remain a
political fantasy detached from the public?It seems that society’s
anticipation of political stability is strong enough to suppress the
herein reviewed nationalist race.

VINEYARDS AND FRUIT GARDENS OF ARARAT AND ARMEVIR MARZES NOT AFFECTED
BY FROST

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. Observations of fruit gardens and
vineyards in Ararat and Armavir marzes showed that these gardens and
vineyards were not affected by frost. Garnik Petrosian, Head of the
Plant Cultivation Department of the RA Ministry of Agriculture, told
NT correspondent that apricot and peach trees were not damaged because
of the low temperature (minus 20-25 degrees) in Armenia from December
29 to January 2. According to him, most of the vineyards are covered
by a sufficient layer of soil. At the same time, he did not rule out
that no work on covering with soil was done in some vineyards of these
marzes. He assured that the number of such vineyards is small and, by
the way, grape vines survive in the temperature of up to -16 degrees.

G. Petrosian noted that late March and early April are considered as
a dangerous period for fruit gardens in Armenia, as perennials are
greatly damaged by sping frost. He added that measures will be taken
to prevent trees from being affected by frost.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Cooperation with Russia main condition for Karabakh conflict settlement
09.02.2007 16:27 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `In recent months, relations between Georgia and
Russia have deteriorated. The clash between these two states is only a
symptom of the broader strategic positioning of the West and Russia in
and around the South Caucasus. In this scenario, at regional and
global levels, countries and organizations are involved in a struggle
for power and energy security. Considering these two issues, what is
the current situation in the South Caucasus and what can be expected
in the future?’ says the report titled ”Current Geostrategy in the
South Caucasus” issued by Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Marcel de Haas, the
Senior Research Fellow on military doctrine, strategy, and security
policy of NATO, EU, Russia and CIS, at the Netherlands Institute of
International Relations Clingendael in The Hague.

`Affecting the region are the political-military and security policies
of the actors involved. These actors include Georgia, Armenia, and
Azerbaijan, and their "frozen" conflicts of Abkhazia, South Ossetia
and Nagorno-Karabakh. Additionally, the leverage of regional powers,
such as Turkey and Iran, and of global powers, such as the United
States, Russia and China, is part of the power configuration in the
region.

In addition to countries, international organizations are also
involved in this game. At the regional level, there is the Black Sea
Economic Cooperation (BSEC), the Black Sea Force (BLACKSEAFOR) the
Caspian Sea Force (CASFOR), the cooperation between Georgia, Ukraine,
Azerbaijan and Moldova (GUAM) and the Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO) within the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS). At the global level, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) and the European Union also exercise political weight in the
South Caucasus.

Washington wants a stable South Caucasus region for its investment in
the energy sector, as well as for its geostrategic interests in the
region. The separatist regions in Georgia — Abkhazia and South
Ossetia — have become areas of the major players’ interests in the
region. With the exception of the tensions surrounding Tbilisi, Russia
has not played a very neutral role in these conflicts. Russia has used
the conflicts as political leverage with the West.

Concerning the Nagorno Karabakh conflict between Armenia and
Azerbaijan, the outlook is similar to that of the Georgian
regions. The main foreign actors in this conflict — Russia, the
United States and the European Union — will have to find a
compromise. At the moment, the United States is the party most
interested in solving the conflict and is putting serious efforts into
finding a settlement. Yet, political will and public support has to be
created on both sides. It seems that political pressure is rising on
Azerbaijan and Armenia. The United States — perhaps more than Europe
— has the military, political and economic capacities, and, due to
its investments, the will to force a breakthrough in the
negotiations. Just like the Georgian separatist regions, the main
condition for a solution is cooperation with and by Russia,’ the
report says.

MOVIE REVIEW: ‘SCREAMERS’
By Michael Wilmington – Tribune movie critic

Crosswalk.com, VA
Feb 8 2007

** rating (out of four)

What are the roots of genocide?

"Screamers," a documentary/concert film that begins by focusing
on the Armenian genocide of 1915 and broadens to include mass
exterminations from the Holocaust on, tries to both give witness and
provide an answer. Mixing concert footage of the Armenian-American
rock group System of a Down–whose hypnotic protest ballads supply
the "screamers" of the title–with interviews and archive footage
detailing genocides throughout the 20th and 21st Centuries, director
Carla Garapedian makes us face again the appalling consequences of
untrammeled political dictatorship and of murder as a public policy.

The movie’s theme is simple. Genocides happen because of the mass
political pathologies and conditions that trigger them–but also
because the rest of the world chooses to look the other way.

Garapedian begins with the massacre in Armenia–when the Ottoman
Turkish government systematically slaughtered the Armenian population
during a time of forced deportations in 1915. (Death toll estimates
range from the Turkish government estimate of 300,000 to some Armenian
sources that cite up to two million fatalities.)

Gradually, she expands her story to include the Holocaust, Cambodia,
Rwanda, Bosnia, the Kurdish massacres in Iraq and present-day deaths
in Darfur. The Armenian slaughter remains her main concern–and also
that of System of the Down and their singer, Serj Tankian–but she does
try to tie everything together. It’s particularly infuriating, after
learning of all these often unrecorded deaths and national coverups,
to see ex-Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert–accused here of helping
bury Armenian genocide recognition bills in the House–smugly dodging
questions from Tankian.

"Screamers" is a commendably brave piece, but less focused and powerful
than you’d like. In the end, Garapedian might have been better
off concentrating her energy on the 1915 Armenian story–which has
been told on film various times (for example, in "Forty Days of Musa
Dagh" and Atom Egoyan’s "Ararat"), but never with the power of, say,
"The Pianist" or "Schindler’s List."

After a while, the other episodes of mass slaughter sometimes seem too
hastily covered and the theme not eloquently enough expressed. If you
know little about the terrible Armenian episode and its aftermath,
"Screamers" may be a good place to start. The worldwide cycle of
genocide, unfortunately, shows little sign of ending.

[email protected]

‘Screamers’

Dir ected by Carla Garapedian; photographed by Charles Rose; edited by
William Yarhaus; music by Jeff Atmajian, System of a Down; produced
by Nick de Grunwald, Guardian, Peter McAlevey, Timothy F. Swain. An
MG2 Productions/BBC Television/Raffy Manoukian Charity presentation.

MPAA rating: R (for disturbing images of genocide and language).

ies/mmx-070209-movies-review-screamers,0,2612607.s tory?coll=mmx-movies_top_heds

A LITTLE ADVICE
By Andre Coleman and Margaret McAustin

Pasadena Weekly, CA
Feb 8 2007

Outgoing councilman offers some opinions on what candidates in the
race for his District 2 seat should be talking about

Before attending a forum tonight, candidates for the District 2
City Council seat being vacated by three-term Councilman Paul Little
should listen to what Little has to say, which, essentially, boils
down to this: Know the people and get some distance from the opinions
of your opponents.

"I worked really hard and had a really good core group of people
devoted to the campaign and there were a couple of issues where I was
the only one to take a position," Little said recently. "That seemed
to resonate with a lot of the voters."

Unfortunately the opposite seems to be happening as the three
candidates – Margaret McAustin, Stacy Lewis and Jim Lomako – all
seem to be taking similar stands on major issues such as development,
traffic and education.

"The biggest challenge is getting growth under control in the city as
a whole," said the 59-year-old Lomako, a longtime legal investigator
who is not a lawyer but served as a former president of the Pasadena
chapter of the ACLU, and served as a member of both the city’s
Community Development Committee and the Design Commission.

"I think the most serious problem is we have been building at a rate
that exceeds what the General Plan allows. I’m making it an issue
because other candidates have not been talking about it," he said.

But they are talking about it, and sometimes they sound almost
like Lomako.

"I think we’re nearing the limits of the growth allowed in the
district according to the 1994 General Plan," said McAustin, 53,
a member of the city’s Planning Commission who helped start two
neighborhood associations, serving as president of the Pasadena
Highlands Neighborhood Association.

"I think we need to evaluate the growth in terms of the number of
people the Pasadena infrastructure can support. We need a comprehensive
approach to growth that evaluates the totality of all growth. Not just
a project by project approach," said McAustin, an executive with the
Esteve Group, an International Commodities firm based in Dallas.

Last year, McAustin worked as a neighborhood outreach consultant
for the Ambassador West Project, a planned community of more than
200 senior citizen condos on the former Ambassador College campus,
where she dealt with three neighborhood associations in areas close
to the project, including the highly anti-development West Pasadena
Residents Association, WPRA.

McAustin said she was appointed to the Planning Commission after taking
the Ambassador job, and said she never participated in any commission
discussions regarding the Ambassador West Project, which was approved
by the commission and is scheduled for City Council consideration on
Feb. 26.

"I am proud of the work I did. I even got the WPRA to support the
project," she said.

Although Little praised all the candidates overall, he observed that
there are some things that are also important but aren’t being talked
about much by any of them.

For starters, District 2 boasts a strong Latino community and a
burgeoning Armenian-American population. Much of the district includes
central and eastern portions of the city, with District 2 covering much
of the city’s central core, including East Colorado Boulevard between
Wilson and Oak avenues, an area buzzing with residential development.

In the neighborhoods north of Colorado, the district contains two
historic landmark districts, and could gain one more, with both
representing more than 1,000 homes. Over the past few years, the
district has become a prime target for developers.

"Preserving open space and development issues are important, but we
have more important issues in Pasadena. There are too many people
who are poor and homeless and too few resources dealing with those
problems. We get sidetracked spending significant amounts of money on
other things, and they are worthwhile, but we have to look at other
issues like violence in the minority community, and the underlying
issues that cause these problems," Little said.

Last year, 93 of the 124 arr-ests made by Pasadena police for suspicion
of prostitution-related crimes were made in District 2.

When it comes to homeless people, it’s hard to quantify those
numbers on a district-by-district basis. However, as the city’s
population climbs, so too does its homeless community seem to grow,
with an estimated 1,500 homeless people now calling Pasadena home on
a given night.

But along with that, District 2 wrestles with its own issues of ethnic
diversity and cultural identity. Newly immigrated Armenian-American
kids, for instance, enter schools, pick up the fashions, the fads
and all the trappings, "and that creates some tensions," Little noted.

Several years ago, these types of tensions between Armenian-American
and African-American children turned into violence at Marshall
Fundamental School, located in the heart of District 2 on Allen Avenue,
forcing campus security to lock down the campus and the now-defunct
Pasadena Unified School District Police Force to book and cite nine
students.

Only Lewis, a 43-year-old telecommunications executive, mentioned the
cultural issues associated with those incidents in his interview with
the Weekly.

"There have been some cultural problems which I think can be addressed
by reaching across cultural barriers," said Lewis. "It’s something I am
engaged in doing right now. I have had discussions with the principals
at Marshall and Webster [Elementary School] and have spoken to other
residents about the problem."

Refuting claims that he sounds much like his opponents on some issues,
Lewis has his own take on what some view as runaway development.

"I’m not worried about sounding like everyone else," Lewis said. "I
have a different understanding of development and growth. There is
nothing wrong with development. It is how it is done in Pasadena. The
question is how growth is achieved. Is the community aware of what
is being planned is there transparency in that process? People are
adverse to change. If there is change, everyone should feel like a
stakeholder in it so that there are no surprises.

"It’s not a matter of should we grow," said Lewis, who served as
president of the Brigden Ranch Neighborhood Association. "It’s a
matter of effective growth."

The race generated some controversy last week when a letter to
the editor from a person named "Miriam Brandstedt" appeared in the
Pasadena Star-News, accusing Lomako of being a "dangerous candidate"
who bullied residents to sign a petition supporting a neighborhoods
petition for landmark district status.

According to the city planner, no one named "Miriam Brandstedt" signed
the petition and the address on the letter does not exist. The daily
paper has since apologized.

Little, who has been on the council for 12 years, is resigning
to devote more attention to his son, Cameron who will be attending
college in New York in the fall, and his daughter, Courtney, who is
currently in high school.

"Twelve years is a long time and you get a little bit jaundiced about
how you view things," Little said. "I think if I spent four more
years arguing about the merits of cell phone towers in a remote part
of the city I would go berserk. I have enjoyed working with people,
but I notice that my patience is shorter. I don’t know if I would do
as good a job. It’s time somebody else stepped up."

VAHAN HOVHANNISYAN: KARS-AKHALKALAKI-TBILISI-BAKU RAILWAY IS A CLEARLY POLITICAL PROJECT

ArmRadio.am
07.02.2007 15:25

The construction of Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku railway is a clearly
political project, since it does not have an economic foundation
and pursues the aim to strengthen the blockade of Armenia, said
Vahan Hovhannisyan, Vice-Speaker of the National Assembly. "Turkey
hopes that if the railway works, the pressure on Turkey to open the
railway with Armenia may weaken. I think, however, that this is an
incorrect calculation, since it’s not only us that understand that
this is a political project and has nothing to do with communication
and economy," said NA Vice-Speaker.

In his words, if the Armenian side manages to find correct diplomatic
solutions, this project can at lease protract for a very long time,
since it is not that easy to accomplish. The newly constructed segments
should pass through territories, which are very hard to traverse. The
issue of financing is also a complex one, especially after the
US banned any participation in the financing of the project. "We
must have the European Union join this ban, and I think this is the
direction our diplomatic system should take," Vahan Hovhannisyan noted.

It’s worth mentioning that within the current month in Vienna RA
parliamentary delegation headed by Vahan Hovhannisyan will participate
in the winter session of the OSCE parliamentary, the agenda of
which includes issues of energy security and communication. Vahan
Hovhannisyan noted that the Armenian delegation will raise he issue
of the railway construction.

Armenia bans British actor’s performance
Arminfo, Yerevan
1 Feb 07
British artist Nigel Charnock has apologized for his performance that caused
a negative reaction in Armenia, Arminfo news agency reported on 1 February.
During his performance in Yerevan on 31 January, Charnock reportedly danced
on the Armenian flag, which triggered strong criticism in the country.
Charnock said that he had no intention of insulting Armenian spectators and
just wanted to show his love and sympathy. "People in many countries of the
world have seen this solo performance, but I have not faced such a negative
reaction anywhere," the agency quoted him as saying.
The acting director of the British Council in Armenia, which organized the
tour, has also apologized for the incident. "I offer my apologies for
yesterday’s performance and hope that it will not be regarded as a deliberate action
to insult Armenia," Arminfo quoted (?Tonic Roker) as saying.
The Armenian Culture Ministry earlier issued a statement, condemning the
performance.
"Nigel Charnock can do everything he likes with the flag of his own country,
but not with the national symbol of Armenia," Arminfo quoted the statement as
saying on 1 February.
The ministry has imposed a ban on Charnock’s performances in Armenia’s state
theatres, Deputy Minister Karine Khodikyan told Arminfo. She also said that
the actor had violated the Armenian law on the national flag and might get up
to one year in prison or two years of compulsory work for disrespecting the
country’s national symbols.
The artistic director of the Yerevan-based Russian Drama Theatre that hosted
the performance also criticized Charnock’s show. "He can jump on a British
flag as long as he wants. But to an Armenian flag, that is an taunt," the
agency quoted Aleksandr Grigoryan as saying. As for the early part of the show, he
described it as "non-aesthetic and amoral", the agency said. "One should
know what kind of things can be performed in different countries," Grigoryan
said. However, he said the actor might be allowed to continue his performance,
provided that the dance on the Armenian flag and sexual scenes are removed
from the show.