PanARMENIAN.Net
19-year-old soldier wounded in Yerevan March 1 melee dies in hospital
12.04.2008 13:36 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ 19-year-old soldier Tigran Abgaryan
wounded in Yerevan March 1 melee died in hospital. All
efforts to save the youth’s life proved fruitless.
On March 1 night Tigran Abgaryan was brought to
hospital with a gunshot wound and comminuted
fractures. His spinal marrow was also affected.
The number of killed in mass disorders in Yerevan
reached 9.
WHAT IS THE CRIME ARMENIANS COMMITTED?
ARTHUR HOVHANNISYAN
Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on April 12, 2008
Armenia
Recently a piece of noteworthy information has been published in
`Hayots Ashkharh’ and `Golos Armenii’ dailies regarding the meeting and
secret negotiations between L. Ter-Petrosyan and the leader of `Grey
Wolves’ (`Nationalistic Movement’ Party) Alparslan Tyurkesh. Many
details of the meeting in hotel `Grillon’ in Concord Square in Paris,
on March 1993, are still unknown.
Anyhow 12 years after the before mentioned meeting, on March and April,
2005 the series of articles in Turkish `Milliet’ include important
information regarding the contacts and deals between Alparslan Tyurkesh
and his son Tughrul Tyurkesh and Levon and Telman Ter-Petrosyans.
According to our information from the Turkish side Turkish Ambassador
Bleda, Secretary of the Embassy Menter Shahinler, as well as the son of
the leader of `Grey Wolves’ Tughrul Tyurkesh and from Armenian side
former Foreign Minister Vahan Papazyan and Jirayr Liparityan,
considered as a `gray cardinal’ in the administration of the former
President, also participated in the before mentioned negotiations.
Quoting Samson Eozararat, (an Armenian or considering himself an
Armenian born in Turkey), who used to be in close cooperation with L.
Ter-Petrosyan `Milliet’ reported details about the meetings, kept in
secret before. Eozararat underscored that during the discussions A.
Tyurkesh has mainly introduced Ankara’s official stance and
Ter-Petrosyan mentioned that he has many times heard the arguments of
the Turks.
By the way the Turks were shocked, when Levon Ter-Petrosyan wished the
best to Tyurkesh’s son in Turkish language. They were shocked not
because of the fact of wishing well but because of his perfect
knowledge of Turkish language. In Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s letter
addressed to Turkey, published in ”Jumhuriet” in 1995 the before
mentioned wishes were warmer: ”We express our friendly and warm
feelings towards the Turkish people.”
In his interview given to ”Milliet”, Jirayr Liparityan, one of the
participants of the before mentioned meeting, who was the key
responsible for the foreign policy of the former authorities,
underscored that the meeting between Levon Ter-Petrosyan and A.
Tyurkesh was of great significance in the path of interstate relations.
He said there has been no disagreement between L. Ter-Petrosyan and
Foreign Minister Vahan Papazyan in their negotiations with Turkish
officials.
As reported by ”Milliet”, quoting Samson Eozararat, a little after
the meeting the two sides discussed the issue of building a monument
dedicated to the victims of 1915 (notice: not the Genocide of 1915, but
simply 1915) on Armenian Turkish border. The most noteworthy thing is
that they were planning to write: `We mourn for the pain we caused’: in
Turkish – on the side looking at Armenia and in Armenian – on the side
looking at Turkey.
I wonder what pain did Armenians cause to Turkish people? What crime
did we commit, which is equal to Armenian Genocide? Meanwhile it is not
difficult to notice, that by participating in similar discussions and
by giving his agreement regarding the construction of the before
mentioned monument L. Ter-Petrosyan, as a President of Armenia, has, in
fact, played into the hands of Turkey’s foreign policy and advocacy and
the latter is shamelessly introducing Turks as the victims of the
Genocide and the Armenians – as those who committed that Genocide.
On February 23, 1995, Jirayr Liparityan visited Turkey, where he met
with Tughrul Tyurkesh in Hotel `Hilton’ in Ankara. It’s worth
mentioning that the meeting that started at 22.45 p.m. finished at
02.00 a.m.
`Milliet’ also touched upon Samson Eozararat’s visit to Yerevan and the
fact that he returned to Turkey from our capital city by the closed
border. It is noteworthy that the secret envoy didn’t have any problems
with the border-guards of the both sides. Most probably his departure
from Armenia has been realized by Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s direct
mediation.
Los Angeles Times, CA
April 12 2008
A Million Dollar dream
Robert Voskanian has spent the legendary theater’s title sum to
restore it as a multicultural venue.
By Agustin Gurza, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 12, 2008
PASSERSBY were greeted to a most unusual sight this week on Broadway
in downtown Los Angeles. Unusual in recent memory, that is. The iron
gate at the entrance of the historic Million Dollar Theater was wide
open. Nobody was manning the box office, but the unshuttered
exterior, in all its Churrigueresque glory, was a sign that life is
returning to the ornate auditorium, which this year celebrates its
90th anniversary.
The other sign of revival can be found on the side of the marquee:
The Million Dollar presents Mexico’s venerable Mariachi Vargas de
Tecalitlan, appearing May 11. This marks the first major concert in
about a decade staged by the landmark theater that many worried would
never reopen. Not noted on the sign is tonight’s centennial tribute
to Mexican mariachi composer Tito Guízar, sponsored by the Cervantes
Center.
Located at Broadway and 3rd Street, the Million Dollar was once
considered the grande dame of the marvelous movie palaces that line
L.A.’s historic theater district. It was Sid Grauman’s first movie
house in town, designed by noted architect Albert C. Martin Sr. and
hailed as one of the finest in the world when it opened on Feb. 1,
1918, to a crowd of celebrities including Charlie Chaplin and Cecil
B. DeMille. For decades, it would serve as the site of glitzy
Hollywood premieres, often preceded by live vaudeville shows
featuring the likes of Buster Keaton and Gloria Swanson.
In recent decades, the theater has fallen on hard times. It had
served most recently as a church before the faithful also abandoned
it five years ago, leaving its once-gilded interior inexplicably
whitewashed. Then, it just sat empty.
Inside, the lobby is lined with large posters of some of the Latin
stars that appeared here during the 1950s and ’60s — glamorous
Mexican actress Maria Felix, Cuban singer Celia Cruz in full rumba
regalia and comedian Cantinflas with a beaming smile. The slightly
faded photos are vivid reminders of the venue’s postwar heyday as an
important Latin entertainment showcase, kept alive by the city’s new
immigrants as Angelenos fled downtown for the suburbs.
Upstairs, in a plain office behind a messy desk, sits the theater’s
new manager, Robert Voskanian, a tall and skeletal Armenian immigrant
who has dabbled in moviemaking and spent years running two big
downtown discos before taking on the theater’s renovation. The man is
either a visionary or a fool, betting on the chance of restoring the
Million Dollar to even a quarter of its past glory.
"They told me, ‘It’s not going to work. Broadway is never going to be
what it used to be,’ " Voskanian recalls with a shrug. "All your
typical stuff. Hopefully, I’ll show them wrong."
Resting on the floor is a framed photograph of the entrepreneur on
stage with local dignitaries, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
It was taken at an invitation-only event last month that heralded the
theater’s reopening as part of "Bringing Back Broadway," a
city-sponsored drive to spruce up the corridor. (No public funds were
used to restore the Million Dollar, Voskanian says.) On the 800
block, the Orpheum Theater has already undergone a $3.5-million
makeover and now features a busy schedule of performances.
But gone are the days when the theater can depend exclusively on
Latino audiences to stay afloat. The Million Dollar long ago lost its
monopoly as L.A.’s Latin music showcase, after other venues opened
their doors to Latino performers.
Voskanian understands the need to diversify. The day I met him, he
was checking out the website of Michael Kleitman, a Soviet-born opera
singer he’s considering presenting. The moment was a glimpse into the
multicultural future of the new downtown. At the Million Dollar, we
have an Armenian promoter who was born in Iran interested in
presenting a Russian singer who immigrated to Australia and performs
romantic pop in Italian.
People seem sensitive to the perception that downtown gentrification
means pushing Latinos out. Even without being asked, they deny it.
"Why on Earth would we want to get rid of this amazingly vital
community that already exists?" asks Cindy Olnick, spokeswoman for
the Los Angeles Conservancy, which also promotes the revitalization
of Broadway. "We want to keep the authentic resources that make the
community unique and vital. We just want to augment it."
"I’m not going to give up on the Spanish crowd," Voskanian says in
his heavily accented English. "I’m going to add an international
flavor. There’s 365 days to fill the theater, so there’s enough
nights to do everything I want to do."
With his spindly fingers, bushy mustache and long hair pulled back in
a ponytail, Voskanian looks like a character that could have come out
of the 1977 independent horror movie he directed, "The Child," which
the All Movie Guide calls an "odd little period zombie film."
Eventually, he wants to get back to making movies.
Voskanian came to the United States in 1962 as a teenage exchange
student and was later joined by his mother, a homemaker, and father,
a trucker who hauled gasoline in Iran. Armenians were a minority back
home, he recalls, but not like L.A.’s Latinos. "No, there’s a
difference, because Latinos have a lot of power here, and we didn’t,"
he says.
He studied business at Whittier College and cinema at CalArts. In
2006, joined by partners from the disco business, he signed a 20-year
lease from the Million Dollar, owned by the Yellin Co., which also
has the neighboring Grand Central Market. He says he has since
invested $1 million for renovations, an amount that coincidentally
gave the theater its name because that’s what it cost to build. "The
place was, bluntly put, in a sad shape," he says, as he tours the
interior.
The Spanish Baroque auditorium (designed by William Woollett) must
have been awe-inspiring in its day, with its massive arched
proscenium, 75-foot-high coved ceilings, filigreed organ grilles and
massive balcony, an engineering feat at the time. The tenants have
replaced the ragged carpets and painted everything from the gold
vases in the alcoves to the ornate chandeliers. But there’s a lot
left to do, judging from the water stains on the high ceiling caused
before leaks were fixed. The balcony is closed off pending repair of
a rickety exterior staircase. But the show must go on. Already
scheduled this year are a film festival, a beauty contest and two
screenings as part of Last Remaining Seats, the conservancy’s annual
film series in historic venues.
With so much on the line, you’d expect Voskanian to be a little
nervous.
"No, not really," he says, strolling through the theater with his
hands causally tucked into the pockets of his suit pants. "It’s like,
you’re already in it, so you’ve got to try to make the best of it."
Musical Tribute to Tito Guízar, featuring performances by singers
Tito Guízar Jr. (son) and Mauricio Guízar (grandson) and actress
Lilia Guízar (daughter), among others. 6 tonight, Million Dollar
Theater, 307 S. Broadway, Los Angeles. Admission is free. Info, (310)
526-1480 or go to
VARTAN OSKANIAN’S FAREWELL SPEECH TO MFA STAFF
Azat Artsakh Daily
Published on April 11, 2008
NKR Republic
I asked that you all gather here today so I can say thank you – to
all of you: To the diplomats who have worked with me for these 10
years, and longer. To the technical staff who have made our work here
and abroad possible. To our ambassadors who have worked hard, against
great odds, to maximally promote our interests. We can all be proud of
our work, and we can all feel satisfied that we are performing a civic
duty. We are all citizens of armenia – you by birth, I by choice. For
me, the decision to pack up and return to Armenia after independence
was a default decision, a non-decision, an obvious choice. Having come,
I’m not now preparing to go. I’ve been here since almost the beginning,
working with you, to create something out of nothing, to build a new
institution and a new kind of institution. I have served as Foreign
Minister since the beginning of President Kocharian’s term. I had
served as Deputy Minister and First Deputy Minister under President Ter
Petrossian. In other words, I have served not a man, but a people and
a country. Together, that’s what we have done since independence —
we have served the state, the Republic of Armenia. I am proud of the
work we have done together. During these 10 years, I believe much has
changed in the nature of our work. Of course the Republic of Armenia
has changed and progressed such that many objective conditions have
changed – we don’t wait 2, 3, sometimes 5 months to get paid. We have
paper on which to print treaties, conventions and documents. We are
not hostage to irregular flights into and out of Armenia.
There are other differences, too. Diplomats, and all staff, are
accepted solely on merit and not for any other reason. Diplomats
are assigned postings solely based on professional circumstances
and not for any other reason. This ministry has a reputation now for
being the cleanest, the most professional, the best regulated, and
not corrupt. And that’s no small reason to be proud. This ministry
is a place where people are treated with dignity, with respect and
with tolerance. I’m proud of that and I believe that that tradition,
once begun, cannot be easily undone. On the contrary, it becomes
contagious. I believe that to build a democratic society, we must
begin, and we have begun, by building a transparent, accountable
ministry, and by treating each other with dignity. The world has
changed too in these 10 years. Russia is no longer in retreat. Europe
is much closer than it used to be. The US is more insistent on
having partners who are democratic. Azerbaijan is looking to oil for
solutions to all problems. Turkey is living both in the past and
in the future. Georgia is walking a fine line between beleaguered
and bold. Iran is caught between the world’s perceptions and its own
self-image. And Armenia? Armenia has demonstrated that we understand
that diplomacy and defense do not replace each other, but work in
tandem to secure a nation’s future. Armenia has proven that economic
growth is possible, even with the absence of natural resources and
open transportation corridors. Armenia is living proof that one can
be a respected member of the international community and at the same
time swim against the global tide to assure self-determination and
security for Nagorno Karabakh. Armenia has become a trustworthy and I
can say, full partner in international organizations with a full agenda
of reforms, insights and action items. Armenia has established good
relations with all major world centers – Russia, the Americas, Europe,
Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. But each of the successes I
just mentioned have brought with it a set of new challenges and new
problems. And that’s our job – to make the best of each opportunity
and minimize all threats.
Now, we must perform our job in the changed environment of the last
several months. When we allowed the political tensions and emotions
of the election and post-election period to reign, they demonstrated
that we sometimes imagine that revolution can be an alternative to
reforms, and that revenge can take precedence over reconciliation. No
one knows better than we in this building that that is false. No one
knows better than we that our domestic strength, integrity, stability,
morality and perseverance are our best – actually our only – calling
cards in the international arena. If those were our assets, today we
work with a deficit. The capital we had accumulated internationally has
been squandered. That means my successor, each of you, and all of us
who live in Armenia, must work even harder to regain our respectability
and our confidence in ourselves and our future.
I will continue to work with you. I don’t intend to terminate my
public engagement, but to enter a new phase. I don’t intend to be
foreign minister but I intend to work domestically to help the next
minister to succeed internationally. The weeks after March 1 were
the most difficult of my entire career. On the one hand, I am part of
an admininstration which, at the end of the day, is responsible for
what happens in this country. On the other hand, from the beginning of
their campaign, I disagreed, publicly and privately, with the tactics,
methods and goals of the opposition.
Just as it is not in my nature to follow blindly, it is also not in
my nature to be in bitter opposition. I believe in carrying out the
responsibilities I have undertaken. I believe I have done so these
10 years, sometimes before the TV cameras but more often behind the
scenes. My commitment to Armenia and its future did not begin when
I became foreign minister. It will not cease now that I am no longer
foreign minister.
Instead, it will change. I will undertake a new set of responsibilities
that will focus on fashioning a relevant, inclusive civic and
political forum and that will work with the public and with the
existing political forces on mending the torn fabric of our society,
on finding genuine paths to political concensus by reconciling
our differences, not suppressing them. I will partner with those
who wish to create the mechanisms that replicate the experience of
other developed countries and offer serious, convincing political
alternatives that are not destructive, extreme and self-serving.
Most of all, or first of all, I will work to strengthen the
institutions which will decrease our people’s cynicism and readiness
to believe the worst about ourselves, that will empower people to say
what they believe and believe in what they say. The work that you and
I will do will be complementary. I feel a part of this family. And
that’s not going to change. I would like it to remain that way, and
I know it will be hard to pass by this building, or through Republic
Square in general. Thank you.
RUSSIA WANTS TO BUILD NEW NPP FOR ARMENIA – INTER RAO UES
Interfax News Agency
April 9 2008
Russia
Russia is ready to build a new nuclear power plant in Armenia, INTER
RAO UES board of directors chairman Andrei Rappoport told journalists
in Yerevan on Wednesday.
Rosenergoatom currently holds a 40% stake in INTER RAO UES. After
the Unified Energy System of Russia (UES) (RTS: EESR) is finally
reorganized, INTER RAO’s controlling interest will be held by Rosatom
corporation. "Given this, we will not only run the nuclear power
plant currently in operation in Armenia, but also build a new one. We
will definitely do this and are ready to act as an investor and an
engineer," he said.
Asked by reporters about the possibility of extending the management
of the Armenian nuclear power plant by INTER RAO UES, Rappoport said
no talks had been conducted with the Armenian government on this issue,
but talks could begin in a couple of months.
The five years of Armenian nuclear power plant management were
successful, but the management company did not earn anything for that,
he said. "We have mixed feelings. We did the management for five
years and see this as a major contribution to the station’s work,
but we have not earned a single kopeck," he said.
Earlier reports said that the construction of a new power-generating
unit of the Armenian nuclear power plant is to begin in 2010 and is to
last for five years. France’s Framatome showed interests in building
the nuclear power plant, too. The power-generating unit to be built
will tentatively have a capacity of 1,000 megawatts. It is estimated
at 1 billion euro.
In September 2003 the Armenian nuclear power plant was transferred
to INTER RAO UES for financial management for five years.
HEAD OF JEWISH COMMUNITY OF ARMENIA CONSIDERS THAT SOONER OR LATER ISRAEL WILL RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Noyan Tapan
April 10, 2008
YEREVAN, APRIL 10, NOYAN TAPAN. Rima Varzhapetian, the head of the
Jewish community of Armenia, has sent a letter to the deputies of
Israeli Knesset calling them for being reasonable and adopting a
resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide. As R. Varzhapetian said
at the April 10 press conference, that issue is raised every year
both in the whole world and in Israel on the eve of the commemoration
day of the Armenian Genocide victims. In her opinion, the moment
of recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Israel has matured, as
the relations between the two countries, Armenia and Israel, are at
rather a high level.
According to R. Varzhapetian, one of the reasons of Israel’s not
recognizing the Armenian Genocide so far is that independent historians
have not classed the events of 1915 as a genocide yet. However, as
the head of the community said, the Israeli people admits the fact of
the Armenian Genocide and sooner or later it will be also recognized
by the country’s authorities.
In R. Varzhapetian’s words, the Armenians do not work so much for the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the international community.
According to her, some people in the world even are not aware of the
Armenian Genocide. "And if they know nothing, who can they adopt and
recognize it?," the head of the Jewish community of Armenia said.
INTERNATIONAL TENDER ON LICENSING THIRD MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATION OPERATOR TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON
ARKA
April 8, 2008
YEREVAN, April 8. /ARKA/. International tender on licensing the third
mobile telecommunication operator is to be announced before May 1,
2008, Armenian Public Services Regulatory Commission Chairman Robert
Nazaryan said on Tuesday at a press conference.
Nazaryan said that the results of the tender will be announced by
late August.
He said that preparation for the tender is under way now.
Earlier, Nazaryan said that the commission will start accepting
applications from license aspirants on May 1.
The application submission will last 90 days.
Nazaryan says the third mobile telecommunication operator will be
known no earlier than August or September while Andranik Manukyan,
the communication minister, who is the head of the tender commission,
says the results will be unveiled in June.
There are two mobile telecommunication operators – ArmenTel and
Vivacell – in Armenia now.
VICTOR DALLAKIAN HOPES THAT PARLIAMENT TO RESPOND POSITIVELY TO HIS INITIATIVE
Noyan Tapan
April 8, 2008
YEREVAN, APRIL 8, NOYAN TAPAN. On April 24, there will be a month
since the draft decision on creating an interim NA commission
for examining the postelection situation in Armenia was put into
circulation. According to the NA rules of procedures, this draft has
to be discussed at the next four-day session, the draft’s author,
deputy Victor Dallakian told NT correspondent.
He expressed a hope that the parliament will respond positively to
his initiative.
In his statement made in the National Assembly on the same day,
V. Dallakian said the tasks of the interim commission include
examination of the March 1-2 events, assessment of the state of
human rights in the postelection period, presentation of proposals
for overcoming the internal political situation in Armenia, giving
guarantees of activities of the political opposition, and presentation
of proposals on independence of the television and radio companies.
According to V. Dallakian, representatives of the parliamentary and
extraparliamentary opposition can take a full part in the work of
the commission.
IRAN PLANNING TO SHOOT ANTI-CHRISTIAN FILM
PanARMENIAN.Net
07.04.2008 13:51 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Stung by a Dutch lawmaker’s graphic documentary
depicting barbaric acts carried out in the name of Islam and
the Koran, an Iranian film organization says it is producing a
counter-documentary, "Beyond Fitna."
Iran’s FARS news agency reports the film focuses on "orders given
to worldwide Christians in the (distorted) version of the Bible for
stoking violence, committing genocide, attacking others, beheading
and burning women and children who have been taken into captivity."
The Iranian film announcement comes a week after far-right Dutch
politician Geert Wilders released his 17-minute film, "Fitna" in
the Web.
The release of "Fitna" on March 27 sparked noisy protests from Islamic
groups and leaders – some threatening Wilders with death – and the
United Nations and several nations called for the removal of the film
from video Web sites such as Google and YouTube, FOX News reports
Iranian parliament speaker Gholamali Haddadadel called on his country’s
citizens to boycott Dutch goods.
European states will leave the road if they see threat to their
economy," he said.
BAKU SENT PROTEST NOTE TO INDIA OVER POSITION ON KARABAKH RESOLUTION
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.04.2008 14:49 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan has sent a note of protest to India,
which opposed the resolution "On the situation in the occupied
territories of Azerbaijan" in the UN General Assembly.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry "expressed discontent with India’s
stance on the issue," said Tamerlan Garayev, Azerbaijan’s Ambassador
to India.
"The note has been already said and we are waiting for a reply from
the Indian Foreign Ministry," he said, Trend Azeri news agency reports.
Earlier, Ambassador Garayev said that the Azerbaijani Embassy had
been carrying out strenuous work to dissuade India from voting against
the resolution on Nagorno Karabakh, or, at least, abstain.
"However, this country did not lend an ear to our arguments," he said.
"We were cherishing plans for cooperation.
Unfortunately, India spoiled everything. Presently, the Azerbaijani
Embassy in Delhi is waiting for MFA instructions. Afterwards, the
official position of Baku will be brought to notion of the Indian
side," he said. "This move upset us and it will certainly affect the
Azerbaijani-Indian relations."