Author: Emil Lazarian

OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS MAY MEET IN APRIL

PanARMENIAN.Net
31.03.2006 01:46 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The next meeting of co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group for settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict may be held
this April, OSCE MG US Co-Chair Steven Mann stated during a video
conference, organized by the US Embassy in Armenia. He also did not
rule out Armenian and Azeri FMs meeting soon, however noting that
“exact terms are not determined yet.” The date of the mediator’s next
visit to the region is not determined either. “We are now trying to
analyze the situation and outline further steps. After the latest
meeting with Armenian and Azeri Presidents I can say with hope that
we can find ways of settlement,” Steven Mann said, reports IA Regnum.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERI WRITER: WE MUST CRUSH AND SMOTHER ARMENIANS LIKE PESTS AND LEPERS

YEREVAN, MARCH 30. ARMINFO. Azeri “writer” and “intellectual”
Elchin Gasanov calls for a new war with Armenia, in his article
“War is Inevitable” in Echo daily he goes into the world history and
compares the military experience of the German Nazi with the military
experience of the Azeri army.

Openly expressing his sympathy for the Nazi, Gasanov reproaches the
Azeris for their “complex of defeated.” “It’s awful! Armenians do
not understand words. They must be crushed and smothered like pests
and lepers.” “So my conclusion is: iron and blood! War is inevitable!”

“Otherwise we will never be able to wash away our disgrace and nobody
will respect us. It’s bad but it’s true.” Noting that the Azeris have
lost their Waterloo, Gasanov quite illogically claims: “War is the
best cure for people, it cures and cripples. But we need it more than
the Armenians do. But the Armenians want it too – or where will they
spend the money they get from abroad? Whoever says that Armenians are
altruists will cause my anger. This is a farce. They too love money,
love living well.”

So, in order not to cause Gasanov’s anger we better not argue with him.

ADS HINDER SOAP OPERAS?

Panorama.am
15:44 30/03/06

“Today the Language State Inspectorate, as an institute working and
carrying out a linguistic policy, also controls the advertisement
language. Of course it is on a very low level, as our language is
represented in advertisements as an accumulation of consonants by
means of such words as “trvcvum e, kcvcvum e, khpvcvum e” and many
others. Even an Armenian doesn’t have the heart to utter those words,”
complained the deputy of the head of the Language State Inspectorate
Marine Hovyan during the discussion of the language of advertisements
held today.

It turns out that there are no such people to complain either of
the language of the ads or of their existence in general. As the
executive manager of the Centre of Study of Public Opinion Karine
Titanyan informs the 91.1% of the 500 Armenians, who took part in
public-opinion poll, simply dream of never watching TA advertisements
again. 7.7% of them want the TV ads to increase in number but in the
meantime become of higher quality and taste. And in the regions of
the republic 97.8% of 2260 cannot bare the advertisements, moreover
when they are broadcast in the middle of the soap operas.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PUT IN A WORD FOR AUTHOR SONG…

Panorama.am
13:55 30/03/06

The Republican Festival of author song “Golden Lyre 2006” is going
to be held from May to June of the current year in Yerevan. The
organizers of the festival are producing centre “Ovatsia” (Ovation)
and RA Ministry of Culture. However, as the Deputy of the Minister of
Culture Karine Khodikyan mentioned, the initiators of the festival
turned to the Ministry for help when the budget of the current year
was already passed. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Culture set to help
with the organization of the festival.

Particularly, it gave a building to hold the contest in.

“The Ministry of Culture considers the author song a very important
genre for us and we need new artists in the field,” Karine Khodikyan
mentioned.

The bards present at the press conference noticed that a festival of
author song hasn’t been held since 1999.

“And it means that a generation of new singers we know nothing about
has grown up since then,” Edward Zorikyan said. Tatevik Aghamiryan
mentioned that there is a great vacuum of author song in Armenia. “We
don’t even know on what level we are now,” she said.

As the chairman of the producing centre “Ovation” Samvel Mesropyan
said, at the moment there are 40-50 famous artists of this genre in
Armenia. And the festival aims at search of new names.

To note, applications for participation in the festival are accepted
until April 20. The first stage of the contest is going to be held
from May 10-15, and the gala-concert of the winners of the contest
and famous artists will take place from June 6-10. It is expected
that such famous representatives of Armenian author song as Rouben
Hakhverdyan, Armen Movsisyan, and Arthur Meschyan are going to take
part in the festival.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE GAVAR THEATRE WAS REMEMBERED WITH DELAY

A1+
[07:48 pm] 30 March, 2006

The Regional Governor of Gegharqunik Stepan Barseghyan congratulated
the actors of the Gavar State Dramatic Theatre after Levon Kalantaryan
on the International Theatre Day with two days’ delay.

He had a meeting with the personnel of the theatre.

The Regional Governor awarded the 8 actors of the theatre with diplomas
for their share in the art development, and 7 actors got letters of
thanks. The actors are pleased that they are remembered at least once
a year. But the theatre shouldn’t be neglected.

The only hope is the restoration of the theatre with the means of
the state budget which won’t be realized this year. The three – month
draft work of the Ministry of Urban Development was not implemented
whereas the theatre needs immediate repairing. There is about half
meter water pool under the stage and the walls are all cracked. The
poor appearance of the theatre will not change in 2006.

“Kjavar” TV channel of Gavar

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERI MP URGES WITHDRAWAL OF NATIONAL TROOPS FROM IRAQ

Regnum, Moscow
30 Mar 06

30 March: The chairman of the pro-government United People’s Front of
Azerbaijan Party, MP Qudrat Hasanquliyev, said in Baku on 29 March
that “Azerbaijan should leave the anti-terror coalition created by
the Americans and withdraw its troops from Iraq”.

Regnum news agency quoted him as saying that it was pointless to
stay in the coalition, the founders of which had failed to resolve
problems in Azerbaijan.

Hasanquliyev said that the coalition member states have been providing
Armenia and the separatist Nagornyy Karabakh with material assistance.

“This is another reason for Azerbaijan to get out of the coalition,”
he said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CSTO COORDINATION BOARD ON FIGHT AGAINST DRUG TRAFFICKING COMPLETES ITS WORK IN YEREVAN

Noyan Tapan
Mar 29 2006

YEREVAN, MARCH 29, NOYAN TAPAN. The coordination board of heads of
the bodies that deal with drug trafficking issues in the Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) countries completed its work in
Yerevan on March 29. Victor Cherkesov, the board chairman, Director
of the RF Federal Service for Control over Drug Trafficking, told
reporters that the results of the operative-preventive measures
against international drug trafficking in 2005 were summarized at
the sitting. He noted with satisfaction that in addition to the
6 CSTO member states – Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan and Russia, representatives of Iran, Pakistan, Azerbaijan,
Uzbekistan and Ukraine took part in the sitting. He said that besides
the 12 countries that participated in the operations, the US and
Mongolia applied to the coordination board with a proposal to be
involved in the solution of the problem with the Afghan channel
of drug trafficking. According to V. Cherkesov, his department has
no information about drug trafficking from or via the NKR. The RA
Police Chief Hayk Harutyunian underlined that the issue is being
irrelevantly politicized, it does not correspond to the reality: the
whole territory of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic is being controlled by
the law-enforcement bodies of the NKR, whose members, in his opinion,
are professionals today.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

3 ARMENIAN TENNIS-PLAYERS TO TAKE PART IN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Noyan Tapan
Mar 29 2006

YEREVAN, MARCH 29, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian men’s table tennis
national team will take part in the world championship to be held
from April 23 to May 2 in the German city of Bremen. For the purpose
of determining the team staff the “TOP-12” tournament traditionally
held at the end of the year was held earlier this time. 3 strongest
tennis-players were selected from 12 ones in the selective tournament
held on the sports ground of Hayastan company. As it was expected,
David Sargsian took first place. The next places were taken by Murad
Asatrian and Mesrop Ghukasian. These 3 tennis-players won the right to
take part in the world championship. As Noyan Tapan correspondent was
informed by Felix Sargsian, senior trainer of the Armenian national
team, the team is included in the 5th group. Here it will compete
with national teams of Ireland, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates,
the Dominican Republic and Guatemala.

In order not to be left out of the competition they should take 1st
or 2nd place in the group.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA HAS PROSPECT OF BECOMING TRANSIT COUNTRY FOR IRANIAN GAS

Noyan Tapan
Mar 29 2006

YEREVAN, MARCH 29, NOYAN TAPAN. The “Noravank” scientific-educational
fund organized a round table on the theme “Iranian Gas between East
and West: Prospects for Armenia” on March 28. RA NA Deputies Vazgen
Manukian, Tatul Manaserian, Armen Ashotian, specialists of the RA
Foreign Ministry and National Academy of Sciences as well as experts
and analysts representing different organizations participated in the
discussion. As Sevak Saroukhanian, the Deputy Executive Director of the
“Noravank” scientific-educational fund, the main spekaer mentioned
in his speech, Armenia has some perspectives to become a transit
country on the way of exporting Iranian gas to countries of the
European Union. According to him, the EU, member countries of which
has a great dependence today from the Russian gas, is interested in
import of Iranian gas. It was also mentioned that volumes of export
of Iranian gas occupying the second place in the world after Russia
by its reserves of natural gas are very small at present. According
to the speaker, possible export of gas to Pakistan and India is
less profitable for Iran, and this program is more used by Iran
as a political trump. Considering export of gas to Europe through
the territory of Turkey indesirable, Iran, in Sevak Saroukhanian’s
opinion, may prefer Armenia with which it has good relations. In the
case of construction of a gas pipe of 50 bln cubic metre capability
annually, Armenia may expect profit of 160 mln dollars annually. But
some participants of the round table considered such a perspective for
Armenia less probable. According to expert Igor Muradian, the issue of
gas export is more political than economic, and it’ll be difficult for
Iran to combine its economic and political interests. In the opinion
of Spartak Seyranian, the editor-in-chief of the “Yerkir” weekly, Iran
will prefer to export gas to East, to increase its influence in that
region. According to Vigen Hakobian, a representative of the “Regnum”
agency, Russia will never agree that Armenia becomes a transit country.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TOMORROW’S WARRIORS IN ARMENIA
By Tamar Minasian

AZG Armenian Daily
30/03/2006

The British Council in Armenia in collaboration with British jazz
musicians Gary Crosby and Abram Wilson has organized a four day
workshop with talented young Armenian jazz musicians as part of the
“Tomorrow’s Warriors” education programme from 27 to 30 March.

The Armenian and the British musicians will perform at “Avant-Garde”
Folk Jazz Club. The workshop will focus on honing technique, developing
improvisation skills and broadening repertoire. The leaders of the
programme will work with the local music leaders to share knowledge
and pass on skills so that the development process may continue after
the tutors have returned to London.

“Tomorrow’s Warriors” is a non-profit organization established in
1992 by original Jazz Warriors double bassist, Gary Crosby to develop
young talented jazz musicians. The organization helped to incubate such
names as Courtney Pine, Gary Crosby, Steve Williamson and many others.

Mr. Crosby highly estimates the professional skills of the young
Armenian musicians. Today, Mr. Crosby and Mr. Wilson will perform
with Anush Apoyan, Artyom Manukian, Artur Grigorian, Artur Nazarian,
David Tatevosian, Gevorg Khechoyan, Manuk Ghazarian and Hamlet
Sharoyan. “They are brilliant musicians, they just need to develop,”
Crosby stated in the interview to Azg.

The musicians are going to perform about 10 pieces each evening. There
are pieces that will be performed exclusively by the Armenian
musicians.

As for development of jazz in the world, Mr. Crosby said that jazz
remains a club music everywhere. “Jazz is a spirit. One needs to love
it, to love the music and play it. When you play jazz your soul gets
richer,” Crosby said.

Mr. Crosby pins big hopes on “Tomorrow’s Warriors.”

“There should be individuals that want to develop and promote jazz
everywhere, ” he said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress