Author: Hambardsumian Paul

IRAN TO TRANSFER GAS TO ARMENIA SOON
Persian Journal, Iran
Sept 12 2006
Mullah-run majlis speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said on Tuesday
that the first gas pipeline to transfer gas from Iran to Armenia is
scheduled to become operational in the coming months.
Addressing reporters, Haddad-Adel also known as “Gholam Shire’i”
in majlis for his addiction to opium, said that the progress of the
gas project is supervised by the presidents of Iran and Armenia.
Haddad-Adel said that feasibility studies on the second gas pipeline
is currently underway.
He referred to projects on transfer of energy, development and port of
industrial machinery as strategies aiming to boost trade exchanges
between the two states and urged that tourism and investment by
private sector should also be facilitated.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the speaker said that establishment of
relations with the Central Asian states and Caucasia has been on the
agenda of Iran’s foreign policy over the past 15 years.

ARMENIA HAS SPECIAL PLACE AMONG IRAN’S NEIGHBORS
PanARMENIAN.Net
12.09.2006 14:33 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Armenian President Robert Kocharian met
with Iranian Mejlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, reports the
Press Service of the Armenian leader. During the meeting the parties
discussed the issue of development of Armenian-Iranian relations and
the process of implementation of joint programs.
Kocharian stated he is content with development of bilateral
relations. He specially remarked that cooperation in private
infrastructure binds the two countries with more prospective
programs. The Armenian leader also added that the Armenian and Iranian
parties display consistency to implement joint programs in a timely
manner and at a high level. In the words of Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel,
the fact that not problems, but plans of actions issuing from
agreements are discussed, evidences a high level of development of
relations. The Iranian Speaker added that Armenia has a special place
among the neighbors Iran has acquired after the collapse of the Soviet
Union. The parties noted the need to develop parliamentary relations,
adding that legislators still yield to government representatives on
the degree of their activity.

REPRESSION IN THE AGE OF LIBERTY
By Ralph R. Reiland
American Spectator
Sept 12 2006
Imagine if insulting George W. Bush were a crime or if we jailed
writers for being critical of U.S. policies. Half the authors on the
New York Times’ best-seller list would be behind bars.
It’s different in Turkey. For the crime of “insulting Turkishness,”
best-selling Turkish novelist Elif Shafak is facing up to four years
in prison. Her trial is scheduled to begin on September 21.
At issue are several remarks made by a fictional character in Shafak’s
latest novel, The Bastard of Istanbul, already a top-selling book
in Turkey and set to be published next year by Viking in the United
States.
The charges against Shafak involve the word “genocide,” spoken in
her novel by a fictional character of Armenian ancestry regarding
the death of Armenians during World War I.
“I am the grandchild of genocide survivors who lost all their
relatives in the hands of Turkish butchers in 1915,” says the imaginary
character, “but I myself have been brainwashed to deny the genocide
because I was raised by some Turk named Mustapha.”
In the United States, some fictional Apache in a novel could say much
the same thing about the fate of his tribe at the hands of European
settlers and no one would be headed for the courthouse.
A historian at the University of Hawaii, David E. Stannard,
unincarcerated, described the forced removal and killing of native
Americans as “the worst human holocaust the world had ever witnessed,
roaring across two continents nonstop for four centuries and consuming
the lives of countless tens of millions of people.”
No American churchmen went to jail when the National Council of
Churches adopted a resolution that branded the journey of Christopher
Columbus an “invasion” that resulted in the “genocide of native
people.”
In Turkey, however, public comment, even by a fictional character,
about the killing of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians by the
Ottoman Turks during and after World War I is a taboo subject and
potentially illegal.
Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, adopted in June 2005, states
that:
* “Public denigration of Turkishness, the Republic or the Grand
National Assembly of Turkey shall be punishable by imprisonment of
between six months and three years.”
* “Public denigration of the Government of the Republic of Turkey,
the judicial institutions of the State, the military or security
matters shall be punishable by imprisonment of between six months
and two years.”
A third section of the Penal Code, applicable to Shafak, a Turkish
citizen and currently an assistant professor in Near Eastern Studies
at the University of Arizona, states, “In cases where denigration
of Turkishness is committed by a Turkish citizen in another country,
the punishment shall be increased by one third.”
Under Article 301, internationally acclaimed author Orhan Pamuk,
Turkey’s most famous novelist, was charged last year with “insulting
Turkishness” after he stated in an interview with a Swiss newspaper
that “30,000 Kurds and a million Armenians were murdered in these
lands and no one but me dares talk about it.”
The Turkish Publishers’ Association reports that more than 60 writers
and journalists have been charged under Article 301 with various forms
of “insulting Turkishness,” including the intellectual transgression
of allegedly insulting Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938), the founder of
modern Turkey.
Five journalists were charged last year for articles they wrote
challenging the decision of an Istanbul court to ban an academic
conference dealing with the killing of Armenians under the Ottoman
Empire from 1915 to 1917. The writers’ crime? Attempting to “influence
judicial procedures” by objecting to the court’s interference with
academic freedom.
The complaints against Pamuk and Shafak were filed by attorney
Kemal Kerincsiz, head of the Turkish Jurists’ Union. “We will not
allow insults and abuse of Turkishness in the name of freedom of
expressions,” explained Kerincsiz.
Less narrow-minded, Shafak portrays her upcoming court battle as
part of an ongoing struggle for modernity and freedom of expression:
“What’s going on right now is a backlash. There’s a clash of opinion.
On the one hand are the people who are much more cosmopolitan-minded,
much more multicultural, who want to keep Turkey as an open society
and who very much support wholeheartedly the European Union process.
But on the other hand are the people who want to maintain Turkey as an
enclosed society, more xenophobic, more nationalistic, more insular.”
Ralph R. Reiland is an associate professor of economics at Robert
Morris University in Pittsburgh.

CE’S OBJECTIVE IS TO ASSIST IN RESOLUTION OF NK CONFLICT – PACE PRESIDENT
Author: R.Agayev
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Sept 11 2006
Exclusive interview of Trend special correspondent in Russia with the
President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Rene
Van Der Linden, who participated in a conference “Dialogue of cultures
and inter-religious cooperation” in Russian city Nizhniy Novgorod.
Question: How do you estimate the level of co-operation between
Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe?
Answer: Azerbaijan is an important member of the CE, because a
major part of its population is comprised of Muslims and it enables
us to have an inter-culture and inter-religious discussion at an
inter-parliamentary level.
During the last observation at the elections in Azerbaijan we corrected
many shortfalls, as it was noted in the CE report. At present we try
to use all contacts with the Country’s authorities, non-governmental
organizations, and opposition parties to bring the election process
in Azerbaijan in line with its obligations undertaken whilst entering
the CE.
Question: What are your views on the perspective of the final cessation
of the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan that is still continuing?
Answer: It is a growing problem. Moreover, it would be unacceptable if
members of one and the same organization, those that took the peaceable
resolution, peaceable community and peaceable co-existence as basis,
would have conflict with each other. In this case it is dealt with
Nagorno-Karabakh.
I sincerely believe that the two leaders, with the assistance of the
CE and the international organizations, will continue discussions to
find a final peaceful resolution, as our key objective is to render
assistance and avoid further resistance with respect to solving the
conflict between the two CE members.
Under no circumstances, even if it is specified by the law and
political defense expediency, should either CE member declare war.
War is excluded. We give priority to a resolution achieved through
peaceful means, through discussions and talks. It would be a very
serious problem, if any of the sides declares war. It will undoubtedly
lead to serious discussions at the PACE and of course, a question on
the expediency of membership at the CE.
Question: A referendum is to be held in Pre-Dniester on 17 September
2006. Now they frequently sound calls on the necessity of isolation
of this region from Moldova. How do you regard this kind of processes
in the self-proclaimed republics, such in South Osetia, Abkhazia,
Pre-Dniester, and Nagorno-Karabakh? Isn’t it dangerous for Europe?
Answer: We do not recognize the referendum and we will not observe
it. We hope in the peaceful resolution of the Pre-Dniester conflict.
It is one of the frozen conflicts and this region is of interest to
Russia, as well as all international organizations, including the CE.
We should co-operate to develop a final resolution. In any case we
do not support the referendum as a mean of achievement of independence.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
—————————————— —-
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
Government House # 2, Republic Square
Yerevan 0010, Republic of Armenia
Telephone: +37410. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +37410. 562543
Email: [email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
08-09-2006
UN Resolution on Fires on Territories Around Nagorno Karabagh Adopted
On September 7, a UN resolution initiated by Azerbaijan, with text agreed to
by Armenia, was adopted during the 60th session of the UN General Assembly.
Armenia negotiated over the draft resolution and come to an agreement on its
content and formulation. Hence, the document, in general, became acceptable
for the Armenian side, since it essentially gave agreement to a text that
simply reiterated support for an OSCE expert mission to study control and
extinguishing of fires in the region.
Following are the text of the resolution, the statement by Ambassador Armen
Martirosian, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the
United Nations, and the statement by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair
countries.
Sixtieth Session of the UN General Assembly
Agenda Item 40,
Azerbaijan: resolution
The situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan
The General Assembly,
Seriously concerned by the fires in the affected territories, which have
inflicted widespread environmental damage,
1. Stresses the necessity to urgently conduct an environmental
operation to suppress the fires in the affected territories and to overcome
their detrimental consequences;
2. Welcomes the readiness of the parties to cooperate to that end and
considers such an operation to be an important confidence-building measure;
3. Takes note of the OSCE intention to organize a mission to the
region to assess the short-term and long-term impact of the fires on the
environment as a step for preparation of the environmental operation;
4. Calls upon, in this regard, the organizations and programs of the
United Nations system, in particular the United Nations Environmental
Programme, in cooperation with the OSCE to provide all necessary assistance
and expertise, including, inter alia, the assessment of and counteraction to
the short-term and long-term impact of the environmental degradation of the
region, as well as in its rehabilitation;
5. Asks the Chairman in Office of the OSCE to provide a report to
Member States of the General Assembly by April 30, 2007
September 6, 2006
98th Plenary Meeting
Agenda item 40: The situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan
Statement by H.E. Mr. Armen Martirosian, Ambassador, Permanent
Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the United Nations
Mr. President,
The draft resolution at hand addresses an issue, which we thought had been
brought to a close, two weeks ago, through discussions with the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office, the Minsk Group Co-chairs and the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office’s Personal Representative. A decision was taken to send a
mission of experts under the OSCE to assess the fires.
The authorities of Nagorno Karabagh had already accepted this proposal, and
Armenia was certainly ready to use its good offices to facilitate such a
mission. It was our understanding that Azerbaijan had also agreed.
Given all this, it was surprising to see a draft resolution circulating at
the UN on this same issue, especially since it called for a parallel mission
under the UN auspices.
This approach was unacceptable. We considered such a step to be an obstacle
to continuing negotiations. And, since it was clearly intended to pursue
other political ends, Armenia opposed this motion.
However, as a result of our consultations with the Minsk Group Co-chairs, we
have come to agreement on a text that simply reiterates support for the OSCE
mission. In this regard we would like to welcome the readiness of all the
parties to negotiate in the spirit of compromise under the able and very
effective mediation of the Minsk Group Co-chairs.
Nevertheless, although we support the content of the agreement, we continue
to remain opposed to the general idea of this agenda item and a UN
resolution under it. That is the reason Armenia dissociates itself from the
consensus on this resolution.
Thank you, Mr. President.
Statement of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries
Sixtieth Session of the UN General Assembly
Agenda Item 40, “The situation in the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan”
The Russian Federation, France, and the United States of America, as the
Co-Chair countries of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe’s Minsk Group, remain committed to promoting a peaceful, negotiated
resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In this capacity, we take with
great seriousness concerns raised by either side to the conflict regarding
threats to the security and stability of the region, as well as any
developments that pose new obstacles to the negotiation process.
Accordingly, we have examined closely the information provided by the
Government of Azerbaijan regarding fires in the eastern part of the occupied
territories of Azerbaijan surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. We also note the
report of the Personal Representative of the Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE,
who, at the request of the Government of Azerbaijan and direction of the
Chairman-in-Office, has carried out a monitoring mission to the affected
areas. We note, in particular, that fires of both natural and manmade origin
are a regular occurrence in the region in question. The question of whether
more extensive fires this year are a cause of ecological concern requiring
international attention to their suppression is one that can only be
answered through a technical examination of the situation.
Therefore, the Co-Chairs stand ready, together with the Personal
Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, to lend their immediate
assistance to the organization of an OSCE mission, with the support and
expertise of the United Nations Environmental Programme, and to report to
the UN General Assembly the results of the mission, as requested in the
present resolution, as well as to the OSCE.
We commend the spirit of goodwill demonstrated by both Armenia and
Azerbaijan in agreeing to cooperate to address the situation raised through
this resolution. We hope the agreement reached today reflects a new
readiness by both sides to engage in further measures to build confidence
that will advance the process of negotiations, and we will redouble our
efforts, through the OSCE’s Minsk Group, to promote such activities.
Mr. President, we note that over the past two years, the Co-Chairs of the
Minsk Group have worked intensively with the Foreign Ministers and
Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to identify core principles of an
agreement that would lead to a just and lasting settlement. Our nations,
reinforced by the voices of the Group of Eight leading nations at their
summit in St. Petersburg in July, have called on the Presidents of both
Armenia and Azerbaijan to accept now these core principles as a basis for
resolution of the conflict, and to prepare their publics for peace, and not
war. We reiterate that call today and restate the readiness of our
governments to lend full support to the achievement and implementation of a
peace agreement.

TORONTO FESTIVAL EXPLORES THEMES OF WAR
By Joan Dupont International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune, France
Sept 8 2006
TORONTO It was an Indian summer day in Toronto when we trooped out
of Mira Nair’s “Monsoon Wedding” – Bollywood fun and dancing – just
before noon, Sept. 11, 2001. The festival never recovered from the
shock of that day and ground to a halt.
Today, winds and currents from around the world are blowing through
the 31st Toronto International Film Festival, which opened Friday and
continues until Sept. 16. Fallout from that day is visible in a rash of
movies that take on themes of the times – war, terrorism, executioners,
victims and outcasts – treating them either frontally or obliquely.
The Toronto festival, tucked between those in Venice and New York
and open to world cinema and dissident voices, is showing the highly
controversial “Death of a President” by the British director Gabriel
Range, a fictionalized imagining of the assassination of George W.
Bush, simulated by digital effects.
The festival’s co-directors, Piers Handling and Noah Cowan,
foreseeing criticism, issued a statement that read in part: “‘Death
of a President’ by Gabriel Range is fictional drama told in the
style of a documentary. Range, in concert with some of the finest
special effects professionals, mixes archival footage with narrative
elements to construct a highly original film; a falsified history on
what would be a tragic event. ‘Death of a President’ addresses a wide
array of contemporary issues, including the loss of civil liberties,
the ramifications of war, and ultimately critiques the overwhelming
influence and manipulation of mass media.”
On the eve of the festival opening, Handling and Cowan discussed this
and other films included in their lineup in an e-mail: “‘Death of a
President’ is a classic cautionary tale,” Cowan pointed out. “Bush’s
assassination, while harrowing, is more trigger than climax. The film
is about how the Patriot Act, especially, and how Bush’s divisive
partisanship and race- baiting has forever altered America.”
He describes another premiere, “Mon Colonel,” written and produced
by Costa-Gavras, directed by Laurent Herbiet, about 1960s Algeria,
as “an Iraq film in Algerian disguise.”
“The Bubble,” by the Israeli Eytan Fox, about a homosexual affair
between an Israeli peacenik and a young Palestinian, is a daring film
that comes to a shocking end. “The Bubble” refers to how Israelis
describe life in “cool” Tel Aviv. “The most shocking thing about
‘The Bubble,'” according to Cowan, “is its shift in tone.” The film
goes to great lengths to establish a “place of safety” within Israel,
a secular polysexual meeting place in Tel Aviv, until the winds shift.
Jay Anania’s “Day on Fire” and Julia Loktev’s “Day Night Day Night”
portray suicide bombers. Phillip Noyce’s “Catch a Fire,” set in South
Africa, is a portrait of the creation of a terrorist, and Hal Hartley’s
“Fay Grim” is about Patriot Act madness.
“These are just a few of the films that perceive crucial events and
situations obliquely,” says Handling, adding that he is also struck by
the desire of contemporary filmmakers to explore, to go abroad to make
films about situations that are not native to their country: Gianni
Amelio to China for “Missing Star,” Robert Guediguian to Armenia
to make “Le Voyage en Armenie,” Benoît Jacquot to India to make
“L’Intouchable,” Volker Schlondorff to Poland to make “Strike.”
The Argentine director Santiago Amirgorena’s “A Few Days in September,”
an intriguing glance at the days that lead up to Sept.
11, is told in the form of a political thriller. The film, starring
Juliette Binoche and John Turturro, just opened in Paris where
Amirgorena, an author and screenwriter, lives. He has made a deeply
European film, a kind of “Third Man” with comic overtones, set in
Venice, with Turturro as an assassin who quotes William Blake’s
“Tyger” while stalking his prey.
“My film is not dedicated to Sept. 11,” the director said in a phone
interview. “For me, the event is historic and political – this is my
reading – and spy stories often have a political background. My film
is not militant; it’s not about good and evil. I had Orson Welles’s
movies and characters in mind, especially the part he played in
‘The Third Man,’ a kind of monster, and ‘A Touch of Evil’ – the way
Welles took a genre and went beyond it. Terrorism is not a matter of
good and evil. It is complicated, a desperate act.”
Amirgorena’s film is part of the Special Presentations program
that, along with Galas, and various sidebar events, takes place in
moviehouses all over town.
The section opens with Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s “Das Leben
der Anderen” (The Lives of Others), a political thriller, set before
the fall of the Berlin Wall, during the Stasi era. And Mira Nair is
back with a new movie, “The Namesake,” adapted from Jhumpa Lahiri’s
novel.
The Galas, Canadian and foreign-language films, and American studio
productions, include many world or North American premieres such as
Michael Apted’s “Amazing Grace,” Patrice Leconte’s “Mon Meilleur Ami,”
and “Dixie Chicks: Shut up and Sing” by Barbara Kopple and Cecilia
Peck. Ridley Scott’s “A Good Year,” adapted from Peter Mayle’s novel,
set in the vineyards of Provence, is the closing night film.
Toronto has always been a festival for original programming. This year,
there is a section on African Diversity, partly made of films shown at
Cannes, such as Tahani Rached’s moving “These Girls,” about homeless
girls in Cairo, and Rachid Bouchareb’s prize-winning “Indigènes”
portraying Algerian conscripts in France, as well as Spike Lee’s
“When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts,” on the Hurricane
Katrina that devastated New Orleans last year.
“We are now seen as an important festival for awards-destined films,”
says Handling, director at Toronto since 1994. “The fall season speaks
to the more serious films and these tend to be the films nominated
for awards. We are also a key event for the buying and selling of
quality films in the world.”
This event, now ranked by many as second to Cannes, skims the cream
off the Continental festivals, but awards no Palms nor Lions, and
is a something of a phenomenon. Starting out in 1975 as a Festival
of Festivals, home to local cineastes such as David Cronenberg and
Atom Egoyan, Toronto opened up to independent cinema from all over the
world and made room for big studio films, too. No longer as casual and
user-friendly, perhaps, it has kept something of its free-spirited,
festive vocation. Because it is not bound by tradition, it remains a
festival that belongs to the moviegoing, multiethnic public, a natural
audience for every kind of film.
“This is a movie-loving town,” says Handling. “There is an audience
here to sustain the vastness of our selection, and they are our
primary target. Without them we would be nothing.”
–Boundary_(ID_3nnAUlQ9xU9sKwvaVsg U3Q)–

RA HEALTH CARE MINISTER TO PARTICIPATE IN 56TH SESSION OF EUROPEAN
REGIONAL COMMITTEE OF WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. RA Health Care Minister Norayr
Davidian will participate in the 56th session of the European
regional committee of the World Health Oragnization (WHO) to take
place in Copenhagen on September 11-14. Narine Beglarian, the general
specialist of the Ministry’s International Ties Department informed the
Noyan Tapan correspondent about it. It was mentioned that the present
health care problems will, particularly, be discussed at the session,
as well as elections of the WGO executive and permanent committees
will be held.

ARMENIA INCLUDED IN LIST OF TOP REFORMERS AMONG CIS MEMBER COUNTRIES
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 6 2006
YEREVAN, September 6. /ARKA/. World Bank and International Financial
Corporation (IFC) said in their latest report “Doing Business 2007”
that Armenia is included in the list of leaders among CIS member
countries for creating easy conditions for doing business in 2005-2006.
The top-ranked countries in the region are Armenia (34), Georgia
(37), and Kazakhstan (62). Tajikistan (133) and Uzbekistan (147)
rank lowest in the region. Russia sits in the middle of the range,
with a ranking of 96.
Armenia also reckoned among top reformers for implementing four
reforms.
Armenia unified tax and social security registration for new companies,
cutting time to start operations by a day. It also reduced permit
requirements for construction companies and simplified transfer of
title for property. Armenia strengthened creditor rights by allowing
the enforcement of collateral agreements outside of court.
Georgia is topping the list of ten CIS leading reformers. The country
has improved the situation in six to ten areas.
Azerbaijan is singled out in the report for simplifying document
requirements and shortening statutory time limits for new company
registration. Time to start a business dropped by more than half: from
115 to 53 days. Azerbaijan also revised its civil code to strengthen
lenders’ rights in default. The new rules require a public sale of
seized collateral through auction, maximizing the sale value.
“More progress is sorely needed. CIS countries would greatly
benefit from new enterprises and jobs, which can come with more
business-friendly regulations,” said Michael Klein, World Bank-IFC
vice president for financial and private sector development and IFC
chief economist.

LLNL SEEKS PARTNERS FOR RAD DECONTAMINATION TECH
Terror Response Technology Report
September 6, 2006 Wednesday
Vol. 2 No. 18
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is offering the
opportunity for partnership and licensing of a new technology for
selective and effective radionuclide decontamination of urban transit
infrastructure. LLNL says that usually radionuclide decontamination
agents have been developed and used in sterile, nuclear power
environments but that the lab has developed technologies to
understand the chemical and physical properties of surfaces found
in the urban environment pertaining to public transportation and
address interference, specificity and efficiency problems found in
commercial nuclear decontamination agents. Additionally, LLNL hopes
to partner with a U.S. business and Armenia’s Yerevan Scientific
Research Institute through the Department of Energy’s Global
Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention program to develop coatings
and other vehicles for the immobilization and removal of radioactive
contaminants. Sol. No. FBO138-06. Respond by Sept. 22. Contact:
Connie Pitcock, administration, 925-422-1072, [email protected].

OUT OF THE ASHES
By Jeanne McCartin
Portsmouth Herald News, NH
Sept 6 2006
The Haley Farm Gallery is turning its attention toward collective
and individual healing. Its group exhibition “Colors of Healing” will
commemorate the fifth anniversary of 9/11 with images of individuals’,
cities’ and a country’s effort to come to grips with catastrophe.
“I was not on Ground Zero,” says gallery owner Jackie Abramian.
“Others I know traveled there. I never went, probably because as an
Armenian, I’ve had my fill of pictures of genocide and carnage.” And
yet she experienced the horror of that day, as did most in her country
“” the vulnerability, and the sense the world was pulled out from
underneath you, she says. It’s the same feeling individuals experience
when their personal world is torn by tragedy. “Healing” is about both,
dealing collectively and individually with life’s hardest struggles,
says Abramian.
“I think when you stand before these paintings you have no choice but
to stand in honor of those who perished and helped, the survivors
and those that pulled them out. “¦ But, it is a tribute to all
survivors.” And whether the exhibit’s individual works bring the
collective crisis or that of an individual to mind, “It brings the
tragedy home “¦ and just for a moment you can imagine what it was like
for someone to go through such a thing. “¦ It’s also very meditative,
very beautiful.”
Abramian was quite moved when she came across a painting by Christine
Morgan on the Web. “It brings tears to your eyes,” says Abramian. The
image that struck her is of a firefighter’s boots, with a firefighter’s
hat set on top of them, both painted in gray, and staged before an
American flag. It speaks to the individual cost, that of a family,
and underscores a nation’s pain, she says.
Abramian contacted Morgan and said, “I have to have it.” They struck
a deal and the painting will be exhibited, though not for sale.
Prints will be available.
This exhibition “will shake you,” says Abramian, moving on to her
next example, the work of Jean Holabird of New York City. Holabird’s
loft is located a few blocks from the former World Trade Center. “She
had a front seat view of the towers. “¦ She actually witnessed the
towers coming down, she could see them from (her apartment) windows,”
says Abramian. “As a result of the trauma, she needed to paint all
the fear, and the trauma out of her system.”
Ten of her works will be on display. In addition her book, “Out of
the Ruins,” a collection of her paintings coupled with works by 20th
century poets, will be on sale.
The work of artist Madeleine P. Hopkins, of Moody, Maine, will not
focus on 9/11, but on a personal struggle. Her story is amazing,
says Abramian, “a real-life trauma. It could be a movie. “¦ She had
(cerebral hemorrhage), that put her out. She was pregnant. When she
came to, she had a child. She didn’t know the child or those around
her. She couldn’t talk, or move.” Hopkins’ healing process was slow,
Abramian explains. Through it all “she kept drawing and scribbling.”
This personal trauma and 9/11 share a core; everything you know is
gone and you have to rebuild. The healing process is the same, she
says. “It’s why the title of the exhibit is ~PThe Color of Healing.'”
On Sept. 6, Hopkins will read from her book, “Harbinger “” Memories
of Recovery,” at the gallery’s “Tea Time Art,” from 3 to 5 p.m.
Artist Wasan Al Kabi is from Iraq. She and her family fled the country
in 2001, and settled in Amman, where she continues to live.
Kabi will have four pieces in the show. “Why? We see the connection,”
says Abramian. “9/11 brought about the war in Iraq. It’s not just
New York City. It’s not just about America. It went global. These
paintings, by an Iraq woman are somber, are relevant. They’re
desperate, in response to 9/11.” The show will also include works by
Ann Legg of, Kennebunkport Maine, and by Ross Saryan of Armenia.
During the “Colors of Healing” opening reception an ongoing slide show
of Ground Zero shot by Michael Clark of Bath, Maine, was displayed. A
firefighter with special task force training, Clark was sent to assist
at Ground Zero the day of the attack. Both he and Peter Johnson of
Kittery, who helped transport people after the attack, will be honored
the day before during a private reception at the gallery.
Haley Farm will have additional related events during the exhibition.
On Sept. 9 there will be a panel discussion, “Surviving Trauma,” from
3 to 5 p.m. Brown University professors of psychology, Dr. Vitali
Ianko (researcher of post-traumatic stress and author) and Dr. Anait
Azarian (clinical psychologist) will present and discuss their work
with children survivors of the 1988 earthquake in Armenia, and 9/11
in New York City. They will share a collection of children’s artwork
created before and after therapy.
On Sept. 23, poets Robert Gibbons, John Perrault and Cicely Buckley
will read from the anthology “The Other Side of Sorrow,” from 3 to
5 p.m.
Abramian says she has no profound words for describing the show;
rather she wants to step aside and let it be said by the artists who
have tried to find ways to heal from personal and global tragedy.
“This is not a political exhibit. It’s one of reflection and
questions. What are the lessons we’ve learned? Have we learned
anything? Maybe we have. It’s a collective healing process we have
to go through. What better way than the visual art.”
What: Colors of Healing: Lessons from 9/11, five years later Where:
Haley Farm Gallery 178 Haley Road, Kittery, Maine When: through Oct. 5,
regular gallery hours Wednesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Sundays by chance or by appointment.
Contact: (207) 439-2669, [email protected],
–Boundary_(ID_CtKiRw7Con2my /Z49PWusw)–