Author: Harutyunian Christine

Noyan Tapan News Agency
Sept 19 2005

5th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE “CSIT 2005” OPENS IN YEREVAN

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 19, NOYAN TAPAN. The information technologies
sphere of Armenia has considerable potential for development. Fadei
Sargsian, President of the RA National Academy of Sciences (NAS),
stated this on September 19 at the opening ceremony of the 5th
international conference “CSIT 2005” on computer science and
international technologies. He espressed a hope that the conference
to be held every second year will help disseminate knowledge,
especially among young people. According to F. Sargsian, Armenia has
in recent years achieved a remarkable success in the spheres of
information technologies and computer science – a high-efficiency
system based on the Armcluster computing system in order to make
scientific calculations has been created. Issues related to it will
be discussed by the conference participants at a working seminar.

According to Yuri Shukurian, Director of the RA NAS Institute of
Informatics and Automatization Problems, the conference enables not
only to exchange opinions but also to present the work carried out in
the indicated sphere in Armenia. According to him, the conference has
aroused great interest among the participants – good cooperation has
already been established with French scientists.

In the opinion of Artak Sahradian, RA Deputy Minister of Education
and Science, the conference represents yet another step in the
direction of developing the sphere of international technologies (IT)
and setting up scientific institutions.

The 5-day conference has been organized by the RA NAS Institute of
Informatics and Automatization Problems with the assisitance of the
International Scientific and Technical Center, the National Fund of
Science and Advanced Technologies, the Enterprises Incubator Fund, as
well as the companies Arminco, Unicomp and Anelik. Experts from
Armenia, the US, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, France, India and Iran
will make 135 reports at the conference.

ARMENIAN NATIONAL GALLERY REPLENISHED WITH WORKS OF 24 RUSSIAN PAINTERS

NOYAN TAPAN
Sept 14, 2005

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN. The delegation headed by Valentina
Matvienko, St Petersburg Governor, that arrived in Yerevan on the
occasion of the Year of Russia in Armenia, donated works of 24 Russian
painters to the Armenian National Gallery. Valentina Matvienko
declared this at the opening of the exhibition of these works
on September 14 at the gallery. Mrs Matvienko expressed hope that
these works will find their deserved place in gallery’s department
of Russian painters. She also mentioned that many Armenian painters
got education at St Petersburg Academy of Art and were fostered by
the traditions of Russian painting.

According to Mrs Matvienko, the first Armenians settled in St
Petersburg already since 1708 (St Petersburg was founded in 1703)
and had an impact on city’s establishment and development with their
practical, scientific and cultural activity.

In the affirmation of Gagik Gyurjian, RA Deputy Minister of Culture and
Youth ASffairs, this visit will become a kind of a bridge restoring
the traditional scientific-cultural and educational cooperation
already formed between the 2 peoples.

“Last I was in Armenia 18 years ago. We arrived at night but it was
pleasant to see that the city was illuminated, of course, it wasn’t
so light as in New York and there is no such need. Yerevan is Yerevan
with its peculiar attraction, its mystery and secrets,” V.Burov,
Chairman of St Petersburg Committee of Culture, mentioned.

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| 15:28:41 | 16-09-2005 | Politics |

IS TODAY BETTER THAN YESTERDAY?

«What does rejecting the Constitution mean? It means that the 1995
Constitution will continue in vigor», this perspective does not please the
secretary of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Parliamentary fraction
Hrayr Karapetyan.

The members of the ARF have their subjective attitude towards the first
Constitution, «We all know that the Constitution was made for the
authorities only, let alone the conditions in which it was adopted – closed
newspapers and prohibited opposition (ARF)».

Today the ARF which forms part of the coalition think that it is the most
convenient moment to realize the Constitutional reforms. «Both Manouk
Gasparyan and Artashes Geghamyan think it is a good version, the only
problem is that we should not adopt it under Robert Kocharyan. Everyone says
that we should adopt it as quickly as possible», said Mr. Karapetyan
forgetting that the year 2005 is somehow like the year 1995: there are
parties which are suppressed in a more «civilized» way by the authorities,
and there are closed TV Companies – «A1+» and «Noyan Tapan».

Nevertheless, according to Mr. Karapetyan, there is a weak point in the
draft resolution: the main aim of Armenia, that is the creation of a United
Armenia, is not stipulated, «After the Great Patriotic War Germany announced
its main aim – two unite the two Germanys, and they reached their aim»,
added the ARF fraction secretary.

EurActiv.com, Belgium
Sept 14 2005

Rehn: Is Turkey provoking the EU?

In Short:

The EU’s enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said that Turkey’s
decision to prosecute the country’s best-known writer breaches the
European Convention on Human Rights.

Brief News:

Turkey has decided to begin a trial against the novelist Orhan Pamuk
on 16 December 2005 – the date of an official EU summit. Olli Rehn
said that this “may not be just a coincidence” but a “provocation”
from Turkey just a few weeks before the official negotiations on
Turkey’s possible entry in to the EU are set to start. Rehn also said
that this court case raised serious questions over the implementation
of Turkey’s new penal code.

In an interview with a Swiss newspaper, Orhan Pamuk is accused of
insulting the Turkish state with comments on killings of Armenians
and Kurds. Turkey’s new penal code, adopted in 2005 at the insistence
of the EU, classifies denigrating Turkey’s national identity as a
crime punishable by prison. Freedom of speech advocates had already
warned that the clause on national identity in the new penal code was
not clear enough and could result in the imprisonment of artists and
journalists.

The Commission continues to monitor human rights issues in Turkey
closely, and expects the accession negotiations to start as
scheduled, on 3 October. However, “the accession process will take
from 10 to 15 years”, said Rehn.

;type=News

Providence Journal, RI
Sept 15 2005

Pianist hopes to pick up the tempo for recitals

BY CHANNING GRAY
Journal Arts Writer

There was a time when the great pianists of the day came through this
area to play solo recitals, artists such as Arthur Rubinstein, Rudolf
Serkin, Sviatoslav Richter and Claudio Arrau.

But that has all changed. Outside of major cultural hubs, the piano
recital is all but dead. Presenters can no longer make money on them,
and classical audiences with limited entertainment dollars tend to
seek out showier fare, such as symphony orchestra concerts.

That at least is the opinion of Jon Nakamatsu, who hopes to change
all that. The Van Cliburn Competition laureate will appear Sunday
afternoon at Rhode Island College as part of a new series designed to
revive the piano recital.

The concert is sponsored by the Adams Foundation, a family-owned
foundation in Santa Barbara, Calif., that hopes to bring live music
at affordable prices to smaller venues.

The foundation is trying to rebuild audiences in out-of-the-way
places such as Bozeman, Montana, and yes, Providence, Rhode Island.

Rhode Island College has signed on for two concerts this season. If
those go well, the plan is to add more concerts in the future.

Besides Nakamatsu, twin brothers Richard and John Contiguglia will
visit the RIC campus in January. Their program contains, among other
offerings, Liszt’s arrangement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

Dwindling bookings

Piano recitals have become such a rarity that Nakamatsu has watched
his bookings dwindle even since joining the Adams recital program.
Five years ago, he said, the bulk of his dates were for solo
concerts. Now he plays more with orchestras. Chamber music is a close
third.

But Nakumatsu said he loves a challenge.

“My manager knew it would suit me. I love trying to bring people into
the hall.”

Nakamatsu pretty much plays his recitals straight, without telling
stories, explaining the music or otherwise trying to make the
atmosphere more informal. He does plan to say a few words Sunday
about Armenian composer Loris Tjeknavorian, just because he is
unusual and unknown.

But the rest of his program he’ll play without comment.

“This is not theater,” he said. “It’s a concert where you’re
communicating through the music. Talking kind of defeats what I’m
trying to do.”

Nakamatsu said he tries to design his recitals to have an emotional
thread to them, a musical ebb and flow that takes listeners on a
journey. Ideally, programs provide a mix of new and familiar music,
or sometimes unknown works by familiar composers.

Sunday he will end his concert with a Liszt group that includes the
almost-never-played Impromptu for Princess Gortschakoff. The rest of
the program contains a set of Scarlatti Sonatas, the seldom-heard
Corelli Variations of Rachmaninoff, and two works by Chopin,
including the Third Scherzo. Then there are the Tjeknavorian pieces
and the Liszt, which ends with a final blockbuster, the composer’s
Mephisto Waltz.

Who shows up at his recitals sort of depends on the venue. At
colleges, he tends to get a lot of young people. But that doesn’t
hold true in other sites.

Something different

Nakamatsu, who just turned 37, won the Van Cliburn Competition in
1997, becoming only the third American to do so. He said his life
changed overnight. He was able to give up a teaching job and head out
on the road to perform.

Nakamatsu, who is based in San Francisco, has several CDs out on the
Harmonia Mundi label, with two in the works — a Liszt album and a
recording of the two Brahms clarinet sonatas.

These days, he spends about 75 to 80 percent of his time on the road.
That, he said, is one reason he is not married.

“The career is going well. It’s one I’m happy about.”

Jon Nakamatsu performs Sunday at 2:30 in Sapinsley Hall in the
Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts on the Rhode Island College
campus, 600 Mount Pleasant Ave., Providence. Call (401) 456-8144.

PRESS RELEASE
IREX
2121 K Street NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20037 USA
Tel: 202-628-8188

FELLOWSHIP – 2006 Individual Advanced Research Opportunities (IARO)
Fellowships

IREX is pleased to announce the 2006 competition of the Individual
Advanced Research Opportunities (IARO) Program. The IARO Program
provides fellowships to US scholars and professionals for overseas
research on contemporary political, economic, historical, or cultural
developments relevant to US foreign policy. Limited funding is also
available for non-policy-relevant topics.

IARO applications and supporting materials are available on the IREX
website at

The application deadline is November 15, 2005.

Fellowships will be awarded to Masters students, Predocs, Postdocs and
Professionals with advanced degrees.

The countries eligible for research are Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia and
Montenegro, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

Limited funding is also available for the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

Fellowships are also available for cross-regional research in Iran with
one or more of the countries above.

IARO Fellowships cover travel expenses, housing costs and a stipend.
IARO is funded by the United States Department of State Title VIII
Program and the IREX Scholar Support Fund.

Questions may be addressed to the IARO Program Staff at [email protected] or
by calling 202/628-8188.

You may find a list of all IREX International Fellowship opportunities
on the website:

USA: Cypriot, European Speakers discuss Cypriot issue

Cyprus News Agency, Nicosia
9 Sep 05

NEW YORK

In the framework of the Second World Conference of Speakers of
parliaments in New York, Cyprus House of Representatives President
Dhimitrios Khristofias attended a meeting of presidents of Parliaments
of Small States of Europe.

On the occasion of the discussion for citizenship, Khristofias
referred to the situation in Cyprus and underlined that as a result of
the ongoing Turkish occupation, Cyprus faces the problem of the
presence of 130,000 of Turkish settlers, in violation of the
international law.

Khristofias underlined that the presence of the settlers is a
violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic
of Cyprus.

Presidents of parliaments who took the floor afterwards expressed
their solidarity with the efforts for a just settlement of the Cyprus
question that will secure the interests both of Greek Cypriots and
Turkish Cypriots.

Cyprus, Malta, Luxembourg, Andorra, Iceland, Monaco, San Marino and
Liechtenstein comprise the small states group. The eight countries
decided to hold a conference of parliaments of the small states of
Europe to take place in Monaco in spring and referred to the issues
that will probably be discussed at the conference.

Khristofias met the president of the parliament of Armenia, Artur
Bagdasaryan, with whom he reviewed the course of the two parliament’s
relations especially as regards the implementation of the cooperation
protocol signed in Yerevan last November.

The two speakers also agreed the further exchange of visits between
the two parliaments.

Khristofias briefed his Armenian counterpart on the latest
developments in the Cyprus question and Bagdasaryan briefed
Khristofias on problems Armenia faces with Turkey.

They also reaffirmed the friendly relations between the people of the
two countries on the basis of common principles.

Khristofias also met with his counterparts of other countries.

During his meetings yesterday with the presidents of the Parliaments
of Malta and Luxembourg it was decided that the Cyprus House and these
countries would further enhance their relations, in the framework of
the exchange of visits.

Pan Armenian News

ALIYEV: «OUR MILITARY POWER SHOULD BE EQUAL TO ARMENIA STATE BUDGET»

10.09.2005 03:08

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan will soon become the leading country in the
region and will maintain that title, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev stated.
«Our military power should be equal to Armenia’s state budget,» he noted.
«Azerbaijan has strengthened its position in the region. We excel Armenia in
the Karabakh issue. Our relations with neighboring states are based on
mutual respect, I. Aliyev assured. In his words, in 2006, 2007 and 2008
strong impulses aimed at development of the Azeri economy will take place.
In conclusion of his speech the President stated that democratization of
Azerbaijan is of huge importance: «Where there is no democracy, there can be
no development,» reported IA Regnum.

ANKARA REMOVES “BEST AMBASSADOR OF LIBERAL TURKEY” OVER STATEMENTS ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Pan Armenian News

05.09.2005 04:43

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The European community is watching Turkey – an
aspirant to the European family – persecuting well-known Turkish
novelist, who expressed his opinion about the Armenian Genocide, Die
Welt reports. The matter concerns Pamuk’s statements on 1.5 million
Armenians slaughtered in the Ottoman Empire. Pamuk is to stand trial
on December 16, 2005. His words can be interpreted as offence “of
the Turkish national self-consciousness.” In the court Orhan Pamuk
will have to prove that 1.5 million Armenians were really killed. The
persecutions of Pamuk arouse a question. Is it a purposeful action
to remove the “best Ambassador of liberal Turkey” or is it a part of
a political campaign coordinated at the state level?

RECONSTRUCTED COURT BUILDING: WHAT NEXT?

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| 17:57:45 | 31-08-2005 | Social |

>>From today on the Ararat region town of Artashat had a reconstructed
building of hte court of first instance. The resondtrustion was
realized withing the framework of the credt program “Court Reforms”,
and a sum of 184.3 million drams has been spent. The Court consists
of three parts: forbidden region for the accused only, restricted
region for the judges and public region which is free for everyone.

All the high-ranked officials of the court system were present at the
opening ceremony. Nice as the building was, the main concern was if the
reconstructed building ill contribute to the realization of justice.

According to the Justice Minister David Haroutyunyan, a
reconstructed building is necessary, though not enough in order to
realize justice. “Until now we did not have court architecture. I am
convinced that the other buildings subject to reconstruction will be
much better”.

By the way, withing the framework of the credt program “Court Reforms”
5 other court buildings are to be reconstructed.