Author: Hovhannisian John

SERZH SARGSYAN: ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN RELATIONS AS GOOD AS RELATIONS OF TWO STATES CAN BE

ArmInfo
2008-07-21 15:26:00

Armenian-Russian relations are as good the relations of two states
can be, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said at a press conference
devoted to 100 days of his presidency.

‘We had very good common past, we have good present and I am confident
in the bright future of our relations’, he said. The president said
that some rivals speaking of problems evidently do that from the best
of motives.

Serzh Sargsyan said that the dynamics of economic relations is
sometimes called insufficient. However, what can better testify to
dynamics of relations than 30-40% growth of commodity turnover. ‘We
have common approaches with RF to many issues and it makes our
cooperation at international organizations easier’, the president
said. He is confident that the upcoming visit of Russian President
Dmitri Medvedev will foster the bilateral relations.

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
July 19 2008

Azerbaijani political scientists are sceptical about that Turkey will
establish relations with Armenia

[ 19 Jul 2008 12:23 ]

Baku. Tamara Grigorieva `APA. `I don’t think that contacts between
Turkey and Armenia can reach a level of negotiations because usually
negotiations have concrete subject’, political scientist Rasim
Musabeyov told APA.

Commenting the secret talks between the Turkish and Armenian diplomats
in Switzerland, Musabeyov said level of representation of the sides
was not clear. `I think the press overstates the weight of this
meeting. The countries continue such contacts for almost 15
years’. Musabeyov said there was no ground for the serious progress in
the Turkish-Armenian relations today. Political scientists Rustam
Mammadov said Armenia was seeking alternative gateways to Europe
now. In his opinion triangle game between Armenia, Iran and Russia
gives no result for a long time and significance of Armenian-Turkish
factor is increasing in this plan. The expert doesn’t believe that
Turkey will establish relations with Armenia without solution of the
problem of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. He said probably the
issue was put on agenda in such a manner at the meeting. Deputy
Executive Secretary of New Azerbaijan Party, political observer and
member of the parliament Mubariz Gurbanli said it would negatively
impact on Azerbaijani-Turkish relations if Turkey began negotiations
and signed documents with Armenia. He is doubtful of any official
meeting between Armenia and Turkey. Gurbanli said he was against
establishing relations between Turkey and Armenia without solution of
Azerbaijani Nagorno Karabakh problem. The expert emphasized that
problems between Turkey and Armenia existed before the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict.

DEMANDING ARMEN SMBATIAN’S RESIGNATION

A1+
17 July, 2008

"Hima" youth movement has issued an open letter to RA Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian. The letter goes:

"On July 17 Levon Chakhmakhchyan, Senator of the Russian Duma and
Armenian friend of Robert Kocharyan, was sentenced to 9 years in
prison for bribery in the Russian Federation. The court proved his
guilt. In addition, all the documents, references, and certificates,
except for residence certificate, the Prosecutor’s Office declared
to be forged. Unfortunately, among the forged documents was the
positive reference letter given by the Embassy of the Republic
of Armenia to Levon Chakhmakhchian, a heavy criminal (see
e_id=124731&p_news_razdel_id=7).

Once again Russia rains blows to the Republic of Armenia, accusing
it of providing a fake reference to a criminal.

Therefore, considering the abovementioned, we, representatives
of the youth of the sovereign Republic of Armenia, voice our deep
concern about the fact and demand that Armenian Ambassador to Russia
Armen Smbatian be immediately recalled to Yerevan to elucidate the
situation. If it is proved that the statement of the RF Prosecutors’
Office is truthful, we demand the resignation of Armen Smbatian
as an individual, whose behaviour does not comply with the image
of a citizen of the Republic of Armenia and that of an Armenian
diplomat. The contrary proved, we demand that the foreign minister
of Armenia Edward Nalbandyan make a corresponding statement and send
a note of protest against the Russian Federation. In any other case
we will encourage the belief that the Republic of Armenia serves as
the stronghold of Russia in the South Caucasus."

GEORGIA SUSPECTS IN ABKHAZ BLASTS REPORTED FOUND

Kavkas-Press
July 18 2008
Georgia

Tbilisi, 18 July: Suspects in the [29 June 2008] Gagra blasts have been
detained in [Georgia’s breakaway] Abkhazia. A Sukhumi correspondent
of the Georgia-online internet edition reports, quoting a source in
the separatist regime’s interior ministry, that the investigation
into the Gagra blasts has effectively ended and suspects have been
detained. However, there is one problem.

The source is quoted as saying that four residents of Abkhazia are on
the list of suspects exposed by the investigation. Two of them are
residents of Gagra, one was born in Gudauta, and one is a resident
of Sukhumi. Investigation believes the latter ordered the blasts.

Although the source feared to give names, it has become known that
three of the detainees are ethnic Abkhaz and one resident of Gagra is
an ethnic Armenian. However, the problem is not only the ethnicity
of the detainees. The source said that "two of the detained people
participated in the patriotic war in 1992-1993 [Georgian-Abkhaz
armed conflict] and have been awarded medals. In addition, they enjoy
support among certain circles in our government".

Such a concurrence of circumstances is not advantageous for either
representatives of the separatist enclave or Russian politicians and
military, because leaders of the Abkhaz separatist regime and the
Russian military unanimously maintained that the Georgian special
services were involved in the blasts.

The Sukhumi correspondent of Georgia-online also quoted a
representative of the Abkhaz separatist regime’s interior ministry as
noting that "although everything hinges on the criminal settling of
scores linked to business, an order will be given from above to find
a scapegoat, who will be accused of everything and will be forced
to admit his ties with the Georgian special services. That is always
done, when they want to throw a crime on somebody. As they say, they
have sufficient operational supplies, since it is a haven for tramps".

WORLD BANK FINDS IT UNACCEPTABLE TO GRANT TAX AMNESTY TO SOME ARMENIAN TAXPAYERS

ARKA
July 17
YEREVAN

World Bank finds it unacceptable to grant tax amnesty to some Armenian
taxpayers, Aristomene Varudakis, the director of the WB’s Yerevan
office said at a press conference on Wednesday while commenting the
possibility of amnesties on capital market.

"It is a bad policy to provide preferences to some companies, since
as a rule, the companies abuse their preferences", he said though
stipulating that in some rare cases such measure is justified by the
government’s intention to support certain companies.

Varudakis also said that if the government provides tax preferences,
it still should limit them, make them transparent and specify the
term of validity.

But he thinks the government should avoid tax amnesty, since it
destroys other goals of economic policy and undermine the willingness
to pay taxes and the effectiveness of tax administration.

ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER AGAIN PROMISES TO RETURN FOUR ARMENIAN CITIZENS, CAPTURED IN AZERBAIJAN

Today.Az
July 17 2008
Azerbaijan

"Four Armenian residents, currently captured by Azerbaijan, will be
returned to their country sooner or later", said Armenian Defense
Minister Seyran Ohanyan, answering the questions of the participants
of all-Armenian youth gathering "Baze", held in Jermuk city.

He noted that the International Committee of the Red Cross, OSCE
Yerevan office, as well as the Azerbaijani leadership have been
informed about the said issue.

"During the recent meeting in Bishkek, I addressed with this issue
to the Azerbaijani Defense Minister, yet he did not give an exact
answer", said Ohanyan.

He spoke of the recent meeting with parents of the captives to whom
he promised to return their children following due works.

It should be reminded that four Armenian citizens were detained
on the Azerbaijani border on April 28 of this year. As reports the
Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan, these people are from special forces
and they attempted to commit diversion. According to the Armenian
side, the four young people are civilians, they came to the Armenian
military unit because of a conflict of their friend, serving in the
said military unit and entered the Azerbaijani territory by mistake.

PACE WORRIED BY SITUATION IN ARMENIA

AssA-Irada
July 15, 2008 Tuesday
Azerbaijan

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is
deeply troubled by the situation in Armenia, the CE Commissioner
for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg says. At a meeting held in the
Armenian parliament, Hammarberg, who is paying a three-day visit
to Yerevan, said there were serious problems with the protection of
human rights in the country. He said the legislature should play a
role in investigating the violent dispersal of demonstrators that
followed Armenias February 19 presidential election and the influence
of political forces on the scritiny should be minimized.

The scrutiny should be conducted transparently so that the public
confides in its outcome. The post-election mass protests were
put down with the use of force. The opposition had refused to
recognize the results of the election won by Prime Minister Serzh
Sarkisian, charging vote rigging and taking to the streets. 28
people were reported killed and hundreds were injured during the
demonstrations on March 1. Hammarberg also met with the Armenian
presidential administration chief Ovik Abramian. The latter tried to
assure the commissioner that his government was working to arraign
those responsible for the violence and to properly investigate the
developments. Hammarberg said he intended to thoroughly study progress
in the implementation of Armenias commitments to the CE and the
post-election situation in particular. No one should be prosecuted
for their political views, he added. Representatives of Armenian
NGOs said after meeting the human rights commissioner that the CE
official had confirmed that the political prisoners in the country
had been convicted on baseless charges. Hammarberg said none of the
demands the CE had put forth to the Armenian government in the past
months had been implemented. Hammarberg will prepare a report on the
outcomes of his visit that will be submitted to the PACE Monitoring
Committee on September 11.

MEDIA CITY BALLET PRESENTS ‘AN EVENING OF KHACHATURIAN’

Broadway World
July 16 2008
NY

Media City Ballet, Natasha Middleton, Artistic Director, will present
"An Evening of Khachaturian: The Composer and His Ballets," featuring
Principal Dancers, Arsen Serobian, Gabrielle Palmatier, Amara Baptist,
Edgar Nikolyan, Felicia Guzman, Ellen Rosa and Stephen Nelson, along
with Soloists and Corps Dancers from Media City Ballet. Jenkyns Pelaez
will appear as a Guest Artist. Actress Elmarie Wendel will produce
the show. The performance will be presented at the Alex Theatre;
216 North Brand Boulevard; Glendale, CA 91203 on Saturday, August 16,
2008 at 7:30 p.m.

Natasha Middleton, along with Ruben Tonoyan, Associate Director and
Ballet Master for Media City Ballet, will co-direct the performance
which will feature selections from Gayaneh, Spartacus and Masquerade,
in celebration of the late much loved iconic Armenian composer,
Aram Khachaturian. This production is dedicated to philanthropist
Mrs. May Hannon.

Composer Aram Khachaturian is author of the worldwide known ballets
Gayane and Spartacus and of the symphonic suite, Masquerade. The
creation of these pieces not only raised Armenian national ballet to
the world level, but also noticeably enriched the treasure house of
the world musical-dramatic art. Khachaturian’s music is noted for its
modal, harmonic, melodic and orchestral generosity, all of which are
connected with a broad gamma of thoughts and feelings in his scores.

Gayane means happiness and is a celebration of life events in which
composer Aram Khachaturian wanted the folk songs and dancing melodies
to be integrated and inseparable from the whole of the ballet. Gayane
is the story of a young Armenian woman whose patriotic convictions
are in conflict with her personal feelings upon discovering her
husband has committed treason. The Gayane score includes the famous
Saber Dance. The late filmmaker Stanley Kubrick used the Adagio from
Gayane for his film, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Likewise, filmmaker Joel
Coen used music from Gayane in his film, The Hudsucker Proxy.

The well-known tale of Spartacus is written in modern language,
with application of contemporary methods of the musical-theatre
form. The main characters in the ballet are represented with specific
and repeated musical themes. The storyline concerns the ultimately
unsuccessful revolt of the slaves led by Spartacus, a Thracian slave
and gladiator, against the Roman Empire in the years 73 – 71 BC. Music
from Khachaturian’s Spartacus was most recently heard in the film,
Ice Age: The Meltdown.

Masquerade was written for the 25th anniversary of the Russian
Revolution. It is a symphonic suite in the tradition of lavish
classical Russian music. Natasha Middleton will stage the piece to
enhance the fantasy and put a modern face on this elaborate party,
featuring eccentric costuming. The plot concerns a missing bracelet
and a woman named Nina who is falsely accused of giving the bracelet
to Prince Zvezditch, As a result, Nina’s husband, who thinks she
is cheating on him, poisons her at the end of the ballet, only to
realize she was innocent. The bracelet had actually been stolen
by the Baroness and given to the Prince, who later gave it back to
Nina. Natasha Middleton said: "Theatergoers who enjoy Phantom of the
Opera, will enjoy Masquerade, as there are similarities in style."

This production is sponsored in part by the generous support of The
Frank & Rigmor Peloso Trust Fund, The James A. Doolittle Foundation,
Macy*s, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Los Angeles County
Supervisor Michael Antonovich, The Alex Theatre, Glendale News-Press,
Burbank Leader, Mrs. May Hannon, The William H. Hannon Foundation
and

Tickets are $20.00, $38.00 and $48.00 each and may be purchased
online at or , or by calling
at 818-249-1428 or the Alex Box Office at 818-243-ALEX
(2539). Discounts are available for Groups of 15 or more, Seniors,
Students and Children under 12. For information on Discounted
Family Packs and Group Sales, please call the Alex Theatre at
818-243-7700, ext. 216. For further information about Media City
Ballet, please visit the websites, and
.

Principal roles will be danced by Arsen Serobian (of North Hollywood
who will dance the title role in Spartacus); Gabrielle Palmatier
(of Hermosa Beach who will dance the role of Aegina in Spartacus);
Amara Baptist (of Sunland who will dance the title role in Gayane);
Edgar Nikolyan (of Granada Hills who will dance the role of Armen in
Gayane); Felicia Guzman (of Reseda who will dance the role of Nune in
Gayane); Ellen Rosa (of Los Angeles who will dance the role of Nina
in Masquerade) and Stephen Nelson (of Hollywood who will dance the
role of Prince Zvezditch in Masquerade). Guest Artist, Jenkyns Pelaez,
(of Oakland, CA) will appear as Crassus in Spartacus.

Other members of the cast of the show will include: Rozanna Avetisyan
(of Glendale); Mary Bankson (of Toluca Lake); Lauren Farrell
(of North Hollywood); Alexander Fost (of Alhambra); Robson Tadeu
dos Santos Freire (of Venice); Kristine Gregorian (of Hollywood);
Philippe Leipzig (of Studio City); Moses Navarro (of Burbank); Kevin
Nazarian (of Glendale); Jessica Strobel (of Granada Hills); Andee Tims
(of Studio City); and Tina Yedgarian (of La Crescenta).

Natasha Middleton (Artistic Director/Choreographer, Media City Ballet)
danced as a Prima Ballerina with the Pacific Ballet Theatre and was
a member of the Joffrey II Ballet Company in New York City, before
taking on the responsibilities of Artistic Director of Burbank-based
Media City Ballet. Her grandmother, Elena Wortova, was a Soloist in
the original Ballet Russe, which included other legendary dancers
like George Balanchine, and Vaslav Nijinsky. Middleton’s father,
Andrei Tremaine, was a Principal Dancer with the Ballet Russe de Monte
Carlo. Natasha Middleton studied under the direction of her father
and one of the Bolshoi Ballet’s original ballerinas, Alexandra Baldina
Kozlov, as well as with David Howard, Patricia Standard in Los Angeles,
Rosella Hightower in France, and Stella Mann in London. Middleton is
also the Owner/Director of the Media Dance Centre, located in the
Media Village in Burbank. She recently choreographed the upcoming
motion picture, HangingOutHookingUpFallingInLove, written and directed
by Barra Grant, which features numerous members of Media City Ballet
Company. Middleton is a resident of Burbank, CA.

Ruben Tonoyan (Associate Director and Ballet Master for Media City
Ballet and Choreographer) was a Soloist with the Armenian National
Opera Ballet for 23 years. He began his training at the age of eight
with the Armenian National Academy of Ballet. He continued his training
at the Kirov Ballet School and the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg,
Russia. After graduation, he returned to his native Armenia where he
danced numerous ballets, including the leading role in Khachaturian’s
Gayane. He has since toured around the world performing in such
ballets as Giselle, Carmen, Swan Lake, Othello and The Nutcracker. He
has also performed with the National TV Contemporary Ballet for about
10 years. Tonoyan is a resident of Glendale, CA.

Aram Khachaturian (Composer) was a Soviet-Armenian composer whose
works were often influenced by Armenian folk music. He was born on
June 6, 1903 in Tbilisi, Georgia, Imperial Russia to a poor Armenian
family. Although Khachaturian had almost no musical education, he
showed such great talent that he was admitted to the Gnessin Institute
where he studied cello, and in 1925, he entered composition class
there. By 1929, he transferred to the Moscow Conservatory where he
studied under Nikolai Myaskovsky. In the 1930s he married the composer
Nina Makarova. By 1951, he became a professor at the Gnessin State
Musical and Pedagogical Institute and the Moscow Conservatory. Aram
Khachaturian, along with composers Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri
Shostakovich, became known as the so-called "titans" of Soviet music,
each enjoying worldwide reputations as some of the leading composers of
the 20th century. Aside from his ballets, Khachaturian was a prolific
composer of a wide variety of music, including orchestral works, vocal
scores, concertos and chamber music, to name a few. He died on May 1,
1978 in Moscow.

FILMS: HOW CHILDREN TURN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Panorama.am
20:48 14/07/2008

Tomorrow environmental films will be presented to the public in the
frames of "Golden Apricot" festival, in the Puppet Theatre of Yerevan,
reported the foundation of Wild Nature and Cultural Values.

According to the source the films are unique in their types as the
authors of the films are 12-16 years old children of the various
eco-groups.

Since 2006 the foundation of Wild Nature and Cultural Values fulfills
"VivaCell and Children for Nature" ecological-educational project. In
the frames of the project ecological groups have been established
in different regions of Armenia, in particular in Dilijan, Gyumri,
Garni, Urtsadzor and Yerevan.

US, ARMENIA SIGN AGT ON FIGHTING NUCLEAR MATERIALS CONTRABAND

ITAR-TASS
July 15 2008
Russia

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Armenian Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian on Monday signed a joint plan of action between
the US and Armenian governments on combating contraband of nuclear
and radioactive materials.

Calling this document a political agreement the US State Department
noted that it expresses the two governments’ intention to cooperate
for the expansion of possibilities of Armenia in the sphere of the
prevention, exposure and effective reacting to attempts at smuggling
nuclear or radioactive materials.

The agreement outlines specific steps – in a total of 28 clauses –
that are needed to be taken for the fulfilment of the set task. If
necessary the United States will seek funds to provide assistance
to Armenia in this sphere, including with the attraction of the
international community.

Spokesman for the US Department of State Sean McCormack told a
briefing on Monday that the agreement between Armenia and the US
side "basically is an agreement designed to protect against nuclear
smuggling, and obviously, an issue that we can all agree upon, that
there be good cooperation between the United States and countries
overseas. So it’s an important agreement for the United States and
Armenia, certainly in terms of our non-proliferation efforts."

"They are also going to touch upon issues in their meeting related
to deepening political as well as economic reform in Armenia. And
I’m sure she’ll (Rice) talk a little bit about Nagorno-Karabakh and
where those discussions stand," he noted.

According to a press release of the US State Department, "Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice and Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian
signed on July 14, 2008, the "Joint Action Plan between the Government
of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of
Armenia on Combating Smuggling of Nuclear and Radioactive Materials."

"This political agreement expresses the intention of the two
governments to cooperate to increase the capabilities of the Republic
of Armenia to prevent, detect, and respond effectively to attempts to
smuggle nuclear or radioactive materials. It specifies twenty-eight
agreed steps that the two governments intend to be taken for this
purpose," it said.

"The governments agree that they will proceed along parallel paths
in implementing this action plan. The Republic of Armenia intends
to implement those steps that it is capable of carrying out on
its own. For those steps where assistance is needed, the United
States intends to seek to identify sources, from within either
the U.S. government or the international community, to provide
such assistance. This assistance would complement and be carefully
coordinated with the aid the Republic of Armenia is already receiving
from various U.S. and international assistance programs," it is noted
in the document.

"With this agreement, the U.S. and Armenian governments are
significantly enhancing their collaborative efforts to combat the
threat that nuclear or highly radioactive materials could be acquired
by terrorists or others who would use them to harm us," it said.

"This is the fifth agreement of this nature that has been concluded by
the U.S. government’s Nuclear Smuggling Outreach Initiative. Previous
agreements were completed with Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and the
Kyrgyz Republic, and the U.S. government intends to conclude similar
agreements with approximately twenty additional countries where the
risk of nuclear smuggling is of particular concern. To date, eight
countries and three international organizations have partnered with
the U.S. government to provide assistance to support implementation
of these agreements," according to the press release.