Author: Hunanian Jack

LEBANON’S RULING COALITION CLAIMS ELECTION VICTORY OVER HEZBOLLAH
Hugh Macleod in Beirut

The Guardian
Monday 8 June 2009

– Saad Hariri expected to become prime minister
– Vote deemed fairest in country’s history

Jubilant supporters of Lebanon’s US-backed ruling coalition took to
the streets last night, claiming a decisive election victory. It marks
a dramatic reversal of fortunes after polls showed it losing its slim
majority to a Hezbollah-led coalition backed by Syria and Iran.

Fireworks streamed from the Beirut home of Saad Hariri, leader of the
governing coalition and the top Sunni politician who is now expected
to become prime minister. The post was held five times by his father,
whose assassination in 2005 triggered a prolonged crisis.

"We extend our hand to work together seriously and in earnest for the
sake of Lebanon … to build a strong and sovereign state," Hariri told
supporters in the early hours of the morning. "Long live democracy."

Appearing to concede defeat, Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah told the
Hezbollah-run Al Manar television: "Whatever the results are, it won’t
change the sensitive equilibrium. Lebanon’s only choice is consensus."

Official results will be announced early today, but supporters
of the ruling coalition, known as March 14, last night began the
celebrations on the streets of Beirut, blaring car horns and flying
party colours. Local media reported that with 80 % of the votes
counted, March 14 – which won elections in 2005 by opposing Syria,
which they blame for Rafik Hariri’s assassination – had a slim lead
over the Syrian-backed opposition.

Voters patiently queued all day outside polling booths, many for
several hours, watched over by 50,000 soldiers and police in what
monitors said was Lebanon’s most free and fair parliamentary election
to date.

Isolated voting booths, indelible ink and a voter education campaign
launched by the interior ministry made the elections a significant
improvement on 2005, with turnout averaging more than 50%.

The vote pitted a moderate Sunni-led government, supported by the
west, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, against an opposition led by Hezbollah,
the Middle East’s most powerful militant group, which fought Israel
in the devastating 2006 war and is financed by Iran’s Shia government.

Presidential elections will take place in Iran on Friday and
fears about growing Iranian influence were evident in some Lebanese
voters. "My main concern is for the army to be the only ones to carry
arms," said Georges Abdo, a Christian hairdresser who voted for the
current ruling coalition.

Such fears were dismissed by voters supporting the Hezbollah-led
coalition.

"We don’t listen to everything Hezbollah says," said Harout Vartanian,
a 30-year-old Armenian kung-fu champion who said he was voting with
the opposition in order to secure his community’s represen tation
in cabinet.

There were widespread reports of vote-buying before the poll, with
some Lebanese expatriates being offered free air tickets home. Though
voting passed off largely without incident, tensions in the capital
and the battleground Christian towns remained high, with the army
imposing a midnight curfew on the capital.

"Democracy is a blessing we must preserve, a blessing that
distinguishes Lebanon in the Middle East," said President Michel
Suleiman after voting in his home town of Amchit, north of Beirut. He
urged Lebanese to vote "calmly and with joy".

With Sunnis largely aligned with the incumbent government coalition
and Shias solidly behind the Hezbollah-led opposition, Christians,
who make up nearly 40% of Lebanon’s 3.26m eligible voters, provide
the crucial swing vote.

Christian leader Michel Aoun redrew the political map in 2005 when
he forged an unlikely alliance with Hezbollah, weathering fierce
criticism from opponents. Aoun’s party, the Free Patriotic Movement
(FPM) could have delivered victory to Hezbollah’s coalition if it
had gained 10 extra seats in the 128-member parliament, which is
divided equally between Muslims and Christians. The FPM has defended
its alliance with Hezbollah as helping to stabilise Lebanon rather
than give Hezbollah a platform for renewed conflict with Israel.

"If the west wants to make serious negotiations with Islamist groups
like Hezbollah then the FPM has set a precedent," Ziad Abs, who
negotiated the FPM’s alliance, told the Guardian. "The main threat
to us is from Israel. There can be no stability in Lebanon without
peace in the region."

While the US continues to list Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation,
Barack Obama has offered dialogue with Iran and is sending his Middle
East envoy, George Mitchell, to the region this week to work on an
Arab-Israeli peace deal, with a visit to Damascus expected.

In a break with US policy, Britain announced in March that it would
re-establish contact with Hezbollah politicians, making a distinction
between the group’s armed wing and its politics.

PanARMENIAN.Net

The world on the pan of Russian-American balance scales

Karine Ter-Sahakyan

Against the background of impending changes, settlement of conflicts
simply pales into insignificance and is shelved.
04.06.2009 GMT+04:00

US President Barack Obama’s dynamic foreign-policy activities have
equal chances of proving triumphant or destructive for the USA. To all
appearances, Obama wants to look a `peace dove’ or at least a
`conciliator’ in the eyes of the Islam world and not only
there. Delivering a speech at Cairo University, the US President
declared the aim of his visit – to seek a new beginning between the
United States and Muslims around the world: the cycle of suspicion and
discord must end.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `Based upon the truth that America and Islam are not
exclusive, they need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and
share common principles – principles of justice and progress;
tolerance and the dignity of all human beings. There must be a
sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to
respect one another; and to seek common ground. So long as our
relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who
sow hatred rather than peace, those who promote conflict rather than
the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and
prosperity,’ Obama said.
The second major source of tension, according to the President, is the
situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world. `For
decades, there has been a stalemate: two peoples with legitimate
aspirations, each with a painful history that makes compromise
elusive. But if we see this conflict only from one side or the other,
then we will be blind to the truth. The only resolution is for the
aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis
and Palestinians each live in peace and security. I intend to
personally pursue this outcome with all the patience that the task
requires. For peace to come, it is time for them – and for all of us –
to live up to our responsibilities,’ stated Obama.
All this is good; however, it can be derived from Obama’s words that
the USA can at some moment simply leave Israel and then the Jewish
state will cease to exist. And though the Jewish lobby won’t have it,
the idea itself about the creation of two states on the holy earth
already puts you on your guard. The US Administration may even be
tempted to resolve both the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the conflict
between Georgia and the separated republics in the same way; or, at
least, in a similar way, because, as practice shows, Washington can’t
boast a variety of conflict-settling ways, quite like Moscow…
Next month Barack Obama is leaving for Moscow. The visit predicts a
more serious conversation, or, to put it more accurately, a trading
for the new repartition of influence spheres. The good point is that
the new geopolitical map of the World will be divided peacefully,
without special bloodshed: naturally, small skirmishes are not
counted. If we take into consideration the fact that Russia almost
voluntarily yielded to the US control over Eastern Europe, most
apparently the South Caucasus will be under deal, because the issue of
Central Asia is almost resolved: Russia preserves control over
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. The example of closing the
air base `Manas’ in Bishkek is more than sufficient. Another primary
task of Moscow is not to allow the flow of Turkmen gas through
Azerbaijan and Turkey into Europe, bypassing Russia. But, most likely,
she will manage that problem.
Thus, remains only the South Caucasus – most difficult and
unpredictable from the point of view of geopolitical
calculations. Whether Russia will be able to finally push the USA out
of Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan and to insist on her own plan of
settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and normalizing the
Armenian-Turkish relations will become clear after the Presidents’
meeting in Moscow. Such turn of events in Medvedev-Obama negotiations
is possible, if we take into consideration certain statements of the
American President about non-polar peace, which, by the way, will lead
to even greater chaos and to an absolute dictate of one power. Thus,
there will be absolute unipolarity, in which neither Russia nor the
USA will have a place. For the rest of the world such an outcome of
the struggle for supremacy will develop into the great efforts of
China and India to control the demographic factor, worth thorough
consideration. Great is the role of the economic factor too, since the
main debtor of China is the USA, followed by Russia.
Against the background of impending changes, settlement of conflicts
simply pales into insignificance and is shelved. Probably, it would be
the best outcome for the whole region and for Artsakh in particular.

Two-Time Cannes Film Festival Director Debuts New Film `Spaceman On
Earth’ In LA

-film-festival-director-debuts-new-film-%e2%80%98s paceman-on-earth%e2%80%99-in-la/
By Asbarez Staff on Jun 5th, 2009 and filed under Arts & Culture,
Culture, News.

LOS ANGELES – Now that the new film `Star Trek’ is making the Sci-Fi
genre hip again, Shant Hamassian’s `Spaceman On Earth’ is ready for
the spotlight. His high concept short film recently premiered at
Cannes in the Short Film Corner 2009.

For Hamassian, an illustrator-turned-director, his second directorial
effort proved to be his second time at Festival De Cannes. His debut
film, `The Slowww Zombie’ premiered in the Short Film Corner in 2006.

Filmed on a shoestring budget, `Spaceman’ is complete with puppetry,
matte paintings, miniature-models of cityscapes and castles,
stop-motion car chase scenes – and a flying saucer to boot. The film,
which combines the Sci-Fi genre with the retro 1950’s period, was shot
entirely on a makeshift green screen in a high school’s tiny
auditorium.

Hamassian, a graduate of Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design, used
his illustration skills to achieve the look of a million dollar
production for the film, giving the viewer nothing short of a comedic
and special effects extravaganza.

`Spaceman On Earth’ offers a glimmering sneak peak into Hamassian’s
forthcoming multi-platform franchise, which include feature films, TV
series, action figures and video games. The film presents such themes
as red paranoia, aliens, superheroes and superwomen, as well as
innovative action sequences with enough twists and turns to challenge
even the most expensive Hollywood action film.

A special feature of the film is the character voiced by legendary
underground actor, Angus Scrimm (the Tall Man in the cult hit
`Phantasm’) who plays Spaceman’s nemesis, Mr. Grouch. Fresh faces
also appear, from the female love interest portrayed by Austin
Highsmith (`CSI’, `Boston Legal’) to the CIA agent, played by Alex
Kalognomos (Deuces Wild, `ER’). The film’s hero, Spaceman, is played
by Shant Hamassian himself.

`Spaceman On Earth’ premiered before international audiences on May
13th in Cannes’ Short Film Corner.

Currently, it is a finalist in the Cine Gear Expo 2009 and will have
its Los Angeles premiere at Paramount Studios in Hollywood on June
4th. For more information about `Spaceman On Earth and screening
times, please visit ShantHamassian.blogspot.com or contact
[email protected] (818) 606-8560

OBAMA’S TOP 10 APOLOGIES

Washington City Paper
/2009/06/05/our-morning-roundup-the-bulletin-bites -the-dust/
June 5 2009

Mark Tapscott at the Examiner has collected Obama’s "Top 10
apologies. I don’t know why these made it to the top, seeing as he
has apologized quite a few times (I’m still waiting for him to say
sorry for making me a shareholder of GM). My favorite one (on the
list) is his apology to Turkey for even thinking about recognizing
the Armenian Genocide: ""The United States is still working through
some of our own darker periods in our history. … Our country still
struggles with the legacies of slavery and segregation, the past
treatment of Native Americans." What kind of apology is that? I mean,
really? He’s sorry for threatening to recognize that Turkey may have
killed as many as 1.5 million Armenians in between World Wars I and
II? Diplomacy goes right over my head.

MIGRATION IN THE BLACK SEA REGION

A1+
04:28 pm | June 04, 2009

Politics

A new series of IOM reports published today provide a unique insight
into migration flows to, through and from the Black Sea Region,
a vast track of land connecting nations in Europe, the Middle East
and Central Asia. The region is home to an estimated 350 million
inhabitants, including some 23 million migrants.

The profiles, which detail migration patterns in 12 countries (Armenia,
Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania,
the Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine), underline the
fact that poverty and a lack of job opportunities are the main push
factors for migration flows within and outside of the region.

It notes that limited opportunities for legal migration continue to
fuel irregular migration, with the Black Sea region at the crossroad of
several smuggling and trafficking routes towards the European Union,
such as the Eastern Mediterranean, the Central and Eastern European
and the Balkan routes.

Human trafficking, within and from the region, remains one of the
biggest challenges that many of the Black Sea countries, such as
Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania, have to face.

The report details migration patterns within the region and especially
towards the Russian Federation, which hosts more than 12 million
migrants. These migrants are in particular Russian-speakers from the
Commonwealth of Independent States who are either employed legally
or not in the construction, trade and services sectors.

The report also looks at the role of remittances in the economic
development of the region. Recorded at USD 26.7 billion in 2007,
official remittances contribute significantly to the gross domestic
product, with remittances to Moldova accounting for 36. 2 per cent
of the country’s GDP.

However, the report states that more needs to be done to develop
remittance-linked financial products for migrants, to reduce the cost
of money transfers and to encourage diasporas to invest some of their
remittances productively.

"The purpose of the migration profiles is to provide reliable
and comparable migration data so as to strengthen the ability of
national migration authorities in the region to effectively manage
migration flows," says Frank Laczko, IOM’s Head of Research and
Publications. "The overall objective is to contribute towards greater
coherence of national migration policies and to promote regional
cooperation."

The project was funded through IOM’s 1035 facility, which has supported
more than 200 projects in 85 Member States since 2001.

FATHER OF ARMENIAN-CAPTURED AZERBAIJANI SOLDIER: "I HAVE NOT RECEIVED INFORMATION ABOUT MY SON FOR TWO MONTHS"

APA
June 3 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku. Kamala Guliyeva – APA. Rahman Hasanov, father of Azerbaijani
soldier Rafig Hasanov, who was captured by Armenian military units on
October 8 last year, said he had not received information about his
son since April 14. Rahman Hasanov told APA that the representatives
of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) last brought
a letter from his son on April 14.

"I appealed to the representatives of the International Committee of
the Red Cross several times. Every time I was told that there was not
a translator in the ICRC office in Armenia knowing Azerbaijani. Rahman
Hasanov said he will appeal to the ICRC office in Azerbaijan in a
few days," he said.

Soldier of Azerbaijani Army Rafig Rahman Hasanov, 20, was captured
by Armenian servicemen in Gazakh region on the line of contact on
October 8, 2008.

COORDINATOR OF ARMENIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS: PSYCHOLOGY OF ‘A KINGPIN’ HAS BEEN FORMED AMONG ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES

Arminfo
2009-06-03 15:58:00

ArmInfo. The psychology of "a kingpin" has been formed among Armenian
authorities, Coordinator of the oppositional Armenian National Congress
(ANC) Levon Zurabyan said at today’s press- conference.

"We have stated for several times that we can settle on a compromise
and start a dialogue with the authorities if they release the political
prisoners and hold normal elections. But they didn’t carry out a
single condition, so even if amnesty is announced, our position will be
unchanged and we have nothing to talk about with them",- Zurabyan said.

According to him, the authorities do not even know what compromise is,
as to make a concession means for them to display weakness. Zurabyan
said the authorities are unaware of the dialogue conception and it
is senseless and naive of the ANC to expect any steps forwards.

To recall, at the latest rally of the opposition on June 1 Levon
Ter-Petrosyan stated that having held such elections, the authorities
burnt all the possible bridges of dialogue and consolidation of the
nation. He also stressed that ANC will conduct no dialogue with the
authorities under the conditions.

RA PRIME MINISTER TIGRAN SARGSYAN RECEIVED SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC FOREIGN MINISTER WALID AL-MOUALLIM

Tuesday, 2 June 2009

In greeting the guest, the Prime Minister said that historical-cultural
affinities and centuries-old friendship are at the heart of the
existing warm relationship between the Armenian and Syrian peoples. The
need for activating contacts between the respective chambers
of commerce and industry, implementing joint regional projects,
exchanging banking know-how and encouraging mutual investments,
as well as the importance of promoting direct ties between business
circles and holding business forums was emphasized on either side.

Prioritizing SAR President Bashar Assad’s upcoming visit to Armenia
and the planned holding of Syrian Culture Days in our country, Walid
Al-Mouallim touched upon the possibilities for boosting cooperation
in different fields of activity, and on behalf of the Prime Minister
of Syria, invited Tigran Sargsyan to visit Syria.

The Armenian Prime Minister conveyed greetings to SAR Prime Minister
Nadji Otri by thanking him for his kind invitation.

MEMBER OF ELECTION COMMITTEE AND VOTER FROM 8TH PRECINCT DETAINED ON SUSPICION OF FALSIFICATION OF RESULTS OF ELECTION FOR COUNCIL OF ELDERS

ArmInfo
2009-06-02 13:06:00

Member of the election committee of 8/05 precinct Norayr Yeghiazaryan
and voter of the same precinct Armen Ohanyan have been detained on
suspicion of falsification of the results of May 31 election for
the Council of Elders of Yerevan, Special Investigation Service of
Armenia told ArmInfo.

To recall, information on violations and falsifications in the election
precinct N8 was published in the mass media, in particular, in A1+,
‘Hetk’, ‘Lragir’, as well as at some websites. Moreover, the election
precincts 05, 08, 09, 21, 24 were also mentioned. A criminal case has
been launched on the fact of violations on Article 150 of Armenia’s
Criminal Code. The case is in charge of the Special Investigation
Service.

RA NA SPECIAL SITTING TO BE CONVENED ON JUNE 2

Noyan Tapan
June 1, 2009

YEREVAN, JUNE 1, NOYAN TAPAN. RA NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamian signed a
decision, according to which a RA NA special sitting will be convened
on June 2, at 12:00 with the agenda established by the initiator.

RA NA special sitting’s agenda is:

– RA bill On Making an Amendment to the RA Law On RA Budget System,

– Ratification of international agreement: agreement Between RA
Government and RF Government On Providing a State Credit to RA,

– RA bill On Making an Amendment to the RA Law On RA Budget System
(second reading).

According to the RA NA Public Relations Department, parliamentary
hearings will take place the same day at the NA sitting hall on the
initiative of the NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Issues. The
bill On Making Amendments and Addenda to the RA Law On Civil Service
authored by the government will be discussed.