Author: Jagharian Tania

GUAM NATIONAL COORDINATORS DISCUSS IMPLEMENTATION OF BAKU DECLARATION

TREND
20.09.2007 12:59:49

Azerbaijan, Baku / corr Trend K.Ramazanova / On 20 September the
national coordinators of the Organization for Democracy and Development
– GUAM – set up discussions in Baku regarding the Baku declaration,
signed during the summit of heads of State of the organization due
in Azerbaijani capital in June, Veleriy Chechelashvili, the GUAM
Secretary-General said before the meeting of the national coordinators.

Representatives from GUAM countries ( Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and
Moldova) should coordinate the agenda of the seventh meeting of the
Council of Foreign Ministers due on 20-21 September in Baku and the
fourth meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers which will take
during the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly in New York. The
sides have not confirmed the date of the Foreign Ministers meeting.

The 62nd session of the UN General Assembly is expected to cover the
results of the ‘frozen conflicts’, worldwide security and development,
issues for preventing armed confrontations and the situation in
occupied territories of Azerbaijan

Earlier the Secretary-General of GUAM, Valeri Chechelashvili, reported
to Trend that a project of resolution on lingering conflicts in GUAM
countries may be put forward for consideration by the UN General
Assembly at the beginning of September. A project for the resolution
regarding lingering conflicts in GUAM, in particular Dniester (
Moldova), Nagorno-Karabakh ( Azerbaijan) and Georgian-Abkhazian was
developed and included in the agenda of the UN General Assembly at
the end of 2006. Later, the representatives of GUAM removed the issue
from the agenda

The four post-Soviet republics Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and
Moldova, established this format in 1997 during the summit of the
head of state of the European Union member-countries in Strasbourg. In
1999 Uzbekistan joined the organization, but left after four years. In
2006 the first summit of the organization in Kiev made a decision to
declare GUAM an international organization and rename ‘Organization
for Democracy and Economic Development – GUAM’.

FROM CRISIS TO INSPIRATION: MAMAK KHADEM COMES OF AGE
John Goddard, staff reporter

Toronto Star
Sep 20, 2007 04:30 AM
Canada

A painful adolescence helped Mamak Khadem find her voice, figuratively
and literally.

"As a teenager, I did not have it easy, as you can guess," she said
by phone last week from her Los Angeles home.

"I didn’t have friends. I suffered a lot. But all that hardship is
paying off right now."

In the late 1970s, Khadem’s family moved to California from Tehran. Her
hope, she says, was to learn English, get an education and return to
a good job in Iran.

Then came the Islamic Revolution. In 1979, religious extremists
overthrew the government and took dozens of Americans hostage at the
U.S. embassy. Being a teenager in a foreign country was tough enough,
but to be an Iranian immigrant during the 444-day hostage crisis
added to the burden.

Khadem earned a masters degree in mathematics and started teaching,
and to help centre herself began exploring her musical identity.

As a child, she had sung in a choir at Iran’s state television and
radio network. In the 1980s, she travelled back regularly to Tehran
to study with classical Persian vocalists.

In 1991, in Los Angeles, she helped form Axiom of Choice – "pioneers
in what they now call Persian world music," she says.

She kept experimenting. She joined the L.A. Nevenka women’s choir,
performing Bulgarian and other East European folk songs. She travelled
extensively through Greece, Turkey and Armenia, making musician
friends as she went.

Her latest album unites the influences, she says. As she reached to
connect with others through music, she learned also to connect the
different musical styles.

"Jostojoo (Forever Seeking) is about the universal language of love,"
she says, "emotions that are more than just loving someone or feeling
miserable because they left you."

Khadem helps kick off the fall Small World Music Festival tonight at
Harbourfront’s Enwave Theatre.

Across town at Lula Lounge, Cuban singer Estrella Acosta also
appears. Both concerts start at 8p.m.

Small World Music Festival: Coming festival highlights include
the Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan with two shows Saturday and the
Canadian/Afghanistan ensemble Constantinople also on Saturday. Go to
smallworldmusic.com for details.

THE FOUNTAIN OF THE REPUBLIC SQUARE FULL OF SURPRISES
By M. Makarian

AZG Armenian Daily
20/09/2007

The Municipality of Yerevan has initiated the recurrent gift to the
citizens – the re-launch of the general fountain of our city. "In the
beginning of this year the Municipality signed a contract with the
French "Acuatic Shos International" organization to put in action
the fountains of the Republic Square", informed the Head of the
Construction and Public Welfare Department Frunze Basentsian. The
fountain will work in a new electronic and illumination system, and
will have a video screen. 23 new little fountains will surround the
general fountain. "Goharik" Ltd. Co has realized the construction
works since April. "The construction of the pool and the fountains
is already finished and the programming works follow it", mentioned
Mr. Basentsian.

The official opening of the fountains will take place on September 21,
at 9 p.m.

The electronic program will involve 1-2 hours show with different
pictures and Armenian, European or classical music.

"The fountains are full of surprises. It will be the gift of the
Municipality of Yerevan to the citizens on the occasion of the
Independence Day of Armenia", added Mr. Barseghian.

HEAD DOWN TO ARMENIAN FOOD FEST
By Daniel Neman – Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

Richmond Times Dispatch, VA
Thursday, Sep 20, 2007 – 12:04 AM

Last year, the Armenian Food Festival ran out of food.

Co-chairman Rob Norris had to dash off to Sam’s Club to buy 300 pounds
of ground beef. The next day, he had to buy 300 more pounds.

Organizers have planned ahead for big crowds at this year’s festival,
the 49th annual, which begins today and runs through Sunday at
St. James Armenian Church, 834 Pepper Ave., at the intersection with
Patterson Avenue.

This year, they’ve made 20 percent to 25 percent more of
everything. That means more chicken kebabs. More beef kebabs. More
Hye burgers. More lamajoun. More paklava.

Armenia is east of Turkey, west and north of Azerbaijan, south
of Georgia and just a little north of Iran. Armenia’s cuisine is
influenced by its neighbors and by what is readily available — so
the food is reminiscent of food from the Middle East and the Caucasus
region, with additional flavors from Eastern Europe.

Lamajoun, for instance, is a dish of ground beef spread over a round
thin flatbread and topped with tomatoes, onions and oregano. According
to Norris, people often put salad on top and roll it up to eat it.

The festival’s Hye burgers are made from ground sirloin and lamb,
mixed with parsley, onions, olive oil, pepper and oregano. Paklava
is similar to the Greek baklava, although the sweet syrup poured over
it is a little different.

Children dressed in traditional folk costumes will perform Armenian
dances throughout the meals. Today and tomorrow, lunch will be served
from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner will be served from 5 to 9 p.m. The
festival will run Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 1
to 7 p.m.

Jewelry from Armenia will also be on sale, but the main focus of the
Armenian Food Festival is, of course, the food.

Volunteers have been preparing for more than two months, marinading
and freezing the meat and preparing the pastries, including a popular
braided holiday bread, sugar cookies and other cookies that are not
as sweet.

All of this food and much more (rice pilaf, a four-bean salad, a
green bean and tomato stew called fasulya) will be washed down with
gallons of drinks.

Those who like their drinks with a bit of a kick may want to try
Armenian wine, including pomegranate wine, and Armenian beer.

Admission to the festival is free. Proceeds from the food sales will
go to the church and an assortment of charities, Norris said.

A ROCK-FESTIVAL TAKES PLACE IN KARABAKH FOR THE FIRST TIME

ArmInfo
2007-09-17 16:06:00

A rock-festival took place in Shushi, Karabakh, for the first time
on September 16.

As ArmInfo correspondent in Stepanakert reports, rock groups "Bambir",
"Empirey", "Roxigen", "Reincarnation" and the newly set up group
"Shushi" took part in the festival. The Rebirth of Shushi Foundation
was the organizer of the festival. The foundation was established in
the spring of 2006 on the initiative of Yerevan’s Mayor, Chairman of
the Foundation’s Board of Trustees Yervand Zakharyan. The Board of
Trustees includes well-known public figures and religion personalities
of Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora. The Foundation has an aim of uniting
the national, material and spiritual potential to recover the fame
of Shushi, its cultural, educational and enlightenment traditions.

TWO ARMENIAN BEAUTIES WILL PARTICIPATE IN MISS CIS CONTEST

Lragir.am
18-09-2007 12:56:18

The founder and organizer of the beauty contest Miss CIS Valid Arfush
arrived in Armenia on September 13 for a three-day visit. The aim of
the visit was the casting for the Miss CIS-Armenia 2007 contest. Two
were chosen of 70 participants who will represent the Republic of
Armenia to Miss CIS-Armenia 2007 in Kiev. The visit of the delegation
of Miss CIS 2007 was supported by the Miss Armenia National Agency
which is the partner of the organizers of Miss CIS.

NDTV.com, India

Anand draws with Kramnik

Press Trust of India

Sunday, September 16, 2007 (Mexico)

Top seeded Viswanathan Anand survived a few anxious moments before
settling for a draw with arch-rival and defending champion Vladimir
Kramnik of Russia in the third round of the World Chess championship
in Mexico.

Anand inched himself up to 2 points from two games and continued to
lead the tables along with Kramnik. The day witnessed Russian
Alexander Morozevich warding off his previous round loss as he scalped
another Russian- Peter Svidler in a keenly contested game.

The other games of the third round were drawn as Alexander Grischuk
from Russia signed peace with Levon Aronian of Armenia while Hungarian
Peter Leko reached the same result against Boris Gelfand of Israel.

With 11 rounds still to come in this 8-players double round robin
event where each player meets the others twice, Morozevich, Gelfand,
Grischuk and Leko share the third spot on 1.5 points each while
Aronian and Svidler are now at the bottom of the tables with one point
apiece.

For the second time in three days Anand faced the Petroff defense.

Earlier in the first round Gelfand had played the same opening against
the Indian ace and had got an easy half point.

In the post game conference Kramnik said that he was ‘well prepared’
for this key match and indeed, as it happened, black had some
practical chances.

Anand played the opening nonchalantly but was in trouble after the
queens got traded as one of his far advanced pawn came under mortal
danger. Kramnik pocketed the pawn and transposed to a rook and pawns
endgame which needed precise defense from Anand.

"GOLDEN SHOE" TO ARMENIAN STRIKER

A1+
[01:24 pm] 14 September, 2007

Armen Gulambaryan, the ex forward of Yerevan "Adana," was recognised
the best striker of 2006-2007 Futsal season. The Armenian striker
scored 128 goals at the Armenian Championship and was awarded with
"Futsal Golden Shoe" by futsalplanet.com.

It is the third time Gulambaryan has been awarded with "Futsal
Golden Shoe."

ACADEMICIANS DEBATE NEW CONSTITUTION

New Anatolian, Turkey
14 September 2007

As Turkey gets ready for a new Civilian Constitution which will
replace the one adopted following 1980 military coup, academicians
and nongovernmental organizations call for more transparent and
participatory process.

Ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party is expected to present
the new Constitution which is prepared by a commission chaired by
Professor Ergun Ozbudun by the end of this year.

The commission made up of academicians has completed the draft and
made their presentation to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in
June. Deputy Chairman of AK Party, Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat currently
holds the draft.

Simpler and shorter than the existing one, the new constitution will
broaden personal freedoms, while clipping the powers of the president
and the army, and will help remove some obstacles on the country’s
path towards EU membership.

New Constitution draft lifts temporary Article 15 of the existing
1980 Constitution that is banning the trial of those who headed the
1980 military coup and strengthen the right to live. "This is a new
constitution but it should not be designed as a reaction to the past
but according to the secular, democratic principles and achievements
of the Republic," said Istanbul University Rector Mesut Parlak.

Noting that he could not digest the Constitution draft, Parlak stated
that Constitution should be absolutely neutral.

"All values belonging to Turkish nation should be protected in the
Constitution. This country has no issues with headscarf but it has
problems with turban.

This country has no problem with religious people but it has with
fundamentalists," added Parlak.

Meanwhile, seven professional organizations and labor unions as well
as ten academicians founded have launched a campaign in an effort
to call government for carrying out this process more transparent
and participatory.

"A new constitution for free and democratic Turkey," campaign aims
at contributing the making of the new Civilian Constitution which
should represent all parts of the people living in the country.

The campaign argues that government does not have the right to make
a Constitution on its own and should seek more contribution and views.

In an press briefing held earlier this week, Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat
told reporters that talks on the document within the party would be
"concluded next week".

"After the second round, a draft will be ready to introduce to our
people, universities, political parties, media, and nongovernmental
organisations for further discussions and contributions," he said. "A
special website will be a platform for interactive discussions on
the new constitution."

He expected the public debate on the new charter to last for more than
three months, after which all views and proposals will be considered
before the final version is prepared.

Other parties can submit their own proposals, said Firat.

"But whichever draft is approved by parliament is the one we will
take to a referendum to ask the people to approve," he said, denying
reports that the AKP is planning to include clauses in the constitution
to lift the ban on wearing the Muslim headscarf in universities.

Stressing the importance of freedom of expression, Brussels has
repeatedly urged Turkey to change or annul the controversial Article
301 in its penal code, which has led to a number of trials against
prominent intellectuals, accused of "insulting Turkishness".

Among those who have faced prosecution are Orhan Pamuk, winner of
the 2006 Nobel Prize for Literature, and Hrant Dink, a prominent
Turkish-Armenian journalist, who was killed earlier this year.

The constitution the AK Party plans to propose will provide that
international treaties and conventions Turkey has signed will have
supremacy over national legislation. This will allow local courts
to ask the Constitutional Court to annul national legislation
contradicting such international agreements, the daily explained.

The draft also envisions changes that will affect the Constitutional
Court itself. The number of its members will grow from 11 to 17, of
which nine will be appointed by parliament and eight by the president,
who currently appoints all judges on the court.

The constitutional draft would also grant the president immunity,
but would take away from him "the leadership of the National Security
Council," according to a senior AK Party official.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary immunity currently enjoyed by Turkish
lawmakers will be curbed.

The army is also likely to see some of its powers cut, in line with
EU standards. According to foreign wire services, the head of the
armed forces would no longer report to the prime minister directly,
but to the defense minister.

ARAYIK HARUTIUNYAN ALREADY HAS 27 VOTES

Lragir.am
12-09-2007 16:34:10

The Democratic majority of the NKR parliament will support nomination
of Arayik Harutiunyan, said the leader of the Democratic faction
Vahram Atanesyan in an interview with Karabakh-open.com.

According to him, the decision was made in a meeting of the faction
with the candidate.

The leader of the ARF-Movement 88 faction Armen Sargsyan told
Karabakh-open.com tomorrow the Central Committee of the ARF
Dashnaktsutyun will hold a meeting in Stepanakert and will discuss
the nomination of prime minister.

The parliament of Karabakh has 33 members, the Democrats are 15, the
Azat Hayrenik Party, the leader of which is Arayik Harutiunyan, has
12 members of parliament. ARF-Movement 88 has 3 members of parliament.

Another three members of parliament are independent.

Hence, we may already say that Arayik Harutiunyan has 27 votes. The
parliament will hold a meeting within the upcoming three days to
affirm his nomination.