Author: Jagharian Tania

LA Weekly (California)
August 16, 2007

THE LOVER

Director Gabrielle O’Sullivan provides smart and eerily seductive
direction of Harold Pinter’s one-act about the imploding realities of
a suburban English couple, Sarah and Richard (Nora Armani and Aramazd
Stepanian). Richard leaves for the office, kissing Sarah goodbye on
the cheek after blithely checking on her schedule for the day –
whether her lover will be visiting in the afternoon, and whether he
should postpone his arrival home because of the guest. Richard too
has extramarital sexual relations, so he says, with a prostitute.
Their trite domestic repartee is frost on the icy lake of their
marriage – polite and frigid.

After several short scenes, we meet Sarah’s lover, also played by
Stepanian, now in the leathery guise of a marauder. This throws their
quasicomedic reality, so artfully established in the first few
scenes, into the stark counter-relief of role playing, leaving the
question of what is real and what is imagined to endless speculation
on our part. There’s also a brief appearance by a milk delivery boy
(Hayk Hambartsumyan) offering Sarah a spot of cream. Hmmm. The latent
force of the subtext depends on the cadences and uniquely English
sounds of the deceptively pointless dialogue. This Armenian ensemble
approaches but doesn’t possess these subtleties of the King’s
English, which leaves the production dangling without menace, and
hanging on the margins of artifice. The production plays in repertory
with an Armenian version, which could actually be more successful on
that linguistic front, as so much of Pinter depends on the ownership
of words. LUNA PLAYHOUSE, 3706 San Fernando Road, Glendale;
Sun.-Wed., 8 p.m.; in Armenian, Thurs., 8 p.m.; thru Aug. 16. (818)
500-7200. (Steven Leigh Morris)

EXAMINATION OF PLAINTIFF’S APPEAL IN CASE OF ROYAL ARMENIA COMPANY’S MANAGEMENT TO START ON AUGUST 20

Noyan Tapan
Aug 13 2007

YEREVAN, AUGUST 13, NOYAN TAPAN. The Appeal Court of Criminal Cases
will on August 20 start examining the appeal of the plaintiff against
the decision of the first instance court on the criminal case of
Royal Armenia company’s management – Gagik Hakobian, co-owner, and
Aram Ghazarian, deputy director.

NT correspondent was informed about it by Alina Yengoyan, spokeswoman
for the RA Cassation Court.

To recap, by the July 16 decision of the court of first instance of
Yerevan’s Kentron and Nork-Marash communities, the defendants were
found not guilty and they were released from the court room. By
this decision, the prosecution brought the charges (of faking
invoices, evading tax payment by using these invoices, smuggling
goods, legalizing illegal incomes, and taking property of Federal
Investment Group company by fraud) against the defendants based only
on assumptions, the charges were not proven and not well-founded.

The above mentioned criminal case was opened on March 10, 2005,
while during the seventh month of the investigation G. Hakobian and
A. Ghazarian were arrested.

New socialite drops in for E! series

The Hollywood Reporter
August 9, 2007

By Kimberly Nordyke

On the heels of its decision not to renew "The Simple Life," E!
Entertainment Television has found its next socialite-centric comedic
reality series.

The cable network has greenlighted an untitled series, from Ryan
Seacrest Prods. and Bunim-Murray Prods., starring 26-year-old socialite
Kim Kardashian, daughter of the late Robert Kardashian, one of the
attorneys who defended O.J. Simpson during his murder trial, and
stepdaughter of Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner.

The series also will star Kardashian’s "Brady Bunch"-style family, which
includes her "fiercely competitive and hormonal" sisters, Kourtney, 28,
and Khloe, 23; half sisters Kendall, 11, and Kylie, 9; their
"firecracker" mother, Kris, who doubles as Kim Kardashian’s
"stressed-out" manager; and stepdad Jenner, who is described as quiet
and conservative.

The show is set to debut in the fall.

"The Kardashians are just your typical, modern-day, celebrity,
estrogen-driven, say-anything, blended family, as typical as any of that
really is," said Lisa Berger, E!’s executive vp programming and
development. "There is much more to Kim and her family than meets the
eye, and I think her hilarious home life and versatile career will
appeal to our viewers."

The series was created by Eliot Goldberg and Seacrest, who will
executive produce for Ryan Seacrest Prods. (E!’s "Paradise City"). Jon
Murray and Jeff Jenkins will exec produce for Bunim-Murray ("Simple
Life," MTV’s "Real World").

"At the heart of this series — despite the cat fights and endless
sarcasm — is a family that truly loves and supports one another,"
Seacrest said. "The familiar dynamics of this family make them one
Hollywood bunch that is sure to entertain."

Added Murray: "We’re honored that E! and Ryan Seacrest chose
Bunim-Murray Prods. to help fully realize the potential for this truly
inspired series idea. We had a blast working with E! on ‘The Simple
Life,’ and with Ryan’s company added to the mix, it will be even more
exciting."

E! last month confirmed its decision not to renew "Simple Life,"
starring socialites Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie.

Other socialite-themed series that have aired on E! include "The
Gastineau Girls," starring mother-daughter duo Lisa and Brittny
Gastineau, and "Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive," starring the offspring of
various celebrities.

/content_display/television/news/e3i0c6628f1d17a9c e20902bf1357bffc07

SPEAKING OF SITUATIONS THAT COULD GET OUT OF CONTROL
Posted by Moira Whelan

DemocracyArsenal.org, NY
Aug 7 2007

Now without taking sides in the debate as to whether or not Russia
has something against Georgian corn and potatoes and therefore may
or may not have decided to bomb some poor farmer’s field, this does
not look good.

A walk down memory lane provided by Reuters (abridged here):

— Georgia’s uneasy post-Soviet relations become openly hostile
after the 2003 "Rose Revolution" which propels President Mikhail
Saakashvili to power. Saakashvili … pursues close relations with
the United States.

— Moscow and Tbilisi bicker over Georgia’s restive breakaway regions
of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

–Moscow considers the United States is encroaching on its traditional
influence in Georgia and the Caucasus.

–Georgia is dependent on gas from Russia but this dependence will
decline in years to come when a BP-led pipeline from Azerbaijan to
Turkey opens.

— Russia has banned imports of Georgian wine, fruit and even mineral
waters such as Borjomi, one of Georgia’s biggest revenue earners.

— Transport and trade links were cut after Georgia paraded Russian
military officers on TV who it said were spies, in September 2006.

Although some communications since resumed, there are still no direct
flights between the capitals.

Let’s put this in the current context of US relations. I don’t
think any Black Sea specialist would dispute that the region is
in some ways a powder keg, but would the United States really be
in a position to do anything about it? SHOULD the United States be
trying to do something about it. Afterall, the United States loves
democracy and therefore has some affinity from the break-away from our
former nemesis, Georgia. There are major challenges with Russia’s oil
dominance. The United States has a major concern about the pipeline
that is going through Georgia, which is certainly complicated by the
ethnic challenges that exist in Odessa and Abkhazia, not to mention
the long-standing tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But now,
let’s be realistic: what kind of brokerage power would the United
States have to assist in this situation? What could be realistically
brought to the table?

I’m sure Black Sea watchers will correct me, but it appears that
this is a situation in which the United States would take tremendous
interest, yet unlike the past, are there real opportunities that exist
to make a difference that come with being the world’s superpower,
or will Europe’s influence surpass ours, and is this a sign of the
times or just a regional reality?

THE PURPOSE IS TO LEAD THE SOCIETY

Lragir, Armenia
July 31 2007

Armenia should not be compared with the Soviet Union, and the
current political situation is not the same as under the Soviet
authoritarianism, stated the leader of the Christian Democratic
Party who used to occupy high-ranking posts in the Communist Party
in the Soviet Union in a news conference on July 31 at the Friday
Club. He says there are major institutional differences which
enable a person to do what was impossible in the one-party Soviet
Union. According to Khosrov Harutiunyan, it is another problem how
successful the institutional reforms were. He says there was progress
in the parliamentary election of May 12, despite the satisfaction or
dissatisfaction with the outcome of the voting. However, the leader
of the Christian Democratic Party who was running for parliament from
the Center of Yerevan and was defeated by the businessman Khachatur
Sukiasyan thinks the parliamentary election should have its logical
continuation in the presidential election.

Khosrov Harutiunyan says, however, he does not mean that logically
the outcome should repeat, i.e. Serge Sargsyan must become president.

The leader of the Christian Democratic Party says he means the
improvement of the process. He declines to forecast the outcome of
the election. Khosrov Harutiunyan only says the quest for the common
candidate of the opposition is artificial because he says he cannot
imagine how the leftists and rightists can put up one candidate.

Besides, the leader of the Christian Democratic Party thinks the
opposition which lost the election stands no chance to win the
presidential election. Khosrov Harutiunyan emphasized the circumstance
of running in the election. Therefore, the reporters inquired if Vazgen
Manukyan stands a chance if he did not lose the parliamentary election.

Khosrov Harutiunyan says Vazgen Manukyan is like a weightlifter who
tactically leaves out a weight to lift a heavier weight next. But if
Vazgen Manukyan thought the parliamentary election as unimportant
therefore he missed it, he is also condemned to failure. Khosrov
Harutiunyan thinks the candidate will succeed who will not come
to replace this government but will become an alternative, will
offer models of organization of the public life and change the life
of people. However, the leader of the Christian Democratic Party
thinks that his party, as well as any other party, which is for a
real political process, should intend to lead the society and create
demand for alternative.

THIRD INTERNATIONAL TOURISM EXHIBITION TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN ON OCTOBER 26-28

Noyan Tapan
Jul 30, 2007

YEREVAN, JULY 30, NOYAN TAPAN. The third international tourism
exhibition will be held in Yerevan on October 26-28. The chairman of
the Armenian Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) Yeghishe Tanashian told
NT correspondent that the purpose of the exhibition is to develop
regional tourism in Armenia, promoting the cooperation of tour
operators and businessmen in the country.

According to him, in addition to Armenian tourism companies, tour
operators from Ukraine, Belarus, Iran, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon will
take part in the exhibition. A preliminary agreement has been also
reached with representatives of Turkish tour operators, who, by the
way, have participated in two previous exhibitions.

Seminars and presentations will be organized during the event.

HAVING SUFFERED A DEFEAT IN RESOLUTION OF KOSOVO CONFLICT, UNO GOT DOWN TO OTHER CONFLICTS OF POST-SOVIET AREA

"PanARMENIAN.Net" analytical department
27.07.2007 GMT+04:00

If the Security Council takes any decision, the zone of conflict will
by all means have "blue helmets" arriving there, which will have its
most negative impact on the situation of the region; the very Kosovo
is the most evident proof of the above mentione

Having suffered a defeat in resolution of Kosovo Conflict, UNO
decided to get down to other conflicts, including those which exist
in post-Soviet area.

Presently the UN Security Council has the situation of
Georgian-Abkhazian conflict zone under its consideration. As it is
stated in the report on the state of affairs in the region, which
was handed in to the Security Council by the UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon, Abkhazia and Georgia "Failed to justify the hopes of
resuming the dialogue. This brought no stability in the situation of
the confrontation zone."

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In the opinion of Ban Ki-moon because of the
absence of direct dialogue between Tbilisi and Sokhumi there is
"distrust and suspicion which may make the situation even much tenser."

The Resolution adopted unanimously by the Security Council called both
parties upon resuming the dialogue and fully keep to the agreement
about ceasefire, force-free process and returning the refugees reached
earlier. The Secretary General mentioned with regret that the parties
interpret this document differently.

Meanwhile it is well known in UNO that in the conflict zone there
is the Conciliatory Commission made up of representatives from RF,
Georgia and Abkhazia, which also seeks conflict resolution. However,
no commission or no any other international organization may help the
problem which has existed for 15 years already. It is natural that
Georgia, as well as GUAM Countries (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan,
and Moldova) would love to have the resolution of conflicts of
their territory reach UN, to once and for all "bury" the last hope
that they will ever be regulated. This refers to both Transnistria
and Nagorno-Karabakh. In this regard it should be reminded that two
questions having direct connection with Karabakh conflict have been
put on the agenda of the 61st Session of the UN General Assembly.

One of the questions was proposed by Azerbaijan, the second one – by
GUAM Countries. However neither of them has yet been discussed at the
61st Session, and according to the General Assembly Order they will
be discussed at next Session. "An issue is included in the agenda if
there is a corresponding decision made by the General Assembly," said
the acting press-secretary of RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vladimir
Karapetyan. According to him, Azerbaijan’s wish to lead the issue of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict regulation out of the framework of the
present negotiations has a negative impact on the whole process. "The
given step speaks of the absence of political will in Azerbaijan for
positive regulation of the conflict," he mentioned in his comment on
Baku’s will of putting the issue of Karabakh Conflict regulation on
the agenda of UN General Assembly’s Session.

Georgia and Azerbaijan appeal to UN, being well aware of the fact
that if the Security Council takes any decision, the zone of conflict
will by all means have "blue helmets" arriving there, which will have
its most negative impact on the situation of the region; the very
Kosovo is the most evident proof of the above mentioned fact. EU,
NATO and OSCE are well aware of this and insist on preserving the
format of OSCE Minsk Group, based on the same apprehensions. On the
whole according to the OSCE and Conciliatory Commission statements no
progress is registered in the process of conflict regulation. The truth
is though that in the case of Conciliatory Commission the most decisive
word is after Russia, for which the independence of Abkhazia will help
gain control over Georgia. In any case Kosovo will gain independence,
if it doesn’t happen now, it will happen in some years. But to what
extent this independence will become the key for regulation of the
conflicts in CIS is not clear. In any case 15-20 year-period is
not long for resolution of such conflicts. Arab – Israeli conflict
began in 1948 and exists up to present in spite of the declaration
of independence of Palestine. So everything is still ahead both for
the world community and UNO, which managed to prove in a short time
that it is just a political tool in the hands of great powers.

ARMAVIA IS READY TO FLY UNITED STATES

Lragir, Armenia
July 27 2007

The owner of the national airlines Armavia Mikhail Baghdasarov stated
July 27 at the Hayeli club the number of passengers of the company
grows by an annual 0.6 percent, it develops and gradually becomes
member of the European family of aviation. According to Mikhail
Baghdasarov, only 0.5 percent of delays are Armavia’s fault.

Baghdasarov stated confidently that Armavia’s parameters are better
than those of the Russian and some European airlines.

Mikhail Baghdasarov said presently the company has 7 planes, it will
buy another two A320 planes before 2008 and one A330 by 2011.

Besides, the company will have more regular flights. Armavia already
flies to Cologne, soon the Yerevan-Beijing and Yerevan-Tokyo flights
will be launched. Armavia is ready to start flights from Yerevan to
Los Angeles. The United States is not against, and now the General
Department of Civil Aviation of Armenia is negotiating with the
Armenian party.

The owner of Armavia also said soon the Armavia Technic Company will
be set up which will repair not only Armavia’s planes but also other
companies’ planes. In the nearest future, it will be possible to book
tickets on the web.

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT LOOKS FOR FUNDS TO OVER POPULATE THE AZERBAIJANI-OCCUPIED TERRITORIES

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
July 26 2007

"Armenian government needs about $ 350 million to populate Armenian
refugees in Nagorno Karabakh" Gagik Yeganyan, the Head of the Migration
Agency of the Ministry for Territorial Administration of Armenia told
the Novosti-Armenia, APA reports.

"It is possible to populate 100 000 people in the Azerbaijani occupied
territories. Because this area possesses rich soil, mild climate,
abundant water, rich flora and fauna. Armenian refugees living in
Shaumyan and Getashen regions are not satisfied with life condition
in Armenia and want to settle in Nagorno Karabakh voluntarily" Gagik
Yeganyan said Above all Mr.Yeganyan added that Armenian government
bodies have nothing to do with over population Nagorno Karabakh.

RFE/RL ARMENIA BROADCASTS AGAIN IN LIMBO
By Ruzanna Khachatrian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
July 25 2007

The future of RFE/RL’s unfettered activities in Armenia again hung
in the balance on Wednesday just three weeks after the Armenian
parliament rejected a government bill that would have effectively
banned the crucial retransmission of its programs by state radio.

In a statement issued late Tuesday, RFE/RL’s management and
its Washington-based oversight board said the state-controlled
Armenian Public Television and Radio (HHHR) has refused to sign a
new retransmission agreement and could stop airing RFE/RL Armenian
service programs on August 9.

HHHR declined to immediately confirm or deny this. The chairman of its
governing board, Aleksan Harutiunian, said only that "Radio Liberty
broadcasts in Armenia will not be stopped." Harutiunian said the
board will issue a statement later on Wednesday specifying whether
or not RFE/RL will be pulled off the Armenian Public Radio air.

The Public Radio has retransmitted RFE/RL’s Armenian-language programs
in accordance with a 1998 commercial agreement that lapsed last
February. HHHR was offered to sign a new retransmission deal early
this year.

The National Assembly unexpectedly failed to pass the government bill,
widely criticized in and outside Armenia, on July 3 after several days
of heated debates. The RFE/RL statement said that one week later HHHR
"indicated that it planned to stop RFE/RL broadcasts on August 9,
citing contractual and payment issues." According to it, all these
issues were resolved during ensued negotiations in Yerevan between
HHHR officials and RFE/RL representatives.

"Our delegation was told there are no deadlines, and no threat was made
to take RFE/RL programs off Public Radio," James Glassman, chairman
of the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) overseeing RFE/RL
operations, was quoted as saying in the statement.

"Yet the contract remains unsigned, and our offers to make payment
were refused," Glassman said. "It seems clear that whatever is
holding up an agreement has nothing to do with legal, contractual,
or technical issues."

"I think the issue is not closed and there are possibilities [of
reaching agreement,]" parliament speaker Tigran Torosian, who is also
a leading member of Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party
(HHK), told RFE/RL, commenting on the statement. Torosian said he
thinks there is still "some hope" for a mutually acceptable settlement
between the parties.

But the HHK’s junior partners in the governing coalition, the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), reiterated its opposition
to RFE/RL’s continued use of Public Radio frequencies. "I believe
that any radio or TV station must be able to operate in Armenia, but
that must be done on a commercial basis," said Vahan Hovannisian,
a Dashnaktsutyun leader. "And giving the state’s [broadcasting]
capacities to somebody else is beyond logic."

"For Dashnaktsutyun, the top priority is Armenia’s interests,"
added Hovannisian. "Radio Liberty is not acting against Armenia’s
interests. But it is not acting for Armenia’s interests either."

Opposition leaders, for their part, stood by their view that RFE/RL
is the only Armenian-language broadcaster not controlled by the
authorities in Yerevan and that the latter have made a political
decision to severely restrict Armenians’ access to its news programs
ahead of next year’s presidential election.

"They failed to do that through the National Assembly and are now
trying to do that by other means," said Victor Dallakian, a veteran
opposition lawmaker who helped to block the controversial government
bill. "This is a condemnable policy directed against freedom of
speech."

"The purpose of not renewing the [retransmission] contract is to
keep our people misinformed and to propagate what they want," charged
Vazgen Manukian, another prominent opposition politician. "The values
our people now need most now is freedom, integrity and the ability
to receive and analyze information. In this sense, the authorities
could not have made a more anti-national decision."