Author: Jagharian Tania

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY STANDS IN SILENCE TO RESPECT MEMORY OF VICTIMS OF PLANE ACCIDENT AND STOPS WORK
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 03 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 3, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. At the May 3 plenary
sitting RA National Assembly stood in silence to respect the memory of
the victims of the plane accident that happened the same day. At the
suggestion of Ardarutiun (Justice) faction Secretary Viktor Dallakian,
it was decided to stop the sitting. Meeting the request of National
Unity faction Head Artashes Geghamian the parliament decided to
form a working group consisting of representatives of all groups and
factions for the purpose of rendering assistance to the families of the
victims. As Hakob Hakobian, member of the National Deputy MP group,
MP elected from Echmiadzin, declared, according to preliminary data,
18 of the victims were from his electoral district. The MP will
give 1000 dollars from his private means to the family of each of
the victims. As Galust Sahakian, Head of the RPA faction, informed
journalists, according to his data, part of the passengers was leaving
for Sochi for the purpose of taking part in the conference organized
on the initiative of the Prometevs-Chimprom company’s owner Senik
Gevorgian. According to preliminary data, former Head of the Armenian
Civil Aviation Department Vyacheslav Yaralov, former Head of the
National Security Service Husik Haroutiunian and the son of the former
Head of the same service Karlos Petrosian were among the victims.

MAY 5 AND 6 DECLARED MOURNING DAYS IN ARMENIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
03.05.2006 19:21 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Robert Kocharian proclaimed May 5
and 6 the days of mourning for the passengers killed the Yerevan-Sochi
crash, reported the RA leader’s press service. To remind, May 3 night
À-320 Armavia-owned plane crashed into the Black Sea most likely
over bad weather conditions. The plane was conveying 113 passengers
including 23 Russian citizens. They all died. The place was trying
to land in the airport of Adler, however the control officers did not
allow the landing because of bad weather conditions. The communication
with the plane was lost at 2.12 a.m., six minutes before the scheduled
landing in the Sochi (Adler) airport. A criminal case according to
Article 263.2 of the Penal Code (violation of operation of an aircraft)
was initiated.
The A-320 wreckage of the plane lay 300 meter deep in the Emeretin bay.
–Boundary_(ID_sYmS6cMIE2eCRRc9qMO5lw)–

WORLD WILL NOT IMPACT IRAN-ARMENIA COOPERATION
Lragir.am
03 May 06
The concerns about the nuclear program of Iran and possible
developments will not impact the U.S.-Armenia economic relations and
programs underway. This was stated by U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John
Evans May 2. The ambassador also made it clear that the U.S. approach
towards Iran will not impact the Iran-Armenia energy programs.
He said the United States understands the state of Armenia, which
needs to diversify its energy sector, and here gas is concerned as
well. John Evans said the American legislation provides for sanctions
against entities that would make big investments to the energy sector
in Iran, however, he said, this is not the case.

“THE PEOPLE MISS SOCIALISM”, – THE COMMUNISTS OF MAY PARADE WERE SURE
Margaret Yesayan
Aravot.am
02 May 06
The Communistic Party of Armenia celebrated yesterday the International
Day of Labors Solidarity. Other parties weren’t celebrating the
occasion; they perhaps consider the day of labors as remains of
communism and left the square for the communists. But if every
oppositionist party was able to gather the same quantity of people
as the communists did Ruben Tovmasian’s dream of last 15 years would
come true and socialism would enter with a new power. But as usual
the oppositionists were impeded by their ambitions and fear of being
considered not free, that’s why they didn’t join their friends. The
communists with red flags, red ties and red bands were walking on
Mashtots avenue. Some hundreds of people, more than 1000, crying
thunderous ”hurrah”s and ”viva”-s reached the Republic Square. But
they declared that they were reaching the Lenin Square. Just at that
moment the Central Committee Secretary was declaring by microphone;
”The communists of Armenia are entering into the square”. It
seemed you were in other time zone and not in the 6th year of the
21st century. It seems the participants of that parade have come
from 60-70’s. They weren’t even hide that they dream of socialism and
again consider as the number one enemy ”the system in the person of
the USA which spread anticommunist, antidemocratic hysteria. Just it
craves of becoming the tyrant of the world by cannibal globalization
and aggression.”
The colonel Daniel Tadevosian has come to the parade with all his
medals and persuasion; ”We must bring the socialism back for the
people live equally as it was during socialism. I don’t say there
weren’t mistakes at that time but who has built this city?” A lot of
pupils from the schools of Masis N3 and Normarg village came to May
parade with red ties. A communist woman who was leading them declared
that the pupils like the pioneer order but there are also people who
prohibit the restoration of the past.
Comrade Haroutiunian is sure that there are two parties in Armenia;
“One is the communistic party, the other is anticommunist party,
that is, the remain are anticommunist parties”.
Communists of some regions were brought to the capital for taking part
in the parade. The “Communistic Party of Leninakan”, “Communists of
Kirovakan”, ” Workers of Lenin region of Yerevan”, “Comrades from
Hoktemberian” and a lot of pioneers were here yesterday. A real
festive mood, which reached till the comrade Myasnikian monument. It
was written on some of posters; “Forever with Russia”. To our question
again Russia when the same Russia took our property instead of gas,
debt and don’t know for what else, comrade Tovmasian answered;
“We have always condemned and condemn that the people’s property
is being sold whoever it is sold, even to Russia, but we sell it
ourselves. And it is more profitable that Russia buys it and not
other countries”. A heap of red flags remained in the grass.
–Boundary_(ID_r1sUKfph3F2UuB2l0ExgyA)–

KOULAGIN ACCUSED OF ABRAHAMIANTS’ MURDER IS RELEASED
By Nana Petrosian
AZG Armenian Daily
02/05/2006
The parents of 17 years old Vigen Abrahamiants, Moscow resident,
who was killed recently, do not believe that Denis Koulagin was the
murderer of their son. The law enforcement bodies released 16 years
old Koulagin, as there is not enough evidence against him. The police
has only the confession of the teenager that was achieved through
illegal interrogation.
It’s worth mentioning that the police hasn’t found the knife that
the murderer used, while the video camera didn’t taped any actions,
according to the preliminary investigation. Denis Koulagin himself
got a stab of knife on his face.
News.ru informed that Simon Tsatourian, the attorney of the
Abrahamiants family, stated that at present the investigation is
more inclined to the initial cause of the murder – the attack of the
skinheads. Tsatourian said that currently a parallel interrogation
is being carried out. “The witnesses apply to us themselves. We
can assure that the murder was committed by the skinheads. We can’t
accuse Koulagin of anything. We have quite a different idea of the
murderer. He was a well-prepared professional who had totally figured
out his actions. This is proved both by the character of the stab
and the immediate disappearing of the murderers from the place of
the crime,” he said.
Besides, according to Tsatourian, the fact that the friend
of Abrahamiants was also stabbed with knife denies the common
cause of the murder. “The witnesses state that they had seen the
skinheads. The skinheads undergo special trainings, they have their
ideology, literature, armed groups and organizations. It’s clear that
the crimes committed in Moscow belong to the same chain of the crimes
of nationalistic character in St.
Petersburg and Voronezh. Thus, we can speak of certain moods existing
in Russia that lead to destruction of the society and the moral values
of the state,” he said.
We hope that taking into account this very factor, the investigation
will find the true murderer of Vigen Abrahamiants.

US-ARMENIAN TASK FORCE MEETS IN YEREVAN
Armenpress
May 2 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 2, ARMENPRESS: The 12-th meeting of the US-Armenian Task
Force has started today in Yerevan chaired by Armenian economy and
finance minister Vartan Khachatrian and Tom Adams, a US administration
official in charge of Europe and Eurasia affairs.
The meeting will discuss a wide scope of issues of bilateral
interest. On the meeting’s agenda are also issues on measures to
promote Armenian economy development, democratic reforms, issues
pertaining to the Millennium Challenges Account program, reforms
in customs and taxation areas and others. Also discussed will be
agriculture, energy, education, judicial sectors related issues.
The US-Armenian Task Force was founded in 2002 to promote US-Armenian
cooperation. The Task Force holds two annual meetings, one in Armenia
and one in the USA. In the last decade the government of the USA has
carried out $1.6 billion worth various development and humanitarian
projects in Armenia.

ARMENIA-ARTSAKH PARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION
Laura Grigorian
Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
02 May 2006
On April 26 the first meeting of the NKR-Armenia Parliamentary
Cooperation Committee took place in the meeting hall of the
NKR government. Speaker Ashot Ghulian thanked the members of the
delegation, led by Deputy Speaker of Armenia Tigran Torossian, who
arrived in NKR for the meeting. He said the parliamentary cooperation
between Armenia and Artsakh started in the years of the war, and is
already sustainable, accomplished and has traditions. It is another
expression of unity of our nation, another manifestation of fulfillment
of our desires and goals. According to the NKR Speaker, the relations
between the parliaments can be considered a serious precondition for
the establishment of external relations of the parliaments of both
Armenia and NKR. “In fact, the cooperation between the parliaments
of Armenia and Artsakh had a considerable progress, contributing
to the strengthening of the Armenian statehood and the ability to
tackle the challenges of the time,” said Ashot Ghulian. He mentioned
that the agreement on the cooperation between the parliaments of
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh will undergo changes, determined by
the political problems and requirements of the time, which are also
aimed at improvement of effectiveness of contacts between the two
parliaments. The NKR Speaker said the achievements and plans in this
sphere are not limited, and emphasized the importance of clear and
effective continuation of cooperation of the parliaments.
In this context he emphasized the permanent contact among the
representatives of the two parliaments, particularly the meetings of
the parliamentary committee, which are regularly held in Stepanakert
and Yerevan. Ashot Ghulian says there is no need to dwell on the effect
of this cooperation on the improvement of the legislative activity
of both Armenian parliaments, the unity of our people, establishment
of external parliamentary relations and other spheres. In conclusion
the Speaker assured that the recurrent meeting of the committee held
in Stepanakert for the first time will be a new progressive step
in the activities of both parliaments for the sake of the Armenian
people and its well-being. Deputy Speaker of Armenia Tigran Torossian
also commended the fact of meeting in Stepanakert, and emphasized
that the two Armenian states are steadily moving forward. Tigran
Torossian agreed to the idea that it is time to modify the agreement to
correspond to the problems and objectives that the two states have. In
this context, he emphasized the importance of the meeting for the
improvement of further activities of both parliaments. The head of
the Armenian parliamentary delegation assured that the members of
parliament of Armenia will make efforts for not only the effective
activity of the committee but also the unity of the peoples of both
Armenian states in general.
The Deputy Speaker of NKR Rudik Hyusnunts presented the agenda of
the meeting, including the questions of effectiveness of legislative
activities in terms of structural improvement of standing committees
(speakers Yuri Hayrapetian, Chair of the Standing State and Legal
Committee, NKR and Deputy Speaker of Armenia Tigran Torossian),
presently ongoing debates on the Karabakh issue at European
organizations and parliamentary organizations and the possibilities
of fostering cooperation between the two parliaments in this context
(speakers Tigran Torossian and Vahram Atanessian, Chair of the
Standing Committee of External Relations, NKR), and cooperation
of the National Assemblies of NKR and Armenia for drafting the NKR
Constitution (speakers Rudik Hyusnunts, Deputy Speaker of NKR, and
Tigran Torossian, Deputy Speaker of Armenia). On April 27 the second
meeting was scheduled.

THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST
by Jan Verwoert
frieze, UK
May 1 2006
In these days of cultural complexity it’s important to ask ‘what is
local’ and ‘what does it need’?
The other day I had lunch in the new restaurant da Karlo near where I
live on Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin. They serve Italian food and play
Brazilian music, and the waiters speak Spanish. With a good view of
the Stalinist architecture of the Allee, I read an essay by a French
filmmaker who recounted how, when he first saw a Jonas Mekas film, he
didn’t understand a word of the American voice-over, which was spoken
with a Lithuanian accent, but still loved every minute of the movie.
As my pizza Napoli arrived, to the strains of a melancholy samba
tune, it struck me that it is precisely these moments of cultural
interference that I look for in art.
By ‘interference’ I don’t mean to evoke the notion of ‘diversity’
that the advertisers and ideologues of the 1990s seized on as
a way to brand urban consumer culture as the earthly paradise
of capitalist liberalism. I’m thinking more of those accidental
moments when different voices and languages overlap at the opening
of an exhibition or during a break at a conference, or when different
meanings clash in an art work or a text, or in your mind when you try
to piece together memories of a show, discussion or journey. No doubt,
simulating such moments of cultural complexity has today become a
routine affair for art professionals. Yet what routines cannot procure
are interferences. They have to occur of their own volition, and when
they do, they don’t necessarily make sense. Take the constellation
of a defunct Soviet Modernism, a sad samba, a book about American
underground cinema and a pizza Napoli. This could be a perfect or a
meaningless moment (or both). It could be a typical Berlin moment,
but then it could also occur in any place with a socialist past where
they serve pizza.
This is also why I believe that the genius loci of a particular
city can be an important factor but never the sole reason for the
occurrence of magical moments. Who knows, special things could also
happen when in some out-of-the-way place a motley crew of characters
from various countries meet at an exhibition, conference, art school
or residency. In fact, even when they take place in a metropolis,
gatherings of international artists and intellectuals can feel
distinctively marginal in exactly the same way as they would if
they had happened somewhere ‘provincial’. I remember, for instance,
the experience of a panel discussion in the Guggenheim New York as
being not substantially different from that of a seminar in a disused
convent in Cork. With about 20 people listening on both occasions,
the discussion was marked by a similar amount of interference, some
of it white noise with people talking at cross purposes, but some
of it very inspiring when the improvised discourse suddenly threw up
terms that made it possible to agree or disagree in a meaningful way.
I have had this experience in many places, and it makes me think about
the close relationship between internationality and marginality. It
seems to me that internationalism in art today is primarily about
mediating eccentric positions from different cultural contexts in
front of a small local audience. The common ground for this new
internationalism could in fact be a feeling of marginality shared by
artists and intellectuals from various countries. What I appreciate
about this international discourse is that through its fickleness it
is a counterpoint to what happens if a local or national art scene
is left to focus on itself for too long. The outcome is usually that
the members of such scenes feel forced to defend the position they
took up years ago in a never-ending trench warfare. To keep on the
margins of such pointless local quarrels and instead look for a more
open exchange with like-minded people in an international discourse
has always seemed preferable to me.
Discussing such ideas of internationalism and marginality with a
small group of artists and writers in the garden of an art school
in a suburb of Yerevan, Armenia, the sociologist Hraech Bayadyan
made a good point. He described how the post-Soviet condition had
changed the social status of the intellectual from being that of a
dissident to that of a marginal figure. While the political regime
still occupied itself with dissidents (and both censored and sponsored
them), new capitalism simply marginalizes intellectual labour as
economically unprofitable and thus pushes it into oblivion. I argued
that if this marginal position is not recognized inside the country,
it would be in an international discourse. Bayadyan countered this by
saying that such recognition only make a difference when it affects
local struggles. He saw his task therefore as being to translate
international discourse into Armenian and thereby try to bring up to
date a language that had suffered a time-lag through being displaced
by modern Russian. This position made me wonder about how, on my part,
a flirtation with the international may also always imply an escape
from a commitment to the local. Still, I have difficulty figuring
out what the local could want from me. Writing this in Umeå, Sweden,
with everything outside covered in deep snow, while back in Berlin
spring and another biennial have just arrived, I come to no conclusion.
Jan Verwoert is contributing editor of frieze. Although based in
Berlin he teaches at the Academy of Fine Arts Umeå and the Piet Zwart
Institute Rotterdam.
p?c=315
–Boundary_(ID_wa3QJb6FFwXVsjrVaGvxaQ)–

Watertown TAB & Press, MA
April 28 2006
Rally campaigns come together to stop genocides
By Melody Hanatani/ Belmont Citizen-Herald
Friday, April 28, 2006 – Updated: 11:04 AM EST
A new coalition of diverse local ethnic groups kicked off an
anti-genocide campaign with a rally at the State House last Friday,
following the annual Armenian genocide anniversary commemoration.

The group, called kNOw Genocide, includes 10 organizations such
as Rwanda Outlook, the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association and
the Jewish Community Relations Council.

On his way from the ceremony to the rally, state Sen. Steven
Tolman, D-Boston, talked about why the coalition was formed.

“Today is a reaction of a diverse group to the lawsuit about the
denial of the Turks that this [genocide] even happened,” he said,
referring to a lawsuit seeking to introduce materials denying the
genocide into the statewide curriculum.

In listing the genocides that have occurred over the past 100
years, such as Armenia, Bosnia and Cambodia, U.S. Rep Edward Markey,
D-7th, called on President George W. Bush to recognize the genocides
in Armenia and Darfur.

“Don’t forget Palestine, Markey,” said one protester. “It’s been
too long for them, too.”

The protester was later escorted farther down Beacon Street,
where he continued to yell at the speakers.

Attorney General Tom Reilly, a Watertown resident and
gubernatorial hopeful, said the pending case in Boston is not about
limiting free speech. He said the only way to find a more just and
peaceful future is to face the “ugly truth of our past.”

State Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham, announced new “landmark”
legislation would be filed this week to force the state to divest
from any country where genocide occurs. He said the legislation would
be the first of its kind in the country, and hopes it will be a model
for other states.

Markey said earlier that the legislation would “ratchet up
pressure on the Bush administration to take a firmer stand in
Darfur.”

According to some humanitarian groups, about 400,000 people have
died in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Belmont resident Heather Krafian, a teacher at Muraco Elementary
School in Winchester, is a granddaughter of Armenian genocide
survivors. She spoke about the importance of teaching about the
genocide in the schools.
She spoke out against the denial of the genocide, and said it has
become the modus operandi of the Turkish government. She said there
is no doubt among scholars and experts that the Armenian genocide
occurred.

“The thread of lies Turkey has woven for 91 years is slowly
beginning to unravel,” said Krafian. “The fabric of denial has become
torn and tattered. The truth will not be killed, but will prevail.”

The Messenger, Georgia
April 28 2006
Millennium Challenge Georgia Fund hits the ground running
By Nino Kopaleishvili
The Samtskhe-Javakheti Road Rehabilitation Project, which calls for
the of a 245 kilometer stretch of the region’s main road, as well as
the of some of Georgia’s most remote areas with the rest of the
country, will commence in the spring of 2007.
Millennium Challenge Georgia Fund (MCG) started preliminary work on
the road in the autumn of 2005 within the framework of the USD 4.1
million “pre-compact” grant allocated by the Millennium Challenge
Corporation (MCC).
Since the compact itself entered into force this April, the total
budget for the road rehabilitation scheme shot up to USD 102.2
million. The German consulting firm The German consulting firm Kocks
Consult GmbH has been conducting a feasibility study, environmental
impact assessment and created the final design for the road since
winter 2006.
The project will focus on improving the network of roads in Georgia’s
long neglected southern region which is adjacent to the neighboring
state of Armenia with the ultimate goal of connecting a number of the
area’s attractions and historic sights – ranging from Teleti,
Manglisi, and Tsalka to Akhalkalaki, Ninotsminda, and Vardzia – to
the rest of the country.
As the Millennium Challenge Georgia Compact officially entered into
force in April of this year, the Millennium Challenge Georgia Fund
took the opportunity this week to sum up the preliminary activities
that it has been carrying out over the past two years.
On April 9 Georgia’s Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli and CEO of the
Millennium Challenge Corporation Ambassador John Danilovich announced
the “Entry into Force” of the Millennium Challenge Georgia Compact.
The duration of the USD 295.3 million Millennium Challenge Account
(MCA) Compact is five years.
The organization’s activities are overseen by a supervisory council
chaired by the prime minister. Currently, the organization is
focusing on two projects – Regional Infrastructure Rehabilitation and
Enterprise Development.
The Regional Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project is divided into
three primary activities: the rehabilitation of the
Samtskhe-Javakheti Road – for which USD 102.2 million has been
allotted; the rehabilitation of Georgia’s North- South gas pipeline,
which has a budget of USD 49.5 million; and the USD 60 million
Regional Infrastructure Development plan that encourages regional,
local, and self-governance units to propose projects in the fields of
water supply, sanitation, irrigation, municipal gasification and
overall water processing infrastructure.
“The majority of the projects are in the field of water and
irrigation” said MCG’s Public Outreach Director Eka Zguladze, who
believes that this is an area of particular need as a number of
cities in the country – Poti, Rustavi, Kutaisi – have no potable
drinking water. “Compared to this, other projects seem to have less
importance,” she said.
Explaining why the regional infrastructure projects can be undertaken
solely by state structures Zguladze said, “We want to ensure
sustainability of the investment. It might be that the idea belongs
to a non-governmental organization, but the project proposal must be
submitted by the governmental agency actually owning or operating the
specific infrastructure.”
MCG has identified two Municipality Development Fund projects this
year – the Sioni and the Algeti irrigation schemes – and another four
projects are currently under discussion and are expected to be
implemented with the help of cofinancers such as EBRD.
MCG’s total 2006 budget for Municipality Development Fund projects is
USD 27 million, and the same amount will be provided the next year.
The two year long gas pipeline rehabilitation project is expected to
play a pivotal role in the development of Georgia’s energy security.
Zguladze explained that initially MCG had been planning to work on
hydroelectric power stations, however after the Georgian government
changed course and put hydroelectric power on the privatization list,
“there has been no alternative to the gas pipeline project,” she
said.
Project executives expect that the allotted sum of USD 49.5 million
for the pipeline still is not enough to carry out the total necessary
rehabilitation, however, according to Project Director of the Energy
Rehabilitation Project Activity Ilia Eloshvili the most vulnerable
spots will be repaired and the consequent reduction in carbon
emissions will enable Georgia to amass and hopefully sell USD 26
million worth “carbon credit” by the end of the Compact period.
“Carbon credit” is the prevention of the emmission of one metric ton
of carbon produced by the burning of fossil fuels. Credits can be
traded for or developed into financial instruments such as bonds or
credit lines. The strategy was put forth to curb the emission of
greenhouse gasses by creating an international market in emissions
credits. The idea was proposed at the third session of the Conference
of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
in Kyoto, Japan December 1997. The Kyoto Protocol commits developed
countries to reduce their emissions of six greenhouse gasses by at
least five percent of 1990 levels by 2012. The country that fails to
meet its target can buy carbon emission permit from other country
that is under target. The Kyoto agreement became legally binding on
February 16, 2005 when 132 signatory countries agreed to decrease
carbon dioxide emissions.
The pipeline rehabilitation is expected to decrease Georgia’s losses
by three percent, or approximately 300 million cubic meters, a
reduction which should equal USD 30 million.
Preparatory work on the pipeline started in 2005 and at this stage
the work is focused on the Pasanauri- Saguramo and Saguramo-Red
Bridge sections of the structure.
The Enterprise Development Project at present is concentrating on two
activities: the Georgian Regional Development Fund Activity (GRDF),
which is funded by an earmarked USD 32.5 million and the Agribusiness
Development Activity for which USD 15 million has been allotted.
The GRDF is a 10 year lifetime investment fund that offers financing
to regional small and medium sized enterprises (SME) predominantly in
the fields of agriculture and tourism. The fund, which will be
created as a separate legal entity from MCG, will be run by a
managing company which will assist the funded companies on technical
and managerial levels. The managing company will be named within a
month.
The SMEs that will participate in the project should have more than
10 but less than 250 full-time employees and their total turnover
should not be greater than USD 5 million.
The Agribusiness Development Activity will provide grants to three
directions for farmers and farm enterprises, service providers and
enterprises that focus on processing, packaging and market
acquisitions.