Author: Kajoyan Gevork

Tony Iommi: I’ll be cheering on Armenia in Eurovision semis

11:57 13/05/2013 » CULTURE

Black Sabbath guitar hero Tony Iommi will be glued to the telly on
Thursday – to see if his song makes it through to the final of the
Eurovision Song Contest, Birmingham Mail reports.

The 65-year-old rock legend dusted off an old ballad titled Lonely
Planet when Armenian broadcasting bosses came knocking at the door of
his Lapworth home.

Thankful for all the charity work Tony has done in their country,
where he has spearheaded the rebuilding of a music school destroyed by
an earthquake, they wondered if he had any spare songs.

And this week Armenian rocker Gor Sujyan and his band Dorians will
belt out Lonely Planet in the semi-final of the contest. If it fends
off stiff competition, the song will make it through to Saturday’s
final.

`I was shocked when the riff I gave them to work with ended up being
the country’s official entry in the competition, chosen by public vote
from hundreds of songs,’ says Tony.

`It was just a little ballad thing I’d written four or five years
previously but never released.

`But on Thursday night it’ll be heard by millions of people when the
semi-final is broadcast. And if it survives, and makes it through to
the final, then that’ll great. Unexpected, but great.

`The contest is being staged in the Swedish city of Malmo and I’ll be
watching to see how they get on. It falls between our tour dates so
I’ll be able to watch it on television.’

Not that Tony regularly watches Eurovision. Far from it.

`I’ve always thought `Oh no, not the Eurovision’, and here I am in it
now,’ he smiles. `I first said `Oh God, I don’t know. It seemed really
strange, me doing a Eurovision song, I don’t usually do that.

`But I really hope it does well.’

Tony’s music has had lyrics added by songwriter Vardan Zadoyan, and
the song is a plea for world peace. It was one of four tracks
presented to Armenian voters and won by a landslide.

In the meantime, the music school being rebuilt in Gyumri, is expected
to open in September.

`I’ve been working with the people in Armenia for some years, and
we’re currently building a music school to replace the one that was
destroyed by an earthquake in 1988,’ says Tony. `We’ve had a huge
amount of support.

`Only the other week a Canadian firm came in with a truckload of
musical instruments. The school is due to open in September and I’m
looking forward to getting back out over there for that.

`A big thank you to Tim and the team at Millbank Music in Canada for
the huge pile of instruments now on their way to Armenia. With support
like this the project was always going to be successful.

`When the school opens this summer they’ll be off to a great start!’

Among others closely involved in the project, under the banner
WhoCares, is Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan, a close friend of Tony’s
who also enjoyed a successful stint as Black Sabbath singer.

Source: Panorama.am

Agence France Presse
May 10, 2013 Friday 11:44 PM GMT

Genocide – the gravest crime in international law

THE HAGUE, May 10 2013

Genocide, which former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt was
convicted of Friday, is the gravest crime in international
humanitarian law — and also the most difficult to prove.

Derived from the Greek word “genos”, for race or tribe, and the suffix
“cide” from the Latin for “to kill”; genocide is defined by the United
Nations as an “act committed with intent to destroy in whole or in
part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”
The word was coined in 1944 by Raphael Lemkin, a Polish Jew who took
refuge in the United States, to describe crimes committed by Nazi
Germany during the Holocaust.

It was used for the first time within a legal framework by an
international military tribunal at Nuremberg to try Nazi leaders for
their crimes in 1945. However, those accused were eventually convicted
on charges of crimes against humanity.

Genocide has been recognised within international law since 1948, with
the advent of the UN Convention.

The massacre of hundreds of thousands of Armenians in 1915 was
recognised in 1985 as genocide by the United Nations.

But even though the European Parliament recognised the Armenian
genocide in 1987, only France, Switzerland, Belgium and Greece have
followed suit in Europe.

The Rwandan genocide, in which the UN said some 800,000 Tutsis and
moderate Hutus were murdered in 1994, led to the creation of the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, based in Arusha, Tanzania.

It has handed out around 20 convictions since 1998 for the crime of
genocide and complicity.

The massacre of almost 8,000 Muslim men and boys by Bosnian Serb
forces at Srebrenica, in July 1995 during the Bosnian war, was
recognised as genocide by the UN’s highest judicial organ, the
International Court of Justice in 2007.

The Balkans war crimes court, the International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), has convicted several accused of
genocide — and several trials, including that of former Bosnian Serb
military leader Ratko Mladic, are still underway.

In Phnom Penh, two former leaders of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime
from 1975-79 are currently on trial for genocide and war crimes before
a UN-sponsored tribunal.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is wanted by the International
Criminal Court (ICC) on an arrest warrant for genocide related to
crimes committed against Darfur’s civilian population.

The Hague-based ICC, created in 1992, is the only permanent
international tribunal to try the perpetrators of genocide.

New Santa Ana, CA
May 10, 2013 Friday 11:19 PM EST

Stage is Set for Orange County’s Yeraz Performance

SANTA ANA – Forty young Armenian dancers ranging in age from four to
19 are holding their final rehearsals this month ahead of their
Sunday, June 2nd performance at the Forty Martyrs Church hall.

Community organizer and head of the ‘Hamazkayin’ Armenian Educational
and Cultural Society Siamanto chapter Shoushig Arslanian says the
upcoming Yeraz Armenian School of Dance show weaves the tale of a boy
who falls asleep after a long day at school and dreams of traveling to
Armenia.

‘We are calling the show the Story of a Dream Come True,’ says
Shoushig. ‘The kids are excited, their parents are excited, and our
entire community is excited. All of us together are going to see the
students’ long hours of practice and commitment to our culture
displayed in a beautiful show.’

Professional dancer Artur Aleksanyan has been at the helm of the Yeraz
Armenian School of Dance since last fall, when he and his fellow
dancers from the world renowned Hamazkayin Ani Dance Company performed
in Orange County. The 20-year-old says seeing the kids give it their
all is inspirational.

‘The main character in our show is trying to find his way to Armenia,’
explains Artur. ‘He gets lost along the way, encounters several
foreign cultures, and heeds the advice of friendly gypsy boys, who
point him in the right direction.’

Artur says the boy spends the remainder of his dream marveling in awe
of the stories told through music, movements and the mosaic of
interwoven cultures.

‘Our Armenian dance school began ten years ago with Pearlene
Varjabedian,’ says Shoushig. ‘When she left for Boston to be with her
family, we asked Ani dance group directors Suzy Barseghian-Tarpinian
and Yeghia Hasholian for help, and they sent us Artur, one of their
many talented dancers.’

Since November, Artur has been driving an hour down to Orange County
from North Hollywood every Monday night to teach dance. In between the
two-hour roundtrip commute are four hours spent giving the kids a
great workout and educating them about Armenian dances.

‘We separated the dancers by age and gender,’ says Shoushig. ‘Each
group gets an hour with Artur, who has so much patience and love. He’s
truly an inspiration to his students and our community. We expect
great things from him in the future.’

Artur may just be 20-years-old, but he’s danced since he learned to
walk, performing with not only the Ani Dance Company but in dozens of
mainstream American productions like ‘The Nutcracker,’ ‘Snow White’
and ‘Peter Pan’ across the US and abroad over the past 15 years.

Among Artur’s students are the likes of 13-year-old Sofia Sakzlyan and
8-year-old twins Alina and Armen Andekian, whose parents drive them to
Santa Ana from all over the widespread but tight-knit Orange County
Armenian community.

‘The best part of the experience is seeing the progress,’ says Artur.
‘I do it because it’s a new challenge. I try to not only teach dance
but to also teach our culture to our students through the one thing
I’m able to communicate best with – dance.’

Artur doesn’t expect the students who gather at Ghazarian Hall every
Monday to follow in his footsteps as a professional dancer, but he
still pushes them to reach their maximum potential week-after-week.

‘Seeing the development of mental and physical strength, seeing the
smiles after class,’ are what Artur says motivate him. ‘I love to see
them push through struggle. ‘

Yeraz’s School of Armenian Dance performance will take place on
Sunday, June 2nd at 6:00 PM at Gugasian Hall, 5301 W. McFadden Avenue,
Santa Ana. For more information, call (714) 403-0875 or
[email protected]

Press Association Mediapoint, UK
May 10, 2013 Friday 3:03 PM BST

PM AND PUTIN ‘SHARE AIMS ON SYRIA’

David Cameron has said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin share
“fundamental aims” in seeking an end to the bloodshed in Syria.

Speaking during a joint press conference in the Black Sea resort of
Sochi, the Prime Minister said the situation in Syria was “appalling
and deteriorating”.

He said: “It’s no secret that we have had differing views on how best
to handle the situation but we share fundamental aims: to end the
conflict, to stop Syria fragmenting, to let the Syrian people choose
who governs them and to prevent the growth of violent extremism.”

Mr Cameron also announced that the UK and Russia had agreed there
should be “limited co-operation” between their security services in
the build-up to the Winter Olympics in Sochi next year.

Mr Cameron said: “The history of Syria is being written in the blood
of her people.”

The Prime Minister welcomed the US-Russian agreement to hold a special
conference aimed at delivering a “transitional government based on
the consent of the Syrian people as a whole”.

He added: “The President and I have agreed that, as permanent members
of the United Nations, we must help to drive this process, working
with partners in the region and beyond, not just bringing the regime
and opposition together at one negotiating table but Britain, Russia,
America and other countries helping shape a transitional government
that all Syrians can trust to protect them.

“We urgently have to do more for the sake of the people of Syria to
break the vicious cycle that threatens to destroy Syria and that
threatens to export violence and extremism around the world.”

Mr Cameron set out plans for security co-operation ahead of the Sochi
Games as he met Mr Putin at the President’s summer residence in the
city.

He said: “We both want the Sochi Games to be a safe and secure Games.
So today I have agreed with President Putin that there should be
limited co-operation between our security services for the Sochi
Olympics.”

The Prime Minister said his talks with President Putin had been “very
substantive, very purposeful, very useful”.

But he acknowledged: “Of course, it is no secret that there are
issues where we differ. We don’t duck these, we have had very frank
discussions, as we have today.

“But a more effective relationship will help make people in both our
countries safer and better off and that is what we have been focusing
on today.”

Mr Cameron’s agreement to British security involvement ahead of the
Sochi games marks the first co-operation between UK and Russian spies
since links were broken over the 2006 murder of Alexander Litvinenko.

The UK offered assistance to the Russian Federal Security Service
(FSB) following a fatal bombing in the Moscow airport of Domodedovo in
2011, but the Russians rejected the offer, a Foreign Office spokesman
said.

Mr Putin thanked Mr Cameron for their “substantive and frank” talks,
but was more cautious in his wording when it came to discussing the
situation in Syria.

The Russian President said: “We have common interest in putting an
immediate end to violence in that country and launching the peace
settlement in preserving Syria as an integral and sovereign state.

“We discussed a number of steps and options to resolve the crisis.”

In the joint statement after the talks, he focused instead on
increased trade and investment between the UK and Russia, and a
cultural exchange programme which will take place in London and Moscow
in 2014.

He also thanked the UK for its help in preparing for the Sochi 2014
Winter Olympic Games following the staging of the event in London last
summer.

He said: “More than 60 British companies are involved in the
preparation for the Sochi 2014 games. They are quite successful and we
are grateful to our British partners.”

Downing Street said the two leaders spoke for around two hours
accompanied only by their respective national security advisers before
the talks continued over lunch – covering topics including the Middle
East peace process and North Korea.

No 10 also revealed details of the gifts exchanged by the pair.

Mr Putin was handed reminders of his visit to see the judo at the
London Olympics – in the form of a photograph of him with Mr Cameron
at the event, another of him standing with the Russian he watched win
gold, and his ticket.

In return, Mr Cameron was handed a bottle of 40-year-old Armenian
cognac which he told the president he would place in the Chequers
study used by Winston Churchill after being informed the former
premier was also given a bottle by Stalin in 1945.

“ABSTRACTION” GRIPPING NEW HEIST FILM BY ARMENIAN FILMMAKER PRINCE ISHCAN BAGDASARIAN

By admin Updated: May 7, 2013

LOS ANGELES – PIB Productions has announced the release of a new movie
trailer for “Abstraction,” an intense action crime drama revolving
around the heist of a half a million dollar painting.

“Abstraction” is written and directed by Armenian filmmaker Prince
Ishcan Bagdasarian and stars Academy Award Nominee Eric Roberts (Dark
Knight, Expendables), Ken Davitian (Borat, The Artist), Hunter Ives,
Korrina Rico (School Dance, In Time), Natalie Victoria (Deadheads),
Richard Manriquez, and James Lewis (Gacy House).

Although PIB Productions had a limited budget to produce the
independent feature film, they utilized modern innovative methods of
filmmaking and called upon certain industry professionals who
supported the ambitious project in its early stages.

“It was really interesting assembling a team with the proper knowledge
who also believed in the film” says writer and director Prince
Bagdasarian. “We had to film sce roduction and post production for
films.

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF ARMENIA (RPA) COMMISSION CHAIRMAN LIT CANDLES IN THE POLLING PLACE TO DRIVE EVIL SPIRITS AWAY

May 9 2013

Not only Anahit Bakhshyan, a member of the Heritage Party, but also
the commission chairman of electoral district no. 11 is discontent
with the work of the commission of polling place no. 11/16 of the
electoral district. “There really are serious problems at polling place
no. 16; the commission chairman made, to put it mildly, organizational
mistakes,” Karen Mkhitaryan, the chairman of the electoral district
commission, said to Anahit Bakhshyan who participated
in the vote recount in the polling place at the request of the
Hello Yerevan Coalition told us that no number gotten during the
vote recount corresponded to those in the polling place record. The
polling place had recorded 9 invalid ballots, whereas during the
vote recount they found 8 invalid ballots in the sack. The number of
ballots cast for the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) had been 265,
whereas the recounting commission members found 264 ballots in the
sack, 7 out of which were obviously invalid, and two were cast for
the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA). “As a result, the number of
the PAP’s votes reduced by 10,” Ms. Bakhshyan said. According to the
record, the number of ballots cast for the Hello Yerevan Coalition had
been 66, 2 out of which were found invalid during the vote recount,
3 out of Armenian National Congress’s (ANC) 40 ballots were the RPA’s,
1 of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s (ARF) 37 ballots was
invalid, and they found only 521 out of 524 ballots recorded as cast
for the RPA in the sack during the vote recount. “There were 960
signatures on the voter registration list, whereas the real number
of votes was fewer by 2. The polling place received 1650 ballots,
but when you add the destroyed ballots to those found in the sack,
you get 1646; four ballots are not there,” Ms. Bakhshyan told us. By
the way, according to witnesses, the RPA chairman of that polling
place, lit candles in the polling place on May 5, and when asked why,
he said that he was driving evil spirits away. Arpine SIMONYAN

Read more at:

© 1998 – 2013 Aravot – News from Armenia

ARUSIK VAKCINA’S OPEN LETTER TO YEREVAN MAYOR: “WITHIN A FEW MINUTES THE STREET WAS FLOODED WITH BLOOD.”

2013-05-12 20:54:38

Below present you Arusik Vakcin’s open letter to the Mayor of Yerevan
Taron Margaryan.

“Dear Taron Margaryan,

On behalf of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia we are writing
to you with the following request: to tighten the conditions of walks
of fighting dogs and make sure that these dogs are not displayed
especially in crowded places in Yerevan without a leash and muzzle,
thus exposing the lives of the citizens of danger.

An example is the study of our request is the horrific case, occurred
in the evening of May 10 this year, where “Pitbull” dog was out of
control, presenting a danger for the nearby citizens. A few minutes
in the presence of civilians, including children and pregnant women
street was flooded with blood. The case ended with the death of only
one innocent dog, but any person could be in its place.

The mentioned case is not unique when dogs weighing more than 9 kg
were walking in the center of Yerevan, in the territory of Swan Lake
without leashes and muzzles.

We ask you to take actions to ensure safety of the citizens of Armenia,
and the culprits were strictly punished. ”

DARCHINYAN KNOCKS OUT GALLO IN “SOLO BOXEO TECATE” MAIN EVENT

May 12, 2013 – 19:25 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Former two-division world championVic Darchinyan
knocked out Javier Gallo in the fourth round Saturday, May 11,
winning his debut with promoter Top Rank in the main event of a
“Solo Boxeo Tecate” card at Uni-Trade Stadium in Laredo, Texas,
espn.go.com reports.

Darchinyan (39-5-1, 28 KOs), a former flyweight and unified junior
bantamweight champion, had earlier floored Mexico’s Gallo (18-7-1,
10 KOs) three times in an action-packed second round, before finishing
him with a straight left in the fourth at the 26-second mark.

Darchinyan, an Armenian native who has lived for years in Australia
and now trains in Glendale, Calif., had his first fight under new
manager Frank Espinoza, who signed the veteran fighter in April.

Darchinyan looked sharp and dominated the fight throughout. After
sending Gallo to the canvas twice in the second round, Darchinyan was
rocked by Gallo, before dropping the Mexican fighter again right at
the bell.

In the undercard, former Mexican Olympian Oscar Valdez stopped Rocco
Espinoza at 2:58 of the first round in a fight where he quickly went
to the attack and scored a couple of knockdowns before the fight
was stopped.

For Valdez it was his fifth win as a pro fighter and the fourth by
knockout, after turning pro last November.

The card was the first boxing event at Uni-Trade Stadium, the home
of the Laredo Lemurs, an independent minor league baseball team.

IT IS CLEAR CORRUPTION

Interview with Vahan Ishkhanyan, chairman of Helsinki Committee,
human rights activists

Recently it has become known that NGOs whose names mean nothing to
the society are funded from the state budget. Why does the state fund
NGOs which we have not even heard about?

It is a topic for a serious journalistic investigation because it
is a corruption case and in this case we deal with pro-government
NGOs which are funded by the government to praise it. Judging by how
several different organizations registered in a single day and by one
person received those grants it is clear corruption. One wonders why
the government funds those NGOs, what the principles are, whether
there are commissions which make decisions etc. In my impression,
this is a closed club which is doing god knows what.

Different officials criticize NGOs for misuse of international grants
while the government supports real misuse.

The government makes allegations against different organizations for
misuse of grants because they dislike their activities which disclose
their shortcomings. The organizations which are not doing anything
misuse those grants.

During the election of the Council of Elders you listed five NGOs
which protected the interests of the RPA. Are such NGOs also busy
misusing state funds?

It is not known who funds them and how. One thing is clear. They are
titular NGOs, classic “gongons” which are intended to cause a mess
in the society and in fact do no good to the society.

Karine Ionesyan 20:54 11/05/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT TO VISIT ARMENIA

May 12, 2013 – 19:08 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko will
arrive in Yerevan on an official visit.

Meeting with Armenian President Serzh Sargsayn is on the agenda on
May 13, to be followed by negotiations between the two countries’
state delegations.

Agreements on deepening of Armenian-Belarusian cooperation will
be signed upon completion of the negotiations, presidential press
service reported. The two presidents will further issue a joint
public statement.

Visits to the Armenian Genocide memorial complex and Nuclear Power
Plant is also on the agenda, to be followed by participation in the
inauguration of Armenian-Belarusian trade center in Yerevan. The two
presidents will later attend the consecration of the newly-constructed
St. Hovhannes church in Kotayk province.

Visits to the Armenian Genocide memorial complex and Nuclear Power
Plant is also on the agenda, to be followed by participation in the
inauguration of Armenian-Belarusian trade center in Yerevan. The two
presidents will later attend the consecration of the newly-constructed
St. Hovhannes church in Kotayk province.