Author: Kanayan Tamar

AZERBAIJAN CHANGES TACTICS OF ANTI-ARMENIAN PROPAGANDA – EXPERT

news.am
Aug 19 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Azerbaijan has some changes in its strategy and tactics
of the anti-Armenian propaganda, said Armenian military expert David
Jamalyan to a press conference on Friday.

The expert reminded that Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov
suggested that Karabakh Armenians should themselves vote for or
against being a part of Azerbaijan.

“Now attempts are made to implement this idea in practice, which
brings up an interesting situation – anti-Armenian propaganda and
hatred are not reduced but they simultaneously introduce an image of a
“good Armenian” speaking of peoples’ friendship,” said Jamalyan.

As an example of such “good Armenians” the expert mentioned the
Chairman Caucasus Center for Peacemaking Initiatives Georgi Vanyan.

Jamalyan particularly highlighted Vanyan’s initiative to hold a
festival of Azerbaijani movies in Yerevan, which did not cause much
excitement in Armenia and in Azerbaijan as well.

According to the expert, such actions do not improve relations between
the two nations, furthermore, they obviously have the opposite effect.

Jamalyan believes that creation of the new image of Armenians will
activate international structures.

“This can be expressed in the form of various grant programs with
political overtones. These programs will not take normalization of
relations between Armenians and Azerbaijanis as a primary goal, they
will rather try to introduce pro-Azerbaijani approaches to the youth,”
concluded Jamalyan.

GOLDEN THREAD THEATER TO PREMIERE PLAY ON GENOCIDE EXPERIENCE

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Editor

Actors in a scene from “Night in Erzinga” SAN FRANCISCO – Golden Thread
Productions announces the world premiere of “Night over Erzinga,” a
powerful and soul-stirring play by award-winning playwright and actor
Adriana Sevahn Nichols. Sevahn Nichols is the first recipient of the
Middle East America: a National New Plays Initiative, a commissioning
project founded and managed by three national organizations: the Bay
Area’s Golden Thread Productions, New York’s Lark Play Development
Center and Chicago’s Silk Road Theatre Project.

Sevahn Nichols’ “Night over Erzinga” is a moving story about the
immigrant experience in the US and the endurance of the human spirit.

The central characters, Ardavazt and Alice, build a new life in the
US in the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide but the past comes to
haunt them in very different ways. Inspired by Nichols’ personal
heritage as a Dominican- Armenian-American, this story explores how
a man can lose two families in one lifetime, but not lose his heart;
and how a grandmother can reach through time, to unearth the untold
story and bring her children “home.”

This tender epic spans two continents and three generations, from
Western Armenia of 1913, to 1930s Massachusetts, to 1960s New York.

The magical story reunites ancestors with the living, as they each
search for solace and a way to make peace with the past. Nichols’
poetic and comic language incorporates the world of symbols and icons,
spirits and the invisible, along with the everyday concerns of survival
and keeping a family together.

The playwright’s Armenian grandparents immigrated to the United States
from Erzinga and Shabin- Karahisar (part of Turkish Armenia) in the
aftermath of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Nichols’ grandfather,
Ardavazt Oghidanian, was the sole survivor of his family. Nichols’
reflection on her grandfather’s experience launched a three-year
journey to develop “Night over Erzinga.”

Nichols described the play’s origin as a way “…to discover my roots;
to write my way home. To ancestors I never knew, but feel in my heart.

And to find a way to belong to a history and legacy that, up until
that point, in my life, was missing. As a writer, I feel called to
tell the stories that will inspire, move and enrich people’s hearts.

We are all on a collective journey, as a global family, and I believe
theatre, at its best, has the potential to initiate transformation
and healing. Although the play I have written is deeply personal
and specific to the Armenians, it has been my intention that this
play transcends that specificity and become universal in creating
dialogues among those who see it?”

Torange Yeghiazarian, Golden Thread Productions’ artistic director,
adds “‘Night over Erzinga’ is a courageous play that brings together
the Armenian and Latino communities. Adriana’s unique voice and rich
language is a welcome new addition to the cannon of American theater
and Golden Thread is proud to introduce this important new play and
playwright to Bay Area audiences.”

During its development, “Night over Erzinga” had two
enthusiastically-received public readings in New York and San
Francisco. Sevahn Nichols is an award-winning actress and playwright
who has developed and performed her work at the Sundance Theater Lab,
South Coast Repertory, Mark Taper Forum, The Goodman, LA Theatre Works,
Stages Theatre, The Fountain, INTAR and The Lark. Her plays have
been published by Samuel French and Smith & Kraus. Sevahn Nichols’
critically acclaimed solo show, “Taking Flight,” garnered her a San
Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award, a Los Angeles Women’s Theatre
Festival Award, and the CD was a finalist for a 2008 Audie Award.

“Night over Erzinga” is scored with original music by Bulgarian
composer, Penka Kouneva and directed by Hafiz Karmali. Karmali is an
accomplished theater director familiar to Golden Thread audiences. He
directed three new plays at the ReOrient Festival in 2009: “Abaga”
by Yeghiazarian; “A Marriage Proposal” (Egyptian Chekhov) and “The
Review” (via skype) both by Yussef El-Guindi and in 2006, the Ikhwan
al-Safa’s fable, “Island of Animals.”

Prior to working with Golden Thread, Karmali was a teaching fellow
at Harvard University, directed plays in London and served an
apprenticeship at the American Repertory Theatre where he assisted
internationally renowned directors Robert Wilson and Andrei Serban.

Golden Thread Productions is a nationally recognized non-profit
organization acknowledged as the leading theater company devoted to
Middle Eastern voices and experiences. Founded in 1996 by Yeghiazarian,
Golden Thread’s mission, to give voice to Middle Eastern writers,
is made more urgent and vital with all that is currently happening
in the Middle East.

ARMENIANS ARE ‘ALLIES OF LEZGINS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST AZERBAIJAN’

Tert.am
19.08.11

A representative of the Lezgian nation has said that Armenians are
Lezgins’ allies in their fight against Azerbaijan.

In a letter related to a discussion by Armenian and Azerbaijani
authors and published by the Russian-language news agency Regnum,
Vagif Kerimov, the head of the National-Cultural Autonomy of Lezgians
in Tumen Province in Russia, said that Armenians in Karabakh acted
as brave men who stayed and defended their homes.

“Men have always died for their homeland, for their families and
relatives, for their homes. They died, and did not flee. Who fled
from Azerbaijan? The question itself is the answer; all in all,
it clarifies the situation,” wrote he.

“The Karabakhi Armenians went to that victory for several years;
they were ready to die and achieved Freedom,” he added.

Further, he said he considers Armenians as allies in their struggle
against Azerbaijan.

“You have only one way out: the peaceful one, much in the same way
as in Russia; Federation, and again to become friends with Armenians.

That is the salvation of your souls,” he wrote.

“The money you spend on missile, spend it on manuals of Lezgi, Talish,
and Avar languages. This oil is not only yours. Yes, the Armenians are
our advocates. You too have advocates in the face of Israel,” he added.

ARMENIA’S RAMKAVAR AZATAKAN HAS NO ‘ENEMIES’

Tert.am
19.08.11

At his Aug. 19 meeting with journalists, the newly appointed chairman
of the Ramkavar Azatakan Party of Armenia Harutyun Arakelyan addressed
a number of issues, including domestic political developments.

“Armenia’s authorities and the Armenian National Congress (ANC)
have decided on the forthcoming elections beforehand. There is
a tendency to monopoly,” he said. Under the circumstances, the
extra-parliamentary political forces, including Ramkavar Azatakan,
will find it most difficult to succeed in the forthcoming elections.

“We do not rule out the possibility of joint participation in the
elections. The party’s Armenian board are discussing this possibility.

I can name some parties with which we can jointly take part in the
elections. They are the Heritage party, Armenian Revolutionary
Federation Dashnaktsutyun, as well as the parties led by Aram
Karapetyan and Tigran Karapetyan,” Arakelyan said. He pointed out
that the Ramkavar Azatakan Party of Armenia has no “enemies” among
Armenia’s political forces.

GARDEROBE MANAGER UNAWARE THAT HIS SHOP IS TO BE DEMOLISHED

epress.am
08.18.2011

Manager of the clothing and accessories shop “Garderobe” on Yerevan’s
Abovyan St. was unaware of the Yerevan mayor’s decision to dismantle
kiosks and shops that are located on the sidewalks of the Armenian
capital.

“How’s that? I’m not aware of any such decision. We’ve taken a lease on
the property for the long-term – go find out from the property owner,”
said manager Artashes Mashadyan, speaking to Epress.am on the phone.

On Aug. 16, Yerevan mayor Karen Karapetyan once again declare that the
unlawful and non-operating kiosks and shops on Yerevan’s main streets,
and on Abovyan St. in particular, must be dismantled and instructed
authorities to make the notice of demolition more widely known.

Furthermore, the mayor stated that the initiative came from the kiosk
owners themselves.

Earlier, asked by local daily Haykakan Jamanak (“Armenian Times”)
whether the Garderobe shop on Abovyan St. would be demolished,
Republic of Armenia and Yerevan chief architect Narek Sargsyan said
yes and added, “We are preparing to demolish those crude structures
on Abovyan St.”

AZERBAIJAN INTERESTED IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION AS NO ONE ELSE – DIPLOMAT

news.az
1news.az
Aug 18, 2011
Azerbaijan

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan broke out in late 1980s of
last century due to unfounded territorial claims of Armenia against
Azerbaijan.

Charge d’affaires of Azerbaijan in Tajikistan Ilham Zamanov said this
in his interview to Business and Politics newspaper.

The diplomat said that Azerbaijan, like no one else, is interested
in a speedy settlement [of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict] through negotiations and addressing its consequences,
the diplomat said.

“We clearly and unequivocally demonstrate our commitment to resolving
the conflict based on international law and strive to make full use
of all political and diplomatic means at our disposal,” he noted.

Azerbaijan believes that the territorial integrity of the state can
not be a matter of debates and it will never agree with the decision
that ignores the rights of its people and legalizes the status quo,
the diplomat added.

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES THE DECISION ON BUILDING A HOTEL NEAR “REPUBLIC SQUARE” METRO STATION

Mediamax
Aug 18, 2011
Armenia

Photo: Yerevan/Mediamax/. At today’s
session, Armenian government approved the decision on “Permission of
non-competition land provision with a right of construction”.

According to the decision, a world-class hotel complex is due to be
built on the territory adjacent to “Republic Square” metro station.

“The complex will be built taking into account the construction, design
and architecture solutions of the adjacent historical monuments,
buildings and structures which will ensure the integrity of the
micro-district”, the decision runs.

The construction area will make 5853.25 square kilometers.

It should be reminded that on July 21, Urban Construction Council of
Yerevan also approved the construction of a 7-8 storey hotel on the
territory close to “Republic Square” metro station.

NEW HOTEL TO BE CONSTRUCTED AT YEREVAN CENTRAL SQUARE

news.am
Aug 18, 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – A new hotel complex will be built at the Republic Square
subway station in Yerevan. The construction is planned for 2011-2014.

The government allowed Yerevan city mayor to provide an area of 5850
square meters for construction of the hotel, and do it without biding
a tender. According to a certificate provided by the city hall, the
hotel will contain conference rooms, sports and game rooms, beauty
salon, restaurants and a cafe.

The hotel will be built based on a number of existing features of the
historic city center, which will ensure the integrity of the
neighborhood. It will be constructed by Tashir Group with which the
city administration has already signed the agreement.

WORLD BANK PROMISES ARMENIA ANOTHER $55 MILLION

news.am
Aug 18, 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN.- World Bank Country Director for the South Caucasus Asad Alam
has sent a letter to the Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan,
saying that the possibility of funding Armenia in the coming years
(2011-2014) has been increased by $55 million.

During the Thursday government’s session Sargsyan said it is explained
by a quality of Armenia’s loan portfolio, as well as high level
of management.

Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the WB office in Armenia
and personally Asad Alam and instructed the ministers to draw up a
timetable with a view to spending sources and match it with the WB
representatives. According to the Armenian PM, the schedule should
be drafted so that it will be possible to spend funds from next May.

World Bank’s loan portfolio provided for Armenia for 2011-2014 will
make about $305 million, which will be used to finance programs in
the areas of water supply, irrigation, roads, health, education,
agriculture, computerization of tax, customs and financial
administration.

ANTI-TORTURE COMMITTEE PUBLISHES REPORT

Lragir.am

18/08/2011

The Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (CPT) published the report on its periodic
visit to Armenia in May 2010, together with the response of the
Armenian Government. These documents have been made public at the
request of the Armenian authorities.

In their response, the Armenian authorities provide information on
steps taken or envisaged to implement the CPT’s recommendations.

Key extracts of the report

‘During the 2010 visit, the delegation heard a significant number of
credible and consistent allegations of recent physical ill-treatment
of detained persons by police operational staff and, occasionally,
by senior officers, at the time of initial interviews (i.e. before a
protocol of detention was drawn up). The alleged ill-treatment mainly
consisted of punches, kicks and blows inflicted with truncheons,
bottles filled with water or wooden bats, with a view to securing
confessions or obtaining other information. In several instances,
the severity of the ill-treatment alleged was such that it could be
considered as amounting to torture (e.g. extensive beating; infliction
of electric shocks with stun batons; blows to the soles of the feet).

Further, many persons, including persons interviewed by the police
as witnesses, alleged that they had been subjected to oppressive
interviewing methods (e.g. sustained questioning by as many as eight
interviewers; threats of being physically ill-treated or executed,
or of repercussions for family members) in order to compel them to
make statements or to act as police informants.’ (paragraph 12 of
the report)

‘The case of Vahan KHALAFYAN, who died in police custody on 13 April
2010, is illustrative of the problem of ill-treatment; it had received
extensive media coverage in Armenia. At the time of the visit, the
evidence gathered during the preliminary investigation into this
case already clearly indicated that Mr Khalafyan had been held at
Charentsavan Police Division for some seven hours without a protocol
of detention being drawn up, and that he had been subjected to severe
beatings during questioning by four police officers, including the
Head of the Criminal Investigation Unit. Mr Khalafyan reportedly took
a knife from the wardrobe next to where he was sitting and stabbed
himself twice in the lower stomach. The post-mortem examination
established that he had died from these injuries but also revealed
numerous other injuries which were consistent with an assault upon
him prior to the fatal stab wounds being inflicted (i.e. bruises
on the scalp on the top of the head, with corresponding evidence of
bleeding to the brain, as well as inside the mouth, on the lower jaw,
behind the right knee, on the right shin and on the front of the
right ankle).’ (paragraph 13 of the report)

‘It is the responsibility of the staff and of the prison administration
as a whole to protect prisoners’ physical and psychological integrity,
and to take immediate, resolute and even anticipatory action to
prevent inter-prisoner intimidation. In the course of the 2010 visit,
the delegation observed that there was a general tendency for staff in
Nubarashen and Kosh Prisons to delegate authority to a select number
of inmates who were at the top of the informal prison hierarchy,
in particular a prisoner “leader” (the so-called “zon nayokh”),
and use them to keep control over the inmate population. In order to
exercise his authority, the prisoner “leader” at Nubarashen Prison
was apparently afforded certain privileges, such as the possibility
to move relatively freely within the establishment and to enter any
cells. At Kosh Prison, the prisoner “leader” was clearly in charge
of order among prisoners. It also appeared that those not willing
or able to give financial or other contributions to the prisoner
“leader” in exchange for full protection were marginalised and at
risk of intimidation.’ (paragraph 66 of the report)

‘At Yerevan-Kentron Prison, the material conditions in which the
three life-sentenced prisoners were accommodated give cause for
serious concern.’

‘The situation was aggravated by the regime of solitary confinement
applied to the three life-sentenced prisoners. Two of them had been
held in such conditions for over nine years. They were not allowed
to associate with each other or with any other prisoner. They did not
even have a TV set or radio in their cells (unlike the third inmate).

The only regular out-of-cell activity consisted of daily outdoor
exercise, which was taken alone in a yard on the top floor of the
prison building. Such conditions could be considered as amounting to
inhuman treatment and contributed to the degradation in the prisoners’
mental health.’ (paragraph 71 of the report)

‘In the CPT’s view, the [conditions of detention] at Nubarashen
Prison could well be considered as amounting to inhuman and degrading
treatment.’ (paragraph 83 of the report)

‘Suicides or suicide attempts appeared to be very rare events in the
establishments visited. However, the CPT is concerned by certain
extreme measures that may be taken when a prisoner is considered
to be a particularly high suicide risk. At Nubarashen Prison,
a life-sentenced prisoner identified as suicidal had been kept in
his cell, hand- and ankle-cuffed to his bed for more than one month
between December 2009 and January 2010. At no point was he sent to
a hospital facility. The cuffs were removed by staff for him to go
to the in-cell toilet or during mealtimes. According to the prisoner
concerned, the measure was ended after he managed to remove the cuffs
himself.’ (paragraph 117 of the report)