Author: Kanayan Tamar

SPOKESMAN OF ‘HERITAGE’ PARTY: ANC MADE DECISION WITHOUT PRELIMINARY NEGOTIATIONS WITH US

ArmInfo
2009-03-18 14:33:00

ArmInfo. The opposition should be unified at the election for the
Council of Elders and mayor of Yerevan, spokesman of "Heritage" party
Hovsep Khurshudyan said at today’s press-conference. Talking about
the decision of the Armenian National Congress to take part in the
election of the Council of Elders with a separate list, Khurshudyan
said: ‘We proposed ANC to participate in the election with a common
list, as it would assure our victory. However, ANC made a decision
without preliminary negotiations with us’.

According to Khurshudyan, if ‘Heritage’ agrees to take part in the
election with ANC- proposed list, this version would fail. ‘The rival
of Gagik Beglaryan at the election should be a young man, and such
a deserved and experienced political activist as Levon Ter-Petrosyan
had to help him to gain victory, the spokesman said.

However, Khurshudyan said, there is still a way out, the discussions
between the ANC and "Heritage" party may go on. So, "Heritage" party
will separately participate in the election to avoid "scattering" of
the opposition’s electorate. According to Khurshudyan, the relevant
decision will be made on March 20.

IRAN, ARMENIA TO CONSTRUCT LARGEST HYDROELECTRIC POWER STATION IN CAUCASUS

Trend
March 18 2009
Azerbaijan

Iran and Armenia will build on the Araz River the largest hydroelectric
power station in the Caucasus, Iranian agency IRNA quoted Armenian
Energy and Natural Resources Deputy Minister.

"The hydroelectric power station will be built in Megrid on the
Armenian side of the river and in Garachalar on the Iranian side,"
Armenian Energy and Natural Resources Deputy Minister Ara Simonian
said.

The hydroelectric power station will produce annually 800 million
kWh of electricity and will have no analogues in the South Caucasus,
he said.

In order to execute this project, both countries will provide a place
on the Araz River and will ensure safety of the station, Simonian said.

During construction there will be no restrictions for workers to
enter and exit the two countries, he said.

Simonian added that the draft had been prepared and its implementation
would be carried out upon signing a contract between Iran and Armenia.

WHERE WERE THE OTHER TWO PRINCIPLES

Lragir.am
19:11:00 – 18/03/2009

On March 18, addressing the Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandyan
the Republican parliamentary member Armen Ashotyan asked why Armenia
did not respond to that part of the U.S. State Department annual
report which concerned the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and which is
equal in the report regarding Azerbaijan.

Edward Nalbandyan stated that the U.S. has voiced its stance on
the Nagorno-Karabakh issue different times and it is based on 3
principles: non use of force, right for self-determination and
territorial integrity.

When Armen Ashotyan stressed that the report stated the occupation of
the Azerbaijani territories including Nagorno-Karabakh, the foreign
minister said that his answer was right about this.

By the way, interestingly, the U.S. State Department report dwelt
only on the territorial integrity without uttering a word on the
other 2 principals of the U.S.

TURKEY WILL BE DISCREDITED BY MUSLIM WORLD, BAKU SAYS

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.03.2009 13:10 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey will be discredited by the entire Muslim
world if it signs any agreement with Armenia, according to Azeri
expert Jumshud Nuriyev.

"Opening of the border will allow Turkish businessmen to export goods
to Nagorno Karabakh. Besides, the Karabakh problem will lose urgency,"
he said, 1news.az reports.

PRESS RELEASE
United Nations Development Programme / Armenia
14 Petros Adamyan St., Yerevan 0010
Contact: Mr. Hovhannes Sarajyan, Communications Associate
Tel: +37410 566 073
E-mail: [email protected]<mailto:hovhannes.sa [email protected]>

One More Step Towards Promotion of Human Rights Awareness in Armenia

Yerevan, 17 March 2009 – Today, the Human Rights Defender’s Office
(HRDO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Armenia and
Raoul Wallenberg Institute on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
officially opened the Human Rights library at the HRDO premises and
presented an Armenian translation of the Textbook on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights. These initiatives were implemented within the
framework of UNDP project "Strengthening the Human Rights Capacity of
the Human Rights Defender’s Office in Armenia," with financial support
of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

Representatives from the Armenian judiciary system, national
libraries, academia and universities, as well as representatives of
international organizations, local NGOs and mass media attended the
event.

Opening the event, Mr. Armen Harutyunyan, Human Rights Defender of
Armenia said, "Human rights is first of all culture, education, way of
living and thinking and then the rest. Similar initiatives promote the
formation of human being’s internal value system."

Ms. Consuelo Vidal, UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident
Representative said, "The promotion and protection of human rights is
a basis of the UN value system and the Organization’s efforts in
Armenia are aimed at strengthening the capacity of human rights
institutions, in particular, the Human Rights Defender’s Office. We
are very happy to have been able to partner in this project with the
Raoul Wallenberg Institute with financial support from SIDA. She also
expressed strong conviction that the Human Rights library and the
Textbook on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights will be efficient and
useful tools for all human rights practitioners, such as the staff of
HRDO, students of law departments, academic institutions and NGOs to
better understand human rights fundamentals and carry out
knowledge-based professional activity.

The UNDP project "Strengthening the Human Rights Capacity of the Human
Rights Defender’s Office in Armenia," among other activities, assists
the HRDO to raise awareness on human rights in Armenia through
development and publication of a quarterly newsletter, publication of
reports, and organization of workshops and seminars.

###
UNDP is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and
connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help
people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries,
working with them on their own solutions to global and national
development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on
the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners. UNDP in Armenia was
established in 1993 and supports the Government of Armenia to reach
its own development priorities and the Millennium Development Goals by
2015.

FAMILY VIOLENCE SHOULD NOT BE SUPPORTED

12:16 16/03/2009

Source: Panorama.am

Family violence in also encountered in Armenia. Saying violence we do
not necessarily mean physical violence, as it can be a psychological
one also. And psychological violence is more dangerous, as the
physical one is visible and the soonest measures can be taken; but it
is difficult to reveal the psychological violence,’ said Elizaveta
Danielyan, the judge of the Court of Appeal in the conference
organized by the Justice Department of the Embassy of the U.S.

`We face psychological violence too often. For example, the woman is
not free to choose her specialty and then a job, she is not free to
communicate with her friends,’ said Mrs. Danielyan.

The Ambassador of the U.S. Marie Yovanovich who was also present at
the conference said that the statistical data of family violence in
America is high but they have some improvement in recent years. `The
figures in Armenia are also high. Family violence should not be
supported either in Armenia, or in America, or in some other country
of the world,’ said the Ambassador.

SELECTION CD: TIGRAN HAMASYAN

Le Monde
15 mars 2009 dimanche
France

Ne a Gyumri (Armenie) en 1987, le pianiste Tigran Hamasyan a ete très
vite recompense par divers concours prestigieux (en 2006, il recoit
le premier prix de la Thelonious Monk Jazz Piano Competition et le
deuxième du Prix Martial Solal de piano jazz). Le voici, après un
album en trio avec les frères Moutin, leader d’Aratta Rebirth avec
cinq jeunes musiciens de Los Angeles du genre virtuose. Hamasyan
fait entendre dans Red Hail ses attaches avec le rock, les musiques
folkloriques armeniennes et le jazz. Ses compositions s’etirent sur des
cycles rythmiques ou melodiques entetants, jouant sur les contrastes
entre des emprunts au rock metal, et des airs aeriens et delicats.

Ombre et lumière, electricite et acoustique pour un album revelation.

JOHN HODIAN BRINGS ARMENIAN AND WATERTOWN ROOTS TO THE "EPIPHANY PROJECT"
By Chris Bergeron

Watertown TAB & Press
99198305/John-Hodian-brings-Armenian-and-Watertown -roots-to-the-Epiphany-Project
March 16 2009

FRAMINGHAM – In Greek, the word "epiphany" means "showing forth" and
is the name for a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation
of the infinite in human form.

When you hear Bet Williams sing as John Hodian plays piano, you’ll
understand why the only name they could have given their musical
collaboration in 1992 was the Epiphany Project.

After several years traveling and playing in Hodian’s ancestral
homeland of Armenia and the primitive Caucasus region, they recorded
their third CD "Hin Dagh" which means "Sacred Words."

Like musical alchemists, they have transformed sacred texts from
several ancient faiths into music of haunting beauty.

Appearing for the first time in the Boston area, Hodian and Williams
will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 21, at Amazing Things Art
Center in Framingham.

Hodian described the music of Epiphany Project as a "high energy,
dramatic fusion of folk, rock, jazz and world music unlike anything
most people have ever heard before."

"When we perform live, our music is a unique thing with a tremendous
amount of energy. It’s spiritual but not esoteric. Bet is very dynamic
on stage so our shows are very theatrical," he said.

Accompanied by percussionist Mal Stein, they’ll play music from
all their CDs in a two-set show with a brief intermission. Hodian
estimated about 60 percent of their songs will be in English.

Williams stressed,"It’s not some heady stuff you need to know several
languages to enjoy….Our music is energetic and fun, with a real
beauty and good feeling. Sometimes in this modern world we feel a
certain beauty that can be very poignant," she said.

Whether you dig barbershop quartets, baadasss urban rap or Bob Dylan
whining through his nose, the genre-busting sound of "Hin Dagh"
has something for anyone moved by the magic of pure music.

Accompanied on the new CD by Hodian and Armenian musicians on
traditional instruments, Williams uses her four-octave voice to
infuse 12 songs with heartfelt emotion ranging from scorching heat
to soaring ecstasy.

Unless you’ve visited the markets of Yerevan, Armenia, or the bazaars
of the Holy Land, you haven’t heard music like theirs.

Williams sings poems, prayers and laments in dead and dying languages
including Aramaic, Sanskrit, ancient Welsh and Avestan, the Iranian
dialect used to compose hymns of the ancient Zoroastrian religion.

Friends and scholars provided Williams with phonetic translations of
ancient Persian prayers, verse by Armenian poet Yeghishe Charents,
an Aramaic interpretation of the Beatitudes, stanzas from the Hindu
Bhagavad Gita and even a fragment from the gnostic scrolls of Nag
Hammadi.

"We didn’t set out to make ancient texts into a CD. But I’ve always
loved Middle eastern music. Its folk songs can be fascinating, so
earthy. They have such a power of expression," she said.

Married for seven years, Hodian and Williams exemplify the same
creative fusion of styles found in their music.

Hodian grew up in Philadelphia "100 percent Armenian" with a father
from Watertown. As a child, he studied classical and jazz piano and
composition and later earned a master’s degree from Philadelphia
College of Performing Arts. He has written scores for dance companies
and chamber ensembles, earned an Emmy for a documentary movie
soundtrack and created a musical theater piece that toured Europe
for a year.

An Army brat who grew up in Virginia and Germany, Williams said she
was "always the girl with the guitar." She had formal voice lessons,
studied poetry at Penn State University and eventually gravitated
toward songwriting and musical theater.

Music critics have compared Williams’ voice to Joni Mitchell and Tori
Amos and Hodian’s piano skills to Philip Glass. The Washington Post
described Epiphany Project as "a hybrid of world music, art song,
Americana and avant-garde folk; utterly uncategorizable but always
transcendentally beautiful."

Widely popular in Europe, they played this winter for the first
time in six years to American audiences in New York; Philadelphia;
Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; San Diego;and Santa Barbara, Calif.

They hope their Framingham performance wins them new fans.

Drawing upon his jazz background, Hodian said "the best thing is not
to rehearse" when performing live.

"What interests me is the interplay of improvisation," he said. "I
like to feel we’re creating it fresh. I like to be pulling it out
for the moment."

SADLY, THE HOLOCAUST IS ALL TOO REAL

The Sunday Independent
March 15, 2009
South Africa

AK MIA’S letter of March 8, "Holocaust figure of six million dead is
made up", refers.

After millions of Jews were either killed in the gas chambers or
shot by the Germans and their collaborators, a few hundred thousand
survived.

It is not the figure of six million dead that is miraculous – as Mia
sneeringly alleges – but that there were any survivors at all. Those
survivors tended to return to their previous homes after liberation
in the usually forlorn hope that members of their families would do
the same.

When hardly anyone else came back, they were left with the question:
Where are they? Hence the term Holocaust.

How does one arrive at the figure of six million? The vast majority
of victims came from Europe. They would have had to participate in
periodic census takings, listing their religion.

A village that had housed a Jewish population of, say, 60 percent
would be without Jews next time the census came around. The estimate
of six million was accepted by the Nuremberg Tribunal in 1946 based
on Nazi records.

According to most research, some eight to 10 million Jews lived in
Nazi-controlled parts of Europe, prior to the Holocaust.

The estimated death toll per country is horrifying. Below is the
number of Jewish dead per nation.

Netherlands – 100 000; Lithuania – 140 000; Germany – 142 000; Romania
– 270 000; Hungary – 550 000; Russia – one million; and Poland –
three million.

In addition, 250 000 Gypsies were murdered for not being Aryans.

It has been estimated that there were 20 000 concentration and labour
camps holding 18 million inmates, most of whom were Jewish. Twelve
million of those men, women and children were murdered.

Records were kept in nearly all the camps.

Seven death camps were established to gas and cremate human beings.

The largest death camp, Auschwitz, was designed and equipped to
"process" people at the rate of about 10 000 to 15 000 a day.

So efficient was this death factory that 7 000 men, women and children
could be gassed and cremated within a few hours upon arrival.

This left no time for counting and recording, but the train schedules
have survived, proving how many people arrived on any one day. And
where are those people?

I am sure that the above cannot be too complicated for AK Mia to
understand.

Why would countries such as France, Germany, Poland, Austria, the
Netherlands and Israel legislate that denial of the Holocaust or
aspects thereof is a criminal offence? Because the perpetrators were
recognised as murderers and those who supported them by denying the
atrocities had to be of a hate-filled and/or criminal disposition
as well.

When a university lecturer in France loses his job for opining that
9/11 was a joint US/Israeli operation and Mia quotes this individual
in support of his fantasies then I begin to understand the legislation
against such hate-driven lies.

The Holocaust is recognised the world over for the atrocity that
it was.

Many of the details are known – much will never be known. Why should
Mia express doubts about it?

The answer may lie in the following quotation: "There are people,
who for reasons of their own deny genocide, whether that committed
by the Nazis against the Jews or by the Ottoman Empire against the
Armenians. The most common reason is a desire to rehabilitate the
perpetrators and to mock the survivors and their descendants."

PanARMENIAN.Net

Best from India exhibition and sale opens in Yerevan
14.03.2009 14:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On March 14 Yerevan an exhibition â??Best
from Indiaâ?? opened at the â??Dinamoâ??
sports complex. The organizers of the exhibition are Commerce and
Industry Chamber of Armenia and the Indian Embassy of Armenia.
«This is the third exhibition staged in Armenia and by mutual
agreement we will stage the exhibitions twice a year- in spring and
fall,â?? said the head of the department of trade promotion
in Armenia, Masis Sarkisyan to the PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. As he
says such trade exhibitions promote the trade and economic relations
between Armenia and India. The proof of it is the current exhibition,
Sarkisyan considers, the more participants there are, the more goods
we shall have.

As Masis Sarkisyan said, various goods of Indian production will be
displayed at the exhibition, namely, wooden handmade articles, Indian
jewellery, carpets, clothes, leather and textile articles, and
foodstuffs. He also added that considering the results of previous
exhibitions staged, agreements were made for direct supply of wooden
handmade articles, bijoux, and also articles made of semi-precious
stones.

The exhibition will be open until March 22.

One of the basic activities of the RA Commerce and Industry Chamber is
staging exhibitions. The coordination work of RA Commerce and Industry
Chamber is carried by OOO RA â??EXPOCENTREâ?? which
cooperates with different structures of many countries, engaged in
organizing exhibitions.