Author: Kanayan Tamar

TWO FEET IN ONE SHOE: ARMEN ELOYAN

E-Flux, NY
May 29 2007

1 June – 20 July, 2007
Preview 31 May, 6 – 8pm

Parasol unit foundation for contemporary art is pleased to present
Two feet in one shoe: Armen Eloyan, the first solo exhibition of
Eloyan’s paintings in a UK institution.

Armen Eloyan’s paintings adeptly play out an apocalyptic fantasy
world of anxiety, brutality, sexuality and the grotesque with the
contradictory light-heartedness of a cartoon. His theatrical scenes
explore the fragility of life as well as the boundaries separating
security from chaos, comedy from violence and pleasure from cruelty.

Crucially Eloyan’s strikingly gestural paintings use both humour
and horror in a manner that engages him emotionally, mentally and
physically. The brash, attractive, dark colours Eloyan employs collide
and coexist whilst unsettling any sense of harmony in the work.

The instinctive approach Eloyan applies to his painting draws on his
emotional bond to an array of collective and personal experiences.

Significantly these are rooted in his early years in Yerevan, Armenia
yet also claim reference to propaganda, art history, cinema, television
and popular music. Clearly there is a narrative element in Eloyan’s
work however this is disturbingly disrupted by a sense of desolation
and anxiety.

Two feet in one shoe is an exhibition imbued with Eloyan’s verve, vigor
and desire to celebrate the act of painting. His intuitive relationship
to painting is infused with a need to delve beneath the layers of pure
aesthetic and get to the crux with what is messy, foul and discordant.

Two feet in one shoe: Armen Eloyan is accompanied by a full-colour
catalogue with essays by Ziba de Weck Ardalan and Philippe Pirotte.

Born in Yerevan, Armenia in 1966 Armen Eloyan now lives and works in
Amsterdam and Zurich.

Earlier this year, Eloyan had a solo exhibition in the Project Room at
Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris (FR). During 2006, he had a one person
exhibition at Galerie Bob van Orsouw, Zurich (CH) and took part in a
group show at Kunsthalle Bern (CH). In 2005, Eloyan participated in
various exhibitions at l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato (I)
and at Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam (NL).

Opening hours: Tues-Sat, 10 am-6 pm. Sun 12-5 pm

Parasol unit foundation for contemporary art is a non-profit space
devoted to promoting contemporary art for the benefit of the public.

Parasol unit is a privately funded charity with possible and future
additional funding from the public and private sectors. The core
activity of Parasol unit is to showcase the work of contemporary
artists from around the world. Each year, the foundation mounts three
or four exhibitions in various media, such as sculpture, painting,
installation, video, or photography, for which some works might be
specifically commissioned. Each exhibition is usually accompanied by
a publication. Parasol unit does not charge admission fee.

For more information or images please contact [email protected]
or Cliodhna Murphy at 44 (0)20 7490 7373

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ARSON ATTACK ON OPPOSITION ACTIVIST
By Karine Simonian in Alaverdi

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
May 28 2007

A defeated opposition candidate who alleged serious vote irregularities
in a constituency in northern Armenia on Monday survived an apparent
arson attack on her home which she blamed on her pro-government rival.

Unknown individuals set fire to the entrance door of Larisa
Paremuzian’s apartment in Alaverdi, an industrial town in the Lori
region, in the early hours of the morning. The fire practically
destroyed the door before being put out by Paremuzian and her
neighbors. They prevented a much more severe consequences by making
sure it does reach the apartment building’s gas pipes.

"If I slept well ,I would not stay alive and the whole building would
burn down," Paremuzian told RFE/RL.

Her neighbors were visibly shocked by the incident. "Luckily, my kids
stayed alive," said one woman.

Police in Alaverdian swiftly launched an investigation under an article
of the Armenian Criminal Code that deals with arson and other forms
of damage deliberately inflicted on citizens’ property.

Paremuzian heads the Alaverdi branch of the opposition People’s Party
of Armenia (HZhK) and is an outspoken critic of the municipal and
regional governments. She unsuccessfully ran for parliament in the
local single-mandate constituency in the May 12 elections. Official
vote results there gave victory to Karen Saribekian of the governing
Republican Party (HHK).

Paremuzian refused to concede defeat, accusing Saribekian of
large-scale vote rigging. She detailed her allegations in a May 18
article in the Yerevan daily "Aravot." The article prompted Alaverdi
prosecutors to summon her and the chairman of the local election
commission, Vram Vanian, for questioning on Friday. The opposition
activist claimed that the latter looked "terrified" when one of the
prosecutors suggested that the commission recount ballots.

"I believe this attack was the continuation of that questioning,"
Paremuzian said. "I suspect that it was the work of Vram Vanian and
my rival Karen Saribekian."

Artur Sakunts, head of the regional branch of the Armenian Helsinki
Citizens’ Assembly, also alleged political motives behind the
"terrorist act." "This is the result of Larisa Paremuzian’s political
and public activities," he told RFE/RL. "Law-enforcement authorities
will bear responsibility for the attack if they fail to punish its
perpetrators."

The police reported no arrests in connection with the incident as of
Monday evening.

Trend News Agency
25.05.2007 16:50:15
Armenianism’ to be studied as Threat in Disintegration of South Caucasus

Azerbaijan, Baku / ?rend corr S. Aghayeva / `Armenianism’ as a real threat
in contributing to the disintegration of the South Caucasus should be
studied, the director of the Human Rights Institution at the National
Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, Professor Rovshan Mustafayev, said on 25
May. He was commenting on the book `Armenian-Speaking Population of Georgia
and Problems of Revival of Unified Georgian Statehood’ published by the
National Academy of Sciences of Georgia.
Professor Mustafayev was the first to raise the issue of Armenian
ethno-corporation offering his methodology on studying this phenomenon in
his famous work `Virtual Passions’. `I always suggested viewing the format
of studying Armenian ethno-corporation as a threat to stability in the South
Caucasus. Being the most mobile and unified ethno-social organization
`Armenianism’ can fulfil any task for disintegration of a region based on
different imperial centres,’ he noted. According to Mustafayev, the cores of
Armenians’ strategies and methods of violence do not change. What do change
are their slogans.
In the aforementioned book, Georgian scientists wrote about retrospective
discourses on the formation of the Georgian statehood and problems surfacing
from Georgian-Armenian relationships. The authors refer to facts and events
that have not yet been sufficiently studied by contemporary historians.
Expanded details of the Armenian-Georgian military conflict of 1918 that
involved Armenian territorial claims to independent Georgian land, as well
as the genesis of the issue, are provided in the book.
The work reports on the formation of present anti-state activities of
separatist groups uniting the Armenian ethnic minority in Georgia. Clear
examples of attempts by Armenian scientists to falsify South Caucasian
history are provided in the book.

SAAKASHVILI: I AM ARMENIAN, AZERI, OSSETIAN, JEWISH AND 100% GEORGIAN
Written by Sandro Gagua

Abkhazia, CA
May 24 2007

President Saakashvili complained on May 24 about the international
community’s silence on continued human rights abuses in Georgia’s
breakaway regions.

"Two months ago Georgian books from all the schools in Gagra [a town
in breakaway Abkhazia] were publicly burned in the town centre. Where
was the international community at that time and why didn’t anyone
say anything? If we allow the existence of such an ideology, wherein
some one can’t return home just because of ethnic background, it
means that not only do we not have a state, but it also means that
humankind has a serious problem," Saakashvili said.

Saakashvili was speaking at an international conference on
globalization and dialogue among civilizations, which was opened in
Tbilisi on May 24.

In his opening remarks, he also spoke about the importance of tolerance
in multiethnic Georgia.

"When I was in opposition, I said it and I’ll say it again and again:
for those people, who hate Armenians in Georgia, I will be Armenian;
for those who hate Azerbaijanis, I will be Azerbaijani. Recently,
someone said I was Ossetian, which I take as a compliment. Of course,
it would be a great honour for me to be Jewish," Saakashvili said.

KARABAKH PRESIDENTIAL AIDE SEES NO REASONS FOR OPTIMISM IN CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

Arminfo
24 May 07

Yerevan, 24 May: The issue of refugees will not be settled at all if
the issue of Armenian refugees is not solved, Arman Melikyan, Nagornyy
Karabakh republic [NKR] president’s aide on foreign issues and former
NKR foreign minister, told a news conference [in Yerevan] today.

Commenting on today’s statement by OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs that "the
co-chairs do not differentiate refugees based on their ethnicity" and
that "refugees should be given the right to return to their former
places of residence," Melikyan said that it was the first time he
heard the co-chairs make such statement. He said it is possible that
the co-chairs have started to realize that Armenian refugees are
a serious factor and that ignoring them will make it impossible to
reach a solution to the conflict.

"Without settling the issue of Armenian refugees, the issue of refugees
will not be settled at all," Melikyan said. He said that if Armenian
refugees agree to return to Azerbaijan, then it will be possible to
speak about the return of Azerbaijanis [to Karabakh and probably to
Armenia]. "If not, it is necessary to think where these people will
live, where their new homeland will be.

In this context, the liberated territories are the most suitable
place," Melikyan said.

Asked about the negotiations process and possible optimism about
its outcome, Melikyan said that optimism can be shown when there is
specific results that Karabakh agrees with. "At this point, I think
it is too early to express optimist," he said. He added that it is
also too early to speak of individual components separately.

Commenting on Azerbaijani statements that time is working against
Armenia, Melikyan said that time is working for those who know how
to use it.

Melikyan also spoke of political developments in Armenia. "The
political force that has taken the real power and formed the majority
in parliament assumes the responsibility both for the process inside
the country and in the region. I think that this way or another, the
new parliament and the new cabinet should express their clear positions
on the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict settlement process as well."

HALACOGLU ON A MASS GRAVE, CLAIMED TO BE GRAVES OF ARMENIANS

Turkish Press
May 24 2007

ANKARA – According to the results of the carbon tests, it has been
proven that bones in graves, claimed to have been a mass grave of
the Armenians in Nusaybin town of southeastern city of Mardin, were
in fact bones dating back to 257-597 B.C, Prof. Dr. Yusuf Halacoglu,
the chairman of the Turkish History Society (TTK), said on Wednesday.

Halacoglu and Prof. David Gaunt from Swedish Stockholm Soederntoern
University carried out researches in Nusaybin, and the samples were
underwent laboratory tests in Ankara University.

"The soil and ceramic analyses indicated that they were dating to
53 B.C-227 A.D. A third sample was dating back to 63-383 B.C.,"
Halacoglu told a press conference in Ankara.

Halacoglu noted that the tests were carried out despite the mentioned
place was a Roman grave.

PREELECTION PROCESS IN NKR ON THE WHOLE PROCEEDS NORMALLY, ARMAN MELIKIAN SAYS

Noyan Tapan
May 24 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 24, NOYAN TAPAN. "The preelection process in Karabakh on
the whole proceeds normally. But they should dispute not over virtues
and shortcomings of the candidates, but over the programs published by
them," Arman Melikian, Adviser to NKR President for political affairs,
stated at the May 24 press conference.

He said that there is nothing bad that the parliamentary forces
have decided to consolidate over one candidate, Head of NKR National
Security Service Bako Sahakian. In A. Melikian’s words, presence of
a united candidate does not deprive anothers of the possibility of
free competition and dispute. For instance, rather an active dispute
goes on between two candidates, B. Sahakian and Masis Mayilian.

Besides, in A. Melikian’s words, "all parliamentary forces first of
all took into consideration the external challenges, therefore they
decided to support one candidate. And disregarding external challenges
would be just night-blindness."

INTERNET CENSORED IN AZERBAIJAN

AZG Armenian Daily
23/05/2007

On May 20, "Trend" agency informed that the employees of the Azeri
Emergency Ministry closed the offices of "Gyundelik Adrbejan" and
"Realni Adrbejan" opposition newspapers. Recently, the situation with
the Azeri printed press aroused many concerns, but this didn’t stop
the violations against the printed press journalists in particular.

Though, the violations against the journalists aren’t carried out in
the sphere of the printed press only.

In the course of "The Global Internet Filtering Conference 2007"
conference in London, Azerbaijan was included in the list of the
countries that carries out periodical censorship in the Internet
even. It’s worth mentioning that recently, Azerbaijan was characterized
as one of the most dangerous countries among the CIS member states
for the journalists.

ERDOGAN’S PARTY MAY FACE LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.05.2007 15:12 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The secularist establishment in Turkey is currently
laying the groundwork to prepare the files for a case to force
the closure of the Justice and Development (AK) Party headed by PM
Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the grounds that it is encouraging Islamic
fundamentalism.

Such files are compiled at the office of the Chief Prosecutor of the
Supreme Court of Appeals. If the chief prosecutor finds sufficient
evidence to launch a case for the closure of a political party he
takes the issue to the Constitutional Court, the New Anatolian reports.

In the past the Constitutional Court has closed down several
pro-Kurdish and Islamist parties. The last Islamist party to be closed
by the court was the Welfare Party (Refah Partisi) led by former Prime
Minister Necmettin Erbakan. Most AK Party officials and ministers came
from this party and are thus branded as "people with Islamic roots."

The secularists opposed the presidential candidacy of Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul saying someone with his Islamic background should not
be head of state.

The presidential election was a test for the secularist establishment
to flex its muscle and the fact that the secularists prevented the
AK Party from electing its candidate as head of state showed the
weaknesses of the government. The secularist challenge came in the
form of a military ultimatum presented to the government on April 28
and three mass rallies in Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir that hurt the
AK Party.

ALLEGED SUSPECTS DETAINED IN STAVROPOL TERRITORY FOR DESECRATING ARMENIAN GRAVES

PanARMENIAN.Net
22.05.2007 13:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ For about 40 Armenian graves have been desecrated
in Krasnokumsk village of Georgievsk district, Stavropol Territory
in the night of May 21.

The graves were covered with paints and swastika signs, the
Police Department of Stavropol Territory reported. The crime has
characteristics of Article 244 of the Russian Penal Code (outrage
upon bodies of dead and their burial places).

Four suspects have been detained for participating in this crime: an
18-year-old resident of Georgievsk and his three associates. The low
enforcement bodies have already established their identities. Currently
they give testimonies, IA Regnum reports.

This is not the first similar crime committed in Stavropol
Territory. More than 50 graves, including Armenian were desecrated
by vandals in a cemetery near Georgievsk December 17, 2005. 14 more
Armenian graves suffered in the cemetery of a village in Nadezhda
Shpakovskaya district December 6, 2005. Then malefactors poured acid
over marble stones, broke grave plates and put out eyes on photos
of dead.