Author: Kanayan Tamar

AMBASSADORSHIP NOMINATIONS; COMMITTEE: SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS

CQ Congressional Testimony
May 15, 2014 Thursday

CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY TESTIMONY-BY: NINA HACHIGIAN, NOMINEE
AFFILIATION: THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS (ASEAN)

Statement of Nina Hachigian Nominee, Ambassador The Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Committee on Senate Foreign Relations

May 15, 2014

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee,

I am deeply honored to appear before you today, and humbled by the
confidence that President Obama has shown in me with this nomination.

My Armenian grandmother, whose locket I am wearing, had only a grade
school education. When she came to this country, fleeing persecution
and poverty in her homeland, I don’t think she could have imagined
the path that would bring me here. Her younger son served in the
U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. He earned a Ph.D. in math,
married another professor from Germany (my mother, who later became
a small business owner), and they had a daughter who ended up at this
table. I am my grandmother’s American dream.

My parents would also have been very proud of this nomination. I would
like to introduce my husband. My family is more important to me than
anything, and I wouldn’t be here if he and our two children were not
willing to embark on a genuine adventure. I’ve been working on U.S.

Asia policy for some 15 years now, since I left the staff of the
National Security Council first as the director of the Center for Asia
Pacific Policy at the RAND Corporation, and now as a Senior Fellow
at the Center for American Progress. In those jobs, I traveled to the
region frequently and had the opportunity to meet with Asian leaders
and work closely with my Asian counterparts.

I am thrilled by the prospect of entering government again, and
serving my country, if confirmed as the next Ambassador to ASEAN. I
want to acknowledge the key role that members of the Senate and
of the House have played in recognizing the growing importance of
ASEAN, including creating this position in 2006. I will count on
your continued engagement if confirmed. Just as the rebalance to
Asia is an important part of the Administration’s foreign policy,
engagement with ASEAN plays a central role in the rebalance.

Increasingly, the most challenging issues in Asia – energy security,
territorial disputes, climate, human trafficking – can only be solved
multilaterally. ASEAN is at the heart of Asia’s institutions, providing
the architecture to work through these issues, and that is why as
Secretary Kerry said last year: “The partnership that we share with
ASEAN remains a top priority for the Obama Administration.” What binds
the ten countries in ASEAN together is their commitment to non-violence
and the rule of law. We share those values, and we share ASEAN’s vision
of a peaceful, prosperous rules-based order in the Asia-Pacific. If
confirmed, and with your help, I will work with ASEAN to further our
common values, including human rights for the people of Southeast Asia.

The United States has other important interests in the region including
economic opportunity. Southeast Asia’s over 600 million people already
are America’s fourth largest export market, supporting over half
a million US jobs. ASEAN is pursuing an integrated ASEAN Economic
Community, and the United States is supporting that effort.

In 2012, President Obama established the U.S.-ASEAN Expanded Economic
Engagement initiative to promote increased U.S. trade with and
investment in the region, and to encourage ASEAN countries to join
high-standard trade agreements. If confirmed, and with your help,
I will continue this work to expand U.S. businesses’ access to the
growing ASEAN market, creating more jobs for Americans and realizing
ASEAN’s own goals.

Energy, environment and climate are critical issues in Southeast Asia.

As a Californian, I especially welcome the chance to engage with the
region on how to protect oceans and rivers–these critical natural
resources that provide food security and economic livelihoods for
so many. Our engagement with ASEAN is also about its people, many
of whom are our relatives. Over 6 million Americans identify with an
ASEAN ethnicity.

The region is young. Sixty five percent of ASEAN’s people are under
the age of 35. With the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative that
President Obama launched in April, we are looking to build ties with
the leaders of tomorrow, giving them a platform to work across ASEAN
borders to solve social and economic challenges.

All of our interests in Southeast Asia ultimately rest on the peace
and stability made possible by our enduring security presence in the
Asia Pacific. Two treaty allies, the Philippines and Thailand, are
members of ASEAN, and all five Pacific allies are members of the East
Asia Summit. The U.S. response after Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines
shows the unique capabilities our military and civilian agencies bring
to bear and demonstrates our deep and abiding commitment to addressing
both traditional and non-traditional security challenges in the region.

Half of the tonnage of the world’s ship-based cargo passes through
the South China Sea. The United States has a national interest in
the unfettered flow of this commerce and in freedom of navigation
and overflight in these waters. We have a deep stake in ensuring
that the territorial and maritime disputes in the South China Sea
are solved peacefully, without coercion, force, or intimidation and
in accordance with international law.

Unfortunately, we have seen lately what appears to be a pattern of
unilateral actions by China to advance its territorial and maritime
claims, the latest of which is China’s introduction of an oil rig
into disputed waters near the Paracel Islands. This is provocative and
raises tensions, and it highlights the need for claimants to clarify
their claims in accordance with international law. America supports
ASEAN’s strong and unified voice on these disputes and its efforts to
manage them in a manner that is consistent with a rules-based regional
order and international law. We encourage ASEAN and China’s efforts
to conclude a meaningful Code of Conduct. A peaceful, rules-based
process will benefit all the claimants, big and small and help preserve
regional peace and stability.

An effective ASEAN will have lasting benefits for the region and for
our shared future. If confirmed, and with your help, I will commit
myself to deepening our ties with this important organization. Thank
you for the opportunity to testify today, and I am happy to answer
your questions, now or at any time in the future.

VICE SPEAKER OF ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT: CUSTOMS POINT BETWEEN ARMENIA AND NAGORNO KARABAKH IMPOSSIBLE

by Tatevik Shahunyan

ARMINFO
Friday, May 16, 14:23

No customs point can be opened between Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh,
Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Republican Party Spokesperson
Eduard Sharmazanov says commenting on the latest statement by Anton
Azarov, Division Head at the Eurasian Economic Committee. Azarov said
that the borders of the Eurasian Economic Union would be laid within
the existing borders of Armenia.

Sharmazanov said Armenia and NKR are a united economic space and
Armenia promotes economic development of NKR as much as possible.

According to him, Azanov is not the very official to afford such
statement.

PARLIAMENTARIAN FROM ANC: AFTER 30 SEPTEMBER, GOVERNMENT WILL START PUSHING THROUGH THE MANDATORY FUNDED PENSION SYSTEM WITH RENEWED VIGOR

by Ashot Safaryan

ARMINFO
Friday, May 16, 18:26

After 30 September, the Government will start pushing through the
mandatory funded pension system with renewed vigor, Aram Manukyan,
Secretary of the Armenian National Congress Faction in the Parliament,
told ArmInfo.

He is sure that with the amendments to the Law on Funded Pension that
was passed by the Parliament on 15 May, the Government tries to gain
time. One should not cherish illusions for any concessions from the
authorities, he said.

“In addition, before 30 September, the Government will be forcing
the big and small establishments in the country to pay fees to the
pensions funds from their own budgets, creating an false impression
of participation in the mandatory system. They need to ensure the
necessary indicators by all means possible,” Manukyan said.

The parliamentarian cannot say if the civic protests will calm down
or not. “Anyway, we urge the citizens not to loosen up and fight till
the very end,” he said.

On 15 May the Armenian parliament approved the extended option of
amendments to the law “On funded pension” that was submitted by the
government. Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Artem Asatryan
said that the bill suggests adding a provision that will relieve
the citizens falling under the pension reforms of the responsibility
for non- payment or failure to meet the time limit for the relevant
payments. In addition, if a citizen files a statement that he refuses
to participate in the accumulative system, the employer has the
right not to make the relevant calculations to transfer the pension
contributions.

HERITAGE PARTY REP: PRESSURED “FROM ABOVE,” EMPLOYERS MAY BAN THEIR EMPLOYEES TO FILE STATEMENTS REFUSING FROM MAKING PENSION PAYMENTS

by Ashot Safaryan

ARMINFO
Friday, May 16, 14:21

The amendments to the Law On Funded Pension initiated by the Government
and passed by the Parliament are, inherently, a halfway measure, unable
to give a long- term solution to the problem. Armenian Parliamentarian
from Heritage Party Tevan Poghosyan told reporters on 16 May.

The parliamentarian fears that pressured ‘from above’ employers will
simply ban their employees to write a statement refusing to make
compulsory pension payments over time. “After a while, the government
may declare that most of the citizens do not refuse from the funded
pension and return to the initial version of the law,” Poghosyan said.

According to him, it would be logical if the citizens who do not oppose
the funded pension wrote applications for voluntary participation in
the funded pension system.

The oppositionist thinks the authorities manipulate and the amendments
made to the law seek to weaken the public movement, otherwise, they
would settle the problem once and forever.

On 15 May the Armenian parliament approved the extended option of
amendments to the law “On funded pension” that was submitted by the
government. Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Artem Asatryan
said that the bill suggests adding a provision that will relieve
the citizens falling under the pension reforms of the responsibility
for non- payment or failure to meet the time limit for the relevant
payments. In addition, if a citizen files a statement that he refuses
to participate in the accumulative system, the employer has the
right not to make the relevant calculations to transfer the pension
contributions.

AZERBAIDJAN : HOLLANDE LE PRESIDENT-VRP A ENCORE FRAPPE

REVUE DE PRESSE

Un petit tour et puis s’en va. Le président Hollande est de retour
en France aujourd’hui après un voyage dans le Caucase où il était
venu se faire des amis. Pari réussi. Surtout en Azerbaïdjan. Où
il a critiqué la Russie, au nom de la démocratie, depuis l’un des
régimes les plus autoritaires de la région. Pour mieux affirmer sa
diplomatie basée, on le sait désormais, sur les affaires…

rancois Hollande nous a menti. Social-démocrate, lui ? En France
peut-être… Mais quand il parcourt le monde, il se pose très
volontiers en VRP complètement désidéologisé. Lundi, depuis
Bakou, la capitale de l’Azerbaïdjan, il s’est ainsi empressé de
déclarer ” nulles et non avenues ” les consultations organisées
par les séparatistes pro-russes a Lougansk et Donetsk. Entendre un
chef d’Etat de l’Union européenne critiquer un référendum, voila
qui est déja cocasse. Mais quand il le fait depuis la capitale d’un
régime autocratique… ca vire carrément a la tartufferie.

Le plus connu désormais des ” représentants de commerce ” francais
a même pris soin de saluer, selon l’AFP, les réalisations ”
considérables ” qui feraient de l’Azerbaïdjan ” une référence
pour la région et même pour le monde ”. Un discours louangeur
entonné en compagnie d’une trentaine de chefs d’entreprises francais
venus lorgner sur les immenses ressources énergétiques de la petite
République du Caucase. Parce que oui, l’ancien satellite de l’URSS
a le sol plein de pétrole (80% des richesses de la région). Mais
son régime, lui, sent plutôt le gaz.

” C’est un régime autocratique, autoritaire, quasi dictatorial ”,
soutient Gaïdz Minassian, maître de conférence a Sciences Po et
spécialiste du Caucase. ” C’est un Etat semi-autoritaire, tempère
quant a lui Bayram Balci, chercheur au Centre d’études de relations
internationales (CERI). Il est déja plus ouvert que certains pays
d’Asie centrale comme l’Ouzbékistan ou le Turkménistan. ”

Le père, le fils, deux sains d’esprit…Flatteuse comparaison. Surtout
pour un système clanique et népotique qui depuis 1969, a l’exception
d’une parenthèse de sept ans (1986-1993), marquée par la Perestroïka
et la chute de l’URSS, a toujours été dirigé d’une main de fer par
la famille Aliev. Le père, le fils, deux sains d’esprit. Ilham, 52
ans, a succédé a Heydar en 2003 et fait amender la Constitution pour
pouvoir se présenter a l’infini a l’élection présidentielle. Qu’il
n’a, de toute facon, pas prévu de perdre. Le résultat de la
dernière, il y a 7 mois, a été annoncé… un jour avant le vote
! ” Le régime a l’habitude de falsifier les élections ”, confirme
Bayram Balci.

Ce régime laïc ne voue un culte qu’a un seul dieu : feu Heydar Aliev.

Des rues, des places, des stades et l’aéroport le plus important du
pays portent son nom. ” Il y a même une chaire, a l’Université de
Bakou, consacrée a l’ “aliévisme” ”, explique Gaïdz Minassian. L’”
aliévisme ” qui se définit principalement par un nationalisme
offensif anti-Arméniens.

Allié de la Turquie, l’Azerbaïdjan n’a toujours pas digéré
la victoire de son voisin caucasien qui lui a repris le
Haut-Karabagh. Petit territoire montagneux, historiquement peuplé
d’Arméniens mais rattaché par Staline, en 1921, a la République
socialiste soviétique d’Azerbaïdjan. Vingt ans après la fin de
la guerre, aucune paix n’a encore été signée. Le territoire s’est
déclaré indépendant mais n’a jamais été reconnu par la communauté
internationale, pour laquelle ” dans les conditions actuelles,
le statu quo est un moindre mal ”, estime Gaïdz Minassian. Seul
un cessez-le-feu, plus ou moins respecté, assure la très relative
stabilité de la région. ” La situation est totalement bloquée ”,
résume l’expert. Ce qui n’empêche pas Ilham Aliev de continuer
a montrer les dents. ” L’ennemi numéro un pour l’Azerbaïdjan,
ce sont les Arméniens dans le monde entier ”, proclamait-il en 2012.

Quant aux droits de l’Homme ? ” Le régime les a toujours totalement
bafoués, reconnaît Bayram Balci. Mais la, depuis quelques semaines,
les regards sont rivés sur l’Ukraine, il se sent plus libre et
beaucoup de journalistes ont été arrêtés. ” Très critique envers
le régime, la militante des droits de l’homme Leyla Yunus, en a fait
les frais, le 28 avril dernier. Pour avoir rendu publique une liste
d’une centaine de prisonniers politiques, elle a été interpellée,
mais relâchée juste a temps pour rencontrer… Francois Hollande. Qui
lui avait remis la légion d’honneur.

” La question des droits de l’Homme a été traitée ”, par le
président Hollande, lors de sa visite, précise quand même Gaïdz
Minassian, mais ” a tâtons ”. Parce que bon, l’Azerbaïdjan c’est
quand même 1,7 milliard d’euros d’exportations (principalement des
hydrocarbures) vers la France. Et un bon partenaire pour l’Union
européenne qui l’a inclus dans sa politique de voisinage en
2004. C’est donc ca, la fameuse Europe qu’Hollande disait vouloir
dans sa récente tribune au Monde ? Une belle, grande et charmante
Europe des affaires. On avait pourtant pas lu ca…

Kevin Erkeletyan

Marianne

vendredi 16 mai 2014, Stéphane ©armenews.com

LES VERTS D’ARMENIE S’INQUIETENT DES INSTALLATIONS D’HYDRO-CENTRALES

ARMENIE

Les écologistes en Arménie disent une stratégie de construction
de multiples centrales hydroélectriques sur les rivières du
pays va poser des problèmes pour l’avenir L’Arménie n’a pas de
réserves de pétrole et de gaz et cherche a développer l’énergie
hydroélectrique comme moyen de réduire sa dépendance aux
importations de combustibles. Les écologistes, cependant, disent
que les barrages sur les rivières détruisent les voies d’eau et
les écosystèmes uniques qu’ils soutiennent.

Dans un cas récent d’action directe, les militants écologistes se
sont joints aux résidents du village de Marts dans la région nord
du Lori le 17 novembre pour protester contre les plans pour construire
une troisième centrale électrique sur une rivière. Ils ont bloqué
une route importante, provoquant le chaos de la circulation mais ont
mis fin a leur action avant que la police ne vienne pour les disperser.

” Les rivières sont transformées en des pipelines ” a déclaré
Levon Galstyan du Front écologique Arménien a l’Institute for War
& Peace Reporting (IWPR). ” Aucune consultation publique n’a été
organisée dans le village de [Marts], et les intérêts du peuple
ont été ignorés ”. Liparit Simonyan, directeur de Martz Energie,
la société en charge du projet de barrage, a déclaré que ses
activités étaient entièrement conformes a la loi.

” Il y a un sentiment que ce ne sont pas les habitants qui
protestaient, mais un groupe de militants représentant des forces
extérieures. Ils répandent de fausses informations et soulèvent
les gens les uns contre les autres ” a dit Simonian aux journalistes.

” Nous dépensons de l’argent, nous créons des emplois ”, a-t-il
ajouté.

Robert Galstyan, le chef du village de Marts, a confirmé que
l’entreprise allait employer sept habitants et avait promis de doter
le village d’éclairage de rue et d’une alimentation en gaz de ville.

Karen Harutiunyan, un militant écologiste du groupe 100 Point, a dit
que les revendications de la consultation publique étaient fausses
puisque la majorité des habitants de la région étaient clairement
contre le projet. Dans un développement séparé, les villageois de
la région d’Aragatsotn ont protesté contre une quatrième centrale
électrique sur la rivière d’Ambert.

Le résident local Sassoun Hayrapetyan a déclaré a l’IWPR que les
villageois de la région perdraient leur approvisionnement en eau.

” Cette centrale hydroélectrique est en cours de construction a
côté de nous sans aucune consultation ”, a-t-elle ajouté.

L’Arménie disposait seulement de 11 petites centrales
hydroélectriques en 1997 et désormais de 137, avec 77 autres en
cours de construction.

Il y a également de plus grandes usines disposées en deux séries
ou ” cascades ” – Sevan-Hrazdan et Vorotan.

L’entraînement de la construction est sous-tendue par une loi de 2004
qui suppose que les barrages sur les rivières de montagne pourraient
répondre a environ 30 pour cent des besoins en électricité de
l’Arménie.

C’est encore un peu loin. Comme Aram Gabriélyan, chef de la fourniture
d’électricité au ministère de l’énergie, le souligne, l’énergie
nucléaire a fourni 28 pour cent de l’énergie du pays l’an dernier,
42 pour cent ont été générés par des centrales au gaz, et le
reste par des centrales hydroélectriques.

Galstyan a déclaré que la stratégie du gouvernement était mauvaise.

” La construction de centrales hydroélectriques a atteint un tel
niveau que dans le temps dans 20 ou 30 ans, cet état sera confronté
a une catastrophe sociale et écologique ”, a-t-il dit. ” Il y aura
des centrales sur 90 pour cent des cours d’eau, et dans la saison
sèche, ils seront tous taris ”.

Inga Zarafyan de l’ONG Ecolur a convenu que la menace était réelle,
avertissant que ” le nombre de rivières malades ne cesse d’augmenter
”.

” Douze centrales ont été construites sur la rivière Yeghegis,
neuf autres vont être construites sur la rivière Meghri, et six
autres sur le Getik et Marts, et également sur les rivières qui
alimentent le lac Sevan ” at-elle déclaré a l’IWPR. ” Le plus gros
est en cours de construction sur l’Argichi, avec neuf kilomètres de
tuyaux et quatre turbines de dix mégawatts. Nous avons peur d’imaginer
ce qui restera de cette rivière ”.

Inessa Gabayan, coordinateur national d’un projet arméno-norvégien
pour le développement des petites centrales hydroélectriques, a
exhorté les habitants locaux a contribuer de manière constructive
plutôt que de s’y opposer.

” Le but de notre projet est d’identifier les problèmes et assurer
un développement stable dans ce secteur. Je crois que les nouvelles
technologies peuvent résoudre les problèmes ” a-t-elle déclaré
a l’IWPR.

Gayane Lazarian est journaliste a Armenianow.com

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

vendredi 16 mai 2014, Stéphane ©armenews.com

ZARINA KAIROVA: “I COULDN’T IMAGINE A TINY ROLE IN “THE VORONINS” COULD MAKE ME POPULAR”

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
May 15 2014

15 May 2014 – 3:44pm

Interview by Oleg Kusov, Moscow. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza

Interesting people are always welcome in the studio of Vestnik
Kavkaza. Oleg Kusov gives every guest in the studio an opportunity
to speak their minds. Conversations are not centered only on the
Caucasus. A half-hour conversation over tea flies quickly. The show
“Take My Word” films and records its conversations as well as offering
them in the form of a text.

See Part 1 Zarina Kairova: “Drama school is my life milestone”

– Zarina, I would like to speak about your roles. You have many
roles, but the special one is in the TV-show of “The Voronins.”

– Probably you want to ask me how I got there.

– Of course, but also I would like to ask you whether you will come
back to “The Voronins”, as they are still being shot.

– I don’t know. It depends on screenwriters.

– Alexander Zhigalkin is a director with good taste. He was right
about casting in “Six Episodes,” “The Voronins,” “Exchange Brothers,”
and other shows. And he was right about you. But the fact is that
you played Karina from Sochi.

– Yes, an Armenian girl from Sochi.

– There are more than a million Armenians in Russia.

– It is interesting why so.

– And there are theaters in Armenia. And Zhigalkin needed to pick
up the phone only and he would have plenty of Armenian actors.

– There are Armenian theaters in Moscow as well.

– But he chose you. What does it mean? Why did an Ossetian girl
play a pretty Armenian?

– It was an accident. I didn’t know that I would play in “The
Voronins.” I was invited to a casting of “Just Married” TV-show to a
leading party. I went to the casting. There was a young man from the
Satire Theatre; now I cannot remember his name. We worked together. I
think that we did well. Three days later I got a call from the casting
director who said: “Hello! There is a TV-show, your salary will be as
much. There will be as many shooting days. Do you want it? We chose
you.” So, I even hadn’t been casted. They saw me at other casting.

– They distinguished you.

– Yes. So, when I came there, I knew my role and knew what would
happen. The only thing the director told me was: “Zarina, you should
speak Armenian as fluently as you are real Armenian.” I said:
“It is impossible. I have never spoken Armenian. The language is
specific.” There are some sounds which you cannot hear at first. A
specific melody of the language.

– Plangent “r.” “Gorrrrrgeous!”

– Exactly. So, it was a stress for me. But they helped me. I spoke
Armenian well. I still remember my phrases. When the show began to gain
momentum, the episodes were repeated at TV, they were very popular;
everybody liked them. I couldn’t imagine such a tiny role would make
me popular.

– Quality is much more important than quantity.

– The most interesting thing is that “University” TV-show was
before that. I played Alina there, a girl with unibrow. An episode
with my participation was released. Once I walked to my students and
got lost. I saw a young man with a girl and a baby. I asked them:
“Excuse me, couldn’t you tell me where the Dekabrists Street is?” They
looked at me and like: “This is Alina! Alina from “University.” They
showed her yesterday!” I was surprised. I said that it was really me.

Later I had a story in a shopping center. I went to a shop and was
looking for something. Then I noticed some guys followed me. I went to
another shop, but they still followed me. What did they want from me?

I went to a cash-desk and thought that there was something wrong. And
suddenly one of them came to me and said: “Excuse me, we cannot decide
whether it is you or not. Please tell us.”

That’s how people got to recognize me. It was amazing.

Then, I arrived to Beslan. “The Voronins” wee broadcasted. And I was
on the way from Vladikavkaz to Beslan. I was on a station, waiting for
a vehicle. I wished anything would have come, at least taxi. A girl
came to me: “I was looking at you for 30 minutes. Are you Karina from
“The voronins”?” I said: “Yes, I am.” “What are you doing here?” “I
live here,” I said. She like: “Are you an Ossetian?” She was amazed. A
taxi appeared suddenly and said: “Can I drive you for free?”

– What is “The Vornonins” for you? There are outstanding actors:
Boris Klyuyev, Anna Frolovtseva, Georgy Dronov, Yekaterina Volkova,
Stanislav Duzhnikov.

– Klyuyev was our tutor in the Schepkin School. He is a wonderful
person. He teaches acting skills. There is an amazing atmosphere in
“The Voronins.” I played in other shows, but in “The Voronins” it was
easy and pleasant to work. Ahead of shootings we all gathered at a
table. There was no separation – a popular or non-popular person. We
were like a family. People talked to each other calmly. Katya who
played the leading role was my group-mate in the university. And she
said: “Don’t call her Zarina!” As I studied at an Ossetian course,
Zarina and Zalina in Ossetia are “Zaika.” “She was Zaika in the
Schepkin School!”

– Do you mean Yekaterina Volkova? Smart Vera who looks like a
Caucasus woman, an Ossetian.

– In fact she has blond hair. She shot in advert videos ahead of
the show: Tide, Whiskas; she was blond there. And in the show she
had to dye hair. Now I have to dye myself, and I don’t know what I
will look like with light hair.

– Zarina, you are Karina, and you should appear in the show again.

– If I appear, they will dye my hair back in black.

– Let’s ask authors of “The Voronins”: “We need Karina so much! At
least in an episode.”

– Don’t do this. There will be other roles, interesting roles. Karina
is only a small role.

– I hope “The Voronins” will be spring-board for your career, as
it is a nice school, working with unique actors. They are wonderful
people, a family. It seems that behind the scene Nikolai Petrovich
and Galina Ivanovna talk to each other in the same manner.

– It’s a lot of fun. They come, bring food, drink tea together,
talk nice to each other. Costume designers say that Sats is a person
who is always in a good mood. He is an amazing partner. There was a
scene when I should hold him. I didn’t know what to do. He came to
me and said: “I understand that you are from the Caucasus and your
father will kill me, but don’t worry.” And he explained every my step.

And I calmed down and feel comfortable.

The other moment was the Armenian language. I learnt it as a
text. But they told me: “No, you should say a phrase in Russian,
then in Armenian, then in Russian again.” I was shocked: “How can I
remember this? I don’t know how to cut the phrases. It will be a mess.”

Stanislav said: “Bring me a board and a chalk.” I wrote a phrase in
Russian and then in Armenian. And the board was behind my partner.

When I addressed him, I saw the phrases. But it was interesting when
I wrote them, I calmed down, I realized that I could do it easily. We
shot the scene on the first take.

– The show has been running in Russia for five years. I have been
living in the Czech Republic for all these years. I had a lot of
channels, but I watched only “The Voronins” in Russian. Thank you,
Duzhnikov, Dronov, Frolovtseva, Volkova for the connection with
motherland. You patriot feelings became keen abroad. Zarina, is a
TV-show a special kind of art?

– It is an art and a way to earn money. Actors realize that if
they get into a show, it means big money. Everyday you get salary
for a shooting day. But nobody treats it as a high art. I think
theater is the most important thing for an actor. Theater treats an
actor, cures him of cliche, as an actor has to be very different in
theater. Theater is a different thing. For example, I played in Oleg
Fomin’s film in November – “The Gun Dog-2” for NTV-Channel. It was in
Crimea. I played an Ossetian girl in the show. Soslan Fedarov also
played in it. He is my compatriot. What are shootings? I came there
and was given my text. And when you work, you understand that there
is a camera in front of you, not a spectator. In the drama school we
were taught how to work with the audience. It was very difficult for
me to work with a camera.

My first role in a TV-show was a role of a rich woman who wants to
kill her husband. A detective story for the First Channel. My first
shootings: I could say a couple of phrases in front of a camera. But
when the first, second, fifth day passes by, you begin to work well.

There is no fuzz anymore. One has to learn how to work on the stage
and in front of a camera.

– I asked you the question, as many people think it is easy to play
in a TV-show. I don’t think so.

– As for “The Voronins,” we discussed our parts in details.

It was like staging of a play in theater. We discussed who should do
what, what events should happen, and after that we went to a film
set and rehearsed without a camera. Moreover, when you are shot,
you should understand that if you move your head 2 cm in the left,
the scene will fail and everything should be started all over again. I
mean there are technical aspects. You should remember this and play
well simultaneously.

– Many of the team had no experience in the beginning of the
work. For example, Yekaterina Volkova hadn’t been playing in movies
for years.

– Katya told me: “It was such a right decision to enter a financial
university after graduation from the drama school. I realized that
if I have no roles, I can deal with economics. I secured myself. And
my parents told me: “What is theater? You should have a serious
job.” Then she got into “The Voronins” fortunately. And all Russia
loves her. She has many fans.

To be continued

GENOCIDE MONUMENT TO BE BUILT ON FRESNO STATE CAMPUS

Thursday, May 15th, 2014

An artist’s rendering of the Armenian Genocide monument to be built
at Fresno State

FRESNO, Calif.–Fresno’s Armenian-American community has come together
to form the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee, an umbrella
association established to commemorate the 100th anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide throughout this year and 2015. Working under
the theme “Commemoration, Education, Inspiration,” the committee is
made-up of representatives from the community’s religious, educational,
social, and political organizations.

“The commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
is clearly a significant moment for Armenians all around the world,”
said AGCC Chairman and California State University, Fresno, Professor
of Armenian Studies Sergio La Porta. “As Fresno is one of the largest
and most active Armenian communities in the Western Hemisphere,
I think it resonates particularly strongly here. It is home to a
proud and resilient Armenian community and is an especially poignant
place to commemorate those who died in the Genocide and those who
toiled afterwards to insure that we would have a much better world
to live in.”

The centerpiece of the AGCC’s efforts will be the monument that
will be constructed on the Fresno State campus. Designed by Fresno
architect Paul Halajian, the structure will embody symbols of cultural
meaning to the Armenian people. Built from béton brut and tufa stones,
its principal components will be nine columns arranged in a circular
pattern and angled inwards, reminiscent of the Tzitzernagapert monument
in Armenia. The nine pillars represent the six provinces of historic
Armenia, Cilicia, the Diaspora, and the Republic of Armenia.

The columns will gradually descend in height around the circle, with
the first measuring 19 feet high and the last 15 to underscore the
significance of the year 1915. An incomplete halo will be set above
the columns, symbolizing both the fracture left by the Genocide and
the unity of the Armenian people.

In keeping with the group’s mission to educate, the AGCC plans several
endeavors to reach out to the broader Central Valley to raise awareness
about the Armenian Genocide. A San Joaquin Town Hall event entitled
Man’s Inhumanity To Man–The Last Hundred Years will be held on March
18, 2015 at the Saroyan Theatre, and a dramatic play about the Genocide
is in the works, scheduled to open at Fresno State on May 1, 2015.

The committee also plans to offer workshops for secondary teachers of
the Fresno and Clovis Unified School districts as well as other area
districts to inform them how best to educate their students about the
Armenian Genocide. The proposed lesson plans not only address the
Armenian Genocide in particular, but also place Armenia’s tragedy
within the larger historical context of Man’s Inhumanity to Man,
including the treatment of Native Americans, the Holocaust, and
the more recent state-sponsored ethnic cleansings in Rwanda and the
Balkans. The committee stresses that though the Genocide occurred
a century ago, the crime is still very much a modern human rights
issue–especially in light of the maneuverings of the Republic of
Turkey to deny or revise this historical fact.

In conjunction with the Fresno Philharmonic, the committee will host
a concert to be held on April 25th at the Saroyan Theatre. The AGCC
hopes that the evening’s program–which will include scared, classical,
and new pieces–will celebrate the spirit of the Armenian people even
in the wake of the Genocide. Also as part of the centennial’s musical
events will be a performance by the Khachaturian Trio for clarinet,
violin, and piano at Fresno State on November 14, 2014.

These and other events and activities will supplement the Fresno
Community’s traditional roster of commemorative gatherings, including
the religious ceremony of the local churches, the Raising of US and
Armenian flags on the steps of Fresno City Hall, the commemoration
at the Ararat Cemetery, and the Fresno State remembrance in the
university’s Free Speech Area.

The following organizations comprise Fresno’s AGCC: First Armenian
Presbyterian Church,

Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church, Pilgrim Armenian Congregational
Church, St. Gregory Armenian Church, St. Mary’s Armenian Church,
St. Paul Armenian Church, St. Sahag Mesrob Armenian Church, Ani Guild,
Ararat Armenian Cemetery Association, Armenian General Benevolent
Union, Armenian Museum of Fresno, Armenian National committee–Central
California, Armenian Relief Society–Mother Chapter, Armenian Relief
Society–Sophia Chapter, Fresno State Armenian Studies Program,
Fresno State Armenian Students Organization, Armenian Technology
Group, Inc., Armenian Youth Federation–Kevork Chavush Chapter,
California Armenian Home, Charlie Keyan Armenian Community School,
Hamazkayin Educational and Cultural Association, Homenetmen Scouts,
Knights and Daughters of Vartan, Tekeyan Cultural Association, Triple
X Fraternity–Fresno Chapter, and Triple X Fraternity–Selma Chapter.

For more information about the group and news of its upcoming events,
check out the AGCC website atagcfresno.org, follow on Facebook,
or e-mail [email protected].

RUSSIAN ANALYST: AZERBAIJAN AND IRAN “HIT THE RESET BUTTON” IN 2014

by David Stepanyan

ARMINFO
Thursday, May 15, 20:03

In 2014 Azerbaijan and Iran “hit the reset button” in their relations,
well-known Russian analyst Sergey Markedonov said at the Caucasus-2013
international conference in Yerevan.

“There were even no signs of such tendencies in 2013. The foreign
policy of Iran has certainly changed much since Hassan Rouhani became
President of Iran. First of all, Rouhani started settling the top
priority problems in the Iranian foreign policy”, he said.

Markedonov thinks that Ilham Aliyev’s recent visit to Tehran and his
meeting with Rouhani were the first attempt to evade the confrontation
between the two countries that had lasted throughout the presidency
of Rouhani’s predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Today there are all
prospects for qualitatively new relations between the two countries.

The conference is annually organized by the Caucasus Institute with
the support of the Academic Swiss Caucasus Net (ASCN). This year
the conference covered the reports of representatives of Armenia,
Georgia, Azerbaijan, Russia and Switzerland. The reports included
a short analysis of the most important developments of 2013 in the
South Caucasus countries.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH NOT SEEKING EURASIAN INTEGRATION NOW, SAYS OFFICIAL

21:46 â~@¢ 15.05.14

A spokesperson for the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) president says the
country is not yet considering the possibility of joining the Customs
Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Speaking to Tert.am, David Babayan explained that they do not have
such a question on the agenda at the moment. He said only Armenia
seeks a membership in the Russia-led Eruasian bloc now. “There is no
such question on the agenda yet, and we know raising such issues will
be more a speculation rather than something close to the truth. It
is necessary to be more realistic; as long as the relations between
Artsakh and Azerbaijan remain unsettled, we should not naturally put
the main emphasis on submitting such bids,” he noted.

Armenian News – Tert.am