Author: Kanayan Tamar

ANCA: TEN STEPS TOWARD A SUCCESSFUL VISIT BY SECRETARY CLINTON TO THE CAUCASUS

02.06.2012 12:08

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has suggested
the following ten steps that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
should undertake during her visit to the Caucasus region to advance
U.S. interests, promote American values, and strengthen the Obama
Administration’s diplomatic standing in a pivotal region of strategic
importance.

Secretary Clinton is set to travel to the Caucasus from June 4th
to 7th to discuss issues of regional security, democracy, economic
development and counter-terrorism. She will visit Armenia on June 4th,
Georgia on June 5th, and Azerbaijan on June 6th, prior to traveling
to Turkey for meetings on June 7th. For more details about Secretary
Clinton’s travel schedule in the Caucasus, visit:

Ten steps toward a successful visit by Secretary Clinton to the
Caucasus:

1) A public announcement by Secretary Clinton that President Obama,
after more than three years in office, will finally honor his
promises to recognize the Armenian Genocide and to support the proper
recognition of this crime by the U.S. Congress.

2) An official visit to the Armenian Genocide memorial, during
which she honors her own pledges to recognize the Armenian Genocide,
renounces her assertion that the Armenian Genocide is a matter for
“historical debate,” and asserts that the Administration will no longer
use the failed Turkey-Armenia Protocols as an excuse for complicity
in Ankara’s genocide denial.

3) A clear statement distancing the U.S. from a recent NATO
declaration prioritizing the principle of territorial integrity over
self-determination in settling the status of Nagorno Karabakh, and
a commitment to strike, from a recently released State Department
report, the false assertion that Nagorno Karabakh is a part of
Azerbaijan, a Baku-backed claim that is directly at odds with
President Obama’s pledge to work towards a durable settlement “based
upon America’s founding commitment to the principles of democracy
and self determination.”

4) A public retreat from the Administration’s proposed 19% cut in
economic and democracy-building aid to Armenia, and a pledge to
both work with Congressional appropriators to honor the President’s
promise to “maintain” aid levels to Armenia, and also to allocate
all unexpended aid that Congress has intended for Nagorno Karabakh.

5) A joint declaration with the Armenian government, in the spirit
of President Obama’s promise to foster stronger U.S.-Armenia economic
relations, announcing talks to implement bilateral trade and investment
initiatives, including a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement,
a Double Tax Treaty, and a Free Trade Agreement.

6) A strong stand, during her visit to Azerbaijan, against the Aliyev
regime’s escalating pattern of threats and renewed aggression against
Nagorno Karabakh, and a public announcement that the White House
will not waive Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act as long as
Baku fails to commit to a peaceful resolution of its conflict with
Nagorno Karabakh.

7) A withdrawal of the Administration’s support, in light of Baku’s
ongoing threats and acts of aggression, for the sale or transfer
of any and all arms or dual-use items to Azerbaijan, including the
controversial pending sale of advanced helicopter-based sensing
equipment.

8) A visit to investigate the medieval Armenian cemetery in Djulfa,
Nakhichevan, the site of thousands of intricate Armenian stone crosses
(khatchkars) systematically destroyed by the Azerbaijani military in
December of 2005, as documented on video-tape.

9) A public expression of U.S. support, during her trip to Georgia,
for targeted U.S. economic, development, and infrastructure assistance
programs and public-private partnerships for the Armenian-populated
Javakhk region of Georgia.

10) A trip to Stepanakert to demonstrate support for the OSCE Minsk
Group peace process, to press for the reinstatement of the Republic
of Nagorno Karabakh as a full participant in all negotiations, and to
underscore America’s longstanding and proud tradition of supporting
the right of all peoples to democratic self-determination.

CRIMINAL CASE OPENED ON DEATH OF SOLDIER IN KARABAKH

news.am
June 02, 2012 | 12:29

YEREVAN. – A criminal case, on charges of causing suicide, is
launched over the death of conscript Saro Samvelyan, who had received
a fatal gunshot wound-and under yet undetermined circumstances-at the
military position of a Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) Defense Army
unit, Armenian MOD Investigation Department Public Relations Senior
Officer Meri Sargsyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

She informed that an investigation is in progress, and added that
Samvelyan was from Gyumri city and he was enlisted in the Army in
Fall 2011.

To note, Saro Samvelyan, 19, received the fatal gunshot wound on Friday
at around 8:20am, and an investigation is launched into the incident,
NKR Defense Army Media and information Department had informed.

ARMENIA’S HERITAGE PARTY DOES NOT EXTEND INVITATION TO PARTNER FREE DEMOCRATS TO ATTEND PARTY CONGRESS

news.am
June 02, 2012 | 12:06

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s opposition Heritage Party has not sent a special
invitation to any political power-including the Free Democrats Party,
whose members were included in Heritage’s party list during the recent
parliamentary elections-to attend the Party’s special congress to be
convened on Saturday, former Heritage MP Anahit Bakhshyan stated at
the event site.

She said they are open to everyone, and if special invitations were
to be extended, this would have meant they are not that open.

The congress has not yet convened, and so far there is no one from
other political forces.

FRENCH-ARMENIAN PAINTER’S EXHIBITION OPENS IN LA

news.am
June 02, 2012 | 10:50

The Consulate General of the Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles opened
Thursday a month-long exhibit of works by legendary surrealist Jean
Kazandjian. The exhibit, entitled “Imaginary Landscapes,” will be on
display at the House of Armenia through the month of June.

With a selection of works including oil paintings, mixed media and
sculpture, the exhibit emphasizes concepts of mental landscapes
particular to the artist’s work.

The exhibit, organized by renowned gallery-specialist Christine
Argillet-Kazandjian, includes a film installation by Viken Kazandjian,
documenting his father’s creative process.

International members of the artistic and academic community in
Southern California were present at the event.

Opening the exhibit, Professor Gloria Orenstein of the University
of Southern California presented a passage from her writings on
Kazandjian’s surrealist repertoire.

Kazandjian’s work will be on display at the Consulate General of the
Republic of Armenia through June and can be viewed by appointment.

RICH GRAIN HARVEST EXPECTED IN ARMENIA – MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE

news.am
June 02, 2012 | 04:42

According to predictions this year’s grain harvest will exceed last
year’s harvest. This prediction is mainly based on the fact that in
2011, the area of autumn sowing amounted to 90.8 thousand ha while
in 2010 it amounted to 73 ha.

As the press service of Armenia’s Ministry of Agriculture informs
Armenian News-NEWS.am, in some rural areas the autumn sowing has been
damaged, we are talking about approximately 1750 hectares.

FOUR EDITED BOOKS – WINNERS OF ORANGE BOOK PRIZE 2011 WERE PRESENTED TO PUBLIC

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 21:00:12 – 01/06/2012

In the evening of May 31 presentation of already published four
books of the winning works of “Orange Book Prize 2011” (“Dog
constellation” (Narine Kroyan), “Bridge to Tanya: the extraordinary
poet and the woman” (Violet Grigoryan), “Dream of the football ball”
(Tatev Derzyan) and “Charents” (Vahram Martirosyan)) took place in
“Bureaucrat” bookstore.

“Orange Book Prize is not a professional literary prize and does not
tend to become such. It is a reader’s and book lovers’ prize. Today
we are happy and proud to present the books of the winning works
of the contest, which were recognized as such due to the work of
the Jury of the contest and due to the interest and engagement of
readers. During this period we did our best to boost interest in
reading through public readings and discussions. The contest also
enabled to reveal new and young talents as well as organize public
discussions, which was also one of the key objectives of the contest,”
said Bruno Duthoit, Orange Armenia CEO.

As a reminder, the contest was open to Armenian residents writing
in Armenian and having presented a literary work never published
in the past. A total of 130 literary works have participated. The
winning work in each category has been published as a separate book,
printed by quantity of 500.

In the result of the first stage Jury members should have choosen
maximum four works in each category that have been presented to public
vote in the second stage.

Per each category – fairy tale and screenplay/play only one literary
work has been chosen by the Jury, which are already considered
to be the winner. Winners in “essay”, “novel” and “short story”
categories have been selected by on-line voting on Orange website:
where visitors have voted for their
preferred works through Facebook by clicking the “Like” button.

The objective of the contest is to boost interest in reading,
reveal contemporary Armenian writers, spread their works among
large group of readers through the daily evolving electronic media,
support beginner and already celebrated writers in publishing their
not-yet-published works.

With this initiative Orange intends to join Yerevan in celebrating
book and reading festival in 2012, when Yerevan will be the world
book capital. Orange Book Prize has been organized and implemented
in cooperation with Armenian Book Center NGO.

Orange Book Prize is an annual prize. The start of Orange Book Prize
2012 will be announced additionally. For more information please
visit

EUROVISION MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
by Anna Malpas

Agence France Presse
June 1 2012

Eye witness

Always an odd event, Eurovision had an extra layer of weirdness this
year from being hosted by Azerbaijan. It would be carping to say the
event was anything but magnificently organized and journalists were
lulled with all the ‘goodie bags’ and free food they could wish for.

But there was another side to the story.

Across town in an area of shoddy old Soviet blocks, we sat in a room
with hunger strikers. They were calling for the release of political
prisoners who were their friends and relatives, and telling us that
as international journalists, we were their only hope.

>From the plush press center of the Crystal Hall venue, it was just a
short taxi ride to a peaceful protest on the seafront, where police
ran through the strollers, detaining people including a man identified
by locals as a photographer for an opposition newspaper.

But probably unlike almost any other country in the contest, Azerbaijan
was happy to spend big money on the fun frills — the light shows
playing on skyscrapers; the bushes sculpted into the Eurovision 2012
logo and the complimentary paperweights handed out to journalists
with drops of crude oil inside.

The Heidar Aliyev foundation headed by first lady Mehriban Aliyeva,
also shelled out on glossy books promoting Azeri culture from cuisine
to carpets, which were scattered around the press center as freebies.

The contestants got similar red-carpet treatment, put up in the
city’s swankiest hotel, the Hilton, which is topped by a revolving
restaurant. Delegations including that of Britain’s entry Engelbert
Humperdinck occupied entire floors.

Arguably this Eurovision was compromised from the start, as the
organizers — and journalists — agreed with Azerbaijan’s entry
rules for foreigners clearly based on politics, despite the contest’s
apolitical nature.

Azerbaijan does not allow entry to those who have visited “without its
permission” the Nagorny Karabakh region, which Armenian separatists
backed by Yerevan seized in a bloody war in the 1990s.

That immediately disqualified our nearest AFP correspondent in
Tbilisi. Later, our Armenian-surnamed but Russian national video
correspondent was mysteriously denied accreditation, the only one of
us not to get it.

But those who made it in were given a warm welcome at the airport,
with English-speaking volunteers explaining the visa paperwork and free
taxis into town. And the route from the airport was a showpiece with
people clipping the borders and spectacular new buildings including a
Trump Tower under construction, and an arts center named after Heidar
Aliyev designed by Zaha Hadid.

Especially if you were staying in the center, in the romantic Old City
or in the brand-new blue-glass Hilton, it was easy to get sucked in by
this seductive vision of up-and-coming Azerbaijan, without addressing
the darker side.

While particularly British media was out in force at protests, as well
as local independent journalists, many of the around 1,500 accredited
journalists seemed to haunt the Crystal Hall’s media center. Over
the run-up to the final, it took on a cozy almost war-room feel with
national flags on tables and a conga-line when Turkey’s Eurovision
entry was performing.

And some journalists seemed to stick to recording the minutiae of
Eurovision, still taken pretty seriously in some parts. I asked one
journalist if she was going to a protest as we got taxis from Crystal
Hall, thinking of sharing one. “No,” she snapped.

The AFP team had a slightly grittier daily reality as our hotel
was well out of the center, thanks to a last-minute change by the
organizers, who block-booked hotels in advance. Our street had homely
barbers who hung their wet towels out to dry on the street, anarchic
traffic and apartment blocks where people had turned their balconies
into mid-air extensions.

We had no hardships, though. The worst I heard was a horror story from
one journalist that she was allocated a hotel with cockroaches in the
bathroom. She was moved to a luxury hotel after she complained, though.

Every day we drove to the center past the Heydar Aliyev Prospect
Street with its elaborate stone facades on what looked like Soviet
prefabs. The late president’s name also cropped up in quotes over the
entrances to the ludicrously shiny and luxurious pedestrian underpasses
in the city center — some of which even had open-air escalators.

With its unassailable location at the end of a pier sticking out into
the Caspian Sea, the Crystal Hall might as well have had a drawbridge
and moat. Police boats were posted around it, and a helicopter circled
on the evening of the final.

After ID checks, special buses took journalists to the press center
from the pier head. Then we went through more airport-style security
checks including a bag scan and a scan of our photo IDs.

Once inside, though, there were honeyed Paklava pastries, tea with
thyme and local milk drinks – all free – as well as occasional kebabs
smoked up on the deck.

The only glitch I noticed was after the second semi-final. After a
journalist badgered Swedish contestant Loreen – without results —
to comment on her meeting with opposition activists, the moderator
upbraided the journalist for spoiling the “great mood”. About the
same time, an unmistakable stench flowed through the room. The crowd
booed the moderator for trying to censor the reporter, but by then
the journalists were fleeing the press center to escape what could
only have been a dramatic plumbing disaster.

EU OPPOSES ISOLATION OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH – PHILIPPE LEFORT

news.am
June 01, 2012 | 14:25

YEREVAN.- EU opposes isolation of the Nagorno-Karabakh, said EU
Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in
Georgia Philippe Lefort.

The envoy believes communication is better than isolation and it is
wrong to put preconditions for visiting the region. Lefort recalled
that he, unlike Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, has no mandate to
visit Nagorno-Karabakh. His trip depends on “good will of the sides”.

“We are working on it,” the EU official stressed saying he wants to
visit Karabakh but has no idea when it can become possible.

All visits by foreign delegations are painfully perceived by
Azerbaijan. Those who dare travel to Nagorno-Karabakh are immediately
included in the blacklist by official Baku.

LUSINE ZAKARYAN WOULD MARK HER 75TH

Panorama.am
01/06/2012

“When Lusine things “Saint-saint” angels descend in Holy See and
glorify God for singing and for the talent gifted to her,” Supreme
Patriarch of All Armenians Vazgen I used to say about Lusine Zakaryan.

Today the renowned Armenians soprano, People’s Artist of Soviet
Armenia Lusine Zakaryan would mark her 75th anniversary.

Lusine Zakaryan was born in 1937, in Akhaltsikhe, Georgian SSR.

Zakaryan died in 30 December 1992.

In 1952 she moved with her family to Yerevan, where she attended
a secondary music school. She entered the Yerevan State Musical
Conservatory in 1957. From 1970 to 1983 Zakaryan was a soloist with
the symphony orchestra of Armenian TV and Radio.

She also sang in the choir of theArmenian Apostolic Church’s Holy
See at the Echmiadzin Cathedral, and it is for her magnificent
rendition of centuries-old Armenian spiritual hymns that she is now
most remembered for.

POLITICAL SCIENTIST ON PROSPEROUS ARMENIA’S PLANS FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

tert.am
01.06.12

The coalition has divorced creating a situation when the uncertainties
and doubts not only failed to fade away but still exist, chairman
of the Union of Political Scientists Hmayak Hovhannissyan said,
assessing the post-electoral situation in the country.

He said the parliamentary elections were to predict the result of the
presidential elections, while the question continues being intriguing.

The political scientist said the main issue of the coalition was
to specify whether the coalition memorandum’s clause on supporting
the incumbent president will be brought into life or not. “If a new
coalition was formed with the Prosperous Armenia party the core of it
was to be the support of the incumbent president at the 2013 elections,
while the other issues were secondary. But this issue was not solved
either. Tsarukyan’s statement did not contain a point showing PAP’s
stance for the presidential elections,” he said.

As one of possible variants, Hmayak Hovhannissyan noted the possibility
of PAP’s support to Serzh Sargsyan’s candidacy.

He also said that if during the presidential elections the PAP
nominates its own candidate it will be done either in a soft or
hard ways. In the first case, the political analyst said Oskanian’s
candidacy will be nominated with the result of this fight being
predictable. In the second case Robert Kocharyan’s candidacy will be
nominated with the tough struggle to follow.

Hmayak Hovhannisyan said the three variants are equally possible.