Author: Khondkarian Raffi

Armenian president decrees holding year of Armenia in France

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
25 Nov 04

Armenian President Robert Kocharyan has signed a decree on setting
up a state commission to coordinate the preparations for holding the
year of Armenia in France in 2006-2007 [as heard].

Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan was appointed chairman of
the commission.

The foreign minister, Vardan Oskanyan, the chairman of the board of
directors of Armenian Public Television and Radio Aleksan Arutyunyan,
the Armenian ambassador to France, Eduard Nalbandyan, the culture
minister, Ovik Oveyan, the director of Matenadaran [Manuscripts
Institute], Sen Arevshatyan, and others are members of the commission.

PA seeks US help with election
by Khaled Abu Toameh

The Jerusalem Post
November 23, 2004, Tuesday

Palestinian Authority leaders asked Monday for Washington’s help in
holding an election to choose a successor to chairman Yasser Arafat
and called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state
next year.

The demands were made during a meeting in Jericho between Secretary
of State Colin Powell and a number of senior PA officials.

The PA team was headed by PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and
included Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, Acting Chairman Rouhi Fattouh,
Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath, Minister of Negotiations Saeb Erekat,
and Finance Minister Salaam Fayad.

It was Powell’s first visit to the region in 18 months, and PA
officials hoped it would lead to the resumption of normal ties.

“We hope this visit marks the beginning of a new chapter in our
relations,” said one. “We’re aware that without the US we would not
be able to move ahead with the peace process.”

He said Jericho was chosen for security reasons, expressing hope that
future meetings would be held in the Mukata compound in Ramallah.

The 60-minute meeting focused on preparations for the chairmanship
election slated for January 9.

Erekat told The Jerusalem Post he was encouraged by Washington’s
position. “The position of the US administration is encouraging
because it is determined to enable the Palestinians to hold free and
democratic elections,” he said. “The US is also determined to revive
the peace process.”

Erekat said the PA is still waiting for Israel’s formal approval to
allow Jerusalem’s Arab residents to participate in the election. He
said five voting centers would be opened in the Old City’s Armenian
Quarter, Salah- e-Din Street, A-Tur (Mount of Olives), Shuafat,
and Beit Hanina.

Qurei expressed fear during the meeting that Israel’s planned
withdrawal from the Gaza Strip is part of a ploy designed to thwart
the road map. He said the withdrawal should be coordinated with the PA.

“At the meeting with Powell, we also discussed various issues, such as
the need to remove Israeli army checkpoints and release Palestinian
prisoners from Israeli jails,” he said. “The American side listened
to our demands and reacted positively.”

Describing the meeting as “vital and positive,” Shaath urged the US to
put pressure on Israel to withdraw its troops to their pre-September
28, 2000 positions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to facilitate the
voting process.

“We also discussed the need to halt settlement construction and the
building of the separation wall,” he said.

He emphasized the importance of abiding by the 2005 deadline to
establish a Palestinian state set by the road map.

Powell, who also visited the offices of the Central Elections Committee
in Jericho, said Washington is prepared to assist the PA in holding
the elections.

“I think this moment of opportunity should not be lost,” he said.
“What I’ve heard today is that the Palestinians are committed to
reform. I think we can make a pretty good case that this is the time
to assist the Palestinians as they go forward.”

He said his talks with the PA leaders also dealt with security issues
and funds needed for a well-organized election.

In Gaza City, Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar lashed out at the US, accusing
it of being biased in favor of Israel. “We must warn against US policy
in the Middle East,” he said. “The US has an agenda that is different
from ours. Its intentions will be tested according to the extent of
pressure it puts on Israel. We fear that Powell’s visit is aimed at
covering up for future Israeli crimes.”

Zahar also rejected any attempt to disarm Hamas, saying his movement
would not give up the armed struggle. He pledged, however, to work
with the PA to hold the election on time.

Abbas and Qurei later went to the PA’s central prison in Jericho,
where they met with Ahmed Saadat, secretary- general of the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who is accused of masterminding
the October 2001 assassination of tourism minister Rehavam Ze’evi,
and Fuad Shobaki, a senior Arafat aide implicated in the attempt to
smuggle arms aboard the Karine A in 2001.

GRAPHIC: Photo: US SECRETARY of State Colin Powell meets with the
Palestinian Authority’s Central Elections Committee in Jericho
yesterday. (Credit: Pedro Ugarte/Ap)

Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
 
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 23, 2004
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
Email: [email protected]

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY MISSION PARTICIPANTS TOUR ARMENIA, NKR
See First-Hand Affects of Assembly Projects, Initiatives

WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian Assembly of America led its ninth annual
Mission to Armenia, October 10-22, giving more than 60 of its Trustee
members the opportunity to experience the sights, sounds and realities
of life in their ancestral home.

Led by Board of Directors Vice-Chair Annie Totah, the Assembly’s
Mission has grown increasingly popular with members who are
given access to high-ranking government officials and treated
to expert-guided tours of Armenia’s historic sites and off-beat
attractions.

“The Mission is a highly unique experience and we were extremely
pleased that this year, more than 20 percent of the group were return
participants,” said Totah. “Our members were able to see the
Assembly’s ongoing contributions in Armenia and learn first-hand the
latest economic, social and political developments through meetings
with President Robert Kocharian’s cabinet and talks with President
Arkady Ghoukasian and other officials. In addition, participants
thoroughly enjoyed Armenia’s rich cultural life by attending musical
performances and visiting many of its museums.”

The 12-day excursion began on October 10 in Vienna, Austria where
participants were treated to a dinner reception at the home of
Assembly supporter Arshalous Tcheknavorian-Asenbauer. Ambassador Jivan
Tabibian, a diplomat whose portfolio includes ambassadorships to four
countries and two international organizations, addressed the gathering,
urging supporters to remain politically active upon their return to
the U.S.

The following day, the group, which also included Board of Directors
Vice-Chair Lisa Esayian, Development Co-Chair and Associate Trustee
Lu Ann Ohanian and Deputy Executive Director Peter Abajian, arrived
in Yerevan. They were met by Assembly Country Director for Armenia
and Nagorno Karabakh Arpi Vartanian, who assisted in planning and
leading the trip. During their first full day there, travelers took
a driving tour of the capital, stopping along the way to take in
their surroundings. That evening, they were joined by Assembly
Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair Hovnanian for a dinner at Old
Erivan Restaurant. Hovnanian, in his welcoming remarks, said:
“I commend all of you for your commitment to the Assembly and our
homeland, which brought you here today.”

While in Armenia, the group was briefed by Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian and the Speaker of the National Assembly Artur
Baghdasarian. They also met with U.S. officials, including Ambassador
to Armenia John Evans, who along with his senior Embassy staff,
hosted a private reception in honor of Assembly participants.
Evans also provided a briefing on U.S.-Armenia bilateral relations.

Oskanian, for his part, thanked the Assembly group for their
significant contributions to the development of U.S.-Armenia relations
and discussed with them Armenia’s foreign relations achievements,
including recent developments in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and
relations with neighboring Turkey.

During an optional two-day trip to Nagorno Karabakh, participants
also met with President Arkady Ghoukasian and Chairman of the
National Assembly Oleg Yessayan. Ghoukasian began by expressing
his gratitude to the Armenian Assembly and its members by saying,
“Thank you for supporting us. This is our common homeland.” He also
discussed the benefits of U.S. assistance for the people of Karabakh
and addressed the need to improve the standard of living and create
jobs. Mission participants asked Ghoukasian for a status report on
the NK negotiations, to which the President remarked, “We believe that
negotiations are the only way to resolving the issues.” And added:
“We are ready to discuss any issue but Azerbaijan advances only those
issues which it considers the most significant for itself.”

Karabakh travelers also visited Gandzasar and received a briefing and
demonstration of the HALO Trust’s current landmine removal projects.

In Armenia, the group visited the Genocide Museum and Memorial at
Tsitsernakaberd, where they laid a wreath to commemorate the victims
and survivors of the Armenian Genocide. They also visited Khor Virab
and attended mass at Etchimiadzin. Mission participants also attend
the rededication of the St. Gayane Church which was renovated through
the generosity of Assembly member and retired California Supreme Court
Justice Armand Arabian and his wife, Nancy. While there, the group
had a sit down dinner with His Holiness, Karekin II, Catholicos of
All Armenians.

Additional trip highlights included a visit to the future site of
the Gerard L. Cafesjian Museum of Contemporary Art. Other stops
included the American University of Armenia and the Gyumri Center
for Aesthetic Education, where mission participants enjoyed a special
concert by the KOHAR Symphony Orchestra and Choir led by Maestro Sebouh
Apkarian. During their last night in Armenia, the group gathered for
a farewell dinner at Yerevan’s Ararat Restaurant.

“As we toured the country, I noticed an overwhelming amount of emotion
and pride among those in our group,” said Esayian. “Each of them
realized the part they have played, and continue to play, in Armenia’s
and Karabakh’s development through their involvement and support of
the Assembly.”

Ohanian echoing Esayian, said that participants expressed their
appreciation for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. “As a result
of this trip, the Assembly is planning to add a Mission for the next
generation of leaders which will include families with children,
intern alumni and young working professionals. We hope many of our
members will take part in this trip early next summer.”

The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness
of Armenian issues. It is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt membership
organization.

NR#2004-099

Photographs available on the Assembly’s Web site at the following
links:

ss/2004-099/2004-099-1.JPG

CAPTION: Armenian Assembly Mission participants commemorated the
victims and survivors of the Armenian Genocide during a visit to the
Genocide Museum Memorial and Complex in Tsitsernakaberd.

CAPTION: During a visit to the HALO Trust, a mine-sniffing dog and his
handler demonstrated the removal of dangerous landmines as Assembly
delegates looked on.

CAPTION: Assembly supporter Arshalous Tcheknavorian-Asenbauer,
who hosted a reception for Mission participants at her Vienna home,
invited the group to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a school
she renovated in Armenia in her father’s name.

CAPTION: Assembly Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair Hovnanian with
Mission Leader Annie Totah, center, and Fellow Trustee Nancy Arabian
at the rededication of the St. Gayane Church in Etchmiadzin.

CAPTION: Mission 2004 participants during a stop at the Cascade,
an entire hillside turned into a massive stair and known for its
beautiful views of Yerevan and Mount Ararat.

CAPTION: Clockwise from top: Fellow Trustee Veronia Heath, Affiliate
Evelyn Daly, Associate Trustee Mrs. James Mukjian, Life Trustee
Mrs. Michael Ohanian, Life Trustee Mrs. Deran Hintlian and Development
Co-Chair Lu Ann Ohanian enjoy their first evening in Yerevan while
dining at Old Erivan Restaurant.

CAPTION: Seated L to R: Mission Leader Annie Totah, Board of Trustees
Chairman Hirair Hovnanian and his wife, Anna Hovnanian listen to a
report from U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans.

CAPTION: Armenia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Vartan Oskanian reviewed
the country’s foreign relations achievements and explained recent
developments in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Seated next to Oskanian
is Mission Leader Annie Totah.

CAPTION: Life Trustee Mrs. Michael Ohanian, along with her family,
participated in the Armenia Tree Project’s (ATP) inauguration of the
Michael and Virginia Ohanian Environmental Center in Karin. Ohanian,
planted a ceremonial tree and spoke about her husband’s relationship
with Stephen Mugar and his daughter, ATP founder Carolyn Mugar.

CAPTION: Trip participants took part in a guided-tour of the CS
Media facilities, a state-of-the-art media complex in Yerevan.

####

–Boundary_(ID_LTndaARiGH7XqjP/iy7eHw)–

MGM sets Dec. 17 meeting for merger vote

Reuters/VNU
11/19/04 21:39 ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Film and television studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Inc. has set Dec. 17 as the date for a shareholder meeting to vote
on the $4.8 billion merger with an investor group led by Sony Corp
of America, MGM said in a federal filing Friday.

The meeting will be held at MGM’s headquarters in Los Angeles at 10
a.m. local time, and stockholders of record as of the end of business
on Nov. 5 are eligible to vote, according to an MGM proxy filed with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

MGM’s board of directors has recommended approval of the merger in
which shareholders will receive $12 per share in cash. The investment
companies controlled by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, which own 69
percent of MGM’s common shares, have already agreed to support
the merger.

Sony’s partners are Comcast Studio Investments Inc, a unit of Cable TV
company Comcast Corp., and affiliates of Providence Equity Partners
Inc., Texas Pacific Group and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners. Sony
Corp of America is a unit of Japanese electronics company Sony Corp..

The merger agreement was announced in September and calls for the
Sony-led group to pay roughly $2.85 billion in cash for MGM and assume
about $2 billion in debt.

Los Angeles Times
November 19, 2004 Friday
Home Edition

Movies; REVIEW ;
Life and comedy bloom in the ashes

by Kevin Thomas, Times Staff Writer

Hiner Saleem’s droll comedy “Vodka Lemon” reveals a beguiling gift
for making things happen in a place where nothing much is going on.
It is set in what looks to be the middle of nowhere — a tiny village
in a vast snow-covered valley in rural Armenia. The nearest post
office is in a town a bus ride away. This scattering of rough-hewn
roadside cabins in the deep of winter resembles a near-abandoned
mining town in the Old West.

In a post-Soviet present as harsh as the climate, the inhabitants in
fact feel abandoned themselves. One neighbor remarks that democracy
has given the people freedom, but his friend points out that the
Communists gave them everything else. Now everyone has to pay for
gas, electricity and oil while the community hovers near a bare
subsistence level. Except for a passing shepherd and his flock, no
one seems to be working, nor do there seem to be any job
opportunities whatsoever. Clearly, the younger generation is fleeing
— and much of it has already fled.

That includes one of the sons of Hamo Isko (Romen Avinian), who has
sought a better life in Paris. (Another is off in Samarkand,
Uzbekistan, and the other stays home and drinks.) Hamo is a striking
patriarchal figure, a ruggedly handsome, silver-haired, bearded man
of military bearing; he looks to be a fit 70 or thereabouts. His
service pension is the equivalent of $7 a month, and some of the
film’s rueful humor derives from him selling by the roadside his
three absolutely nonessential possessions: a country-style armoire
with folk art decorations that in many other places would fetch a
fancy sum but yields only $10 for Hamo; an old TV, which may or may
not work; and Hamo’s military camouflage uniform. (The sale of the
armoire to a passing couple triggers a comic sequence worthy of the
classic silent comedians.)

With nothing much to do, Hamo spends a lot of time visiting the
cemetery where his recently deceased wife is buried. He notices that
an attractive woman, Nina (Lala Sarkissian), visits the grave of her
late husband with much frequency. Gradually they take note of each
other. The attraction is mutual, but Hamo is beset by the feeling
that he must be loyal to his wife’s memory, and Nina is overcome even
more strongly by shyness. As Saleem, a long-exiled Iraqi Kurd, wends
his way through amusing incidents and various subplots, he generates
hope that romance may find a way to blossom between two people who
have so little in life outside of, potentially, each other.

“Vodka Lemon” is an appealingly wry little film that is as appetizing
as its title, which is the name of a roadside liquor stand where Nina
works. Saleem, whose fourth film this is, ends on a note of inspired
whimsy that has aptly been compared to a magical image by Marc
Chagall.

*

‘Vodka Lemon’

MPAA rating: Unrated

Times guidelines: Suitable for older children

Romen Avinian…Hamo

Lala Sarkissian…Nina

Ivan Franek…Dilovan

Ruzan Mesropyan…Zine

A New Yorker Films release. Writer-director Hiner Saleem. Producer
Fabrice Guez. Executive producer Michel Loro. Cinematographer
Christophe Pollock. Editor Dora Mantzorou. Music Michel Korb.
Production designer Albert Hamarsh. In Armenian, Russian and Kurdish,
with English subtitles.

Exclusively at the Fairfax Cinemas, 7907 Beverly Blvd. (at Faifax
Avenue), (323) 655-4010; and the One Colorado, 42 Miller Alley (at
Colorado Boulevard), Pasadena, (626) 844-6500.

GRAPHIC: PHOTO: POOR CASH FLOW: Hamo, played by Romen Avinian, tries
to sell his armoire by the road in his post-Soviet Armenia village.
PHOTOGRAPHER: New Yorker Films

Agence France Presse
18 novembre 2004 jeudi 4:42 PM GMT

Kotcharian déplore la “brimade” d’Ankara à l’égard de l’Arménie

BERLIN

Le président arménien Robert Kotcharian a qualifié de “brimade” la
fermeture de la frontière de l’Arménie avec la Turquie, en accusant
Ankara de chercher à “bloquer” son pays, tout en indiquant qu’Erevan
ne posait pas de conditions à une normalisation des relations.

Dans une interview au quotidien Die Welt à paraître vendredi, le chef
de l’Etat arménien, de passage à Berlin pour une conférence
économique, explique le maintien de la fermeture par Ankara de sa
frontière depuis 1993 par un réflexe de solidarité avec
l’Azerbaïdjan.

L’Arménie est en effet en litige avec l’Azerbaïdjan proche par sa
population de la Turquie. La province azerbaïdjanaise du Haut
Karabakh, à majorité arménienne, est passée sous contrôle arménien.

“La Turquie bloque l’Arménie, on ne peut définir cela que comme une
brimade”, déplore le président arménien.

M. Kotcharian assure qu’il n’y a pas de conditions de l’Arménie à une
normalisation entre la Turquie et l’Arménie: “pour nous, la
reconnaissance du génocide de 1915 perpétré contre les Arméniens par
les Turcs est très importante, mais cela ne sera jamais une condition
pour le développement de relations bilatérales”, a déclaré M.
Kotcharian. Cependant, observe-t-il, ce fait est indéniable, et “si
Ankara devait le reconnaître, cela représenterait un grand pas en
direction d’une normalisation”.

Les massacres et déportations d’Arméniens sous l’Empire ottoman de
1915 à 1917 ont fait 1,5 million de morts, selon l’Arménie, et entre
250.000 et 500.000, selon la Turquie.

Estonian president pledges to help Armenia’s EU ties

Mediamax news agency
15 Nov 04

YEREVAN

Estonian President Arnold Ruutel said in Yerevan today that his
country’s membership of the European Union “is creating fresh
prerequisites for developing relations with Armenia”.

Arnold Ruutel told a briefing in Yerevan that “if we can be useful to
Armenia, then Estonia is ready to offer any possible help”, Mediamax
news agency reports.

In turn, Armenian President Robert Kocharyan said that Estonia’s
membership of the EU sets up “a fresh vector of cooperation”.

He recalled that the South Caucasus countries were incorporated into
the EU’s Wider Europe: New Neighbourhood programme in June this
year. “It is important for us that the new relations be filled with
specific content,” Robert Kocharyan said. He said that Estonia could
play its role in this process.

Armenia’s squad for World Cup qualifier against Romania

Agence France Presse — English
November 12, 2004

YEREVAN Nov 12 — Armenia’s national coach Bernard Casoni on Friday
named the following 18-man squad for the 2006 World Cup qualifier
against Romania here on November 17:

Goalkeepers: Armen Ambartsumyan (Slavia Sofia/BUL), Edel Bete
(Pyunik Yerevan)

Defenders: Sarkis Ovsepyan, Alexander Tatevosyan (both Pyunik Yerevan),
Karen Dokhoyan (Samara/RUS), Arutyun Vardanyan (Arau/SWI), Artur
Mkrtchan (Darida Minsk/BLR)

Midfielders: Rafael Nazaryan (Darida Minsk/BLR), David Grigoryan
(Mika Astarak), Karen Aleskanyan, Agvan Mkrtchan (both Pyunik
Yerevan), Gamlet Mkhitaryan (MTZ Minsk/BLR), Artavazd Karamyan
(Rapid Bucharest/ROM)

Strikers: Armen Shakhgeldyan (Mika Ashtarak), Edgar Manucharyan
(Pyunik Yerevan), Andrei Mevsesyan (FC Moscow/RUS), Ara Akopyan
(Stahl Donetsk/UKR), Arman Karamyan (Rapid Bucharest/ROM)

Armenia: Internet providers protest at government’s decision

Yerkir web site
12 Nov 04

November

Yerevan, 11 November: About 100 Internet providers went on a token
strike at 1700 [1300 gmt] today.

The Internet providers took this decision following the Armenian
government’s resolution adopted at an extraordinary cabinet meeting on
3 November. In line with the resolution, the exclusive rights of the
Internet providers will belong to the ArmenTel joint-stock company
from now on.

Earthquake in store for Yerevan?

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Nov 10 2004

There have been reports in Armenian mass media since Monday saying
that an earthquake is expected to hit Yerevan.

The country’s educational and industrial institutions have suspended
their activities for two days through head of the Armenian national
seismic service Alvaro Antonian refuted the reports on Tuesday.*