Author: Madatian Greg

UN WORLD FOOD PROGRAM TO CONTINUE COOPERATION WITH ARMENIAN GOVT

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
August 2, 2006 Wednesday 03:45 PM EST

by Tigran Liloyan

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is ready to continue
cooperation with the government of Armenia to enlarge it and put it
on a more stable basis, WFP Executive Director James Morris said on
Wednesday during his meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Andranik
Margarian.

Morris is visiting Armenia as part of his regional trip, the
governmental press service told Itar-Tass.

The WFP executive director pointed out the economic growth of the
country and Armenian authorities’ efforts aimed at overcoming poverty.

Prime Minister Margarian highly appreciated the WFP activity that
began in September 1993.

According to him, for 13 years of its work in Armenia, the WFP has made
a substantial contribution to the improvement of the food situation
of the poorest population groups in the country, including refugees,
as well as to the development of communities by investing in the
enhancement of infrastructures and human resources.

Over this period of time, a total of 134,000 tonnes of humanitarian
food worth 75 million U.S. dollars were delivered to Armenia to cater
to the needs of about 200,000 people on an average annually.

The premier said that replacing emergency food programmes with
long-term programmes from mid-1999 was very important for his country.

In connection with the drought that affected some regions in Armenia,
the prime minister asked the WFP executive director to assist the
republic in coping with the consequences of the disaster.

Margarian also thanked the WFP leadership for the emergency aid that
the country received from the Programme during the drought of 2000.
This aid became the significant support for those farmsteads that
were affected by that drought, he said.

EXHIBITION OF WORKS OF ARMENIAN, IRANIAN, TURKISH AND
GEORGIAN ARTISTS TO KICK OFF IN AUGUST

Armenpress

YEREVAN, JULY 31, ARMENPRESS: Works by 25 Armenian, Iranian, Turkish
and Georgian artists will be presented at the exhibition entitled
"Art without Borders" which will kick off August 4 at the Center of
Innovative Experimental Art.

The head of the project Eduard Palasanian told Armenpress that 6 of the
artists are from Armenia, five from Georgia, seven from Iran and seven
from Turkey. According to him, the exhibition is a unique phenomenon
of contemporary art and it proves that political controversies do
not influence the cultural life.

Palasanian also noted with regret that their three-year efforts
towards involving Azerbaijani artists in the exhibition failed. At the
exhibition paintings, photos and different equipment will be presented.

The exhibition will last until August 25.

CIS Interior Ministers to meet in Astana

ArmRadio.am
28.07.2006 11:24

The recurrent sitting of CIS Interior Ministers Council will be held
in Astana today. Issues related to the cooperation to fight
international terrorism, illegal export of weapons and chemical
matters and trafficking will be discussed.

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
July 28, 2006

Lebanese-Israeli crisis was discussed in Azerbaijan during round
table

Source: Trend
Author: A.Mammadov

28.07.2006

On July 28, the International Peacelovers Union (IPU) organized a
round table in Baku to come out against the war between Israel and
Lebanon. The chairman of IPU, pr. Vali Ismayilov noted that the
organization acts mainly for the protection of human rights and the
right to live, Trend reports. And the rights of thousands of people
are violated in result of the war between Israel and Lebanon.

`The war between Lebanon and Israel should be stopped. This small war
may turn into a global war. Israel tries to capture Arabic lands.
There is a historical fact that the assassination of one person was
used as a excuse for the world war,’ Shahbaz Shahbazov, the member of
IPU, told.

The chairman of Azerbaijan Islamic Party Hajiaga Nuri considers that
the large countries are planning to draw up the modern map of East
and create new borders between countries. `Azerbaijan, of which 20
percent territory has been occupied, is also included in these
plans,’ he told.

Other member of IPU Tariel Valiyev stressed that there are problems
with the evacuation of Azerbaijanis from Lebanon, but Armenia already
removes the Armenians from Lebanon to the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan.

The participants of the round table called the world public to join
the fight for peace.

US diplomat says 2006 ideal year for resolving Karabakh conflict

ANS TV, Baku
25 Jul 06

Presenter] US ambassador to Azerbaijan Anne Derse will visit the
populated areas bordering Armenia, Public Affairs Officer of the US
embassy Jonathan Henick has said. Henick commented on the fires set to
occupied Azerbaijani territories by the Armenians and the settlement
of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict. He said that 2006 is an ideal year
for resolving the conflict.

[Correspondent over video of Henick] The USA will try to ensure that
the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict is completely solved by the end of this
year. Representative of the US embassy in Azerbaijan Henick believes
that it is impossible to solve the problem in 2007.

[Henick, speaking in Azerbaijani] Elections [presumably 2007 Armenian
parliamentary election] will be held next year and we all know that
it is very difficult to solve such problems during an election. We
still have six months left in 2006. We will continue our attempts to
solve this problem together with the two presidents [of Armenia an
Azerbaijan]. This simply does not depend on the [OSCE Minsk Group]
co-chairs. This is a mutual project.

[Passage omitted: reported details about Karabakh fires]

[Correspondent] The US diplomat also said that the US government will
reconsider the allocation of financial aid to Azerbaijan because of
increasing oil incomes. The US government will most probably reduce
humanitarian and increase military aid to Azerbaijan, end of quote.

Vaqif Hasanov, Sahla Abdinova, Rafiq Nagiyev, ANS.

DEPUTY MINISTER SAYS ONE THIRD OF ARMENIAN POPULATION POOR

Panorama.am
14:01 25/07/06

A three-day seminar on monitoring and evaluation of income generation
and employment programs in Armenia launched in Yerevan today. The event
was organized by the ministry of foreign affairs, ministry of social
security and UN economic and social commission in Asian-Pacific region.

Artsvik Minasyan, deputy minister of employment and social affairs,
informed the present that a national report is developed by a group
of experts aimed to outline the development trends of Armenia within
the context of poverty alleviation as well as programs on employment.

The report says incomes are not evenly distributed in the country. The
needy sector of the population has very limited opportunities. "Poverty
is still a major problem for Armenia with 34% of population being
poor," deputy minister said. In other words, 1 mln people are poor
and 200 000 of them live in dire needy conditions. The experts of the
report recommend creating well-paid jobs. The report also suggests
reconsidering the program on poverty alleviation which the government
approved in 2003. In A. Minasyan’s words, social security system also
needs improvements. /Panorama.am/

RAO UES of Russia Purchases Electric Networks of Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.07.2006 13:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The RA public service commission gave ok to
the selling of 100% stocks of the Electric Networks of Armenia,
ENA spokesman Magratita Grigoryan told a PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter. "Presently Midland Resources Holding Ltd, the owner of
the ENA, is negotiating with the RAO UES of Russia. As soon as an
agreement is signed the ENA will announce of the bargain and furnish
information," she said.

George Mgrdichian, Oud Player

The Times (London)
July 19, 2006, Wednesday

George Mgrdichian, oud player, was born on January 28, 1935. He died
on April 30, 2006, aged 71.

Alongside the Nubian master Hamza El Din (obituary, May 29), George
Mgrdichian did more than any other musician to popularise the oud in
the West. He was happy to play the instrument in Western classical,
jazz and popular contexts and cabaret or a concert hall recital. But he
also conducted serious research into the oud’s traditional repertoire
in Armenian, Spanish and Middle Eastern folk music.

Born in Philadelphia in 1935 to Christian-Armenian parents, Mgrdichian
began his musical career as a clarinettist, playing in a band
at weddings and dances. His switch of instruments was unplanned.
When the band’s oud player was called up for military service,
Mgrdichian was asked to fill in and within days was performing on
the instrument in public. He kept up his clarinet playing and in the
early 1960s studied the instrument at the Juilliard School of Music.

But he also took a degree in ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University,
and the eight-string Arabic forerunner of the Western lute eventually
became his main instrument as he developed a virtuoso touch and his
playing became famous for its fluidity and innovation.

In New York he became part of the 1960s bohemian folk and jazz set,
playing with the likes of Dave Brubeck and the composer David Amram.
He also appeared as a guest oud player with a number of orchestras,
including the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Opera and the
Philadelphia Orchestra.

During the 1970s he made a number of commercial albums, playing the
oud on releases such as Let’s Belly Dance (1973) and Belly Dance Navel
Academy Vol 2 (1977). But he also pursued a more serious musical path
with his own George Mgrdichian Ensemble, exploring the traditional
musical repertoire of Armenia and Anatolia on albums such as The Oud
(1985).

An adventurous collaborator, the 1990 album One Man’s Passion found
him fusing the oud and other traditional instruments, including the
kanoon and darbuka, with sax, electric bass and guitar.

VAZGEN MANUKIAN CONVINCED THAT KOCHARIAN WILL NOT SIGN DOCUMENT PROPOSED BY CO-CHAIRS

YEREVAN, JULY 18, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Armenian President
will not sign under the Nagorno Karabakh settlement variant proposed
lately. RA MP Vazgen Manukian, Chairman of the National Democratic
Union, said at the July 18 press conference. "I treat the circumstance
of R.Kocharian’s being a President very negatively but inwardly I am
convinced that he will not take such a step," the speaker said.

In Manukian’s opinion, Kocharian from the very start made a mistake
in the Nagorno Karabakh settlement, declaring in his conversations to
the mediators that if they convince him that some proposed variant of
settlement is beneficial to Armenians, he in his turn will convince
Armenia and Karabakh. According to the speaker, "Kocharian assumed
a heavier burden than he was to" and this approach became the reason
of NKR’s being ousted of the negotiations process. But he considered
improbable that they have already "convinced" Kocharian.

According to the NDU Chairman, no other great ommissions on Nagorno
Karabakh issue have been committed in the Armenian foreign policy. It
is a different matter that the Armenian diplomacy did not manage
to ensure the announced complementary policy and the foreign policy
is one-sided.

V.Manukian said that if R.Kocharian signed under this variant,
it would be necessary to demand his resignation. According to him,
the forces supporting Kocharian organized a coup in Armenia (he means
the power shift of 1998: NT), as they were against the stage-by-stage
variant of Nagorno Karabakh settlement: "If they sign, why was this
coup done and what was the purpose of this marasmus of 8 years?"

NA to continue the consultations over the Electoral Code

ArmRadio.am
18.07.2006 11:45

Today Parliamentary groups and facions will continue the consultations
over the amendments to the Electoral Code at NA Chairman Tigran
Torosyan’s Office.