Author: Maghakian Mike

‘OPERA’S’ FIRST CONCERT

Yerkir.am
December 01, 2006

A long awaited concert was held at the Komitas Chamber Music Hall on
November 26. There was no brass quintet in Armenia for over a quarter
of a century.

The Opera Quintet comes to fill in this gap. Advisor on music issues at
the Opera and Ballet Theater composer Ashot Babayan believes existence
of the brass quintet will encourage the Armenian composers to compose
music specifically for this band.

Deputy Director of the Opera and Ballet Theater Hrachya Grigorian is
the main initiator of the band. The band includes five young musicians
that also play in the orchestra of the Opera and Ballet Theater.

Gevorg Avetissian – flute, Rafayel Voskanian – oboe, Gurgen Kakoyan
– clarinet, Shmavon Grigorian – bassoon, and Vardan Anatolian –
trumpet. This was their first concert together and it was a big
success. Musicologist Valentin Tovmassian made opening remarks
before the concert. He spoke about the role and development of brass
instruments in our musical reality.

Tovmassian noted that the need for a brass band was felt a long
time ago. He remembered several musicians whose contribution to the
development of brass music has been great – Tatul Altunian, Aram
Mangassarian, Tsolak Vardazaian, Levon Aloyan.

The works of Armenian and foreign composers were performed during
the concert. Both instrumental and vocal performances were included
in the Opera Quintet ‘s repertoire. Leading soloists of the Opera
and Ballet Theater Armenuhi Seyranian (soprano) and Gevorg Hakobian
(baritone) performed with the Quintet.

The concert was a big success. Both the Opera Quintet and the soloists
were brilliant. Composer Ashot Babayan noted that even though the band
is still very young it has a great potential and is very promising. The
Opera Quintet is planning to participate in the brass instruments
festival that will be held in Yerevan in the end of this year.

EBRD TO PROVIDE 5 MILLION-DOLLAR LOAN TO INECOBANK FOR SME FINANCING

Noyan Tapan
Dec 04 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 4, NOYAN TAPAN. The European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (EBRD) will provide a 5 million dollar-loan to
Inecobank for financing Armenian Small and Medium Entrepreneurship
(SME). NT was informed from EBRD that the bank will also increase by 1
million USD the technical assistance provided to Inecobank under the
Trade Financing Program, which is being implemented with the USAID
by the jointly established Multilateral Donor Financing Fund. These
resources will be used to develop the crediting procedure and skills
at Inecobank. Inecobank and EBRD has cooperated since 2005 when the
Armenian bank received its first loan of 1 million USD from EBRD
with the aim of extending the capacities of servicing small and
medium enterprises.

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Dec 1 2006

Referendum in Nagorno-Karabakh Targets Damaging Peace Talks –
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister

Source: Trend
Author: E.Huseynov

01.12.2006

The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister announced that on 30 November, the
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister, Elmar Mammadyarov, received the
chairman of the PACE Ad Hoc Committee on Nagorno-Karabakh, Lord
Russel-Johnston,Trend reports.

Discussing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Minister stated that
the conflict can be resolved within the framework of the territorial
integrity and the Constitution of Azerbaijan using the adopted
international standards and principles. He noted that in many
countries Armenian lobbyists have sprayed graffiti insults about
Azerbaijan, which has a negative impact on the negotiation process.
The Minister stressed that the referendum on the Constitution to be
held in Nagorno-Karabakh is aimed at damaging the negotiation
process. He also voiced his hope that the international community
would respond to such steps in a politically correct manner.

The parties have positively anticipated a resolution adopted at the
NATO Summit in Riga which offers support to the territorial
integrity, independence and sovereignty of South Caucasus countries
and Moldova.

‘SCREAMERS’ AND GENOCIDE: A TALK WITH SERJ TANKIAN FROM SYSTEM OF A DOWN

Huffington Post, NY
Nov 29 2006

‘Screamers,’ a documentary by Carla Garapedian, just won the Audience
Award at the AFI Film Festival. It uses archival footage, interviews,
and live music to reflect on the Armenian genocide, its aftermath,
and the effect that later denials of the atrocity had on history.

‘Screamers’ examines efforts to have the Armenian genocide
internationally recognized, and ties it to other genocides, past and
present – particularly Darfur.

It’s a powerful document, both politically and artistically.

The film centers around the highly popular Armenian-American rock
band System of a Down and its lead singer, Serj Tankian, as they tour
Europe and discuss the issues of Armenia, genocide, and human rights.

Last week I spoke with Serj about the film and his own political
work. Serj cofounded Axis of Justice with Rage Against the
Machine/Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello, to mobilize musicians and
music fans around progressive issues.

Here are some excerpts from our conversation:

What politicized you? As an Armenian-American, was it your family’s
memories of the Armenian genocide?

It was the denial of genocide, more than the genocide itself,
that politicized me. I was troubled by the idea that this kind of
violence could occur, only to be ignored or covered up. It made me
feel I had to act and react. There are so many things going on in
the world today that are receiving the same treatment – including,
but not limited to Darfur and Rwanda.

In a way, the hypocrisy of the denial is more politicizing than the
act itself. I think that the memory of Armenia’s genocide opened my
eyes at an early age to the existence of political cynicism.

What’s your definition of "genocide"? The diplomatic community has one,
but does the word have a more personal meaning for you?

My thing is figuring out how to put things in a simple way, so here’s
my definition: If someone gets attacked because they look different,
act different, or pray differently, that’s genocide. And if the mass
execution of a people is organized and perpetrated by a government,
that’s definitely genocide.

But anytime people are made to suffer as a group because they’re
different from others – to me, that’s genocide too.

____________

A lot of political leaders, even well-meaning ones, might say that
forcing Turkey to acnowledge the Armenian genocide would limit our
ability to fight terror or do other good things in the world. What
would you say to someone who argues that the genocide took place
almost a century ago, and that they’d rather concentrate on what we
can do today?

Look: Correct recognition of the past affects the present. It’s
as simple as that. If we’re at the point where we’re going to use
genocide as currency to get something we want from another nation …

well, we’re really fucked, aren’t we?

Let me put it another way: You can’t do the wrong thing for the right
reason. It won’t work. It never has.

____________

The movie shows your efforts to get Denny Hastert to advance a
resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide. The film’s equally
rough on the first Bush administration and Clinton’s over this issue.

Do you think the resolution will do any better now that the Democrats
control Congress?;

You mean, are they real reformers or just "corporate Democrats"?

We’ll see. So far everybody’s enjoying the general feeling of optimism,
but Congress hasn’t even convened yet. Nobody’s really "in" over
there right now.

What do you say when people complain about musicians and other
celebrities who speak out about politics?

I agree with them, in a way. What do musicians know that other people
don’t? Nothing. Plumbers can speak. Electricians can speak. Everyone
can speak. They should speak.

Lech Walesa was an electrician, and he became the leader of Poland.

Exactly. Good for him. I don’t want to spend all my time working as
an activist. I don’t get satisfaction out of it. I’d rather be doing
something else. I’m a musician.

I’ve noticed something about people who say they don’t like actors
and musicians having political opinions, if you ask them who they
think was the greatest President eve,r they always answer "Reagan."

And what was Reagan before he went into politics?

(laughs) Exactly. If anybody wants to speak up, they should speak up.

I don’t want to be a politician …

Serj discusses other topics, including the balancing act between music
& politics and how it felt to become the target of jingoistic attacks
after 9/11, here. "Screamers" opens in Los Angeles on December 8.

PARLIAMENT ADOPTS AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL LAW

Panorama.am
15:25 28/11/06

Rafik Petrosyan, one of the initiator of the law on alienation of
property for public and state needs, admitted today at Pakagits Club
that the law is unconstitutional. The law passed the third reading
in the parliament yesterday. "The law does not define what is an
exclusive and superior state interest. This may be appealed at the
Constitutional Court by the opposition," he said.

Asked why the majority, including Rafik Petrosyan, voted for the
bill in case when it was against the constitution, the deputy said
they preferred to have a law with errors than to leave the field
unregulated.

Vardan Lazarian from Justice block believes that people are afraid
to lose their houses without proper compensation. "The responsible
person is Robert Kocharyan. He ratifies laws and government decisions,"
Lazarian said.

The opposition is going to apply to the Constitutional Court to
announce the bill unconstitutional.

TURKEY MISTREATS MINORITIES; DOES NOT MERIT EU MEMBERSHIP
by Kyle Szarzynski

UW Badger Herald, WI
Nov 29 2006

The pope’s recent visit to Turkey and his call for the nation’s
acceptance into the European Union has added an interesting element
to the debate about Turkey’s inclusion into the EU. It is now more
difficult to pitch the issue as one between the West and the Middle
East, or Christianity and Islam, because the most Christian and
Western of institutions – the Roman Catholic Church – has embraced
the notion of Turkish membership in the ever-more powerful EU.

And yet this approach, as good intentioned as it may be, misses a
crucial component of the issue: Turkey’s non-Christian and non-Western
essence equates to fundamentally non-European values and is thus
not suitable for EU membership. This differing system of values has
concrete political and cultural implications, making it inapt for
Turkey and European states to exist under the umbrella of the same
supranational political and economic organization.

The Europe of 2006 is by no means a perfect society, as it is plagued
by, among other things, unemployment, racism and the steady erosion
of the welfare state. Still, the European ideals of community-based
politics, a social safety net, universal education and cooperation
have made the continent the world leader of progress. The relative
equality and justice of European society are the envy of countries
all over the world, including the United States (the 35-hour work
week, for example, is something that American workers can only dream
about). The state of Europe today goes hand-in-hand with its seemingly
paradoxical Christian foundation (including the emphasis on human
solidarity and equality) and a strong commitment to secular humanism.

This makes quite a contrast to Turkey. Despite the country’s reputation
as a liberal, Muslim state, its acceptance into the EU would still
stand out like an ink blot on the organization’s map. One notable
difference between Turkey and the rest of Europe is the power of the
military, which has staged four coups since 1960. In recent years,
the armed forces has succumbed to EU pressure and limited its meddling
in political affairs. However, this has been only a mixed blessing,
as the secular military serves as the only bulwark against the growing
power of the Islamic fundamentalists, whose representation in the
country’s legislature has, alarmingly, been steadily increasing. The
reality is that many secular progressives in Turkey actually see the
military as a lesser evil to the threat of Islamic extremists. This
pessimistic political dynamic amounts to a lose-lose situation for
those who believe that Turkish political practices can be reconciled
with those of Europe’s.

Turkey’s suppression of human rights is yet another problem. Its abuse
of the Kurdish minority has caused worldwide condemnation. In the
struggle against separatist rebels, like the Kurdistan Workers Party,
it is estimated that more than 30,000 people have been killed since
the 1980s. The brutality of the military’s treatment of the Kurds
has manifested itself in the use of poison gas and mass bombings
of villages.

Free speech is also lacking. While Europe has arguably gone to one
extreme in criminalizing the act of denying the Holocaust, Turkey
has made it a crime to even acknowledge its own history of genocide
against the Armenians. The Nobel Prize-winning novelist, Orhan Pamuk,
was brought up on charges of "insulting Turkishness" after he remarked
that, "Thirty thousand Kurds and a million Armenians were killed in
these lands, and nobody dares to talk about it."

International outrage ensued, and the charges were later dropped.

The relative backwardness of Turkish political institutions is only
one deterrent to EU membership. The cultural attitudes of the people,
which are at least partially responsible for the existence of such
institutions, are another. The anti-European attitudes of the Turkish
people were recently exemplified in a poll conducted by the Milliyet
newspaper Oct. 24, which showed that two-thirds of the Turkish people
don’t even want to join the EU. Government prosecution of Christian
converts and recent plans to construct female-only parks have,
similarly, been greeted with support by most Turks.

Such sentiment is the product of a country that has lived under
military rule for decades and continues to be held back by reactionary
religious ideas. It is all too clear that Turkish institutions and
Turkish ideas are clearly not European ones. Once this is realized,
the foolishness of admitting a non-European nation into the European
Union becomes all too obvious.

Kyle Szarzynski ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in
Spanish and history.

turkey_mistreats_min.php

IRANIAN MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE: THERE ARE CONSIDERABLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARMENIAN-IRANIAN COOPERATION IN AGRICULTURE

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Nov 28 2006

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 28, NOYAN TAPAN. During the November 28 meeting
of the Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margarian and the Iranian
Minister of Agriculture Mohammad Reza Eskandari, the sides spoke about
the extension and development of cooperation between the two countries
in various spheres. Noting the the age-long friendship of Armenia and
Iran, the historical and cultural similarities and close links form
a solid basis for developing the relations in an atmosphere of mutual
respect and trust, the Armenian prime minister and the Iranian minister
of agriculture attached special importance to mutual high-level
visits and the active work of the Armenian-Iranian intergovernmental
commission in terms of giving all this a practical character.

On behalf of his country’s government, the Iranian minister expressed
gratitute to the Armenian government for the balanced position that it
shows in international structures with respect to Iran-related issues.

The interlocutors spoke with satisfaction about the qualitative
progress registered in the bilateral economic relations in recent
years, underlining the cooperation in the energy sector: construction
of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, operation of the third high-voltage
line, the hydropower plant on the Arax River to be built jointly,
and in the transport sphere – construction of a new Armenia-Iran
alternative road, which will facilitate the transportation and make
Armenia more attractive for north-south transit transportation. The
sides also pointed out the importance of the construction of a railway
line between Armenia and Iran, the actively developing relations
and cooperation among various administrative territories of the two
countries and the joint programs being implemented in a number of
spheres, including agriculture that may play quite an important
role. In the Iranian minister’s words, there are considerable
opportunities for partnership and experience exchange in agriculture.

Mohammad Reza Eskandari attached importance to the agreement on plant
protection and phyto-sanitary quarantine between the two governments,
the agreement on cooperation in the sphere of livestock farming, and
the mutual understanding memorandum to be signed with the RA Ministry
of Agriculture during this visit. He said that these agreements and
memorandum will become a new stimulus for further cooperation.

According to the RA Government Information and PR Department, at the
conclusion of the meeting, the sides expressed their willingness to
put into practice the high-level agrrements reached through mutual
visits and the work of the intergovernmental commission and the
working groups.

ARMENIAN SINGER TO TAKE PART IN BBC COMPETITION

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Nov 28 2006

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 28, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. 17-year old
singer Silva from Armenia will take part with I Like song in the BBC
competition. The author of the song is Silva’s sister Mane, and her
brother Edgar recorded the song.

The BBC competition is called The Next Big Thing: young gifted singers
who can become stars in future are named with that term in the world
of show business.

Peter Gabriel is the superstar involved in the awarding commission.

He has worked for years in the genre of "world music," studies art of
different peoples, cooperates with musicians from all the continents.

The world famous musician has joint works with Armenian artists
as well, particularly, with duduk players (duduk is an Armenian
national pipe).

The commission chose the best 20 from 1100 recordings: Silva’s
song is among them as well. The best singer is chosen with
the help of computer vote in the following internet site:
thing/.

According to Radio Liberty, the vote finishes at 20:00 according to
Yerevan time, on November 28.

BBC will announce names of the best 6 singers on November 29 and 30,
and the winner will become known on December 9.

U.S. EXPERT: YEREVAN HAS ARMY, BAKU HAS ARMED FORCES ONLY

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.11.2006 16:57 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ During debates held in the Johns Hopkins University,
Washington, senior associate at the American Foreign Policy Council
Wayne Merry described Azerbaijan’s constant threats to start blitzkrieg
as unreal. "Nagorno Karabakh is a natural stronghold, which was
consolidated by the Armenian army. Even the U.S. army will face
hardships in case of attacking it," the expert said. "The Armenian
Armed Forces excel their rival several times. It’s not a secret
that Armenia has an army while Azerbaijan has ‘armed forces’ only,"
Merry said. In his opinion, in case of resumption of war Azerbaijan
will hope for human resources while Armenia will rely on armament
and efficiency. Armenians will defend Karabakh while Azerbaijan will
have to conquer it, what is unreal, he added. Taking into account
these factors Merry considers that Azerbaijan will never succeed in
settling the Nagorno Karabakh conflict by force.

According to him, Baku’s military rhetoric constitutes a threat of
war. As a settlement variant Merry proposes ‘territories in exchange
of status’ meanwhile the Lachin corridor should remain under control
of the Armenian side, reports Yerkir Online.

North County Times, CA
Nov 25 2006

$13.6 million pledged to worldwide Armenia telethon

By: Associated Press –

GLENDALE, Calif. — A telethon that briefly united the global
diaspora of Armenians raised pledges of $13.6 million to build roads,
schools and hospitals in their homeland.

The 12-hour telethon Thursday included Armenian entertainers and
originated from a studio in this Los Angeles suburb, which is home to
the largest Armenian-American population in the country.

The ninth annual Armenia Fund telethon included live TV spots and
Webcasts from around the globe.

"This is an incredible network of people that comes alive for a
12-hour period, all over the world," said the fund’s chairwoman,
Maria Mehranian. "There are people who might never meet, who might
not even like each other if they did meet, but it’s so much fun to
create this vehicle of unity. We have wanted unity for 11 centuries."

The Glendale-based fund has raised $160 million in 15 years of
existence.