Author: Manouk Vasilian

MOST IMPORTANT STEPS IN DIRECTION OF FULFILMENT OF PACE RESOLUTION
HAVE BEEN TAKEN IN LEGISLATIVE SPHERE, DAVID HAROUTIUNIAN SAYS

Y EREVAN, JUNE 13, NOYAN TAPAN. Some steps recorded so far in the
direction of fulfilment of PACE Resolution N 1609 have been taken
especially in the legislative sphere. David Haroutiunian, the Chairman
of the National Assembly Standing Committee for State and Legal Issues,
the Head of the Armenian delegation in PACE, said at the June 13 press
conference. In his words, the most important step is adoption of new
amendments to the law On Holding Meetings, Gatherings, Marches, and
Demonstrations. Therefore, the issue of regulation of mass events,
according to D. Haroutiunian, can be considered finally solved.

He said that in the respect of expanding opposition’s rights the most
important reform is giving oppositionists a possibility to challenge
disputable issues by a judicial order in the Constitutional Court.

D. Haroutiunian affirmed that any change, including those made within
the framework of the PACE Resolution, should enjoy public confidence.
Therefore he has sent an invitation of participation in sittings of
working groups created for the purpose of resolution’s fulfilment to
all former presidential candidates. Among them, first President Levon
Ter-Petrosian has not responded to the invitation and Arman Melikian
refused it in a written form. As regards issues discussed by the group,
according to D. Haroutiunian, is it still early to publicize them.

GDP OF ARMENIA GROWS BY 9.3% IN JANUARY-APRIL 2008 ON SAME MONTHS OF 2007

Noyan Tapan

Ma y 20, 2008

YEREVAN, MAY 20, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenia’s GDP grew by 9.3% in
January-April 2008 on the same period of 2007 and made 696 bln 104.7
mln drams (about 2 bln 257.9 mln USD). The GDP index-deflator made
106.8%.

According to the RA National Statistical Service, industrial production
grew by 0.1% in Armenia in January-April 2008 on the same months of
2007 and made 226 bln 590.6 mln drams.

The gross agricultural output increased by 1.3% to 64 bln 164.5
mln drams, construction – by 16.8% to 71 bln 132.9 mln drams, retail
trade – by 3.5% to 253 bln 592.1 mln drams, and services grew by 11.2%
to 171 bln 740.8 mln drams.

Armenia’s foreign trade grew by 28.3% as compared with January-April
of last year and made 1 bln 531.4 mln USD, with exports growing by 4.4%
to 337.2 mln USD, imports – by 37.2% to 1 bln 194.2 mln USD.

Consumer prices rose by 8.6%, industrial production prices – by 3.1%
in January-April 2008 on January-April 2007.

The number of officially registered unemployed persons declined
by 11.6% in late April 2008 on the same date of 2007 and made 76.3
thousand.

The average monthly nominal salary made 85.72 thousand drams in the
first four months of 2008 (22.3% growth on the same period of last
year), including the salary of employees of budgetary institutions
– 61.101 thousand drams (17.8% growth) and that of employees of
nonbudgetary institutions – 107.293 thousand drams (23% growth). The
average exchange rate of a US dollar made 308.3 drams in January-April
2008. The same index in 2007 made 342.08 drams.

42 OCULISTS TRAINED

Panorama.am
16:49 15/04/2008

Today the special ceremony of handing certificates to the 42 oculists
from Armenian regions and Yerevan policlinics who passed their
trainings took place at Malayan oculist center.

The trainings started in January 21 and were over in 4 April. The
trainings were held by three stages and 25 oculists from the regions
and 17 from Yerevan policlinics have been participating.

"The trainings were held in our clinic, and the trainees were
given the chance to work in a laboratory highly equipped with
modern technologies," said the director of the center Alexander
Malayan. According to him the trainings, the lectures and the practical
part were taught by the specialists of the Heratsi Medical University.

The trainings were organized by the special support of the RA Health
Ministry and health and social security department of the Yerevan
Municipality.

Note that the project was conducted by the support of "Armenian
Oculist Project" foundation and Educational development academy USAID
project framework.

The Washington Post
February 8, 2008 Friday
Every Edition

SHOGHAKEN ENSEMBLE "Music From Armenia" Traditional Crossroads

GEVORG DABAGHYAN "Lost Songs From Eden" Traditional Crossroads

KARINE HOVHANNISYAN "Classical Music for the Armenian Kanun"
Traditional Crossroads

WEEKEND; Pg. WE16

ARMENIAN MUSIC IS neither precisely Eastern nor Western, but in the
Soviet era it was tugged toward Moscow’s symphonic tastes. Since
1991, the Shoghaken Ensemble has been pulling the other way,
exploring traditional forms and instruments.

"Music From Armenia," the group’s latest album, includes dance tunes,
a cappella ballads and instrumental solos by Gevorg Dabaghyan,
Shoghaken’s founder and a master of the duduk (a double-reed pipe).
Generally more reminiscent of Turkish than Persian styles, the pieces
can be kinetic yet courtly. With two singers and seven
instrumentalists, the troupe is versatile but never overstated. Its
sound is spare and airy, with each musical element featured in turn.
A fine example is the captivating "Melodies of Karabagh," which opens
with breathy duduk, segues into a jiglike passage and ultimately
spotlights all the players.

According to some legends, Armenia was the site of the Garden of
Eden, which explains the title of Dabaghyan’s CD "Lost Songs From
Eden." The album reclaims a few of the thousands of folk melodies
collected a century ago by musicologist Komitas, as performed by
Dabaghyan. Although Dabaghyan is joined by a string quartet, the
music retains its pastoral charm. A student of Turkish and Kurdish
music as well as Armenian, Komitas was no purist, and the range of
the tunes he collected can be heard in these 14 examples. Much of the
music is plaintive and has an Eastern modality, as illustrated by the
lovely "Hov Areq, Sarer Jan." But there are also a few dance numbers,
notably "Shakhkr-Shukhkr," that could slip right into a Celtic band’s
repertoire.

Composer Khachatur Avetisyan, who died in 1996, was also an advocate
of Armenian folk music. He wrote often for the kanun, a form of
zither played in the Shoghaken Ensemble by Karine Hovhannisyan. A
showcase for both the composer and the musician, "Classical Music for
the Armenian Kanun" includes an Avetisyan concerto for kanun and
orchestra and several shorter pieces (including some collected by
Komitas). If the concerto is a solid but predictable exercise in
yoking together folk and symphonic music, some of the shorter pieces
are outstanding. The album’s most impressive introduction to the
kanun’s metallic sound is "Shalako," a spirited Georgian dance that
demonstrates just how briskly Hovhannisyan’s fingers can move.

— Mark Jenkins

Appearing Monday at St. Mark Presbyterian Church, Rockville
(301-754-3611, ). Show starts at 7:30.

A NORMA COMES INTO HER OWN
By Jay Nordlinger

New York Sun, NY
Nov 15 2007

So far, this has been a good season for bel canto at the Metropolitan
Opera. The company opened with Donizetti’s "Lucia di Lammermoor," in
a new production by Mary Zimmerman – and it was pretty well sung. On
Monday night, the Met revived Bellini’s "Norma," in John Copley’s
production from 2001. And it was pretty well sung – sometimes very
well sung.

In "Norma," you need, above all, a Norma – and this role was filled
by Hasmik Papian, a soprano from Armenia. She did not have a good
beginning. She was raspy, unfocused, impure – flat. But an interesting
thing happened: Her voice got more beautiful and more secure as it
went higher. And she did some admirable things in "Casta diva" – for
example, a lovely diminuendo at the end. In the cabaletta, she was
not hurling and slashing enough; and her high Cs were quite flat. But
she got through all this, and showed a basic musical intelligence.

By Act II, she was improved – still flat, as in "Mira, o Norma," but
improved. And in the final scenes, she really came into her own. In
fact, she was almost a new woman, with more technical control,
more beauty of sound, and more musicality. She gave an excellent
demonstration of bel canto singing. And she ended the opera with a
superb high B. Better to begin poorly and end well, of course, than
vice versa.

Norma is a very hard role, and we should be patient with, and
appreciative of, all those who assume it. Ms. Papian acquitted herself
with honor. In addition to which – for those who value this kind of
thing – she looked beautiful.

Assuming Adalgisa was one of the outstanding mezzos of our time,
Dolora Zajick. As usual, she exhibited confidence and control –
control over her material, control over herself. Like Ms. Papian, she
suffered from some flats. But she did not suffer grievously. And Ms.

Zajick’s power – vocal power – can be shocking. Every once in a while,
she reminds you, "Oh, yeah: This is Dolora Zajick." And yet she
husbands that power, does not use it indiscriminately. In the course
of this show, Ms. Zajick sang a glorious, fantastic, soft high C. At
that moment, there seemed nothing too "mezzo" about this soprano.

The principal tenor of the evening was Franco Farina, in the role of
Pollione. At his best, he sounded like the "heroic lyric" Pollione must
be. And he was never less than adequate. His sound could be pinched,
and his pitch could be off. But Pollione, too, is no cakewalk. And,
like Ms. Papian, Mr. Farina came into his own in the final scenes. For
instance, his duet with Ms. Papian was assured and affecting.

And, all through the opera, he wore his cape, sword, and armor with
dignity.

Our bass – singing Oroveso – was Vitalij Kowaljow (born in Ukraine).

He was rich and authoritative. And, gratifyingly, he was lyrical,
not a blunderbuss. Taking the small role of Clotilde was Julianna
Di Giacomo, a soprano making her Met debut. She was solid, glowing –
very impressive. How good it will be to hear her in leading roles.

As for the Met’s chorus – those druids – it did its job. The men,
singing by themselves, were distinguished, and the chorus as a whole
was tightly savage in its vengeance music.

Conducting this performance was Maurizio Benini, for whom the Met is a
frequent pit stop. He was often blunt, but usually correct. He did not
always have control over his forces: The orchestra could be sloppy –
in its chords, for example – and the stage and pit were sometimes
a degree or two apart. Moreover, you could argue with several of
his interpretive choices. For me, "Casta diva" was far too slow and
soupy. (Was that Mr. Benini’s choice, or the soprano’s?) And the
thrilling duet "Sì, fino all’ore estreme" – the cabaletta of "Mira,
o Norma" – was sluggish, without thrill.

But, like his singers, the conductor acquitted himself with honor.

And some members of the orchestra shone. Act I, Scene 2, featured
some seriously good cello playing, and the beginning of Act II gave
us a very good clarinet.

At John Copley’s production, you could nitpick – for instance, I’m
not crazy about what looks like a little trampoline in the opening
scene. But this is a smart, tasteful, and effective production. It
combines spareness and grandeur, somehow, and gives off a beautiful,
inviting primitivism. "Where are Joan Sutherland and Marilyn Horne?"

some people cry. For that matter, where are Callas and Stignani? But
"Norma" goes on, and bel canto goes on. The Met’s current "Norma"
is very much worth seeing, and appreciating. Besides which: what a
great opera, even for those who aren’t bel canto-ites. Wagner called
Bellini "that sweet Sicilian." Sweet, yes, but – certainly in this
work – great, too.

–Boundary_(ID_mh3gvdts26Yolm7EBVtyiA)–

PR Newswire
October 17, 2007 Wednesday 8:45 PM GMT

Blunt: Resolution Condemning Ottoman Empire Sets in Motion Dangerous
Chain of Events

WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — In response to the
Turkish Parliament’s vote to authorize their troops’ incursion into
Iraq, House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.) today strongly urged
Speaker Nancy Pelosi to reconsider bringing a resolution to the floor
condemning as genocide the actions taken by Ottoman Turks against
Armenians 90 years ago. Blunt issued the following statement:

"Today, as expected, Turkey’s parliament passed a measure authorizing
their troops to enter Iraq – making an already tense situation along
Iraq’s northern border even worse. At a time when we are trying to
bring stability and security to the region, this resolution would
needlessly imperil American diplomatic credibility. And though it is
important that the Turkish Prime Minister and his Government exercise
due caution and restraint, this resolution would provide cover to
those in Turkey who seek to destabilize the region by invading Iraqi
Kurdistan.

"Earlier this year, the speaker said that Democrats would ‘renew
longstanding alliances that have advanced our national security
objectives.’ Moving this disastrous bill to the House floor would
absolutely contradict that promise and demonstrate a wholesale lack
of judgment on matters related to foreign policy and national
security. I urge the speaker to do the right thing and reconsider
bringing it to the House floor."

NOTE: Turkey’s parliament today approved a potential cross-border
military offensive against Kurdish rebels in Iraq who have conducted
terrorist activities inside Turkey. The government of Turkey must
still order the operation before it can begin.

Speaker Pelosi promised in her "A New Direction for America," to
"…renew longstanding alliances that have advanced our national
security objectives."

Congressman Blunt signed a letter to Speaker Pelosi today along with
44 bipartisan Members, urging her not to bring the resolution to the
House floor.

CONTACT: Antonia Ferrier or Amos Snead of the Office of Republican
Whip,
+1-202-226-7022

SOURCE House Republican Whip Roy Blunt

GENOCIDE AND DIPLOMATIC POLICY
By Michael Abramowitz And Peter Baker

Washington Post
Oct 15 2007

President Bush has found himself in a morally and politically ambiguous
position on what may be one of the most vexing questions that can face
an occupant of the White House: When does carnage rise to the level of
"genocide"?

He came out forcefully last week against a congressional resolution
labeling as genocide the killings of hundreds of thousands of
Armenians between 1915 and 1923, even though most historians agree
with that conclusion. Yet Bush continues to describe atrocities in
Darfur as genocide, even though many experts, including some in his
administration, doubt that the situation there of late qualifies.

In a weekend interview, Vice President Cheney said he did not agree
with the firing of Donald Rumsfeld . . . (By Gerald Herbert —
Associated Press)

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Underlying those decisions are political dynamics as much as technical
definitions. The administration worries that the Armenia resolution
could imperil relations with Turkey, a key U.S. ally that has hinted
at all manner of retribution, such as barring the U.S.

military from transferring goods for the Iraq war through the Incirlik
air base. By contrast, the administration has little concern about
alienating what it considers a loathsome regime in Sudan and does
not want to retreat from a principled stance.

The White House acknowledges little contradiction between the positions
Bush has taken on Armenia and Darfur. "A genocide has taken place in
Sudan," spokesman Gordon Johndroe said by e-mail last week.

"If the United States always waited for the rest of the world to act
in Africa, more people would already have died of HIV/AIDS, malaria
and TB, more people would have less food, and more innocents would
have died in Sudan."

Johndroe added: "What happened nearly 100 years ago in Turkey and
Armenia is tragic, but is an historical issue that needs to be worked
out by those two countries, not the United States Congress, which
has a lot of other legislation it needs to take up at the moment."

Bush staked out this position despite the consensus among historians.

"It’s the clearest case of genocide apart from the Holocaust,"
said Ben Kiernan, who directs the Genocide Studies Program at Yale
University. Conditions today in Darfur, while not close to ideal,
are much less violent and more chaotic than the simpler situation
three or four years ago, when government-backed Arab militias were
responsible for much of the violence as they menaced defenseless
African villagers, experts said.

Indeed, the rest of the world has never fully embraced the U.S.

decision to call Darfur genocide, not necessarily because anyone thinks
the violence is acceptable — except perhaps the Sudanese government,
which denies much of it — but because the legal designation of
genocide requires evidence of intent to wipe out an ethnic or racial
group.

Diane Orentlicher, an expert on genocide at American University’s
Washington College of Law, said the debate misses the mark. "One of
the mistakes we have made in recent memory is we have performed legal
gymnastics to avoid using the word ‘genocide’ when describing real-time
atrocities," she said. "That misses the point of the [international]
Genocide Convention — which is, if you wait until it’s legally certain
that a genocide has occurred, you have waited too long to prevent it."

ARTO TUNJBOYAJIAN: I CONVEY IN WRITING All THAT I CAN’T SAY VERBALLY

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. The first booklet "200 Words, 200
Million Meanings (Look Into Yourself From Outside)" by Arto
Tunjboyajian, founder of "Armenian Navy Band" has been released. As the
author said at the September 7 presentation, the purpose of publishing
this booklet is to tell the reader about his thoughts and concerns
about man and mankind, nature, life and love. "I convey in writing all
that I can’t say verbally", A. Tunjboyajian noted, adding the Russian
and English translations will be published soon.

According to him, he recently returned from Istanbul where the Yash-Ar
band composed of Armenian and Turkish musicians had participated in the
annual festival "Rock for Peace". During the festival the band gave a
one-hour concert, performing works from the disc dedicated to the
memory of Hrant Dink.

A. Tunjboyajan said that "Armenian Navy Band" will give concerts in
Turkey in 2008. Work on release of two new discs of the band is now
underway.

NEW KARABAKH LEADER IN NO RUSH TO FORM CABINET
By Karine Kalantarian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
July 27 2007

Bako Sahakian, Nagorno-Karabakh’s president-elect, declined to shed
light Friday on the composition of his cabinet, saying he has not
yet started forming it.

"No discussions are being held on the next government at the moment,"
he told RFE/RL by phone. "We are getting ready for the September 7
inauguration ceremony."

Sahakian swept to a landslide victory in the July 19 presidential
election, capitalizing on the backing of the unrecognized
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s outgoing President Arkady Ghukasian
and four main political parties. Two of those parties have been in
opposition to Ghukasian.

The broad-based support prompted suggestions that the new Karabakh
leader could share power with his diverse political allies. But he
has so far been tight-lipped about the likely make-up of his cabinet.

"Right now we are reviewing the work which we did during the election
campaign," said Sahakian. "We received about 3,000 letters. Two
working groups are looking into those letters."

Sahakian, who headed Karabakh’s main security agency until recently,
said during the election campaign that, if elected, he will ensure
continuity in policies pursued by Ghukasian. He said on Friday that
one of his first tasks will be to tackle "new forms of bureaucratic red
tape" and pay particular attention to impoverished rural communities.

According to Karlen Avetisian, the NKR’s permanent representative to
Yerevan, Sahakian will not change the Karabakh Armenians’ position
on the conflict with Azerbaijan.

The authorities in Stepanakert are increasingly frustrated with their
lack of direct involvement in the ongoing Armenian-Azerbaijani peace
talks. Ghukasian, in power since 1997, has also voiced misgivings
about international mediators’ existing peace proposals.

Commenting on Ghukasian’s decade-long track record, Avetisian singled
out his role in what he described as Karabakh’s successful "transition
from semi-military to civilian rule." "This has been a difficult and
dangerous process," Avetisian told a news conference.

"If it hadn’t happened, we could have met the fate of Chechnya."

MaineToday.com, ME
May 11 2007

Students hear firsthand tales of mass killing

By JOSIE HUANG, Staff Writer
Friday, May 11, 2007

Jack Milton/Staff Photographer
Ekhlas Ahmed asks a question Thursday during a panel discussion at a
forum called Confronting Genocide: A Portland Youth Forum, held at
the Sheraton Tara Hotel in South Portland. SOUTH PORTLAND – Over the
last school year, Charlie Hood has studied diligently about genocide
in Rwanda and Bosnia and Herzegovina in his humanities class at Casco
Bay High School in Portland.
In a conference on genocide Thursday at the Sheraton Hotel, he
sparred with other 10th-graders about whether the United States
should lead interventions in countries that violate human rights.
He said no lesson, however, matched the experience of hearing about
the horrors of systematic, mass killings from Thursday’s panel of
Portland community members who have been touched by it.
>From Cambodian refugee Pirun Sen, he learned what it was like to fall
asleep every night under the Khmer Rouge regime and worry about
surviving until the next morning.
He heard Mansour Ahmed, who emigrated from Sudan three years ago,
describe his frustration with the international community’s inability
to stop the unchecked killing of local tribe members by militias
linked to the government.
He discovered Gerard Kiladjian’s efforts to raise awareness about the
Armenian genocide of 1915 and have the Turkish government accept
responsibility for it.
"It’s one thing to read about it in your book," said Hood, 16, "but
going to something like this and hearing people who lived it is a
different thing. It’s opened up my eyes a little bit more and put a
face to the stuff we’re studying all year."
Thursday’s event, "Confronting Genocide: A Portland Youth Forum," was
organized by the Lewiston-based KIDS Consortium, which works with
schools across New England to create projects that encourage students
to confront real challenges in their communities.
Human rights have been a yearlong topic for sophomores at Casco Bay
High School, a two-year-old expeditionary learning program housed at
the Portland Arts and Technology High School.
Students have viewed films on human rights violations in Cambodia and
put on a photography-and-writing show at the SALT Gallery, featuring
Portlanders who have come from countries with human rights crises.
Hood, an aspiring filmmaker, said he plans to work with other
students on a film using materials from the exhibit.
The Thursday event gave students a chance to talk to panelists, who
included Ahmed’s wife, Zhara Suliman, a fellow member of the Fur
Cultural Revival of New England, a Portland-based group of refugees
from Sudan’s Darfur region; and Wells Staley-Mays, a local activist
and historian with Peace Action Maine who helped convince the Maine
State Retirement System to drop investments in companies doing
business in Sudan.
With relatives living in southern Sudan, Marcy Angelo was
particularly desperate to figure out what she could do to stop the
slaughter of civilians. "Clearly, they don’t want us there and will
continue to kill our people," she said.
"First off," Ahmed said, "keep telling others that there is something
against human beings in Sudan. Tell everybody, make conferences, go
anywhere, make e-mails, telephone."
Hope rang through some of the questions the students posed.
Turning to Zhara Suliman, Kristina Madjerac asked, "I was wondering
if after the genocide is over and your country begins to rebuild
yourself, would you want to go back to your country?"
Suliman, dressed in a bright green scarf and shirt, managed a smile.
"I absolutely want to go back," she said, explaining that her
relatives are in Sudan. "But first of all, I want this war to stop
and this genocide to stop."