Author: Ophelia Vardapetian

Euro-reporters.com, Belgium
June 16 2005
Democracy’s temperature
Written by David Ferguson in Brussels
Thursday, 16 June 2005
“This year’s ‘Nations in Transit’ study makes clear that citizens
in the former Soviet countries have what it takes to make their
countries democratic,” said Jennifer Windsor, executive director of
NGO Freedom House. The organization’s annual study on ‘freedom’ in
the world, presented yesterday in Brussels, bandies the prospect of
‘a new wave of democratic expansion in the post-Soviet environment’.
“Ukraine’s extraordinary return to the democratic path in 2004
confirmed the potential for the peaceful spread of liberal democracy
and free markets to former Soviet countries still suffering under
corrupt and authoritarian regimes,” said Windsor, head of the US
government-funded NGO. Bosnia-Herzegovina also notched up a ‘best
improvement’.
“The fate of Russian democracy has enormous implications, both for the
former Soviet region and globally,” continued Windsor. “The fact that
democracy has failed in so many countries of the former Soviet Union
is due in part to the increasingly authoritarian Russian example. The
US and Europe should press Moscow to play a constructive role in
supporting democratic practice both at home and abroad.”
Freedom House gave top marks to eight Central and Eastern Europe
countries that joined the European Union last year. The Czech Republic,
Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia
continued to show strongest overall performance in areas like electoral
process, civil society, independent media, governance, corruption,
and judicial framework and independence.
“With the stakes so high, the transatlantic community must renew
efforts to support good governance, independent media, civil society,
the rule of law, and free and fair elections in the former Soviet
states,” noted Jeannette Goehring, editor of this year’s study. “The
community also must devise new strategies to deal with governments
that are increasingly consolidating authoritarian rule and give
assistance to countries that previously may have been overlooked.”
According to the US-based NGO, Western Balkan countries Albania,
Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Serbia-Montenegro
(including Kosovo) face “the most substantial challenges of democratic
consolidation in the Balkans”. At the presentation in Brussels,
Jasna Jelisiæ, journalist at Sarajevo-based weekly Dani, said Balkan
countries are “only halfway down the road to joining the European
community of democratic nations”.
“Although much remains to be done, the events of 2004 demonstrated
that the European integration process is having a major positive
impact on democratic consolidation and stability in the Western
Balkans and is giving hope to people for the future,” said Jelisiæ,
who also advised on the study.
Freedom House calls on US and EU governments to provide greater
incentives for countries like Moldova whose leaders have,
according to the NGO, “a desire for greater integration with Western
democracies”. Freedom House also wants new strategies to deal with
authoritarian regimes in Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Uzbekistan.
Largest declines in democracy were seen in Russia and Azerbaijan,
as well as ‘disturbing’ deterioration over the past two years
in Armenia. “In Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev’s efforts
led to declining ratings for electoral process, civil society,
independent media, and judicial framework and independence. Russia’s
more substantial declines occurred in the categories of electoral
process, civil society, independent media, and judicial framework
and independence,” noted Freedom House.
–Boundary_(ID_TY1+IglVlO1wnaAwib5ubw)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ExibArt, Italy
Dal 10 giugno al 6 novembre 2005
51 Biennale. Padiglione armeno
Venezia
PALAZZO ZENOBIO
Dorsoduro 2596 (30123)
0415228770 (info)
Sona Abgarian, Vahram Aghasyan, Diana Hakobian, Tigran Khachatrian
biglietti: ingresso libero
vernissage: 10 giugno 2005.
curatori: David Kareyan
autori: Sona Abgarian, Vahram Aghasyan, Diana Hakobian, Tigran
Khachatrian
genere: arte contemporanea, collettiva
web:

REPUBBLICA DI ARMENIA
RESISTANCE THROUGH ART
Sona Abgarian, Vahram Aghasyan, Diana Hakobian, Tigran Khachatrian
Commissario: Edward Balassanian. Commissario Onorario: Jean
Boghossian. Curatore: David Kareyan.
Sede: Collegio Armeno Murad Rafaelian, Palazzo Zenobio, Dorsoduro

RESISTANCE THROUGH ART
>From mid-nineties in almost all sectors of the society the enthusiasm
of revolution turned into overall state of crisis. It was pregnant
with apathy, subjective attitude towards social life, and mounting
nostalgia for the double-summit world, a world where poverty and
deprivation were compensated by illusive pride of citizenship of a
nuclear superpower. This inclination which had emerged in Armenia and
other post-soviet countries is the basic obstacle of creation of a
democratic society.
Today processes of globalization more than ever attach importance to
the civic attitude of every person, particularly that of the
individual artist. But this is not an automatic simple choice. This
is not a choice between the past and the future, between the east and
the west, the war and peace, or between `mine’ and `yours’.
The choice which is made by the artist today, is rather an act of
resistance. As stated by Adorno `Affirmativeness resists the worst,
the development of barbarism; it not only suppresses nature, but also
preserves it because of this suppression. … Life asserts itself by
means of culture, including the hope for better, dignified, true and
worthy human life. … Affirmativeness doesn’t wind the halo of
innocence around the existing; it vigorously resists death, the telos
of all power, all hegemony, while sympathizing everything that
exists’.
Participating artists of `Resistance Through Art’ have had very
active role in all of the activities which have taken place in
Armenia in the nineties, outside the sphere of institutions inherited
from the Soviet era.
The Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art (`NPAK’ in
Armenian acronym) became the venue where artists gathered and freely
exhibited the hidden, unconformable, and oppressed layers of
socio-cultural and psychological conflicts. In particular exhibitions
entitled `Crisis’, `Collapse of Illusions’, `Civic Commotion’,
`Anoush’, and their culmination: `Politics Under 180 Degree’ should
be noted, where the hysteric and crazed outbursts of `revolutionary
reconstruction’ of farmer-breeder culture, and industrial
modernization were acutely displayed. These are conflicts which we
witness when the ideology tending towards the singular center
collides with reality.
Artists of this wave of resistance, using psychological and aesthetic
contradictions, display the `clash of the material and the spiritual’
as the reverberation of already non-existent world, whose acoustic
reverberations may endanger the existence of all of us. Is it
possible to live without violence? Which is the natural environment
of man? Why is it that culture, which is supposed to be the mechanism
of sublimation, is unable to manifest the boundaries within which we
would feel in our natural environment? Why is man trying to escape
from the world of his own creation? Why does he think that his
natural environment is the sea and the jungle?
Diana Hagopian in her `Logic of Power’ triptych video, by displaying
the roles assigned to women together with statistics of opinion polls
is directly asking the question of whether it is possible to
reconcile with the violence prevalent in the world? Is it possible to
create a society, where self-admiration and authority do not appear
as `desirable play’?
The images which follow one another in a fast `Rock and Roll’ pace
create a dynamic chain, which by its imagery reminds the positive
input of emancipating processes of the sixties and seventies towards
liberalization of social behavior. No matter how weak or
insignificant was the impact of early soviet liberalizations in
Soviet Armenia; it is not anymore possible to subordinate the idea of
gender equality to some other important goal. Liberation of sexual
orientation/life, gave many people the feeling of mastering their own
destiny. It has become possible to change residence, profession,
gender, color of skin, etc.
Diana Hagopian tries to awaken the viewer’s memory by including him
in the emancipation process. A process of a long journey continuously
colliding with variety of expressions of neo-patriarchism justifying
`logic of power’, its senseless exploitation and consumption.
Sona Abgarian’s `Tomorrow at the Same Time’ video-installation is
another example of inhibition of woman’s identity and her ability of
free expression in society. It seems like the woman, by manipulating
a monster’s mask is studying her past face, which she was wearing
during some unknown festivity. Lonely and abandoned by guests she
tries to show her today’s face to her yesterday’s mask. Moreover, she
tries to reanimate both, away from any socially imperative activity
and usefulness. The entire theatricality of movements and gestures
prove total bankruptcy of the stereotypes of the mass culture, where
the artificial hides its artificiality. The same act is repeated on
the second monitor with time-lapse; as if it wants to emphasize that
the signs of lust and `untamed pleasure’ give birth only to fears and
emptiness. On the photographs mounted on the backdrop of the monitors
there are again the same images, scratched and frayed, as a desperate
attempt to flee from the trap of ever-multiplying models of the mass
culture.
By this persistent repetition Sona Abgarian presents the crisis of
individuality as, if anything, the absence of specific form of
communication for uniting with others and the world.
Tigran Khachatrian’s video of `Todis’ as the artist puts it belongs
to his `Corner of the Room Productions’ or `Garage Films’ series.
Beginning from 2000 Tigran Khachatrian has produced a series of
video-films: `Color of Eggplant’, `Stalker’, `Romeo’, `J-L Godard’,
etc. Under the name of `Corner of the Room Productions’ the artist
adopts a unique method of re-mixes, whereby internationally famed,
basically `left’ cinematographers’ famous films are re-valued. As the
artist insists this reenactment returns the original humanity and
simplicity to the idolized films.
In `Todis’ appear the shaving Santa Clause, the `MGM’ lion with
hammer-and-cycle-printed underwear worn over and erotic scenes of
Pasolini’s `The flower of One Thousand And One Night’. Here Paul
Elluard’s `Freedom’ poem is recited concurrent with image of a nude
personage of the `hippy’ era with a guitar. All of this is nothing
but an attempt to liberate cinema from a production process which is
alien to the viewer, and has turned the movie theater into `Platonic
Cave’.
Tigran Khachatrian is convinced that periodic retrospection of art
has positive effect on self-recognition of society: This is a unique
traditionalism.
Vahram Aghassian in his `Factories in the Sky’ double screen
video-installation presents a dilapidated factory from the era of
`the glorious industrial achievement’ of the one-time Soviet Armenia.
He tries to break free from the prejudiced stare of the viewer who in
post-soviet artists’ works searches for documentary description of
financial cataclysms. In the passage between very closely placed
projection screens the artist spreads artificial `stage smoke’ which
is the only tangible reality. More precisely it is the only reality
encompassing us. If the history was first written and later tried to
make what was written to happen, then the world has been turned into
smoke.
These four representatives of Art of Resistance are convinced that
art has influence on our life, hence on how the world should be.
Beginning with the `Crisis’ exhibition (1999) until today, the basic
characteristic of exhibitions organized at NPAK is in the fact that
artists reflect upon their real human and social experiences.
David Kareyan
Curator
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
June 7, 2005 Tuesday 6:27 AM Eastern Time
Gazprom to deliver gas to Moldova at average European price
MOSCOW, June 7
Gazprom plans beginning deliveries of gas to Moldova at an average
European price beginning from the next year, the chief of the
company’s board of governors, Alexander Ryazanov, said.
He told a news briefing on Tuesday that a basic price of gas exported
to Moldova is about 80 dollars for 1,000 cubic meters at present.
Moldova fully pays for gas, but its breakaway Dniester region, pays
only 70 percent, Miller said.
Russia delivered 1.75 billion cubic meters of gas to Moldova in 2004
and plans exporting 1.25 billion cubic meters this year.
Gas deliveries under contracts with Gazeksport company to Moldova
were 0.93 billion cubic meters last year and are expected to increase
to 1.1 billion cubic meters in 2005.
The price of gas delivered to Moldova and the transit rate are
regulated by intergovernmental accords, PRIME-TASS reported.
Ryazanov said Gazprom “has gradually come” to all CIS states. Its
further strategy is developing its CIS markets with the provision
that customers pay 100 percent for delivered gas.
Gazeksport’ director Alexander Medvedev said at the briefing that the
company had increased gas deliveries to Georgia and Armenia.
Thus 1.2 billion cubic meters of gas have been exported to Georgia
last year and a similar amount will be delivered in 2005.
Gas deliveries to Armenia will be built up to 1.7 billion cubic
meters, as against 1.3 billion cubic meters in 2004, because of the
increasing use of energy in Armenia, Medvedev said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BURJANADZE: ARMENIA TREATS GEORGIAN INITIATIVES WITH UNDERSTANDING
Pan Armenian News
02.06.2005 06:07
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Georgia and Armenia discussed matters of building
a railway through Abkhazia connecting Russia, Georgia and Armenia,
Georgian Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burjanadze stated after talks
with Armenian PM Andranik Margaryan. “The Armenian party is aware of
our new initiatives concerning the matter and they treat these with
understanding,” the Georgian Speaker said. “Our Armenian colleagues
will also promote the political settlement of the Georgian-Abkhazian
conflict,” said Burjanadze, reported Novosti-Gruzia (News Georgia).

Libération, France
jeudi 26 mai 2005
Le génocide arménien privé de débat
Sous pression du gouvernement Erdogan, l’université du Bosphore
annule son colloque.
Par Marc SEMO
e génocide arménien de 1915 reste tabou au niveau officiel en
Turquie. Soumise à de lourdes pressions du gouvernement de Recep
Tayyip Erdogan (issu du mouvement islamiste) la présidence de
l’université du Bosphore a finalement annulé hier au dernier moment
un colloque , le premier du genre à Ankara, avec des historiens turcs
qui, comme Taner Akçam, remettent en cause la version officielle et
reconnaissent l’évidence du caractère génocidaire de ces tueries
planifiées qui ont fait entre un million et un million et demi de
morts. Ankara avance le chiffre de 350 000 victimes et affirme que
les massacres ont eu lieu des deux côtés. «C’est un coup de poignard
dans le dos du gouvernement et de l’Etat que d’organiser une telle
réunion dans un tel moment», avait martelé mardi devant le Parlement
le ministre de la Justice Cemil Cicek accusant les organisateurs de
«trahison» de l’intérêt national. Alors qu’Ankara devrait commencer
en octobre prochain les négociations d’adhésion avec l’Union
européenne, de plus en plus de voix s’élèvent parmi les 25 pour
inciter la Turquie à affronter cette page tragique de son histoire.
Les autorités appellent sans conviction à «un débat d’historiens».
Une partie de l’intelligentsia est bien décidée à assumer ce travail
de mémoire. «Ce colloque sans précédent montrait que les choses
commençaient à bouger, souligne Ahmet Insel, professeur à Paris-I et
à l’université de Galatasaray, son interdiction de fait ne peut que
servir les franges les plus radicales de la diaspora arménienne qui
veulent démontrer que rien ne peut changer sur ce sujet en Turquie.»
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

French mediator denies Karabakh talks deadlocked – Azeri agency
Turan news agency
27 May 05
BAKU
“I do not agree that negotiations on the Karabakh settlement have
reached deadlock,” the French co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group,
Bernard Fassier, told today’s press conference in Baku.
Fassier noted that before the Warsaw meeting between the presidents of
the two countries [Azerbaijan and Armenia on 15 May], the co-chairmen
had contacted the foreign ministers once a week or once in 10
days. The co-chairmen are scheduled to meet [Armenian] Foreign
Minister Vardan Oskanyan in early June, and the foreign ministers will
meet each other in mid-June. The co-chairmen will visit the region
again at the end of the month, Fassier said. He said that “a big step
forward” was made at the Warsaw meeting.
“We have moved from discussions to negotiations of the principles of
the settlement. There is some progress on some parameters. Efforts are
now concentrated on two parameters: withdrawal of Armenian troops from
the territories around Nagornyy Karabakh and the future status of this
region,” Fassier said.
Commenting on yesterday’s meeting with Defence Minister Safar Abiyev,
Fassier noted that he did not say anything new there. “Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity has been recognized by many, and nobody has
recognized Nagornyy Karabakh yet,” Fassier said.
When asked what was behind harsh statements by the two countries’
presidents, Fassier noted that they were meant for “internal
consumption”.
The launch of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline “will accelerate”
the settlement of the conflict, Fassier said. Both sides understand
that time has come to reach a peace agreement, the French co-chairman
concluded.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Amnesty demands changes in the new Turkish Penal Code
Kurdish Media
May 16 2005
16/05/2005 Info-Turk A new version of the Turkish Penal Code (TPC)
currently before the Turkish parliament for approval may be used
to unnecessarily restrict the right to freedom of expression and
couldresult in people being jailed as prisoners of conscience. It also
leaves open the possibility of discrimination on grounds of sexual
orientation within the law, and retains obstacles to prosecutions
for torture.
The new TPC has been presented as a reforming measure designed to
improve human rights protection in Turkey, as it attempts to bring its
laws into line with the requirements for membership of the European
Union. While the new TPC does propose many positive changes – for
example, it increases the punishment for those convicted of torture –
it contains numerous restrictions on fundamental rights. Provisions
covering freedom of expression, which have been used in the past to
prosecute people or imprison them as prisoners of conscience, remain.
Article 159 of the old TPC, which criminalized acts that “insult or
belittle” various state institutions, is one that Amnesty International
has repeatedly called on the authorities to abolish. It reappears as
Article 301 of the new TPC in the section entitled “Crimes against
symbols of the state’s sovereignty and the honour of its organs”
(Articles 299 – 301). Amnesty International is concerned that this
section could be used to criminalize legitimate expression of dissent
and opinion.
New articles have been introduced which appear to introduce further
restrictions to fundamental rights. Article 305 of the new TPC
criminalizes “acts against the fundamental national interest”. The
explanation attached to the draft, when the law was first presented to
Parliament, provided as examples of such crimes, “making propaganda for
the withdrawal of Turkish soldiers from Cyprus or for the acceptance
of a settlement in this issue detrimental to Turkey… or, contrary
to historical truths, that the Armenians suffered a genocide after the
First World War.” Amnesty International considers that the imposition
of a criminal penalty for any such statements – unless intended or
likely to incite violence – would be a clear breach of international
standards safeguarding freedom of expression.
The law was supposed to enter into force on 1 April 2005. However, in
the face of forceful objections by Turkish journalists that the TPC
could be used to greatly restrict their activitiesand even imprison
them, the government agreed to delay this until 1 June 2005 in order
to make amendments.
On 3 May, the ruling Justice and Development [AK] party submitted its
proposed changes to the draft TPC. While some small changes have been
made – mainly the removal of provisions that allowed for increased
sentences when breaches of the code took place in the media – most of
the restrictive articles remain and have not been changed. In at least
one instance, the ruling party is apparently trying to introduce even
greater restrictions: for example, the proposal suggests that Article
305 should be altered to explicitly allow for the prosecution of
“foreigners” as well as Turkish citizens
Article 122 of the draft, which forbids discrimination on the basis
of “language, race, colour, gender, political thought, philosophical
belief, religion, denomination and other reasons” originally listed
“sexual orientation”, but this was removed from the draft at the
last moment. Amnesty International is therefore concerned that
discrimination on the basis of sexuality is not criminalized in the
new law.
In addition, Amnesty International is concerned that the statute
of limitations (the time limit) still applies in trials of people
accused of torture. While the new law has extended this time limit
from seven-and-a-half years to 10 years, it is common for trials
of alleged torturers to be deliberately protracted and ultimately
abandoned because of this provision, thereby contributing to a
climate of impunity. Given the frequency with which this happens,
Amnesty International considers that there should be no statute of
limitations for the crime of torture.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as
possible, in English or your own language:
– expressing concerns about the draft new TPC, much of which may be
used to unnecessarily restrict fundamental human rights and which may
lead to people being imprisoned for the peaceful exercise of their
right to freedom of expression;
– welcoming the amendments tabled by the ruling AK party but stating
that these seem to be insufficient to guarantee the right to freedom
of expression in Turkey;
– urging the authorities to listen to the concerns of press and human
rights groups, and take further steps to amend or abolish problematic
articles of the TPC, such as Articles 305 and 301;
– expressing concern that the statute of limitations remains for
crimes of torture and ill-treatment;
– asking the authorities to take steps to ensure that discrimination on
the basis of sexual orientation is prohibited. (AI Index, 13 May 2005)
APPEALS TO:
Prime Minister Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan Office of the Prime Minister
Basbakanlik 06573 Ankara Turkey Salutation: Dear Prime Minister Fax:
+ 90 312 417 0476
Leader of the Republican People’s Party Mr Deniz Baykal Leader of the
Republican People’s Party Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi Cevre sokak No:38
Cankaya, Ankara Turkey Salutation: Dear Sir Fax: +90 312 467 0996
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GEORGIA’S CHIEF PROSECUTOR TO PROMISE TO PUNISH VANDALS
By Ruzan Poghosian
AZG Armenian Daily #088, 18/05/2005
Cooperation
The chief prosecutor of Georgia, Zurab Adeishvili, will take a
harder line against those destructing Armenian cultural monuments in
Georgia. Georgian delegation headed by Adeishvili arrived in Armenia
on invitation of Armenian chief prosecutor Aghvan Hovsepian to
discuss face to face issues of the region. In a press conference at
the Prosecutor’s Office yesterday the two chief prosecutors briefly
presented two-sided projects. Aghvan Hovsepian said that during the
last 5 months Armenia’s law-enforcement bodies received 30 orders
from Georgia and sent only 7. The sale of vehicles hijacked from
Georgia has got intensified for the last period. They are imported
to Armenia mainly by the citizens of South Ossetia. Georgian chief
prosecutor spoke of their experience in fight against corruption
citing examples of toppling ministers and imprisoning judges. The
prosecutors assured that the new cooperation will help in creating
mechanisms to minimize crimes.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZG Armenian Daily #084, 11/05/2005
Poll
WHO TRUSTS WHO IN CAUCASUS?
Gellap international initiated public opinion poll in 3 Transcaucasian
republics, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, to find out in which world power
leader the citizens of these states put their trust and their attitude
towards those powers. President of Armenian Sociological Organization Gevorg
Poghosian informed that 1 thousand people from every class of society took
part in the poll in every state.
So, 87% of Armenians, 51% of Azeris and 15% of Georgians trust President
Vladimir Putin of Russia, US President George W. Bush won the trust of 45%
of Georgians, citizens of the other two states are equal in their likings
for America: 32%. Georgians, 64%, believe in Ukrainian President Viktor
Yuschenko too. In Azerbaijan and Armenia the numbers were 34% and 27%.
As it could be expected, no one in Azerbaijan trusts Armenian President
Robert Kocharian but 19% of Georgians and 63% of Armenians still do so. 2%
of our compatriots, 38% of Georgians and 77% of Azeris themselves trust
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Georgian President Ilham Aliyev is most
mistrusted in Armenia – 26%. In Azerbaijan and Georgia it is 54% and 72%.
The President of Byelorussia Alexander Lukashenko won most of the votes in
Armenia – 40% and the least in Georgia – 15%. In Azerbaijan the number was
22%.
Most of the respondents, 38%, see Russia as the next possible target of a
revolution. 26$ pointed to Armenia, 17% to Azerbaijan.
By Ruzan Poghosian
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Chinese Undercut Armenian Diamond Tool Maker
By Ketan Tanna Posted: 5/3/2005 8:07 AM
Diamonds.net, NY
May 3 2005
(Rapaport…May 3, 2005) Armenia’s synthetic diamond tools manufacturer
Almast faces stiff competition from China for its Armenia, Iran,
Russia, and European Union markets.
Armenia’s news agency ARMINFO reported on April 27 that China dumped
cheap diamond tools on Armenia’s market as well, which has limited
Almast’s profit, already low at $40,000 in 2004. The plant employs
180 people at an average wage of $114 per month.
Almast was founded in 1954. The designed capacity of the plant is 50
million carats of diamond powder annually.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress