Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

The RA government commission on coordination of relief programs met,
chaired by head of commission Simon Ter-Simonyan.

2/
Friday, 14 August 2009

The Commission discussed 10 projects, including Hayastan All-Armenian
Fund-financed `Telethon-2009,’ `Reconstruction-rehabilitation of
irrigation systems in Khashtarak, Lusahovit and Ditavan villages of
Tavush marz,’ `Capital repair of Medical Center SNCO in Noyemberian
town,’ `Construction of a house of culture after Varaz Samuelyan in
Artik town of Shirak marz,’ `Drinking water supply rehabilitation
design for Sos village of Martuni region in the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic,’ Kamerjak welfare society-implemented `Kindergarten repair in
Dvin community of Ararat marz,’ `Doors and windows replacement for the
kindergarten in Vaik town of Vayotz Dzor marz,’ Holy See of St
Echmiadzin-funded `Construction of second block for Gevorgyan
Seminary,’ as well as the World Vision International-sponsored
`Organization of Christian summer campuses for 10-year-old children in
Stepanavan town of Lori marz and 20 communities of Tashir region.’

The meeting has similarly approved a project carried out by the Shushi
Revival Foundation which will seek to improve water supply
infrastructure in Shushi town of the NKR.

The meeting has also discussed and approved several sub-programs under
the standing ones, as well as projects on import of charitable freight
destined to various organizations operational in Armenia.

TURKISH MEDIA "PROTEST" AGAINST DECISION TO DEPLOY RUSSIAN BASES IN ARMENIA VIA TURKISH TERRITORY

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
15.08.2009 14:53 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Russia has several times applied to us with a
request to supply its base in Armenia, but every time we responded
that Turkey can allow Turkey to supply its base in Gyumri only with
non-military products, such as clothes, food etc. We’ll never allow our
territory to be used for providing arms supplies to Armenia," Turkish
Foreign Ministry’s official representative Burak Ozugergin said in an
interview with Turkish Huriyyet newspaper. "It’s an obvious provocation
aimed at breaking friendly relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan."

In the meantime, Turkey’s opposition-run independent media have made a
big fuss over the report as they believe Russia supplies those weapons
to Armenia for directing them against Azerbaijan in future. Thus,
Turkish Milliyet reports that Turkey should immediately break off
negotiations with Russia. "Russian arms supplied to Armenia will be
used against Azerbaijan. That’s why, assisting Russian military base
is out of the question," today’s newspapers report.

Director of Armenian Center for Strategic and National Research Richard
Giragosyan announced earlier that Armenian-Turkish border opening
was first of all advantageous to Russia. That’s why he believed the
focus was shifted on Russian-Turkish rather than Armenian-Turkish
rapprochement.

"After Russian-Georgian war, Russia has certain expectations of
Turkey," Giragosyan said, noting in the meantime that Ankara and Moscow
had signed a secret agreement allowing Russia to use Turkey’s air
spaces for providing supplies to Russian military base in Gyumry. The
expert, however, did not specify what kind of supply was meant.

ABKHAZIA CAUGHT BETWEEN ETHNIC AND CIVIC NATIONHOOD
Paul Goble

Georgiandaily
August 13, 2009

Vienna, August 13 – The population of the breakaway republic of
Abkhazia finds itself deeply divided between those backing an
ethnocentric model in which nationality would play the key role
and those supporting a civic nation model in which citizenship not
ethnicity would be the basis of political participation, according
to a leading Moscow specialist on the region.

And both because of the ethnic diversity of the republic and because of
the opposition of the international community to states in which one
ethnic group is given primacy over others, Sergey Markedonov argues,
the outcome of this increasingly contentious debate will have a larger
impact than many might think.

If the civic model is adopted, there is a chance that the partially
recognized republic of Abkhazia could develop in a more or less stable
country on its own. But if the purely ethnic definition is used,
that could undermine social and political cohesion within Abkhazia
and increase tensions between Abkhazia and its neighbors.

The current political debate was touched off by the passage by the
republic’s parliament of amendments to Abkhazia’s law on citizenship
that provided for offering citizenship to ethnic Georgians who had
returned from the Gal district and who had not compromised themselves
in the eyes of Abkhazia by fighting against that republic.

On August 5, representatives of the Abkhaz opposition assembled in
Sukhumi and demanded that President Sergey Bagapsh not sign the law but
rather return it to the Popular Assembly for reworking. That is what
he did, and the following day, the parliament appointed a working group
to come up with yet another revision in the republic’s citizenship law.

As Markedonov points out, all Abkhaz citizenship legislation
(as adopted in 1993, 1995, 2002, and 2005) has been based on
two "underlying principles." On the one hand, all the republic’s
citizenship laws have excluded from citizenship any who "with arms
in their hands fought against the Abkhaz Republic."

On the other, he continues, the legislation has been ethno-centric
in each case, clearly defining Abkhazia as "in the first instance"
a state of the ethnic Abkhaz, intended as a home not only for those of
that community living there now but also for the descendents of Abkhaz
who were expelled from the North Caucasus in the 1860s and 1870s.

To those ends, the paragraph that the parliament initially voted to
amend at the end of July specified three groups who could acquire
Abkhaz citizenship: ethnic Abkhaz regardless of their place or
residence or passport nationality, representatives of other ethnic
groups who have lived in the republic "not less than five years,"
and those who acquire it through naturalization.

A major reason why the issue of the relationship of citizenship and
ethnicity is so sensitive in Abkhazia is that unlike Nagorno-Karabakh
and South Ossetia, "where," Markedonov points out, "there exist
dominating ethnic communities, the Abkhaz even after military
actions and the expulsion of the Georgian population do not form an
overwhelming majority."

Given population shifts during the course of the violence, there
are today no universally agreed upon statistics for the ethnic
make-up of Abkhazia’s population, but Markedonov suggests that there
are 70-80,000 Abkhaz, a roughly the same number of Armenians, some
35-45,000 ethnic Russians, and 55-60,000 ethnic Georgians concentrated
in the Gal district.

Consequently, the parliament’s approval of a measure that would extend
citizenship to the ethnic Georgians could easily tip the political
balance in Abkhazia not only domestically but in its relations with
Georgia and other countries, and not surprisingly, therefore, many
who opposed such a move denounced its supporters as "traitors."

This emotional reaction has been fuelled in addition by the
anticipation of the upcoming presidential elections in Abkhazia with
both the incumbent president and his opponents concluding that victory
of one or the other may depend on just who gets to vote, something
the citizenship legislation will establish.

Extending Abkhaz citizenship to the ethnic Georgians of the Gal
district thus appears to many as an "either/or" issue, Markedonov says:
"either apartheid (this model was realized after the completion of
the conflict) or attempts at integration (which the Abkhaz powers
that be began to make very timidly beginning in2005)."

There is, of course, "a third variant," the Moscow expert points out,
yielding the territory and its people to Georgia. "But if one speaks
seriously," that is not possible and there is a compelling need for
some compromise, possibly on extending Abkhaz citizenship to those
who lived in Gal in 1994-99 and also to ethnic Georgians lacking
Georgian citizenship.

But Markedonov suggests that Abkhazia needs to find a way to include
the ethnic Georgians in the Abkhaz political community lest they become
"a fifth column" and a source of new tensions. As a result, he says,
"Abkhaz politicians will be forced to return to the issue of broadening
the basis of Abkhaz citizenship" whether they want to or not.

AMBITIOUS ‘ADORATION’ IS EASY TO ADMIRE, HARD TO WORSHIP
Mark Hinson

Tallahassee.com
August 14, 2009

Del.icio.usFacebookDiggRedditNewsvineBuzz up!TwitterArmenian-Canadian
director Atom Egoyan is not exactly a snuggly, huggable filmmaker –
and that’s OK.

He is an artful stylist whose movies are tightly controlled and usually
have an air of emotional removal. Think of "The Sweet Hereafter"
(1997), his smart adaptation of a Russell Banks book that methodically
told the story of the fallout after a school bus full of kids plunged
into an icy body of water.

Yeah, the guy ain’t cheery.

In his latest film, "Adoration," Egoyan carefully constructs a social
drama about fear, religious intolerance, racism and terrorism as
if he were the brightest kid in class putting together an elaborate
display for the state science fair. "Adoration" is smart, well-acted
and daring, but does everything add up in the end?

The story really starts in a Toronto high school where a teenager
named Simon (Devon Bostick) is coached to write a first-person essay
after hearing his French teacher (Arsinee Khanjian) read a news story
about a thwarted terrorist plot in Israel. The assignment quickly
snowballs into something else.

Simon claims his late father was a terrorist who once plotted to
blow up a passenger jet to Israel in a very despicable manner. When
Simon’s paper/confession hits the Web, the banter in the chat rooms
goes profane and ballistic.

Most of the incendiary cyber-chat is unnoticed, at first, by Simon’s
guardian and uncle Tom (Scott Speedman). Tom is a tow-truck driver who
moved from the country to the big city to care for his nephew following
a family tragedy. The financially frustrated Tom is also not completely
comfortable with his new Middle Eastern neighbors in the wake of 9/11.

To make matters worse, Tom was the family underachiever. His sister
was a music prodigy and concert violinist who was worshiped by Tom’s
wealthy father (Kenneth Welsh), who is seen in flashbacks. Even
though the old man is dead, Tom is haunted by his self-perceived
failure. No wonder he’s so crabby and rude when his Middle Eastern
neighbor – covered from head to toe in traditional ethnic garb –
steps on his lawn to admire a hand-made Nativity scene. (Hey, the
film is called "Adoration," so the Wise Men and the Baby Jesus had
to show up somewhere, right?) At many points, the plot feels like
Egoyan is moving chess pieces – rather than real humans – around to
make his point(s). It’s all very calculated and as cold as Toronto,
which Egoyan makes look as colorless as fellow Canadian director
David Cronenberg does in his movies. Yet, when it’s over, it’s all not
nearly as complicated as it once seemed. And maybe that’s the point?

When "Adoration" was shown in competition at the Cannes Film Festival
way back in 2008, it brought home the Ecumenical Jury Prize. That’s
a special honor given to films about "the spiritual dimension of
our existence."

Egoyan, by the way, was named Atom in honor of Egypt’s first nuclear
plant.

BORDER OPENING NOT TO BE PERCEIVED AS PRESENT TO ARMENIA

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
13.08.2009 18:23 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Border opening should not be perceived as award or
present to Armenia. That’s the least Turkey can do, so there’s no need
to praise the country for that," Richard Giragosyan, Head of Armenian
Center for Strategic and National Research, told today a seminar
devoted to "Armenian-Turkish relations: present and past". After
recent meeting between Russian and Turkish premiers, information was
spread that Turkey decided to open border to enable RA President to
visit the country for watching Armenia-Turkey football match.

"If that’s the only reason for opening border, Armenia will gain no
advantage of that," Giragosyan said.

Turkey’s statement in that regard is not only a spectacle for West
and US, but also a demonstration of freezing in Turkish-Azerbaijani
relations, something that is advantageous to Armenia. "Turkey is
no longer dependant on Azerbaijan. Moreover, normalization of ties
with Armenia doesn’t mean Ankara has finally decided to acknowledge
the historical truth. Turkey simply wants to show that it has more
influence in the region," the expert noted.

Giragosyan also shared impressions of his recent visit to
Istanbul. "Turkish side’s actions come to prove that the country has
no intention to open border," he said.

"The important thing in such case is overcoming borders in people’s
mentality," he noted, adding that recent talks on normalization of
ties has stirred up more frequent discussions over Armenian Genocide
in Turkish society.

RUSSIA’S LARGEST DAIRY TO OPEN PLANT IN TBILISI

SmartBrief
Moscow Times
08/12/2009

Wimm-Bill-Dann, the largest dairy and baby-food maker in Russia,
is slated to open a Tbilisi facility in September, a representative
said. The plant will purchase milk from dairy farmers in Georgia
and will make products including milk, kefir, sour cream and
chocolate-glazed curd bars to be sold locally and exported to
Azerbaijan and Armenia.

IF THE IDEA OF FREEDOM WAS TOTAL

ty&pid=14902
11:43:37 – 12/08/2009

Interview By Siranuysh Papyan

Nazaret Karoyan – an art critic and curator, president of AICA
Armenia. The framework of the thematic studies includes questions
relating to the institutional system of the Armenian modern art,
its expression in the social-political context, as well as questions
relating to its communication with Europe.

– What are the civil stances of the intelligentsia today? What is
the intelligentsia for you?

– First of all, I would like to say that your project is very
interesting to look for intellectuals or people supposed to be
intellectuals. But I see some illness in all this. The cultural,
economic and political problems are so many in the country that
the public sets hopes only on the intelligentsia. There seem to be
attempts to save the situation with the help of them. While, the
intellectuals are present only due to their examining and analyzing
work, which are published in different formats.

– Does the public wait for their word?

– In this case, what is the aim of your attempts to find
intellectuals? But the problem you posed does not consist in this. I
think you want to find out whether there are people with this fame. My
answer will probably be strict: I do not think there are, because in
general the intellectual work was rarely respected in the Armenian
reality. During the Soviet times, there was an administrative stance to
have intelligentsia. Those who lived in those years will remember that
the intelligentsia was participating in the elections with ordinary
people. After the collapse of the Soviet, we returned to our natural
situation, a situation where we do not need intellectuals.

– You say we do not need, but at the last election, artists and
intellectuals became members of the elders’ council. The ruling party
needed their intellectual force.

– First of all, I have to say that I do not equalize those artists
and intellectuals. When we demand civil stances from our artists, I
think sometimes we overestimate their possibilities. The grounds for
such perception are our superficial ideas about their activities. The
artists, of course, do intellectual work, but they are engaged in many
other things too, which are determined by material, technological
and institutional circle. These circumstances narrow the circle of
freedom of the artists. As to their presence in this or the other camp,
I think the intelligentsia is a separate pole. If they are not a pole,
they are not intellectuals. And when the intellectuals do not shape
their special behavior, they cannot be citizens either.

To join this or that camp means to equalize the civil appearance
with the political one. Civil and political appearances may coincide
sometimes, but in case of intellectuals, they coincide very often. An
intellectual has to be open towards discussions worrying the public.

The intellectual is not the person, who says I am always with the
government. The intelligentsia formed during the Soviet times is
not real intelligentsia not because it has never been engaged in
intellectual work, or cannot think, but because it has always been
with the ruling regime becoming the adversary of the changes that may
happen to change the situation. While, in the European reality the
intelligentsia is not with the government, but is its alternative. If
the government governs in territories, the intellectual governs
in time.

As to the intellectuals become elders’ with the Republican ticket,
they have never been the nomenclature intellectuals of the Soviet
times. Maybe just the opposite, they even participated in the
national movements of the ’60 and ’70. But the Soviet regime had the
characteristic of passing its ideas to its opponents too. But today,
we live in a different situation, where the private capital reigns,
where the party called "Republican" may include in its rows not only
neutral people, but also the opposite, those who have anti-Republican
(monarchic) stances.

– After March 1, many say that it became clear how many from the
intellectuals have civil stances. Do you agree with this opinion?

– Intellectuals have to be able to express their opinions openly
not only in connection with astonishing events, such as the March 1
massacre, but as well as in connection with other important events. In
order to be able to give their assessments after different analyzes
we need analyzing centers, institutions.

Fundamental practice examination lacks. So the number of intellectuals
having civil stances depends on the privately financed study
centers. There should be created possibilities for independent
activities for the intellectuals and only after we may demand results
from them. We may criticize the intellectuals, but before, we have
to criticize the public for its attitude towards the intellectuals
work and for the fact that we do not have intellectuals.

DIPLOMAT HAVING SUCCESSFUL MISSION IN KOSOVO ASSUMES NKR CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

Panorama.am
17:02 12/08/2009

It has been already announced that the OSCE Minsk Group American
co-chair Matthew Bryza will be replaced by Tina Kaidanow. It is
believed that Bryza is going to take the office of the U.S. Ambassador
to Azerbaijan.

Analysts and experts say there are two interesting elements in
T. Kaidanow’s appointment as the U.S. co-chair.

First, she is the only female co-chair in the Minsk Group, and second,
which is the most important one, her activities held in the recent
years.

Tina Kaidanow has carried out U.S. mission in Kosovo for two years. In
2008, when United States recognized the independence of Kosovo,
Mrs. Kaidanow took U.S. Ambassador’s office in Kosovo. Earlier,
Kaidanow worked as deputy assistant of U.S. mission in Sarajevo for
3 years.

It’s worth mentioning that Kaidanow took Kosovo mission office before
the declaration of independence of that region. Some experts say it
was due to her that the conflict has been settled in favor of Albans.

Is it by chance appointing Kaidanow as mediator in Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict? Experts believe this is not by chance. Political experts try
to hold parallels between Karabakh and Kosovo conflicts. Both nations
have been fighting for their independence based on the right of self
determination. Albanian people managed to reach their independence due
to the active participation of the U.S., which has not been approved
by Russia, country which recognized independence of Abkhazia and
South Ossetia departed from Georgia.

NEW ROA AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS

yan-5/
2009/08/12 | 12:32

Politics

On August 10, RoA President Serzh Sargsyan issued a directive relieving
Armen Martirosyan from his post as Armenia’s Permanent Representative
to the United Nations.

The presidential press office reports that on the same day President
Sargsyan appointed Karen Nazaryan to the same post.

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT POSTPONES SENDING AMBASSADOR TO KIEV

Panorama.am
13:05 11/08/2009

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accused Ukraine on Tuesday of
seeking to disrupt economic ties with Russia.

In an open letter to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, Medvedev
said he would postpone sending a new ambassador to Kiev.

"I would want to inform you that taking into account the anti-Russia
course of the Ukrainian leadership, I have decided to postpone sending
our new ambassador to Ukraine," he said.