Author: Tavakalian Edgar

Jerusalem Post
Oct 27 2006

A lute for all seasons
By GAVRIEL FISKE

The Jerusalem International Oud Festival kicks off this week with an
ambitious lineup of local and international musicians. Organized by
Confederation House, the festival has expanded considerably since its
inception seven years ago, and is now one of Israel’s major musical
events. This year the program features two full weeks of concerts in
Jerusalem and, for the first time, three days of performances in
Nazareth.

The oud is an 11-stringed lute that occupies a place in
Middle-Eastern music very similar to that of the piano in Western
music: a required introduction for all music students and the
universal instrument for teaching music theory. An essential part of
nearly any middle-eastern ensemble, the oud is also an exceptionally
expressive solo instrument.

Although the festival takes its name from this ancient instrument,
the programming is more focused on singers and ensembles, and
features music from a wide variety of traditions.

"I don’t want to keep the Oud Festival just Jewish and Arabic music,"
explains artistic director Effie Benaya, the driving force behind the
festival. "I always want to feature other cultures. Palestinian,
Iraqi, Turkish, Persian… all the countries that were influenced by
Islam."

This year’s theme is the Golden Age of Spain, which is usually placed
between the 8th and 11th centuries, while Islam ruled most of the
Iberian Peninsula but before the successes of the Christian
Reconquesta. Known romantically as a time of tolerance and
civilization, the golden age was characterized by inter-cultural
interaction in art, politics, science and music.

"For me, the whole festival is a small golden age," says Benaya. "I
wanted to make a journey to Muslim Spain, because Jews and Muslims
lived in harmony and this [culture] was very influential. I want to
bring that here, today."

He continues: "We are doing concerts in Nazareth… I want to reach
out to the Arabic community, and for this to be a festival of the two
peoples. I think this is very important."

The festival opens at the Jerusalem Theater on Thursday, November 2
with a tribute by Taiser Elias and ensemble to Egyptian composer
Sayed Darwish, who passed away in 1923 at the age of 31 and is
regarded as the father of modern Arabic music. Elias is a masterful
oud player and director of the middle-eastern music program at the
Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance at The Hebrew University.

On Sunday November 5 Jerusalem’s own Shaharit Ensemble presents the
poetry of Abraham Ibn Ezra, who lived from 1093-1167. Born in Tuleda
in southern Spain, due to prosecutions of the Jews he spent the later
part of his life wandering through North Africa, Europe and the
Middle-East. Shaharit is dedicated to composing original music for
piyutim (religious poems), and will present Ibn Ezra’s works with
melodies specially composed for this event.

The following evening, Monday November 6, a special performance will
be presented at Beit Shmuel by Eduardo Paniagua’s Ensemble for
Ancient Music from Spain. An artist with Sony Classical, Paniagua has
dedicated himself to medieval Spanish/Arabic music for decades, and
has released many albums and performed throughout Europe and the
Middle-East. His ensemble performs authentic Arab-Andalusian
classical music with Arabic, Hebrew and Spanish vocals, and features
musicians from both Spain and Morocco.

Another international ensemble performing at the Oud Festival is the
father-and-son team of Armenian-Americans Onnik and Ara Dinkjian, who
will play at the Jerusalem Theater on Saturday, November 11. Ara
Dinkjian, who performed at last year’s festival, is an oudist and
composer whose music is very popular in Turkey and Israel. His father
Onnik is an accomplished singer of traditional Armenian popular and
liturgical music who has been performing for five decades. Their
ensemble consists of Turkish, Greek and Israeli musicians, including
master percussionist Zohar Fresco.

The festival of course features a fantastic array of local artists as
well. Among the performances scheduled are: a tribute by Yair Dalal
to the Iraqi Jewish musicians who immigrated to Israel in the 1950s,
a selection of Palestinian folk songs by exquisite singer Amal Murkus
and ensemble, a concert of piyutim and rock with the Yona Ensemble,
Barry Sacharoff and Meir Banai, an appearance by Israeli rock/ethnic
experimenters Orphaned Land, a performance directed by Elad Gabbai of
the Arabic and Ladino songs of 20th century Jerusalemite composer
Asher Mizrahi, and many more.

The final concert in Jerusalem on Thursday, November 16 at the
Jerusalem Theater features the virtuoso Persian melodies of the Lian
Ensemble from Los Angeles, home to a huge community of Iranian
expatriates and often called "Irangeles." The Lian Ensemble features
the best Iranian musicians in the West, including acclaimed vocalist
Naderi Vaseghi Soleyman and percussionist/vocalist/nai player Houman
Pourmehdi. To their base of classical Persian and sufi music the Lian
Ensemble has added a strong jazz influence, giving their music a
unique East-West feel while retaining their roots in the ancient
music traditions of Persia.

The concerts in Nazareth take place from November 22-24 at the
Nazareth Cinemateque, and are encores of concerts that will be
performed in Jerusalem during the main festival. They include: a
specially commissioned selection of Islamic, Christian and Jewish
religious music performed by singer Inas Masalha and ensemble, a
recital by young oud virtuoso Wisam Gibran based on the controversial
and popular work of early Islamic poet al-Mutanabbi, and a concert by
the Tarshihah Orchestra dedicated to the mighty Egyptian singer Farid
al-Atrash.

A full schedule for the Jerusalem International Oud Festival can be
found at or by calling (02) 624-5206.
Prices range from NIS 75-110 with discounts for those attending
multiple performances or for group purchases. Advance reservations
are strongly recommended, as most of the concerts last year were
sold-out. Tickets can be ordered at the following numbers: (02)
623-7000, (02) 622-2333 and (03) 604-5000.

MEMORIAL TO ROMANIAN PRISONERS OF WAR WHO DIED IN ARMENIA UNVEILED IN
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, NOYAN TAPAN. A memorial to Romanian prisoners of
war who were taken prisoners in the 1941-45 World War and died in
Armenia was unveiled in the Kanaker-Zeytun community of Yerevan. The
memorial construction was financed by the Romanian government. As
Romanian Deputy Ambassador to Armenia, Gabriel Grecu said at the
solemn unveiling ceremony, 140 thousand Romanian soldiers were taken
prisoners during the Second World War. They were moved to various
countries. The prisoners of war who moved to Armenia lived in camps
and took part in construction activities. In his words, according to
not precise data, 175 thousand Romanian prisoners of war were buried
in Armenia, but only 90 prisoners of war were mentioned in
documents. Historian Ara Demirkhanian also emphasized that 943 of
prisoners of war brought to Armenia after the Second World War were
buried here.

ITB BECOMES PARTICIPANT OF KfW’s STABLE HOUSE FINANCING MARKET
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, NOYAN TAPAN. The International Trade Bank (ITB)
(Armenia) became one of the participants of KfW Bank’s credit program
on development of stable housing financing market. According a press
release of the bank, the KfW program is expected to be an important
stimulus for development of this sector of the Armenian financial
market and to cause local banks to improve their crediting conditions
by lowering interest rates and extending credit maturity terms. ITB
also intends to provide mortgage credits from its own resources. The
bank developed its program of mortgage crediting and will soon
announce its entrance into this market. It will provide credits for a
period of 10 years and over. The amount of a credit at the initial
stage will not exceed 12 million drams (about 30 thousand USD). It is
envisaged to launch KfW’s credit program on development of stable
house financing market in Armenia in November-December 2006. ITB CJSC
was founded in 1992 on the basis of Menatep-Yerevan Bank CJSC – the
Yerevan branch of Menatep Bank (Russia).

In April 2000, the bank’s shares were acquired by foreign
organizations which later joined Makarios (MG) Holding GMBH company,
and the bank was renamed "International Trade Bank" (ITB). In 2005,
Makarious (MG) Holdings GMBH acquired 99.91% of ITB shares. As of June
30, 2006, the overall assets of the bank made 5.1 bln drams, its
credit portfolio – 1.6 bln drams, overall capital – 2.98 bln drams.

The bank has 4 branches. Makarious (MG) Holdings GMBH unifies about 60
companies registered in Austria, Ireland, Switzerland, Cyprus, several
CIS countries. Makarious Group’s interest in Armenia is not limited to
the banking sector. The group invested 22.5 mln dollars in
construction of North Avenue in Yerevan.

MEETINGS TO BE CONTINUED

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Oct 25 2006

FM of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov on 23-24 October met at the Foreign
Ministry of France with his Armenian colleague Vardan Oskanian and
the co-chairs of OSCE Minsk Group.

Minister Mammadyarov informed that during the meeting, discussed were
the details of the proposals made by OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs
at the Moscow meeting connected to peaceful settlement of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Representatives of
Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as the co-chairs expressed their
views on the discussed issues, agreed for continuation of talks.

As agreed, next meeting of the foreign ministers together with
co-chairs will be held 14 November in Brussels. Afterwards, the
ho-chairs will visit Yerevan and Baku.

The ministers and co-chairs have also discussed the forthcoming
meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

As is stated, possibility of this meeting will be discussed at one
of the next meetings after the Brussels consultations.

FRANCE MADE A GREAT MISTAKE, TUSIAD

Turkish Press
Oct 25 2006

ANKARA – Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association
(TUSIAD) stressed that "France has made a great mistake" after the
French national assembly adopted a bill on criminalizing denial of
so-called Armenian genocide.

In a written statement issued by the association, it was underlined
that French national assembly has taken a step against both the
European soul and its demands from the EU candidate states about
democratization.

France mortgaged its foreign policy in order to gain the votes of
the Armenians in France and the French politicians didn’t have the
required authority and expertise to make a judgment on the issue,
the statement said.

"In this context, we condemn the judgment made on political grounds
by political mechanisms. French national assembly will deprive the
judgment of its ability to judge independently by criminalizing any
denial of so-called Armenian genocide" said the statement.

"Today the most proper response would be to walk on our path towards
EU full membership without any deviation as a negotiating country and
to accelerate the political reforms comprising freedom of speech,"
it said.

Turkey’s call for investigation of the issue together with Armenia by
a joint commission gained importance once again in terms of determining
the truth. Turkey needs a consistent and legally sound policy to bring
an end to the unjust accusations towards the Republic of Turkey,"
the statement added.

OUR COUNTRY RANKED 101ST IN FREEDOM OF PRESS 2005 REPORT
By Ruzan Poghosian

AZG Armenian Daily
26/10/2006

According to the rating elaborated by "Reporters without Borders"
organization, Armenia is ranked 101st among 107 countries, behind
not only Georgia (99), but also Turkey (98). Particularly, this year
Armenia managed to institute a number of suits against journalists
and deserved the criticism of the European structures.

In the South Caucasus, the freedom of mass media sources is sharply
violated in Azerbaijan (141st). The murder of independent journalist
Elmar Husseynov in March testifies to the violence and harassment
applied against the journalists. Meanwhile, gradually, the attacks
on press freedom increase in the course of the pre-election activities.

Russia occupies the 138th place, Ukraine – 112th, Tajikistan –
114th, Khyrghyzia – 111th, Kazakhstan – 119th. The highest level of
press freedom is observed in Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Island, the
Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. The situation with press freedom
is the worst in Eritrea, Turkmenistan, and Northern Korea. The USA
ranks the 53rd in the list because of George Bush’s statement that
any journalists who dares to cast doubts on the justice of "the war
against terrorism" will be suspected, as well as because of the right
of federal courts to demand sources of information from the media.

The organization applied to various journalists, experts, foreign
mass media sources, urging them to inform about all kinds of cases
of violence or limitations applied against the journalists and the
freedom of speech.

Elsa Vidal, Head of CIS Countries Department, informed that the
Armenian journalists and experts pointed out many cases of violence
against the journalists, particularly, two journalists were threatened
and five were attacked.

According to "Reporters without Borders" organization, Armenia
fixed regress from the viewpoint of the freedom of speech. Thus, in
2003-2004, our country occupied the 90th place in the rating list,
while last year it sharply moved to the 102nd.

PENETRATING THE HAZE OF TRUTH
by Philip Bowring

South China Morning Post, Hong Kong

October 23, 2006 Monday

"What is truth? said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an
answer." Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen is keen on quotes from
British authors, so I commend to him these first lines of Francis
Bacon’s essay on Truth. The 17th century writer was an early exponent
of scientific inquiry and experiment as the path to truth.

So how should one deal with those who deny what is obvious or what
is regarded as common knowledge as a result of constant repetition?

Here, in Hong Kong, we have a chief executive implicitly denying the
connection between public health and the haze of particles that so
often sits over the city. Is this bone-headed ignorance? Or is it
a politically convenient posture to avoid what Al Gore’s film calls
"an inconvenient truth"?

Does the chief executive only care about the smog if it keeps away
tourists and foreign businesses? Does he not care for the health of
those who live here? Does he really believe that it is only our view,
not our health, that is at stake? Or is it just a way of sidestepping
the risk of offending the vested interests who support him politically
– and give cosy jobs to ex-civil servants?

Either way, it is sad, but the one thing we do not want to do is put
him in jail, let alone execute him, for denying "the truth". That is
something of which the Catholic Church and the Communist Party have
had plenty of experience. Even they may have learned lessons that
fear is only effective in the short term in spreading a gospel.

Let the facts speak for themselves, and they will if they are repeated
often enough by a sufficiently large proportion of society in general,
as well as the scientific community.

Letting facts speak for themselves seems rather difficult at present
for two great nations – France and Turkey – who ought to know better.

Even more remarkable is that they have become embroiled in a dispute
not over what they did to each other but an issue of marginal interest
to France: the massacre of Armenians in Turkey in 1915. This is no
China-Japan dispute over the Nanking Massacre or the Yasukuni Shrine.

Turkey has some laws, allegedly in the interests of national
solidarity, which make it illegal to denigrate the nation, and the
founder of modern, secular Turkey, Mustafa Kemal. This makes honest
appraisal of the events of 1915 difficult. Turkish bone-headedness on
this topic is an obstacle to joining the European Union. (These laws
remind me of threats in Hong Kong to outlaw suggestions that Taiwan
is not part of China, history notwithstanding).

But at least the Turks are just silencing each other. Now the French
parliament has passed a law making it an offence to deny that the
1915 killings were "genocide".

Certainly, probably hundreds of thousands of (Christian) Armenians in
Turkey were massacred. But to use the word genocide is dubious. Most
of the evidence points not to government-directed massacres but to
spontaneous, communally led killings.

At the time, Turkey was being invaded in the west by France and Britain
(at Gallipoli) and (more successfully) by Russia in the east.

The Russians used Christianity in an effort to detach Armenians in
eastern Turkey to their cause – with some success. So the response
of the Muslim Turks wasn’t surprising. But don’t expect the French
parliamentarians to bother with such facts, or to look at whether
the French record of massacre in Algeria also counts as genocide.

Of course there are historical episodes whose basic facts are
beyond dispute. The Holocaust is one. But should those who deny it
be jailed? Either they are ignorant to the point that no one will
take them seriously. Or they have an agenda which can only be served
by martyrdom.

Constructing an over-arching truth from a series of facts is
difficult. But facts are facts, and sooner or later they penetrate
most skulls, just as those particles penetrate the lungs as surely
as they are seen by the eyes.

Philip Bowring is a Hong Kong-based journalist and commentator

CANADA STANDS FOR CREATION OF A JOINT ARMENIAN-TURKISH COMMISSION OF HISTORIANS

Public Radio, Armenia
Oct 23 2006

Canada supports the Turkish initiative of creating a joint
Armenian-Turkish commission of historians to investigate the Armenian
Genocide issue, says the statement of the Turkish MFA, referring to
Canadian Foreign Minister Peter McKay’s declaration.

Head of the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted in his speech
that he supports the suggestion of Turkey and is ready to apply his
Armenian counterpart Vartan Oskanian to get the agreement of the
Armenian side.

Let us remind, that this initiative was not approved by official
Yerevan, since the Armenian Genocide is an irrefutable fact for the
Armenian side. Besides, according to a number of Armenian historians,
there was an unsuccessful attempt to realize this initiative of Ankara,
when a joint Armenian-Turkish commission was acting in 2201-2003,
which achieved no results. Director of the History Institute of RA
National Academy of Science Ashot Melkonyan had earlier told ArmInfo
that the Turkish side is interested in establishing such a commission,
since it will create a unique status quo, which is called to protract
the discussion of the question as long as possible in the process
of the country’s European integration. Moreover, existence of a
similar commission will serve as a guarantee of Turkey’s "democracy"
in European structures.

RA President Robert Kocharyan declared during a joint press conference
with Jacques Chirac in Yerevan that in a response letter to the
Turkish Prime Minister he has suggested creating an intergovernmental
commission to address all the issues.

ARMAVIA THREATENS TO SUE PILOT WHO EXPRESSED VERSION ABOUT EXPLOSION IN A-320 CRASHED PLANE

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 20, NOYAN TAPAN. The airline Armavia has no
information to confirm the version about an explosion in the
plane A-320 that crushed during a Yerevan-Sochi flight in May. NT
was informed from Armavia’s press service that Armenia has no such
facts. According to the same course, if such facts are available, they
should be provided to the prosecutor’s office, and if it turnes out
that these facts are unfounded, Armavia may hold those spreading such
rumors criminally responsible. To recap, at a conference on October 19,
Vladimir Poghosian, former pilot of the liquidated airline Armenian
Airways, said that the crashed plane A-320 was not uncontrollable
and the real cause of the crash was an explosion. The pilot accused
the persons responsible for the flight organization, including the
flight safety units of Zvartnots Airport and Armavia.

ALMOST ALL COORDINATORS OF MILLENIUM CHALLENGES-ARMENIA SELECTED

Panorama.am
17:48 20/10/06

The regional center of development "Transparency International"
presented today several remarks concerning the board of beneficiaries
of the Millenium Challenges – Armenia. Sona Aivazyan, executive
director of the center, said the rights of board of beneficiaries
are mentioned but not the responsbilities.

Reminder: American Millenium Challenges Accord officially kicked off
in Armenia on September 29, 2006. In the framework of the program
the American side will provide a grant of $235 million for poverty
reduction in rural communities and for economic growth. /Panorama.am/