Author: Torgomian Varazdat

MOSCOW DECLARATION TO ENSURE SOME PERIOD OF STABILITY FOR ARMENIA, GALUST SAHAKIAN SAYS

Noyan Tapan

Nov 14, 2008

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN. If the political field is tired
or lacks subjects to speak about, then speculation on the Karabakh
problem begins.

Expressing this opinion at the November 14 parliamentary briefing,
the chairman of the "RPA" faction Galust Sahakian said that he "does
not expect any dangerous consequence from the sigining of the Moscow
Declaration", quite the opposite, it creates a basis for continuing
the peace negotiation process. In his words, like the Agreement on
Ceasefire signed in 1994, the Declaration is a "nonwar" document that
will ensure some period of stability for Armenia.

Member of "Prosperous Armenia" faction and the Security Council
Avet Adonts said the fact that Armenia is in favor of solving the
Karabakh problem through peace negotiations "does not mean that we
are afraid of a military intervention". According to him, there are
no Madrid principles of the conflict resolution, but there are Madrid
proposals that can form a basis for developing some principles during
further negotiations. A. Adonts pointed out that despite the latest
initiative of Russia, the Minks Group format continues to be the
optimal one for solution of the Karabakh problem.

The chairwoman of the "Orinats Yerkir" party Heghine Bisharian
stated that their party is in favor of compromises. However,
accoridng to her, no compromise proposal has been put forward at the
negotiation table today so it is early to speak about the return of
the territories. Besides, the assessment on the ways of solving the
Karabakh problem should be "given by the people in its collective
speech".

YOU CAN HEAR RUSSIA FROM WEST 65TH STREET
Harry Rolnick

ConcertoNet
ripts/review.php?ID_review=5062
Nov 14 2008
France

New York
Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Centre
11/12/2008 – & Nov. 13*, 15, 2008
Anatoly Lyadov: Kikimora, Opus 63
Aram Khachaturian: Violin Concerto
Giya Kancheli: Abi ne viderem for String Orchestra, Alto Flute, Piano/harpsichord and Bass guitar
Igor Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite (1919)

Gil Shaham (Violin), Robert Langevin (Alto flute), Eric Huebner
(Piano/harpsichord), Jeffrey Carney (Bass guitar) New York
Philharmonic, Andrey Boreyko (Conductor)

Andrey Boreyko (© Christoph Ruttger)

With two Russian operas at Juilliard this weekend, an all-Russian
program at the Philharmonic, and the splendid St. Petersburg-born
conductor Andrey Boreyko at the helm, we don’t have to be in Alaska
to hear Russia. Anybody passing in the vicinity of West 65th Street
is bound to catch the sounds of belching trombones, hard-stringed
violins and the vibes of elemental demons rising out of the Urals.

Unfortunately, many of the Phil[‘s audience left right after Gil
Shaham’s performance of the Khachaturian Violin Concerto, and that
was a bad mistake. Not that Shaham was anything but his brilliant
self. Yet Andrey Boreyko had some surprises fin the second half,
and they missed out on the most interesting program.

This is a conductor whose range obviously extends to other music, but
in his first appearance with the Phil last year, he shone above all in
the Shostakovich Fourth Symphony. So at his second appearance, there
was no reason not to give him a quartet of Russians to choose from.

Of course the audience favorite was Gil Shaham, because both he and
the Khachaturian are so easy to hear. The Violin Concerto obviously
makes more demands on the player than the audience. The Armenian-born
composer has only slightly off-beat melodies, but his grand climaxes
are very grand, and his rhythms brisk and attractive.

Shaham, who can play just about anything, got in the mood right
away by practically running on stage. After just a few bars, he
lifted his Stradavarius and launched into the work with his usual
passion. At times, he seemed to be getting ahead of the orchestra,
but that was an aural illusion. He was playing so many notes at a
time, that he seemed to have that double velocity. But the young
Maestro Boreyko–who seemed to have a perfect relationship with the
young violinist–kept everything in check.

And Shaham did have fun. He practically danced across half the stage,
made those fiendish harmonics of the cadenza sound like child’s play,
and in the very beautiful second movement, he allowed the orchestra
to take their bountiful climaxes. It was a nice show, but Shaham is
worth more than a good showy concerto.

Boreyko began with a highly atmospheric Kikimora from Anatoly
Liadov. Liadov should be a favorite for all writers. Not only for
his wonderful Slavic sounds and his love of the Russian supernatural
(Diaghilev originally wanted Liadov to write music for Firebird,
but because Liadov was either the laziest composer who ever lived or
the greatest procrastinator.

The final work was the real Firebird, for which Boreyko had three
advantages. First, because is Russian, second because he has firm
control over his orchestra, but allows them to fire at will. Third,
is that this 1919 version of the Suite has an abbreviated string
section. The result was that the orchestra sounded more transparent
than ever, that the brass section was more dominant than ever, and
that the huge tutti blazoned out with even greater military power.

But the work which was most memorable was Giya Kancheli’s piece for
string orchestra, alto flute, piano and bass guitar with a Latin
title meaning, "I went away so that I could not see". I have always
had a great regard for this mystic of composers. He is the last person
one would suspect of starting life as a jazz pianist (which he was),
because his music today is filled with silences, sudden outbursts,
and some of the most beautiful orchestral splashes of color from a
his mystical imagination.

This work had his usual trademarks, but the way he handled the
strings was ravishing. At times, they played in unison (yes, those
sudden outbursts). But at other times, they were divided up, not only
in tones, but in bowings, since they were all bowing in different
directions, giving yet another rich Eastern Orthodox texture to the
music. The flute, bass guitar and piano were used sparingly (at times
almost unheard), but came in at exactly the right places to give the
strings the time to make their ethereal sounds.

Granted, one must be ready to accept his silences and his intense
flare-ups. But to those ready to accept his orphic utterances, this was
yet another strata in the endless Byzantine mysteries of Russian music.

–Boundary_(ID_fw/PzlJp9mYYVtTxC88viQ)–

THERE ARE ABOUT 3 THSD WEB-SITES IN ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2008-11-14 15:48:00

ArmInfo. There are about 3 thsd web-sites in Armenia, Coordinator
of the E- Content Association (ELBA) Garegin Chugaszyan said at
the press-conference dedicated to the 3rd Pan- Armenian e-content
competition. He added that not all Armenian web-sites are in the
".am" zone, and this creates additional difficulties to count them.

"Many good Armenian web-sites have to be hosted at the domains ".info",
".biz", ".org", etc. We try to have them in our view", Chugaszyan
said. On the other hand, many sites of ".am" domain are created as
promotional sites due to the identity with one of the accepted domains
of internet radio stations, he added. Zhenya Azizyan, the head of
the IT department of the Armenian Economy Ministry, said that one
of the reasons is the high value of hosting, as well as the quality
of the sites’ operation which is not always admissible. In general,
the annual value of hosting in the ".am" zone makes up to 200 USD
and ranges depending on the server’s location.

"I hope the upcoming competition will familiarize us with new web-site
designers and exchange interesting ideas with them, as well as discuss
the problems which are still relevant today",- Chugaszyan said.

ARMENIA, ESTONIA WILLING TO DEVELOP COMPREHENSIVE COOPERATION

armradio.am
13.11.2008 15:43

The newly appointed Ambassador of Estonia to Armenia Thomas Luk
(seat in Tbilisi) presented his credentials to the President of
Armenia Serzh Sargsyan.

Congratulating the Ambassador on assuming office, the President
attached importance to the development of active and multifaceted
cooperation in the bilateral format and within the framework of the
European Neighborhood Policy.

The leader of the country said the way passed by the Baltic States
and their experience is very interesting and useful for Armenia.

Noting that the development of relations is the best way for
maintaining close rties, Ambassador Luk said his country is willing
to develop the comprehensive cooperation with Armenia.

Serzh Sargsyan assured the Ambassador that he can anticipate the
support of the Armenian side during his tenure in office.

From: YPC <[email protected]>
Subject: Yerevan Press Club Weekly Newsletter – 11/13/2008

YEREVAN PRESS CLUB WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

NOVEMBER 7-13, 2008

HIGHLIGHTS:

"PRESS CLUB" AND "PRESS CLUB+": AUTHORITIES-MEDIA RELATIONS AND ELECTIONS
LEGISLATION

"á1+" RECEIVES MONETARY COMPENSATION BUT STILL REMAINS OFF AIR

THE GOVERNMENT DECIDED TO ESTABLISH A CENTER OF PUBLIC RELATIONS AND
INFORMATION

"PRESS CLUB" AND "PRESS CLUB+": AUTHORITIES-MEDIA RELATIONS AND ELECTIONS
LEGISLATION

On November 12 another show of "Press Club" cycle went on air of "Yerkir
Media" TV company. It is produced by Yerevan Press Club with support of the
Open Society Institute Human Rights and Governance Grants Program. The
guests of the President of the Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression
Ashot Melikian were Chief Editor of "Azg" daily Hakob Avedikian, Director of
Freedom of Information Center Shushan Doydoyan and President of Armenian PR
Association Are Saghatelian. Problems of freedom of information and
relationship between media and authorities were discussed.

The next program of "Press Club" cycle will be aired by "Yerkir Media" on
Wednesday, November 19, at 23.00.

On November 8 another show of "Press Club+" cycle went on air of "Yerkir
Media". It is produced by Yerevan Press Club with support of the Embassy of
Great Britain in Armenia. President of the Committee to Protect Freedom of
Expression Ashot Melikian and "Press Club+" participants, President of "This
is Your Choice" NGO Harutyun Hambartsumian and Vice-President of the
Association of Community Financiers David Tumanian discussed the legislation
on elections to the local self-government bodies. The audience composed of
representatives of media of Kotayk and Armavir regions also participated in
the talk-show.

The next program of "Press Club+" cycle will be aired by "Yerkir Media" on
Saturday, November 15, at 17.40.

"á1+" RECEIVES MONETARY COMPENSATION BUT STILL REMAINS OFF AIR

On November 6 the government of Armenia made a decree to allocate to the RA
Ministry of Justice 30,000 euros to fulfill the judgment of the European
Court of Human Rights (released on June 17, 2008) on the case of the founder
of "A1+" TV company, "Meltex" LLC, and its President Mesrop Movsesian versus
Republic of Armenia. The ECHR recognized that in regard to "A1+" there was a
violation of the right of the applicant to freely impart information and
ideas stipulated by Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights
and Fundamental Freedoms ("Freedom of Expression"). Thus, the failure to
grant a broadcast license to "A1+", taking part in numerous competitions
since 2002, was recognized to be a violation of international commitments by
Armenia. The ECHR committed the Republic of Armenia to paying "Meltex" LLC
30,000 euros within three months after the enforcement of the judgment: 20
thousand in respect of non-pecuniary damage and 10 thousand in respect of
costs and expenses incurred.

In the statement, released by Yerevan Press Club on June 18, 2008, there was
an appeal to "the competent bodies of RA not to confine to the monetary
compensation, stipulated by the ruling of the European Court, but to adopt,
in accordance with the legislation of the country, prompt measures to enable
the TV company to come back on air as soon as possible".

On June 18 the Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis characterized
the decision of the European Court on "A1+" case as "a victory for freedom
of expression" called "to serve as a lesson to all governments inclined to
arbitrary interpretations of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human
Rights, which guarantees this essential freedom". "The decision of the
European Court of Human Rights brings an end to the long drawn-out saga
about the refusal of the Armenian authorities to award a broadcasting
license to the "A1+" television station", stressed Terry Davis (see YPC
Weekly Newsletter, June 13-19, 2008).

Resolution 1620, approved by Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
on June 25, 2008, stressed the necessity of "a pluralistic electronic media
environment in Armenia" and called upon the National Commission on
Television and Radio to "ensure an open, fair and transparent licensing
procedure, in line with the guidelines, adopted by the Committee of
Ministers of the Council of Europe on March 26, 2008, and with the case law
of the European Court of Human Rights" (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, June
20-26, 2008).

Meanwhile, on September 10, 2008, RA National Assembly in an extraordinary
regime adopted the addition to the RA Law "On Television and Radio",
according to which broadcast licensing competitions are suspended till July
20, 2010, connected with expected digitalization in Armenia. The addition
drafted by the RA Government was evaluated by a number of journalistic
associations as "another proof that its initiatives in media domain are
aimed not at ensuring the constitutional right to free receipt and
dissemination of information, not at the improvement of the domain, not at
the implementation of the commitments to the Council of Europe and
recommendations of PACE resolutions, but at retaining and strengthening the
total control over broadcasters, currently practiced" (see YPC Weekly
Newsletter, September 5-11, 2008).

On September 26, on the eve of moratorium on broadcast licensing coming into
force, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Miklos Haraszti asked
the Government of Armenia to review the adopted decision meaning that
Armenia will not be able to comply with the decision of the European Court
that upheld the case of "A1+". OSCE Representative also reminded that in
April 2008 the PACE, in its turn, also urged Armenia to "ensure an open,
fair and transparent licensing procedure" and allow "A1+" to apply for a new
license (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, September 26 – October 2, 2008). On
October 6 the Global Campaign for Free Expression "Article 19" made a
similar address (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, October 3-9, 2008).

No one responded to these appeals: licensing competitions are suspended for
two years. "á1+" is getting the monetary compensation, but is still kept off
air. The optimistic forecast of the CE Secretary General is not coming true
yet: the saga goes on…

THE GOVERNMENT DECIDED TO ESTABLISH A CENTER OF PUBLIC RELATIONS AND
INFORMATION

On November 6 RA Government decided to establish a Center of Public
Relations and Information. According to the information on the governmental
web-site (), the Center is being established in accordance to the
RA Law "On State Non-Commercial Organizations" with the aim of "conducting
research in public relations, transparency of state structures,
accessibility, gathering and imparting information"; "realizing general and
thematic monitoring and media analyses, research and monitoring of media
market"; "studying the international experience in the sphere of public
relations and information"; "proposing initiatives, connected with the
legislative regulation of media activities". According to the Government
resolution, managing the Center and other authorities are put on the
administration of the President of Armenia. RA Ministry of Finance is
directed to introduce its offers on the financing of the Center in a month’s
period, and the Department of the State Property at the RA Government should
introduce "the list and pricing of the property that is supposed to be
handed in and/or assigned" to the new organization for approval.

Decision to establish a Center of Public Relations and Information arose
concern on behalf of a part of journalistic society that assumes that this
state institution can become an instrument for censorship and pressure on
media.

When reprinting or using the information above, reference to the Yerevan
Press Club is required.

You are welcome to send any comment and feedback about the Newsletter to:
[email protected]

Subscription for the Newsletter is free. To subscribe or unsubscribe from
this mailing list, please send a message to: [email protected]

Editor of YPC Newsletter – Elina POGHOSBEKIAN
_____________________________________ _______
Yerevan Press Club
9B, Ghazar Parpetsi str.
0002, Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+ 374 10) 53 00 67; 53 35 41; 53 76 62
Fax: (+374 10) 53 56 61
E-mail: [email protected]
Web Site:

MUSAVAT PARTY PREPARES A PACKAGE OF PROPOSALS ON THE RESOLUTION OF THE KARABAKH CONFLICT

Today.Az
cs/48882.html
Nov 11 2008
Azerbaijan

Musavat party divan held a next session on Monday, reports Day.Az
with reference to the press service for the party.

The message states that the session participants discussed the
sociopolitical situation in the country and results of the latest
session of party Medjlis.

The Musavat party has prepared a package of "Success" proposals on
the resolution of the Karabakh conflict.

The party is also concerned that the recent discussions of the state
budget for 2009 do not include return of former Soviet deposits to
the population. The party considers that it means that the Azerbaijani
population is not socially protected.

The discussions were held on formation of the optimal variant of
cooperation of opposition.

ANCA: OBAMA-BIDEN VICTORY POWERFUL OPPORTUNITY FOR U.S. RECOGNITION OF
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Yerkir.am
November 06, 2008

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) welcomed
President-elect Barack Obama and Vice-President-elect Joe Biden’s
historic win as a new and powerful opportunity for American recognition
of the Armenian Genocide, stronger U.S.-Armenia relations, and U.S.
support for a settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict that respects
its citizensâ?¬?¢ right to self-determination.

The ANCA also welcomed the election yesterday of 94% of the
Congressional candidates it had endorsed in House and Senate races.

The victory of Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden stands as a
testament to the strength of grassroots activism across the United
States committed to change,stated ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian.

Starting with the ANCA’s endorsement of Senator Obama in January of
this year, Armenian Americans in battleground states – organized by an
extremely effective and far-reaching Armenians for Obama operation –
played a critical role in bringing Armenian American Democrats,
Independents and a surprisingly large percentage of Republicans to the
Obama-Biden ticket on Election Day. Our pre-election polls showed
between 80 and 85% support for Obama-Biden in our community, a very
strong showing, particularly in a community well represented across the
American political spectrum, and a testament to the fact that Armenian
Americans are willing to cross party lines to support pro-Armenian
candidates."

"In many ways, this election marked the emergence of the Armenian
American community as a powerful and broadly respected Presidential
election constituency, one that is able – through grassroots efforts,
campaign professionals, fundraising, media outreach, and
get-out-the-vote – to help tip the balance in a close national contest
toward the candidate best positioned to reflect our views and values,"
concluded Hachikian.

President-elect Obama was consistently strong in his outreach to
Armenian American voters, issuing a powerful statement in January,
2008, voicing his vigorous support for passage of the Armenian Genocide
Resolution and pledging that, as President, he would recognize the
Armenian Genocide. The Presidential hopeful also reaffirmed his support
for a strong U.S.-Armenian relationship that advances our common
security and strengthens Armenian democracy.Unlike other candidates, he
also pledged to â?¬Â`promote Armenian security by seeking an end to the
Turkish and Azerbaijani blockades, and by working for a lasting and
durable settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict that is agreeable
to all parties, and based upon America’s founding commitment to the
principles of democracy and self determination.

President-Elect Obama restated his pledge on two subsequent occasions,
the last one in the form of a fact sheet issued just four days before
the Presidential election, which stated in no uncertain terms Barack
Obama strongly supports passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution
(H.Res.106 and S.Res.106) and will recognize the Armenian Genocide.

IF YOU WANT TO COME TO POWER START FROM COMMUNITIES

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
08 Nov 08
Armenia

`The policy pursued by the pro-oppositional forces in terms of
party-construction is incomplete. Independent of the fact whether the
political force is at the helm of state or in the pro-oppositional
domain they must have structures in all the provinces or at least big
towns.

And it is natural if the leader of the initial structure of the party
nominates his candidacy. Otherwise this structure will turn into a
family contract and they will never know how many votes and how many
supporters they have got in their area.

Whereas there is a parliamentary party, which has nominated 10
candidates in more than 800 communities, because if you want to come to
power you must try your power in the communities,’ CEC Chairman Garegin
Azaryan believes.

THE REPETITION OF THE OLD TRICK

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
08 Nov 08
Armenia

According to Ruben Hakobyan Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s decision on
discontinuing the demonstrations allegedly not to hinder the process of
the settlement of Karabakh conflict is not believable: `This reminds me
of 1998, when L. Ter-Petrosyan resigned. At that time his formulation
was like this `there are contradictions inside the ruling power
regarding Karabakh issue, which is why I decided to resign.’ But the
real reason was that he was not a legitimate President and he found a
civilized option to leave.

The same is for today. The movement has lost its force and over again
L. Ter-Petrosyan found a gorgeous option to stop the demonstrations,
saying that he is doing it based on the state interests. In my view had
he managed to gather 100 thousand people he would have never stopped
his demonstrations.’

Panorama.am

17:28 08/11/2008

KIRO MANOYAN AND HMAYAK HOVHANNISYAN TO COMMENT OBAMA’S PROMISE

Kiro Manoyan the representative of ARF Bureau Armenian Case and
political affairs says that if Obama follows his positions expressed
during the presidential campaign concerning Iran, Russian Federation
and Iraq, then the tension in the region will be eased.

Hmayak Hovhannisyan the president of Union of Politicians of Armenia
says that the fact itself is gratifying as like all other Armenians,
he also hopes that Obama will keep his promise and will recognize
Armenian Genocide.

Source: Panorama.am