Author: Vardapetian Ophelia

HAYASTAN ALL ARMENIAN FUND CONTINUES SUPPORT TO THE YEREVAN ELDERLY HOUSE N1

armradio.am
27.10.2008 09:46

Hayastan All Armenian Fund announces implementation of a social project
on October 23 within which 220 covers were allocated to the residents
of Yerevan Elderly house N1.

The funds of the project were raised by Anahit Ugurlayan, a young
woman living in New-York. She has been raising funds for charity
projects through marathons conducted in different states of USA in
the last couple of years.

Funds raised during last year’s Hampton marathon were donated to the
Yerevan Elderly House N1. The initiative was set by her family friend
Anna Kayaloff whose contributions made possible the renovation of the
2nd block of the elderly house. The $135 000 worth project included
restoration of 27 rooms, sanitary units and water supply system of
the building.

Today, the house hosts 310 elderly people including 50 homeless. One
of the residents, Mrs. Jemma said that renovation turned the house
very convenient and appealing to live in. Mrs. Elza has been living
in the house for 12 years now. In 1992 she arrived in Yerevan from
Nagorno-Karabakh and when her mother died she moved into the house
and now belongs to this big family.

"With cozy rooms and regular supply of running water the place is
far cry with what we used to be before the Himnadram renovated the
building", she said.

"There is always something to renovate in the house. And we are
grateful to all benefactors who support us", said Davit Shahbazyan,
Director of the elderly house.

"The Hayastan Fund always implements continuous projects. We must
ensure reliable life for elders and vulnerable people. We feel it is
our duty to instill love and hope in life in them", says the Acting
Executive Director of the Hayastan Fund Ara Vardanyan.

Armenian Public TV
Oct 18 2008

Armenian top official highly praises relations with Russia

[Presenter] In reply to a recent statement made by the Armenian
opposition alleging changes of priorities in Armenia’s foreign policy,
Armenia’s National Security Council Secretary Artur Baghdasaryan said
that they are obvious speculations. He said that the Armenian-Russian
relations have been established on firm grounds. The Russian
president’s forthcoming visit to Armenia testifies to this, he added.

[Baghdasaryan] The Armenian-Russian relations are at the highest
level. Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev’s official visit to Armenia
on 20 October once again proves this. There are about 170
intergovernmental and interstate agreements between Armenia and
Russia. More than 1,000 Russian enterprises are currently operating in
Armenia and more than 70 Russian regions are cooperating with the
Republic of Armenia. Thus cooperation between Armenia and Russia is at
the highest level and we cooperate in the military and political
spheres within the framework of the CIS. The Collective Security
Treaty Organization is currently chaired by Armenia where a number of
military and political projects are being implemented.

The second speculation is about the Karabakh peace process. Our
position is clear – mutual understanding is more important than
sensible confrontation. Neither Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan nor
the Armenian government is going to make concession to [Azerbaijan] on
the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict.

Third it is about our relations with the European structures. Armenia
is pursuing a consistent policy to expand its relations with the
European structures. The interdepartmental commission that was set up
on an instruction from the Armenian president proves this. We
currently cooperate successfully with European institutions. Thus, I
assess the domestic policy situation [in Armenia] as normal and all
projects offered by the Armenian president are successfully being
implemented.

[translated]

PRESIDENT SARGSYAN MEETS WITH FAMOUS LEBANESE BENEFACTOR LAYLA AL SOLH HAMADE

armradio.am
24.10.2008 14:00

President Serzh Sargsyan today received Mrs. Layla Al Solh Hamade,
famous Lebanese public figure and Vice-President of the Al-Walid bin
Talal Humanitarian Foundation. Her charitable, humanitarian activity
is well-known all over the world.

The President highly appreciated Mrs. Hamade’s assistance to the
Lebanese Armenian community.

Emphasizing the contribution of Lebanese Armenians to the progress
of the country, Layla Al Solh Hamade noted that they have become
an indivisible part of the Lebanese society. She said she will
continue her active charity mission, without any ethnic or religious
diversification.

SERZH SARGSYAN: WE SHOULD ALWAYS SEEK ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN POLITICAL RELATIONS’ BEING MUCH HIGHER THAN ECONOMIC ONES

Noyan Tapan
Oct 21, 2008

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 21, NOYAN TAPAN. The indices of Armenian-Russian
economic cooperation are very impressive, but we should always seek
Armenian-Russian political relations’ being at a much higher level,"
RA President Serzh Sargsyan stated at the October 21 press conference,
in response to journalists’ questions. "It is time to speak about
joint bold, large-scale programs," he said mentioning as an example
that construction of a new nuclear power plant, railway was spoken
about during his private talk to the RF President. "The economic
relations are impressive but have a tendency of being inferior to
the political relations," Serzh Sargsyan said, to which his Russian
counterpart responded: "Our task is to overcome that tendency."

The RA President also said that Armenia’s strategic relations with
Russia did not impede establishment and development of its relations
with other states. "I think the level of the current relations is very
good but I would like our relations to be model and not demonstrative,"
the RA President said. He did not agree to the view voiced, according
to which Armenia’s relations with Russia are forced. "It is never
possible to find friends by force, especially to maintain," the RA
President said mentioning that Armenia-Russia relations are open,
transparent, and reliable: "The strength of our friendship is in
mutual confidence," he said.

RF President Dmitry Medvedev, in his turn, said that "very high allied,
friendly relations between the two countries maybe are forced, but have
been forced during several centuries, it is clear that such relations
are dear, we are not only friends, but also neighbors, partners," he
said emphasizing that the two countries’ relations have been checked by
history and time, not only pragmatic, international and even domestic
calculation, but centuries-old friendship is behind the relations,
which is the most valuable, which "we are obliged to keep for ever."

LATVIA: FOREIGN MINISTERS OF LATVIA AND RUSSIA AGREE TO CONTINUE EFFORTS IN ISSUES OF MUTUAL IMPORTANCE

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia
Oct 23, 2008

On 23 October, Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins was on a working visit
to the Russian Federation. During the course of his visit, Minister
Riekstins met with the Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation,
Sergey Lavrov, with the aim of proceeding with a dialogue regarding
the issues significant for both sides. As part of the meeting, both
Foreign Ministers reviewed the topics of bilateral co-operation and
exchanged opinions on current developments in international politics,
including the situation in Georgia and other frozen conflicts.

At the outset, Ministers Riekstins and Lavrov commended what has
been achieved so far by both countries in the enhancement of the
legal framework and for the strengthening of economic co-operation
following the bilateral meeting in Riga in December 2007.

One of the key issues in Latvia-Russia relations is the launching
of the border demarcation process. During their discussion, Foreign
Minister Riekstins informed his counterpart, that the composition of
the Latvian side of the Demarcation Commission on has been approved
and the commission should set to work at the earliest possible date.

The ministers talked over the work of the Latvia-Russia
Inter-governmental Commission and the enhancement the legal framework
for bilateral agreements, including the alignment process for the
Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of
Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital and the
Agreement on the Promotion and Protection of Investment. Both parties
were of the same opinion that it is of vital importance to finalise
the co-ordination work on the agreements on fighting organized
crime, for the prevention of the threat of and the elimination of
consequences of emergency situations, as well as on environmental
protection. "The efforts by the Inter-governmental Commission experts
from both countries should be more intensive and dynamic," Minister
Riekstins pointed out. The next meeting of the Inter-governmental
commission has been scheduled for 11 November this year, in Moscow.

During their discussion, Foreign Minister Riekstins highlighted
issues regarding the crossing of the Latvia-Russia border, and stated
that long lines of trucks still remain on the border between both
countries. Mr Riekstins noted that border crossing issues should be
addressed more actively both on a bilateral basis and within the
European Union framework. Referring to the agreements achieved at
the expert level, Minister Riekstins addressed the issue for issuing
additional licenses on international goods transport.

At the same time, Mr Riekstins and Mr Lavrov expressed their
appreciation regarding the meeting and the co-operation initiated
between historians of both countries, agreed upon by the ministers
during Minister Lavrov’s visit to Latvia. During their meeting on 14
May, historians reached an agreement to organize a joint conference
on the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in the middle of next year. "It is
important for historians of both countries to maintain a dialogue on
the complex issues of history and not to politicize these issues,"
Minister Riekstins emphasised.

Foreign Minister Riekstins also drew attention to the co-operation
between the two countries in relation to displaced cultural and
historical values. The Latvian side perceives this as a complex
co-operation for the retrieval of film originals located in Russia,
the return of museum exhibits belonging to Latvia, as well as for
access by Latvian researchers to archives in Russia.

The Foreign Ministers of Latvia and Russia also reviewed current events
in international politics, including the situation in Georgia. "At
present, the key task of the international community, including
Russia, is to achieve a long-term solution for the settlement of the
situation in Georgia," Mr Riekstins noted. At the same time, Minister
Riekstins accentuated that it was also important for conflicts to be
solved through peaceful means and on a dialogue that is based on the
observance of international rights and full adherence to principles
of independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

The ministers also exchanged opinions on the possibilities for
resolving other regional conflicts, for instance, in Transnistria
and Nagorno-Karabakh.

The working visit by Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins, took place in
response to the expressed invitation by Sergey Lavrov, the Minister
for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in December 2007.

During his visit, Minister Riekstins inspected the renovated building
of the Embassy of Latvia in Moscow, met with members of the Latvian
diaspora and with Latvian students in Moscow. He also gave interviews
to the TV channel Russia Today, to the Associated Press and to the
radio Eho Moskvi.

PUBLIC OPINION DEFORMED
Gevorg Harutyunyan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
23 Oct 2008
Armenia

The Eyewitnesses Don’t Want To Tell Anything

Interview with the Chairman of the Interim Committee Investigating
March 1-2 Developments and Its Reasons, Samvel Nikoyan.

"Mr. Nikoyan by now which are the events linked with March 1 that have
been completely investigated by the committee and have you drawn any
clear conclusions?"

"The committee has thoroughly revealed what has exactly happened
in the morning of March 1, in the Theatrical Square, what actions
the law enforcers and the demonstrators took. We have scrupulously
studied the events that took place in the morning, and all the other
events following it, which took place in Yerevan streets, up to the
accumulation of the demonstrators in front of the French Embassy.

We have spoken with lots of eyewitnesses. We have conducted
official surveys and have received answers. We have compared all
the answers. And today we have almost the clear picture of what had
happened during the first half of March 1."

"You have many times appealed to the public asking the eyewitnesses
of the 10 death cases to help you clarify in what conditions those
people died.

Are there any responses?"

"Unfortunately no. There are more journalists than citizens working
with us. There is a perception among our society that it is a bad thing
to give testimony. It comes from the Soviet times, that assisting the
state is not encouraged. Our public opinion is deformed in such a way
that people treat the murderer better than the one who gave testimony
against that murder. On the whole, to clarify the death cases,
we get information from the police officers and the law enforcers
who were doing their job at that time. Each death case took place
in front of hundreds of eyewitnesses, but no one wants to give any
information. But everyone demands that the committee reveals all the
details of the events."

"But all the developments took place in the streets, didn’t they?

And there are lots of houses there. Why don’t you invite the
inhabitants of those houses? All of them are eyewitnesses."

"Our American partners gave one idea – that the committee is doing
its best to meet the demands and the expectations of society. Partial
attitude has been formed among our society towards the committee. Even
if we tell absolute truth society won’t accept. This is the aftermath
of the advocacy of certain political forces.

The proposal about questioning the inhabitants of the buildings
located in the places where the deaths occurred is quite to the point
and the committee will discuss this proposal. In my view the inquest
body must firstly invite them for questioning. Our committee can only
invite them but we can’t force them to come and give information to
the committee. At the moment the journalists are very active. They
give us lots of information. But why are they so late?"

"Don’t you see any intentions here? To what extent do the journalists
give the true testimony, devoid of emotions and self-interests to
mislead social perceptions?"

"The committee is not completely based on those pieces of information.

But we want to hear lots of opinions and stories later to compare
them, to see the difference between the false and the true ones and
draw conclusions.

We have two quite contradicting pieces of information given by two
journalists. One of them says that at 10.20 p.m. on March 1 the water
spraying cars were cleaning the stains of blood. The other one states
that he saw the same river of blood after midnight. Let alone the
fact that you have to butcher a cow to have that much blood on the
ground. Of course these data are baseless. But we are ready to hear
any type of information, to have something to compare.

I’m well conscious that the committee is also aimed at developing
public opinion. But I also believe that society will perceive our
activity in the right way and will understand that we don’t veil
anything.

The same DVDs were being secretly spread among the people, aimed at
inflaming artificial fervor. The moment we started to discuss that
issue the public’s interest towards those DVDs diminished. At the
moment the committee is setting up a fact-collecting group. In my
view next week it will start its activity and an expert representing
the opposition will also be included in that group.

NAREK HAKHNAZARYAN AT THE COLONIAL
By Clarence Fanto

The Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts)
October 16, 2008 Thursday

PITTSFIELD — The time-honored joke about how to get to Carnegie Hall
— "practice, practice, practice!" — could use some updating in our
multimedia era.

For rising young Armenian cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan, entering and
winning every competition in sight, acquiring a Web presence for audio
and video samples, and being signed by Young Concert Artists (YCA),
a management group that has launched many a stellar career, have been
equally important. His launching pad is well-equipped for liftoff,
subject to the vagaries of audience reaction and the imponderables that
spell the difference between fame, obscurity, or something in between.

Tonight at the Colonial Theatre, Hakhnazaryan, 19, will offer Berkshire
audiences a first hearing of his upcoming recitals later this month
at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall and at the Kennedy Center.

The performance at 7 is sponsored by Joseph and Mary Jane
Handler. Piano accompanist is Noreen Polera, and the program includes
music by Beethoven, Schumann, Paganini and Shostakovich, as well as
brief works by contemporary Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin and
Armenian composer Adam Khudoyan (1921-2000).

Soccer ambitions

During a telephone interview from the YCA offices in Manhattan,
Hakhnazaryan confessed that even though his parents were musicians,
"I didn’t want to play any instrument when I was small, I just
wanted to play soccer like everyone else. But of course, my parents
wanted me to be a musician." One day, without warning, his mother,
a pianist, enrolled him in a cello class at the Yerevan Music School
in Armenia’s ancient city, the republic’s capital and now a bustling
metropolis. "My father, who had wanted me to be a violinist like him,
was very surprised but pleased," he recalled.

"Everybody says I caught on very quickly, and that my hands were
very good for the cello." By the time he was 11, Hakhnazaryan had
won the Armenian Republic competition. After a summer of classes in
Suzdal, near Moscow, he was invited to study at the Moscow Tchaikovsky
Conservatory. He moved to the Russian capital with his mother, while
his father stayed behind in Yerevan to continue playing in the Komitas
Quartet, founded in 1924.

The young cellist is now a third-year student at the Moscow State
Conservatory; already, he has performed in the U.S., France, Germany,
Austria, Greece, England and Canada.

He launched his current tour at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe,
Pa., where he found that listeners "didn’t show their emotions at
first, but they became warmer toward the end of the concert. Some
audiences are very warm from the beginning; the differences are very
interesting." He covets younger audiences because connecting with
them is more challenging. "They like different music," Hakhnazaryan
acknowledged, "but many people my age enjoy my concerts and come up
to me afterwards."

Although the prospect of performing recitals at Carnegie Hall or
the Kennedy Center is nerve-wracking, "that’s nothing compared to
competitions. You don’t know whether you are playing well in front of
the judges." But nerves did not prevent him from scoring First Prize
in the 2006 Aram Khachaturian International Competition in Armenia
and Fifth Prize at the 2007 Tchaikovsky International Competition in
Moscow, among others.

Role models

Cellists who have served as role models include Gregor Piatigorsky
and Steven Isserlis, and favored composers range from Schumann and
Shostakovich to Prokofiev and Bach. "It depends on my mood," he said,
"but of course for me there is one composer always in my heart —
Beethoven."

In his down time, he enjoys Armenian folk music ("I can listen to it
forever") and jazz, especially the late pianist Oscar Peterson. "I
like all musicians who are talented, it doesn’t matter which style
it is," Hakhnazaryan stressed, listing Led Zeppelin and The Prodigy
among his favorite rock performers.

Future uncertain

Apart from completing his conservatory studies in Moscow, his future
plans are up in the air, except for a desire to live in the U.S.,
where he finds New York City especially fascinating.

"I’m not even thinking about it," he insisted. "I can see from my
own experience that if I think about the future a lot, it’s not
happening. I’m just trying to do my best."

After a foundation-sponsored performance in San Francisco in
February 2006, Hakhnazaryan earned high praise from a reviewer for
the San Francisco Classical Voice Web site — "he gave an eloquent and
fearless performance in some ways, gloriously old-fashioned. A young
Piatigorsky would have been proud of such rhythms, such confident
sound. His intonation was superb." Now he’s under the aegis of Young
Concert Artists, which helped launch the careers of Emanuel Ax,
Dawn Upshaw, Richard Goode and other classical luminaries and has a
"legendary track record of spotting the best new talent in classical
music," according to The New York Times.

Hakhnazaryan hopes this roll of the dice comes up sevens.

In concert What: Cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan, with pianist Noreen
Polera. Music by Beethoven, Schumann, Paganini, Shostakovich,Shchedrin,
Khudoyan

Who: Young Concert Artists

When: Tonight 7

Where: The Colonial Theatre, 111 South St., Pittsfield.

Tickets: $12 (adults), $6 (students)

How: (413) 997-4444; ; at the box office

TABOO-FREE TURKISH WOMEN WRITERS STRIVE TO ACHIEVE EQUALITY
by Aurelia End

Agence France Presse
October 17, 2008 Friday 1:12 PM GMT

"Of course Turkish women are stronger than men," says Perihan Magden
with a laugh. Like her, many Turkish women writers provoke the wrath
of officials with uncompromising works.

"I’m the national bitch anyway in Turkey. I think they just want me
to shut up," she told AFP at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

Silence obviously does not sit well however with the small woman in
her late forties, who was dressed simply in black and had tied her
hair up in a quick knot.

Asked about freedom of expression, persecution of Armenians and
the situation of the Kurdish minority, she launches into animated
discourse underscored by lots of gesturing.

She also quickly forgets to speak about her book "Two Girls" that
has been translated into German, which describes the tumultuous love
affairs of two Turkish adolescents.

In Turkey, Magden is as well known for her novels as for her commentary
in leftist media.

In late 2005, she took up the defence of an imprisoned conscientious
objector and was taken to court by the army as a result.

Booed by the public during her trial, she was nonetheless acquitted,
though several legal procedures are still ongoing.

Magden now has trouble hiding lassitude in the face of what she said
is chronic harassment.

The former communist militant, "I would even say I was Soviet," would
like to send her daughter to study in the United States "because in
Turkey it can be very claustrophobic."

While Magden has been attacked for her views on military service,
novelist Elif Shafak drew unwanted attention for comments made by
figures in her books on what Armenians charge is genocide by the
Ottoman Empire, a highly disputed subject in Turkey.

Armenia has campaigned for the the recognition of the mass killings
of Armenians during World War I as genocide.

Turkey rejects the genocide label and argues that 300,000-500,000
Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife when
Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia and sided
with invading Russian troops.

Shafak was prosecuted under Turkish law that prohibits "defamation"
of the state, but was also cleared of the charges.

The academic who was born in France now wants to turn the page.

"I am too often assimilated" with the issue, she said in an interview
published Thursday by the German magazine Stern.

On the other hand, Shafak remains a staunch feminist. "We don’t
say enough about the history of women. History is always written by
men. Religion was written by men," she said.

Another Turkish writer, Fethiye Cetin also takes aim at taboos,
raising a fuss in the process.

In her novel "My Grandmother’s Book", a best seller in Turkey according
to the publisher, the human rights activist searches for Armenian and
Christian roots that had long been hidden from her by her own family.

Cetin, also a lawyer who represents the family of Hrant Dink, a
journalist of Armenian origin killed last year, tells the story of
how her grandmother escaped the early 20th century slaughter.

Invited to the stand sponsored by Germany’s Green party, she insisted:
"You cannot bury the past. It always rises back to the surface!"

POTTORF, REY FEATURED AT ARTS FOR ACT EVENT

Florida Weekly
October 22, 2008
FL

Join Arts for ACT Gallery, located at 2265 First Street in downtown
Fort Myers, on Friday, Nov. 7, from 7 to 10 p.m. for the November
"Meet the Artists" opening reception, featuring artists Darryl Pottorf,
Renee Rey and the Core Artists from Howl Gallery.

Mr. Pottorf has been creating complex, inspiring works for more than 30
years, continuously pushing the boundaries of his medium and subject
matter. He has traveled extensively, and his work reflects his love
of classical and architectural forms. He uses the photographs he
takes in a provocative manner to add content and humor to his work.

His mediums include UV-coated watercolor on polylaminate, black
and silver toner on lexan, and acrylic on aluminum. With each of
these media, he employs the photo transfer process that he began
using in the late ’80s, first in black and white and then in color,
which has come to characterize his more recent output. His pieces
have been described as lyrical, robust, beautifully composed, bold,
perceptive and very satisfying.

Mr. Pottorf collaborated with Robert Rauschenberg on a series of
outstanding exhibitions. Mr. Pottorf’s work has been exhibited at
major galleries and museums throughout the world.

Renee Rey is a multi-disciplinary, award-winning artist born in
Sagamihara, Japan. Since childhood, she has had an affinity to and a
fascination with country and its people. Being of French, Armenian,
Jewish and Christian descent, she takes pride in her multi-cultural
and religious heritage and feels it has influenced her art. "Bound by
Harmony" is a result of this. The artworks pay homage to spirituality,
individual and collective identity and the connection between past and
present, and between people around the world. For her, the thread that
binds us physically and spiritually is the universal theme of harmony,
peace and mutual respect. Partake in this poetic installation of
paintings, drawings, mixed media and the written and spoken work. It
is an exhibit not to be missed.

The Core Artists from Howl Gallery will feature a selection of
work from local talent. Artists on display will include pop artist
and co-owner Andy Howl, rock poster and album artist Bridey Bowen,
graphic designer Andrya Campbell, day of the Dead Skull artist Ana
Caballero and pop art stencil artist Brass. Howl Gallery will be
opening in downtown Fort Myers in late December next to Starbucks.

ARMENIA SEEKING FRIENDLY TIES WITH AZERBAIJAN, PM

AssA-Irada
October 7, 2008 Tuesday
Azerbaijan

Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian has said the vital issue
facing his country today is forging friendly relations with all states
in the region, and Azerbaijan in particular. He said Turkeys recent
proposal to set up a five-nation Caucasus union should be discussed
in the context of cooperation among regional states. Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered to establish the union, called
the Caucasus Peace and Cooperation Platform, following a brief war
between Russia and Georgia in August.

Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia have already expressed their backing of
the initiative, while Georgia is yet to state its position. Sarkisian
said Armenia was ready to establish unconditional diplomatic
relations and economic cooperation with Turkey. Restoring our ties,
which have been frozen for 15 years, will lay groundwork for new
cooperation. Armenia and Turkey have been at odds and the border
between the two countries has been closed since 1993 on Ankaras
insistence due to Armenias policy of occupation against Azerbaijan
and the Armenian genocide claims. Sarkisian also made it clear that
Armenia was interested in joining any given regional project. Touching
on peace talks seeking to settle the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict,
he said that similar to Azerbaijan, Armenia appreciates European
values and should aspire to establish close ties with Azerbaijan
and Georgia, the other two South Caucasus republics, within the
European Neighborhood Policy (ENP). Sarkisian added that talks
on Garabagh conflict settlement would intensify after Azerbaijans
October 15 presidential election. Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a
lengthy war that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994,
but Armenia continues to occupy Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh and seven
other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law. The
OSCE Minsk Group, which is co-chaired by the U.S., Russia and France,
is brokering the peace process.