Author: Virabian Jhanna

ARMENIA, RUSSIA WILLING TO REINFORCE FRIENDLY TIES

armradio.am
11.07.2009 14:27

On July 11 the Defense Minister of Armenia, Seyran Ohanyan, met with
the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Armenia,
Nikolay Pavlov, who is completing his mission in our country.

The Defense Minister expressed gratitude to the Ambassador for the
effective cooperation, as well as for his personal contribution
to the reinforcement of strategic partnership between the two
countries. Seyran Ohanyan wished success to the Ambassador in his
further activity.

At the end of the meeting the parties stressed their willingness to
reinforce the Armenian-Russian relations and friendly ties.

ARMENIA REQUIRED TO STRENGTHEN TIES WITH DIASPORA

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
10.07.2009 18:54 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan has today met
with members of Depi Hayk Foundation. In his welcoming speech,
Minister stressed the importance of Armenia’s developing ties with
Diaspora. "Diaspora greatly assisted us in the process of achieving
full independence," he said.

In his turn, fund Director Sevan Kabyakyan said that the present-day
voluntary activities differ from those existing 15 years ago, as there
are doctors, programmers and other professionals among volunteers.

As noted by Mr. Kabyakyan, fund’s activities are aimed at recruiting
young Diaspora representatives for working as volunteers in
Armenia. The fund has been operating since 2004, and 400 people
have visited Armenia in that period. Time-limits for voluntary work
range from 2 to 10 months. There are currently 52 young Diaspora
representatives visiting Armenia in the frames of the program.

At the end of the meeting, Defense Minister stressed that it was a
great honor for him to communicate with young generation and transfer
to them his experience.

FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY
Office of Assemblymember Paul Krekorian
620 N. Brand Blvd. Suite 403
Glendale, CA 91203
Event Date: July 10, 2009
Contact: Jeremy Oberstein (323) 632-2492

Paul Krekorian to Officially Unveil Bid for City Council
Will do so against a backdrop of community support and endorsements

VAN NUYS – California State Assemblyman Paul Krekorian is set to officially
announce his intention to run for the Second District seat of the Los
Angeles City Council Friday at noon. The announcement will take place along
the Los Angeles River where Krekorian will field questions from the media
against a visual backdrop of community leaders and one of the greenest
stretches of the San Fernando Valley. A partial list of endorsements,
including community, political and public safety leaders will be released.

Who: Krekorian with supporters from across the San Fernando Valley;

What: Krekorian to announce bid for City Council’s 2nd District;

Where: Parking near 13063 Victory Blvd, with the press conference to be
held yards away along the L.A. River, between Coldwater Canyon Avenue and
Fulton Avenue;

When: Friday, July 10 at noon;

Note: Parking is available in adjacent lot; Visuals include lush green
landscape on revitalized portion of Los Angeles River.

# # #

INTERNATIONAL IT MARKET MAY LOSE $200 BILLION IN 2009

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
08.07.2009 16:21 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In comparison with previous year, consumer demand
on international IT market has decreased by 6% ($ 200 billion),
making up $3.2 trillion, Gartner analytical centre reports.

Gartner analysts find that consumer expenses on computer products will
decrease by 16.3%, and demand for IT and telecommunication services
will be reduced by 4.6%.

Software market will suffer the least losses – 1.6%. Las year,
consumer demand in the sphere recorded a 10.3% increase.

Analytical company’s previous prognosis published in March predicted
3.8% decrease on IT market.

EDWARD NALBANDIAN SAYS THE RIGHT FOR THE DETERMINATION OF ARTSAKH STATUS BELONGS TO THE NAGORNO KARABAKH PEOPLE

ARMENPRESS
JULY 8, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JULY 8, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian received today the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Yuri
Merzlyakov, Bernard Fassier and Matthew Bryza as well as the personal
representative to the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk.

Media relations department of the Armenian Foreign Ministry told
Armenpress that during the meeting issues connected with the
preparations for the upcoming meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani
Presidents have been discussed.

Referring to the format of negotiations held within the Minsk Group
frames Edward Nalbandian stressed the importance of full participation
of the Artsakh side in the negotiation process as a guarantee for
the efficiency of the peaceful process.

The co-chairs have expressed their regret that as a result of the
weather conditions they have not been able to visit Stepanakert.

After the meeting on the request of journalists commenting on the
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister’s statement on giving Nagorno Karabakh
sovereignty within Azerbaijan E. Nalbandian said that the Azerbaijani
FM is not the person to determine the Nagorno Karabakh status, the
right to determine this issue belongs to the Nagorno Karabakh people.

KURDISH CINEMA BRINGS NEW BREATH TO WORLD FILM SECTOR

Hurriyet
Wednesday, July 08, 2009 11:20

ISTANBUL – Kurdish Filmmakers Living In Various Parts Of The World
Have Produced And Recently Released The First Kurdish Cinema Resource
Book. ‘Kurdish Cinema Draws Interest To Its Different Themes During
A Period When Hollywood Is Reaching A Dead End. There Is An Interest
In An Unknown Society And Culture,’ Says Documentary Maker Mujde Aslan.

Director and screenwriter Yýlmaz Guney, nicknamed "Ugly King" and
whose best known film is "Yol" (The Road), is the first name that
comes to mind when one thinks of Kurdish cinema in Turkey.

Guney, of Kurdish origin, moved to France after escaping prison in
the wake of the 1980 coup. Later on he was stripped of his Turkish
citizenship.

"Yol," written by Guney and directed by Þerif Goren, shared the
Golden Palm Award with Greek director Costa Gavras’ "Missing" at
the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. It was a personal success for Guney
because it was almost impossible to talk about Kurdish cinema in this
period. Then in the 1990s young Kurdish directors living in various
parts of the world started making their first movies.

Golden Camera for ‘A Time for Drunken Horses’ Because of the Kurdish
problem in Turkey during this period, the Kurdish public and its
culture became popular around the world. Iranian director of Kurdish
origin Bahman Ghobadi won the Golden Camera Award at the Cannes Film
Festival in 2000 for his film "Dema Herspen Serxwes" (A Time for
Drunken Horses), which centered on a Kurdish family’s drama. This
award offered hope for young Kurdish filmmakers, and they started
producing new films one after another.

But financial problems posed the biggest hurdle. This problem led these
filmmakers to initiate a common project. They got in contact with
people living in various parts of the world and gathered documents
for their films and projects. And the result was a book called
"Yurtsuzluk, Sýnýr ve Olum" (Rootlessness, Border and Death) that
was compiled by documentary maker Mujde Aslan and recently released
by Agora Publishing House.

The book will also be published soon in Kurdish and English.

Kurdish cinema and identity Aslan and Devrim Kýlýc, who is living
in the Australian city of Melbourne and contributed research for
the book, spoke to the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review about
Kurdish cinema. Stating that it was impossible to talk about Kurdish
cinema until the 21st century, Aslan said: "The Kurdish public is
a different one that lives in various parts of the world and seeks
their identity. Of course there are Kurdish directors making films in
different countries, but like in the Yýlmaz Guney example, directors
are nourished by the culture of the country where they live. Therefore
it is impossible to talk about a rooted Kurdish cinema."

Even though Kurdish cinema is known to have been initiated by the film
"Zare" in 1926, Aslan said it was not true. "Armenian origin director
Hamo Bek-Nazarov shot ‘Zare’ with the help of Kurdish tribes. Yes,
the team was Kurdish, but the director was Armenian. But there is
also a detail that should be remembered. Kurds could have never been
as free as they were in Russia or Armenia. This film is the evidence
of this fact."

Kýlýc said Kurdish cinema received too much interest in recent years,
adding that the reason was the Kurdish problem in Turkey. "Kurdish
society doesn’t have a cinema culture," Kýlýc said. "Kurds started
making films while everyone was discussing whether cinema is a branch
of art. The public’s interest is almost nonexistent."

Kurdish cinema and themes Kýlýc said Kurdish films were generally set
in rural areas. "In these films, Kurds are portrayed as villagers,
illiterate and barbaric. I have never seen Kurds portrayed in a
different way. Guney’s films are the same; they are full of pain, and
so are Ghobadin’s films. Ghobadi gives the following answer when one
asks him the reason: ‘Kurds remind me only of snow, war, mountains,
mine and wire fences."

Born in Mardin, Aslan agrees with Kýlýc, and said: "Kurds preserve
their identity in villages the most. They are assimilated in cities. My
latest film ‘A Fatal Dress: Polygamy’ is based on my personal story. I
have questioned my own relations. Kurdish cinema has an introverted
style."

Kurdish cinema is like a child Aslan said their projected aimed to
encourage young Kurdish directors. "Kurdish cinema is like a child
who has just started speaking," she said. "But it is unique and
introverted."

Talking about the world’s interest in Kurdish cinema, Aslan said,
"Kurdish cinema draws interest to its different themes during a
period when Hollywood is reaching a dead end. There is an interest
in an unknown culture. Kurdish directors and foreign ones are making
films about Kurdish society."

NUMBER OF GAS CONSUMERS INCREASED BY 7929 IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2009

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
06.07.2009 14:31 GMT+04:00

Number of gas consumers increased by 7929 in the
first half of 2009 (including 1388 consumers in June),
ArmRosGazProm Press Service reported. As of July 1,
2009, 581884 subscribers are connected to RA gas network

Iran: the new elite

en.fondsk.ru
Ð?rbis Terrarum
02.07.2009
Vladimir YURTAYEV

The early days of summer of 2009 proved quite stormy in the Islamic
Republic of Iran in terms of politics. Almost the entire politically
vocal population of the 70-million strong Iran, that’s 40 million
people, took part in the election of a new president. It is for the
first time in Iran’s history that a fully-fledged election campaign
has been launched in the country, with the main opponents, old rivals
in the struggle for power since the 1980s, namely the incumbent leader
(rahbar) Ali Khamenei and Mir Hossein Mousavi, then Prime Minister of
the Islamic Republic of Iran, had an opportunity to rally their
supporters.
Following his secure win of the presidential election of the 12th of
June 2009, the incumbent president M. Ahmadinejad had a chance of
getting in the lead of a united country after a dynamic election and
his win in the first round. But this failed to prove the case. The
proclaimed loser Mir Hossein Mousavi of the Islamic Revolution `Old
Guards’ urged his supporters to energetically contest the election
returns and to take to the streets. The ensuing clashes in Tehran
resulted in spilt blood and loss of human life on both sides. Judging
by reports in western news media, the standoff was expected to spiral
up, but it has grown clear that a repetition of the 1978 anti-Shah
boat-rocking scenario will fail to become a reality. Back in 1978 the
Islamic revolution in Iran began precisely with mass-scale street
protests during the ceremonies of remembering the victims of the
Shah’s repressions. Today the opposition is still weak and unprepared
to go it too far. Of no minor importance was the determination that
the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps displayed by saying it was
prepared to make short shrift of protests to enforce law and order.
Understandably, just one candidate was to win. It seems strange that
the opposition has elected for their leader someone who is, true, a
political heavyweight, but who’s unable to win from a younger
candidate. But then the decision may well have been due to an
over-assessment by the opposition of their resources and positions in
Iranian society, where western election technologies will still
misfire.
On the 27th of June 2009 M. Ahmadinejad addressed an all-Iranian
meeting of Iran’s judiciary to sum up the first results of the
election and formulate the key points of his new programme. First,
Iran’s president feels that a mass-scale turnout in the election of
the 22d of Hordad 1388 (12th of June 2009, according to the Gregorian
calendar) makes it safe to assume that the recent presidential
election was a referendum during which the people of Iran reiterated
their choice of the Islamic republic as a form of political
power. Secondly, by making this choice the people of Iran `said
liberal democracy was over’. Ahmadinejad believes the West has a
`controlled’ and limited democracy, when the people have their will
mediated by political parties and are not immediately involved in the
election process, whereas in Iran `the people were organizers,
monitors and electors in the election process’, which is evidence of
freedom and democracy.
When elaborating on his programme, Ahamdinejad focused on the notion
of `fairness’ (`adalyat’, which is also used to denote `justice’), the
lack of which is the main reason for `strife in the world’. Iran’s
president feels that a fair treatment of one and all is the solution
for world peace. When addressing foreign reporters in what proved a
most important election meeting on the 25th of May 2009,
M. Ahmadinejad also spoke of `orientation towards God, adherence to f
s, promotion of love and kindness’ and urged the dominant forces to
return in international relations to `fairness and kindness’,
something the entire world was craving. Ahmadinejad said that fairness
that’s been established in Iran is `a harbinger of fairness around the
world’ and pointed out that `ministering to fairness is the highest
form of service of Allah’. It is thus safe to point out that the new
regime has shaped a stable set of ideologemes it addresses both to the
people and government of Iran and the entire world community.
Of basic importance was M. Ahmadinejad’s indication of the
inviolability in Iran of the principle of `velayat-eh fakikh’, that is
rule by a Shia jurist on the basis of fairness, which is a concept of
Imam Khomeini.
On western countries’ reaction to the presidential election in Iran
M. Ahmadinejad said Iranians were surprised that `Mr. Obama interferes
in Iran’s affairs and allows statements that go beyond the bounds of
decency (`adab’). Perhaps, the US president is trying to find a
pretext to prolong or even disavow his pledge of holding direct talks
with the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Barack Obama and
Angela Merkel have spoken in concert to denounce acts of violence in
Iran in the wake of the presidential election in the Islamic
Republic. Obama said he admired the courage displayed by the people of
Iran `in the face of cruelty’, adding that the Untied States would
always support the Iranians’ right to the freedom of choice and
freedom of expression.
So, Iran’s leaders have tested a model of holding presidential
elections, the one that energetically involved the population into the
political process. Just how the opposition will act now will determine
the degree of severity, to which this freedom of expression will be
restricted. In general, the presidential campaign that’s drawn to a
close has shown a higher degree of development of the Iranian
society’s political system, and this will inevitably affect the
election technologies to be used in future. It is safe to claim that
now the Iranians are through a course of training in a higher-level
political struggle, with a growing threat of using the
election-related technologies from the `colour revolution’ arsenals
against the existing political regime.
But then, Iran remains Iran, which was borne out by the election
returns, – we have already pointed out in a forecast on the Website of
the Strategic Culture Foundation on the 5 `Iran’s new president will
be a person who should be M. Ahmadinejad’s coeval. Iran’s incumbent
president has no competitors in this age group’. I personally took as
indicative of whether the presidential election returns would or would
not be recognized as legitimate the congratulations to M. Ahmadinejad
on his re-election for a second term in office that the Catholicos of
All Armenians Karekin II extended on the 27th of June 2009. The
Armenian community in Iran is quite strong, so their recognition of
and support for the election returns means a lot.
Meanwhile things in and around Iran are moving in groove, with the
partisan media are working off what money they got to (what some
quarters thought) spin-doctor a new president, although the previous
one has been re-elected. 200 protesters are presented as if they were
200,000. Almost 13 million people make their home in Tehran, so even
one million is just one sixth of the city’s grown-up population. The
others voted against the protesters. The whole thing boils down to the
following: part of the old revolutionary elite that’s taken possession
of economic profits gave way to the new elite following
M. Ahmadinejad’s win in 2005, an elite that’s emerged on the basis of
the Army and that’s relying on the other part of the old revolutionary
elite, related to rahbar Ali Khamenei. The problem is whether the new
old elite will manage to persuade the opponents not to take all of
their money out of the country or not.
Mass-scale money transfers from Iran came to everyone’s knowledge when
La Stampa reported the news that banks Saderat, Bank-e Melli, Bank-e
Sepah and Melat had begun remitting their clients’ currencies to
Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates.
It is deplorable, of course, if another segment of the formed Iranian
society moves away, but then the Islamic Republic may stand to gain in
the long run, since if all one knows is Islam, there’s nothing they
could compare it with.
One of the US leading foreign p izes up the situation in Iran as
explosive. Z. Brzezinski warns that the situation is likely to be
aggravated in the wake of the disputable presidential election, but
one shouldn’t rule out that the regime will stand out. Anyway, he
says, today Iran is at the start of a deadly crisis. But the West
cannot afford to ignore any regime in Iran. Brzezinski goes on to say
that there are a number of issues that one just has to negotiate with
the current Iranian regime, namely the nuclear programme, regional
security and economy-related problems. Sanctions alone will fail to
keep Iran away from its nuclear programme. Nor does Brzezinski rule
out that Iran’s nuclear weapons might prove conducive to regional
stability. When elaborating on Iran’s future, Brzezinski claims that
the country boasts a social potential to become some time in future
the West’s important partner in the region, and even a partner of
Israel, which supported Iran in the war against Iraq back in the
1980s. If only because, Zbigniew Brzezinski says in conclusion, Iran
is more `pro-western’ than the neighbouring countries.
On the 29th of June 2009 President M. Ahmadinejad told the head of the
national judiciary Ayatollah Hashemi Shahrudi to launch an
investigation into the murder of a young Iranian girl called Neda, who
was shot at and killed by unknown people during a demonstration in
Tehran. The opposition tried to use the murder as a banner of their
struggle. President said the political defeat should not separate
Iranians form one another, since all of them were under his protection
as their country’s citizens.
It is obvious that keeping the situation stable in Iran is of
paramount importance. Meanwhile some new scenarios for Iran’s
destruction start looming, the ones that have to do with the weakening
of the proper Persian component of the Iranian elite as a result of
emigration or its physical destruction. Russia has long-term interests
in Central Eurasia and it needs peace in the region to advance
them. The situation perfectly suits Russia and Iran to promote their
interaction at all levels, while Russian businesses are prepared to
carry out joint large-scale economic projects as indicated in the
framework of strategic partnership proposals. But the expediency of
separating economics from politics in Russian-Iranian relations should
not mean ignoring change in Iran’s foreign policy concepts, as well as
the promotion in practical terms of the `diplomacy of fairness and
dialogue’.

A GROUP OF PEOPLE, DISTRIBUTING LEAFLETS ON THE FORTHCOMING RALLY ATTACKED IN THE CENTER OF YEREVAN

ArmInfo
2009-07-02 10:00:00

A group of activists, distributing leaflets about the forthcoming
rally, was attacked at Abovyan Street by unknown persons on July 1,
at about 8:00 PM. As press service of the Armenian National Congress
told ArmInfo, some of the attackers were armed.

Trying to take the loudspeakers and leaflets away from ANC activists,
they started to beat them. As a result, oppositional representatives
Sahak Muradyan, Herbert Gevorkyan and Tigran Arakelyan were carried
to the hospital with different bodily injuries.

LEVON MELIK-SHAHNAZARYAN: EVENTS IN IRAN DANGEROUS FOR ARMENIA

armradio.am
01.07.2009 17:08

The events in Iran and the bleak prospects are dangerous for Armenia,
political scientist Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan told a press conference
today.

He added that the attempt of a "color revolution" in Iran was just the
start of the series of trials awaiting the country and the region,
as a whole. If a civil war starts in Iran, the flow of refugees to
Armenia and Azerbaijan will increase.

According to Melik-Shahnazaryan, any clash inside Iran on the ethnic
basis, will inevitably result in a war with other states.

The political scientist noted that Armenia is situated between two
volcanoes. "The first one emerged as a result of the Russian-Georgian
war. The second one is Azerbaijan with its militant statements
regarding Nagorno Karabakh, drastic increase of the military budget,
etc."

According to Melik-Shahnazaryan, Armenia should learn lessons from the
developments in Iran. "The events in Iran showed that it is possible
to divide the nation united on the religious ethnic basis into two
parts hating each other, and Armenia should also be ready for such
provocations," he underlined.