Category: News

Russia believes in benefit of Azerbaijan-Armenia peace talks
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 18 2005
Baku, February 17, AssA-Irada — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov says that the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace talks will be beneficial.
“Russia is ready to support a mutually-beneficial agreement to be
reached by the parties to the Upper Garabagh conflict.”
The meetings held by the two countries’ foreign ministers in Prague
will definitely yield results, he said. Lavrov added that “Russia
does not want the fate of South Caucasus states to depend on Moscow
and Washington”.*

DISCRIMINATIONS BY THE RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER
PanArmenian News Analysis
Feb 18 2005
Sergey Lavrov refused to honor the memory of soldiers who protected
the integrity of Georgia, but honored those who killed Baku Armenians
and Russian soldiers.
The official visit of Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov to
Armenia finished. As a foreign minister, this was his first visit to
his mother’s homeland. Lavrov never concealed his Armenian origin.
This is why certain points of his south-Caucasian tour look
particularly strange.
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ From Yerevan the Russian minister left for Tbilisi,
but not on an official visit as planned, but just on a working one.
It should be reminded that Georgian authorities reviewed the status
of the visit in reply to Sergey Lavrov’s refusal to lay a wreath
on the memorial to soldiers fallen in battle for the territorial
integrity of Georgia. According to political analysts that diplomatic
demarche will not strengthen the atmosphere of trust between Moscow
and Tbilisi. By the way Russian officials never avoided laying a
wreath on the memorial since it is required by unwritten norms of the
protocol. It should be noted that virtually all foreign guests of high
rank visiting to Yerevan laid wreaths to the monument of the victims
of Armenian genocide in Ottoman Turkey. This was done even by the
representatives of countries not accepting that the events taken place
in 1915 were genocide. Particularly the president of Kyrgyzstan Askar
Akayev did not doubt the necessity to visit Tsitsernakaberd although
he realized that he would have certain troubles with Azerbaijan and
Turkey – partner countries from “Islamic conference”. The president
was not mistaken. Ankara and Baku sent notes of protest to Bishkek,
but protocol is a protocol…
No one doubts that the actions of Sergey Lavrov were a demarche.
Noteworthy for us is the argumentation brought by the Russian
minister. Explaining the inadmissibility of his presence at the
memorial in Georgia, he said that it would be incorrect to lay a
wreath on the memorial of those who fought against Abkhazia and Osetia
since Russia is a mediator in the settlement of Abkhazian – Osetian
conflict. “As a country that supports the settlement of the conflict,
Russia has to take into account its status. An action like that can
hardly be conductive to creating a proper atmosphere for productive
negotiations between conflict parties”, Sergey Lavrov stated.
This argumentation looks very strange since only two weeks ago, on
February 2, Sergey Lavrov laid a wreath on the “alley of shehids”
in Baku. Here are the graves of those who died in the war forced on
Karabakh by Azerbaijan. If the memorial in Tbilisi is built in memory
of the victims of military actions then in the “alley of shehids”
besides soldiers lie those who slaughtered peaceful Armenians in
Baku yet long before the war. Moreover in the “alley of shehids”
there are also bandits who killed Russian soldiers who came to Baku
in 1990 for protecting Armenians and establishing order. Thus, laying
a wreath in the “alley of shehids”, Lavrov not only desecrated the
memory of hundreds of slaughtered Armenians, but also the memory of
Russian soldiers who fell doing their duty.
For some reason the minister forgets that Russia is a mediator in the
settlement of Karabakh conflict. The Russian diplomat with Armenian
roots did not think that “an action like that will not contribute
to creating a proper atmosphere for productive negotiations between
conflict parties”. Most unpleasant is that such a step is made by a
representative of the country that is considered to be the strategic
partner of Armenia.
Artyom Yerkanyan
–Boundary_(ID_tiNEOI5x5+OfmSNfx7vlzQ)–

Handbooks available for Caucasus journalists, NGOs
International Journalist’s Network
Feb 18 2005
The Media Diversity Institute plans to release several training manuals
for journalists and NGOs in the South Caucasus at a February 22 launch
in Tbilisi, Georgia.
The new releases include a South Caucasus regional edition of the MDI
Reporting Diversity Manual. This collection of tip-sheets, articles and
critical analysis of diversity coverage will be available in Armenian,
Azeri, English, Georgian and Russian. The manual includes sections on
ethnicity, religion, gender, people with disabilities, the elderly,
refugees and sexual minorities.
MDI is also launching three handbooks for journalists and editors
in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, respectively. The handbooks
identify sections of each country’s national laws that could impact
news coverage of diversity. The books will be available in Armenian,
Azeri, English and Georgian.
A Media Relations Handbook for Non-Governmental Organizations is
also set for release on February 22. The guide, published by MDI
and the Independent Journalism Foundation, is intended to help NGOs
communicate with the media. It will also be available in Armenian,
Azeri, English, Georgian and Russian.
The publications are part of MDI’s ongoing project to train the media
and empower minorities in the South Caucasus. The three-year program
involves training journalists, editors, journalism professors and
NGO representatives in diversity reporting and theory.
The books will be made available in both hard copy and on the MDI
Web site at
For more information, contact Lydia El-Khouri at
[email protected] or Elena Aladashvili at
[email protected].
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

3 Azeri soldiers accidentally pass to Armenian side of frontline
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 18 2005
Baku, February 17, AssA-Irada — Soldiers in the Azerbaijan Army –
Hikmat Taghiyev, Khayal Abdullayev and Ruslan Bashirov – passed to
the Armenian side of the frontline on February 15, as they lost their
way close to Terter District. The Ministry of Defence is currently
in talks with the Armenian side on the return of the lost soldiers.*

OSCE concerned over frequent ceasefire breaches
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 18 2005
BAKU, February 17, AssA-Irada — Co-chairs of the Minsk Group (MG) have
requested the OSCE chairman-in-office that the special OSCE mission
prepare a report on the situation on the frontline, a source from
the Tbilisi-based office of the OSCE chairman’s special envoy Anjey
Kaspshik has said. The MG co-chairs have expressed their concerns over
the frequent ceasefire breaches on frontline over the last few days.
“The situation is clear. The ceasefire has been violated and this
should stop soon. The countries co-chairing the MG are concerned over
the ceasefire breaches, which question the OSCE mediation mission,”
the same source said.
Armenian military units have breached ceasefire several times over
the last few days, killing and wounding Azerbaijani soldiers and
civilians.*

President’s visit to Russia over
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 18 2005
Baku, February 17, AssA-Irada — President Ilham Aliyev returned to
Baku from an official visit to Moscow on Thursday.
While in Moscow, Aliyev held a private meeting with the Russian
leader Vladimir Putin and attended the opening ceremony of the “Year
of Azerbaijan” in Russia. Ways of settling the Armenia-Azerbaijan
conflict over Upper Garabagh were in focus at the meeting.*

Foreign Minister on French co-chair’s statement
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 18 2005
Baku, February 17, AssA-Irada — The statement by the French co-chair
of the OSCE Minsk Group (MG) Bernard Fassier that the OSCE fact-finding
mission discovered organized settlement of Armenians only in the Lachin
District, has drawn differing responses from the Azerbaijani public.
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told journalists that the
French co-chair’s statement alone ‘can’t be considered sufficient”.
Mammadyarov said that Azerbaijan will take further steps on a basis of
conclusions of experts from the countries included in the OSCE mission.
“First, we must study the report to be prepared by the mission and
then see which path Azerbaijan will choose.”
Mammadyarov went on to say that the report will be prepared by a group
of experts of Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Finland. “It is early
to speak about the conclusions in the document,” he said. In his
statement, Fassier said that unlike the Lachin District, Armenians
were not settled in the regions around Garabagh “purposefully”.
According to the French co-chair, the population settled in the
occupied regions is divided into three categories: refugees from
Azerbaijan, those hit by the earthquake that took place in Spitak,
Armenia in 1988, and those who left Armenia due to socio-economic
hardship.*

Making music in the diaspora
Watertown TAB & Press, MA
Feb 18 2005
Four Armenians active in the music industry will participate in a
roundtable discussion on contemporary thinking in the Armenian/American
music world on Sunday, Feb. 20, 3 p.m., at the Armenian Library and
Museum of America, 65 Main St.
Illustrating their comments with their own live and recorded music,
John Baboian, Leon Janikian, Raffi Meneshian and Sarine Balian will
confront some of the major issues for Armenians in the music world
today. The conversation will be followed by an open discussion with
the audience.
Baboian, the moderator of the event, is an associate professor of
guitar at the Berklee College of Music. He has been on the faculty
since 1980, focusing mainly on mainstream jazz styles. A composer
and arranger, his music has been heard on such television shows as
“The Sopranos,” “Walker, Texas Ranger” and “All My Children.” His
Be-Bop Guitars is an all-Berklee faculty band with five guitars and
a rhythm section.
Janikian, associate professor of music and coordinator of music
industry at Northeastern University, has been an academician,
professional musician and recording engineer for over 40 years.
Janikian was the primary engineer/producer for more than 150 records
in all musical genres, and for numerous multimedia and commercial
productions. He is a sought-after musician in the United States as a
performer of the traditional music of Armenia, Greece and the Middle
East. He also has been instrumental in the creation of the Archive
of Armenian Music in America.
Meneshian, founder/CEO of Pomegranate Music, has produced four
albums which have achieved popularity in the Armenian community,
and has been the executive producer on three other CDs for his music
label. Meneshian is known for the live concerts he has produced, most
notably the Armenstock Festival and the Lilit Pipoyan U.S. Tour. He
is a member of the Recording Academy, where he holds a vote for the
Grammy Awards, and is a contributor to Global Rhythm Magazine and
the Armenian Weekly.
Balian is San Francisco-area vocalist specializing in jazz and world
music. She performs with a jazz trio and, on occasion, doumbek.
She teaches instrumental music at Krouzian Zekarian Vasbouragan
Armenian School in San Francisco.
“Armenian Musicians in the Diaspora” is the third in a series of
presentations held at ALMA celebrating the opening of the Mesrob
Boyajian Library, a facility designed for use by scholars at all
levels engaged in research on topics related to the Armenian people,
as well as by the general public. For more information, call ALMA at
617-926-2562, ext. 3.

New ALMA director has big plans for museum
By Ericka Crouse/ Correspondent
Friday, February 18, 2005
Watertown TAB & Press, MA
Feb 18 2005
Berj Chekijian, an active member of Boston’s Armenian community
and former fiber optic engineer, was named the new director of the
Armenian Library and Museum of America.
“A museum is a mirror of your culture, of your history,” said
Chekijian, “We as Armenian-Americans are very fortunate to be here
in Watertown, which has been an Armenian hub. The city has given use
an opportunity to prosper, and we’re giving that back to the city by
putting this mirror here.”
Chekijian, whose leadership roles in the Armenian community include
helping to found Boston chapters of Armenian youth and cultural
organizations, believes that his background in engineering will help
him to help ALMA become an accredited museum. To earn accreditation
from the American Association of Museums, an institution must ensure
certain standards of quality and must catalogue its collection.
“It’s a project that methodically has to be done, and as an engineer
I have done those things for my company,” said Chekijian.
Haig Der Manuelian, chairman of ALMA’s board of directors and member
of the selection committee for the position, said of Chekijian, “He’s
deeply rooted in Armenian tradition and history and culture. He’s
conversant in the language. He even teaches the language.
“He has great, mature judgment,” said Der Manuelian, “He brings a
lot of ideas. We look forward to great things from him.”
Long anxious to serve the Armenian community and to protect and teach
his cultural heritage, Chekijian is implementing some new initiatives
at the museum to make the information available to more people. He led
the drive to change ALMA’s hours to include evening and weekend hours
“so that it will be accessible to working people,” he said.
Chekijian is also involved in creating the museum’s new Web site, which
will include a catalogue of all the books available in the library
as well as a rotating exhibit of pieces from the museum’s collection
of over 20,000 cultural artifacts, books, photographs and art.
Chekijian is replacing Robert Parsekian, who left the directorship
to go into the real estate business with his father.

Watertown a leader in early childhood programs
By Dan Atkinson/ Staff Writer
Watertown TAB & Press, Massachussettes
Feb 18 2005
About 18 months ago, Maral Karamousayan had a problem. Her oldest
children were preparing to enter kindergarten, but Karamousayan, an
Armenian originally from Syria, was concerned about their ability
to read and speak English. She heard from a friend about a free
twice-weekly program that helped children with their reading and
signed up.
Now, she said, her children have gone from not speaking any English
to using it all the time, and reading “is the best thing in the house.”
Karamousayan is participating in the Parent Child Home Program,
one of several early childhood education programs in Watertown.
Although Watertown is much smaller than neighboring communities such
as Newton and Waltham, it receives nearly $750,000 in grants from the
commonwealth for early childhood programs, despite cuts in funding
over the past few years. Newton receives about $835,000 in state
grants for early childhood education, and Waltham gets about $118,000.
Watertown’s five state-funded early childhood programs are a model
for other communities because of their interrelation, according to
Anne Hardiman, Watertown’s early childhood coordinator.
“We try to work as a whole council, not separate entities,” Hardiman
said. “One grant feeds out of another grant.”
The programs cover a range of ages and subjects. The Watertown Family
Network helps parents of newborn children with child development;
Community Partnerships for Children oversees preschool education; the
Quality Full-Day Kindergarten Grant helps maintain small classroom
sizes and all-day classes for kindergarteners; and Even Start and
the Parent Child Home Program focus on reading.
The grant programs and other private programs are holding an Early
Childhood Information Fair on Saturday, March 9, from 9:30 to 11:30
a.m. at Watertown Middle School, 68 Waverley Ave.
The Parent Child Home Program sends volunteers and staff members to
about 20 families in Watertown over two-year periods, said program
director Beth Fagan. The “modelers” bring books and educational toys
to the family twice a week and talk about them with a parent and
the child participating in the program, although the family’s other
children are encouraged to participate as well.
The program is less focused on pure literacy than teaching children to
relate books to the real world, Fagan said. The modeler, and eventually
the parent, will use the books’ illustrations and toys to let the child
make connections between text and objects in the child’s home. Not
only does the process improve reading skills, it teaches them learning
skills they need help the school system as a whole succeed, Fagan said.
“A child who goes to school ready to learn is an asset to the
community,” she said. “But if the same kid goes to school ready to
learn but the kid next to him can’t read and is acting up in class,
both are harmed.”
Fagan said the program’s goal is to “encourage a love of books,”
and Karamousayan said her children have taken their reading to
heart. Her 6-year-old daughter, Anais, reads bedtime stories,
with Karamousayan’s help, to her younger siblings. Her son, Mike,
was a year old when the family began the program in September 2003,
and now brings books into the room when Kathy Kopp, the family’s
modeler, comes by on her twice-weekly visits.
However, the program was cut from the state budget in 2002 after
receiving a grant for $80,000 the previous year, and was restored
in 2003 at $40,000 of funding, Fagan said. To match funding, Fagan
has gotten donations from the Watertown Savings Bank and the O’Neill
Properties Fund, which was created by the sale of the Arsenal on the
Charles to Harvard University.
All of the programs have been cut in recent years, Hardiman
said. Although the cuts often run statewide, they have a harsher
impact in Watertown, according to Watertown Family Network Director
Arlene Smith.
“It’s eye-opening how much this is really needed,” she said.
“Watertown has a lot of people from outside the United States who
are here because their partner is getting a degree or working on an
internship, and they face uncharted territory when they’re raising a
child and oftentimes don’t speak [English]. We still hear from people
about how we’ve made a big difference in their lives.”
Karamousayan is fluent in English, but said she was still shy about
reading aloud before she started the Parent Child Home Program.
Now she is reading “Charlotte’s Web” to Anais, and is more involved
in the community through the Watertown Family Network. She takes Mike
to play group every Tuesday and music class on Friday at the family
center. Fagan said people like Karamousayan show the usefulness of
Watertown’s early childhood programs, and are good arguments for
increased funding
“Success breeds success,” she said. “If a grant program is doing well
in the community, it shows the community knows how to use the money.”
Dan Atkinson can be reached at [email protected].