Minneapolis Star Tribune , MN
April 2 2004
Sunday’s film festival highlights
[parts omitted]
OAK STREET:
“The Documentarist,” 9:45 p.m. (Armenia, 62 min.) Black-and-white
portrait of Armenia, a country that throughout history has been
ravaged by war, poverty, substance abuse, emigration and crime.
Azerbaijan, Armenia hinder peace process – Russian mediator
Azad Azarbaycan TV, Baku
1 Apr 04
[Presenter] The Russian co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Yuriy
Merzlyakov today [1 April] made a new statement about the current
state of the [Karabakh conflict] settlement process. Saying that the
Minsk Group has prepared new proposals and ideas, Merzlyakov said that
they had not been discussed through the fault of the conflicting
parties. He also said that it is not possible to produce a proposal
which would satisfy both parties.
[Correspondent] The OSCE Minsk Group is trying to decide a place and
date for the talks on the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict. However, no agreement has been reached with the parties so
far. This is what the Russian co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group,
Yuriy Merzlyakov, told ATV.
Commenting on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s statement that the
OSCE Minsk Group had not made concrete proposals, Merzlyakov said that
there were new ideas and proposals, but the co-chairmen could not
obtain the parties’ consent to meet and discuss them.
[Merzlyakov, by phone, with superimposed Azeri translation] It is
impossible to produce a proposal which will satisfy all the
parties. Therefore, the talks must continue. The Minsk Group has new
ideas and proposals; but unfortunately, we fail in our attempts to
organize a discussion of the proposals with the parties.
[Correspondent] As for other complaints about the Minsk Group’s
activities, Merzlyakov said that it was the fault of the parties, not
the Minsk Group, that consultations had not taken place.
[Merzlyakov] We have been working since January 2004 to have the
consultations held. But we cannot achieve this as either one or other
party insists that the date of a meeting should be changed. We first
received Armenia’s proposal to postpone the Prague meeting. Then the
other side came out against the meeting.
[Correspondent] Merzlyakov went on to add that one cannot say that the
peace process has reached a deadlock. We are optimists and hope that
we will be able to start consultations with the sides soon, end quote.
Kamran Hasanov, “Son Xabar”.
ArmenPress
April 2 2004
THREE DIE, SIX OTHERS GET INJURIES IN FUNICULAR ACCIDENT
YEREVAN, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS: Three people were killed and six
others received heavy injuries when a funicular railway car fell on
the ground today. The accident occurred at 2 pm when the car was
taking passengers to Nor Nork borough from downtown Yerevan. Another
car that was sliding towards the center did not fall down due to
braking system.
The injured were rushed to hospital. An official of the
emergencies department said the accident may have been caused by the
obsolete machinery.
ArmenPress
April 2 2004
LEBANON’S PRIME MINISTER WRAPS UP YEREVAN VISIT
YEREVAN, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS: Wrapping up a two-day visit to
Yerevan, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, said the maiden
session of a joint intergovernmental commission focused on ways for
boosting commercial exchange between the two countries and reviewing
all previously signed agreements.
Speaking to a news conference together with his Armenian
counterpart, Andranik Margarian, Hariri said Armenian and Lebanese
officials agreed to set up a permanent joint structure that would
explore and facilitate investment opportunities in the two countries
and discuss new transportation schemes to promote bigger trade
exchange.
Armenian prime minister in turn said a lot has to be done for
proper study of the countries’ markets, which he said can be achieved
through reciprocal visits, exchange of information and other relevant
actions. He also said that Armenia has a lot to learn from Lebanon’s
burgeoning tourism industry.
Hariri, arrived in Yerevan accompanied by cabinet ministers and
four ethnic Armenian members of the Lebanese parliament. Before the
1975 civil war Lebanon was home to one of the most influential
Armenian communities abroad numbering more than 300,000, but despite
that thousands of them chose to emigrate to Europe and USA, the
community is represented in the government and parliament, being also
instrumental in contributing to warm political relations between the
two nations.
ArmenPress
April 2 2004
KOCHARIAN CONFERS WITH INTELLECTUALS
YEREVAN, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS: Armenian president Robert Kocharian
conferred today with members of an initiative group of intellectuals
who had asked him in a letter to set up a presidential commission,
composed of volunteers, to study the current problems of spiritual
and cultural life, develop proposals for their solutions and present
them to the authorized bodies.
The intellectuals praised the government’s policy aimed at
reviving the cultural life saying positive changes in this area are
obvious with a succession of cultural events, reconstruction of
cultural establishments and publication of books.
The president emphasized in turn that the cultural policy must be
extended from the capital to regions, adding that an extensive
project was developed to rehabilitate regional cultural
establishments.
Intellectuals said that concurrently with positive shifts there
are serious concerns over the intervention of low-quality artistic
values and overlooking of younger generation’s upbringing.
Sharing their concerns president Kocharian proposed first an
in-depth look into all relevant problems and search for mechanisms
for effective operation of the commission.
ArmenPress
April 2 2004
RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT REACTS TO ALIYEV’S CRITICISM OF MINSK GROUP
BAKU, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS: In a somewhat angry reaction to Azeri
president, Ilham Aliyev’s criticism of the OSCE Minks group for
“failing to develop new proposals for regulation of the Karabagh
conflict,’ the Russian co-chairman of the group, Yuri Merzlyakov
countered that the group has developed new proposals, but cannot
bring the conflicting sides at negotiation table to discuss them.
In an interview with a Baku-based 525 Gazet, the Russian diplomat
said it is impossible to draft proposals that would be welcomed by
all parties and therefore they will continue their efforts, hoping
for the soonest resumption of talks.
ArmenPress
April 2 2004
ARSHILE GORKY’S CENTENARY TO BE MARKED IN YEREVAN
YEREVAN, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS: The centenary of Arshile Gorky, one
of the most famous contemporary artists, the founder of Abstract
Surrealism, will be marked in Yerevan on April 15 by a set of events,
initiated by Arshile Gorky Foundation in collaboration with the Union
of Armenian Artists. One of the events will be an exhibition of
pictures and sculptures of Armenian artists. The government has set
up a commission to steer the events. An exhibition of his works will
be organized also at New York Metropolitan Museum. By the way, there
is only one picture by Gorky in Armenia, kept at the headquarters of
the Armenian Church in Etchmiadzin.
Arshile Gorky was born Vosdanik Adoian in the village of Khorkom,
province of Van, Armenia, on April 15, 1904. The Adoians became
refugees from the Turkish invasion; Gorky himself left Van in 1915
and arrived in the United States about March 1, 1920. He stayed with
relatives in Watertown, Massachusetts, and with his father, who had
settled in Providence, Rhode Island. By 1922 he lived in Watertown
and taught at the New School of Design in Boston. In 1925 he moved to
New York and changed his name to Arshile Gorky. He entered the Grand
Central School of Art in New York as a student but soon became an
instructor of drawing; from 1926 to 1931 he was a member of the
faculty. Throughout the 1920s Gorky’s painting was influenced by
Georges Braque, Paul Cézanne, and, above all, Pablo Picasso.
In 1930 Gorky’s work was included in a group show at the Museum of
Modern Art in New York. During the thirties he associated closely
with Stuart Davis, Willem de Kooning, and John Graham; he shared a
studio with de Kooning late in the decade. Gorky’s first solo show
took place at the Mellon Galleries in Philadelphia in 1931. From 1935
to 1937 he worked under the WPA Federal Art Project on murals for
Newark Airport. His involvement with the WPA continued into 1941.
Gorky’s first solo show in New York was held at the Boyer Galleries
in 1938. The San Francisco Museum of Art exhibited his work in 1941.
In the 1940s he was profoundly affected by the work of European
Surrealists, particularly Joan Miró, André Masson, and Matta. By 1944
he met André Breton and became a friend of other Surrealist emigrés
in this country. Gorky’s first exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery
in New York took place in 1945. From 1942 to 1948 he worked for part
of each year in the countryside of Connecticut or Virginia. A
succession of personal tragedies, including a fire in his studio that
destroyed much of his work, a serious operation, and an automobile
accident, preceded Gorky’s death by suicide on July 21, 1948, in
Sherman, Connecticut.
ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
April 2, 2004 Friday 8:43 AM Eastern Time
Armenia, Lebanon intend to develop economic cooperation
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
Armenia and Lebanon intend to develop economic cooperation in various
fields, prime ministers of the countries Andranik Margaryan and Rafik
Hariri said after the official visit of the Lebanese premier to
Yerevan.
Upon results of the visit the package of agreements on cooperation in
culture, science, education and agriculture was signed. The premiers
called on business quarters of the countries to actively cooperate.
Difficulties in cargo traffic from one country to another that
resulted in increasing prices for goods is an important problem that
Hariri discussed in Yerevan, he emphasised. “We are searching for
solutions,” the Lebanese prime minister pointed out.
The Armenians have always played a significant role in the
development and prosperity of Lebanon and participated in various
spheres of life in the country, Hariri remarked. They hold posts in
the government, parliament, Central Bank, trade and industry of the
country, the premier noted.
The Middle East settlement should correspond to UN resolutions,
decisions of the UN Security Council and international agreements, it
was said at Hariri’s meeting in the Armenian parliament.
Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 2, 2004
CONTACT: David Zenian
E-mail: [email protected]
ASSEMBLY RESPONDS TO TURKISH INVITATION FOR DIALOGUE
Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly leadership this week told a senior
Turkish official it was ready to resume dialogue, but not during the month
of April and not until a critical assessment of Turkish policy since the
last exchange in June of 2003.
Responding to an invitation by Ambassador Ecvet Tezcan, Assembly Board of
Directors Chairman Anthony Barsamian said dialogue without results is
meaningless and therefore it was imperative to “lay out our objectives”
prior to any future discussions.
“The Armenian Assembly of America appreciates your invitation on behalf of
your Foreign Ministry to continue our dialogue begun last June in New York,”
Barsamian said in his reply to Ambassador Tezcan.
“While our organization remains committed to continuing our full and frank
exchanges on issues that presently divide us, the next meeting cannot take
place during the month of April as you propose. As you are well aware, this
solemn month for all Armenians is a time for remembrance of the Armenian
Genocide. Your government’s inexplicable denial policy remains unchanged,
making it impossible to convene this month,” Barsamian added.
Similar meetings with Tezcan in June last year in New York and Los Angeles,
that included in LA representatives from the Armenian General Benevolent
Union (AGBU), and the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of America,
underscored the community message that Armenian-Americans are united in
their insistence that Turkey deal with the issue of the Armenian Genocide,
establish normal relations with Armenia that are not dictated by the
Azerbaijani position on Nagorno Karabakh and end restrictions and pressure
on the Armenian minority in Turkey.
After the June discussions, then-Assembly Board of Directors Chairman Peter
Vosbikian said while there was no breakthrough, it still provided an
opportunity for a “frank exchange of views” which “at minimum … will
prevent Turkey’s friends from using an outright refusal to meet against us
in their lobbying in Capitol Hill.”
“Turkey now needs to validate its dialogue and positive statements with
deeds on all of the historic and contemporary questions that comprise the
Armenia-Turkey agenda,” Vosbikian said.
But nearly ten months since the last face-to-face encounter, there has been
no change in Turkish attitudes or behavior.
“I know that you concur that dialogue without results is not in anyone’s
interest, and we need to lay out objectives prior to meeting. Your
government’s statements and actions on the Armenian Genocide since last
June, the lack of movement on opening the border with Armenia despite calls
from the Bush Administration and the European Union to do so, and, the
failure to implement minority rights reforms, indicate that our dialogue
must be more urgent and result oriented,” Barsamian said.
“Our organization looks forward to a more focused process that begins to
deal with these and other pressing issues on our common agenda,” Barsamian
added in is response to the latest invitation for a new round of dialogue
with the Turkish side.
The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
###
NR#2004-033
RosBusinessConsulting Database
April 2, 2004 Friday 8:04 am, EST
CIS output up in Jan-Feb 2004
The industrial output of CIS members increased at the average by 10
percent in January-February 2004 against the same period in 2003. The
strongest output growth was observed in Ukraine (18.2 percent),
Georgia (14.8 percent), Moldova (13.4 percent), the CIS Interstate
Statistical Committee reports.
Industrial output also increased in Belarus (13.2 percent),
Tajikistan (10.6 percent), Kazakhstan (8.9 percent), Russia (8.1
percent), Kirghizia (6.4 percent), and Azerbaijan (4.6 percent). The
only CIS country where the output decreased by 5.5 percent in
January-February 2004 against the same period in 2003 is Armenia.
The information on the output growth in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
is not given.