Category: News

State commission says Azeri POW in Karabakh OK
ANS TV, Baku
6 Jul 04

Representatives of the International Committee of Red Cross [ICRC] in
Xankandi [Stepanakert] have again met Aydin Huseynov, a soldier of the
Azerbaijani army, who was taken prisoner. To recap, this is the second
meeting of the ICRC representatives with the Azeri POW.
[Passage omitted: reported details]
We have received this report from the ICRC. The state commission of
the Azerbaijani National Security Ministry for POWs, hostages and
missing persons confirmed the report. They said that the situation of
the Azerbaijani soldier in Armenian captivity is OK. The commission’s
talks with Yerevan [on securing Huseynov’s release] are still
fruitless.
[Passage omitted: reported details]

Windsor Star (Ontario)
July 6, 2004 Tuesday Final Edition
Egoyan wins top honours at Armenian film fest
SOURCE: Star News Services
YEREVAN, Armenia
YEREVAN, Armenia — Atom Egoyan’s two-year-old movie Ararat won the
top prize at the Golden Apricot Film Festival of works by ethnic
Armenian directors, officials said Monday.
The festival included 57 movies by directors from 20 countries.
Egoyan is a Canadian of Armenian heritage.
The film depicts the plight of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. Armenians
say that a 1915-1923 campaign to force Armenians out of eastern
Turkey left 1.5 million people dead and amounted to genocide.

Canadian Press
July 6 2004
Egoyan film wins top prize at Armenian festival
YEREVAN, ARMENIA
Atom Egoyan’s two-year-old movie Ararat won the top prize at the
Golden Apricot Film Festival of works by ethnic Armenian directors,
officials said yesterday.
The festival included 57 movies by directors from 20 countries.
Egoyan is a Canadian of Armenian heritage.
The film depicts the plight of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. Armenians
say that a 1915-1923 campaign to force Armenians from Turkey left 1.5
million dead and amounted to genocide.
The title refers to the mountain that Armenians regard as their
national symbol but which now lies in Turkey.
In 2003, the film won five Genie Awards, including best picture.

Ottawa Citizen
July 6, 2004 Tuesday Final Edition
Egoyan takes top prize at Armenian film fest: Canadian’s movie about
genocide caused uproar in Turkey
by Tony Lofaro
Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan’s controversial film Ararat continues
to pick up honours two years after it first caused an uproar among
the Turkish people.
The film was awarded the top prize yesterday at the Golden Apricot
Film Festival in Yerevan, Armenia, which showcases works by ethnic
Armenian directors and this year featured 57 movies by directors from
20 countries.
Mr. Egoyan is a Canadian of Armenian descent and his film, made in
2002, tells the plight of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. Armenians say
a 1915-1923 campaign to force Armenians out of eastern Turkey left
1.5 million people dead and amounted to genocide.
Turkey says the number of Armenians who died is inflated, and that
people died during civil unrest and not as the result of a planned
campaign.
The movie starred Mr. Egoyan’s wife, Arsinee Khanjian, Christopher
Plummer, Elias Koteas, and newcomer David Alpay, who played one of
the central roles in the film.
Ararat was screened out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival in
2002 and was also selected that year as the opening night gala film
at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was a hit in Canada
and went on to win five awards, including best picture, at the 2003
Genie Awards in Toronto.
Last year, the Turkish cultural minister agreed the film could be
released in the country, but it never made it to theatres. The
Armenian National Committee of Canada said the distributor pulled it
after receiving threats from Ulku Ocaklari, a group with ties to the
Grey Wolves, a nationalist paramilitary group, as well as the Turkish
military and intelligence units.
The threats did not bother Mr. Egoyan, who has said the events
depicted in the film were completely substantiated.
At a news conference at the Cannes Film Festival, Mr. Egoyan was
asked about the issues the film raises. He replied: “This is not a
film that is trying to demonize present-day Turks. In fact, it is the
opposite — I am trying to ask the viewer to consider what it means
to pass judgment on somebody who is alive today for things that were
done, for good or for evil, by people who are no longer around.”
The title of the film refers to the mountain that Armenians regard as
their national symbol, which is now in Turkey.

The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec)
July 6, 2004 Tuesday Final Edition
Ararat wins at Armenian festival
YEREVAN, Armenia/
Atom Egoyan’s two-year-old movie Ararat won the top prize at the
Golden Apricot Film Festival of works by ethnic Armenian directors,
officials said yesterday. The
festival included 57 movies by directors from 20 countries. Egoyan is
a Canadian of Armenian heritage. The film depicts the plight of
Armenians in Ottoman Turkey.

AGBU PRESS OFFICE
55 East 59th Street, New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone (212) 319-6383
Fax (212) 319-6507
Email [email protected]
Webpage
PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, July 6, 2004
ARMENIAN “JOURNEY THROUGH DANCE” AT NEW YORK’S LINCOLN CENTER
New York-Over a thousand people attended AGBU Antranig Dance
Ensemble’s latest dance performance, “Journey Through Dance”, at New
York’s Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on Saturday, June 5th, 2004.
The presentation was particularly special for Antranig’s dancers and
staff as it commemorated the troupe’s 35th Anniversary. After many
decades of entertaining, Armenian and non-Armenian Antranig devotees
continue to enjoy the display of colorful folk costumes and
traditional choreography.
The opening number, “Hayastan”, overflowed with bright and flowing
colors, and incorporated a burst of energetic sword dueling among the
male dancers. The variety of dance presented in the program was
especially striking. Ethnographic dances from historic Armenian
regions have always been a staple of the Antranig repertoire, but this
year they included a rare dance from the “Hamshen” area.
Over sixty youth from the Hye Bar Dance Group of the Armenian Church
of the Holy Martyrs, under the direction of Rita Kizakian, and the
Hamazkayin Society of New Jersey also performed two pieces, “Lorgeh”
and “Azgagragan”.
The evening concluded with an enthusiastic finale of “Der
Voghormya/Avarayr” by the Antranig dancers, which brought to life the
meaning of the ancient devotional prayer special to Armenians around
the world.
Although many helped to make “Journey Through Dance” possible, it was
the creativitiy and choreography of Yerevan-native Gagik Karapetian,
and Artistic Director Joyce Tamesian-Shenloogian that were seminal in
realizing the production.
Established in 1970, AGBU Antranig Dance Ensemble consists of young
Armenian men and women who are devoted to celebrating dance as part of
the Armenian heritage.

As a result of the overwhelming response from the Lincoln Center
audience, plans are underway for encore presentations of “Journey
Through Dance” in New York as early as Fall 2004 with a possible tour
to other cities. For more information on Antranig or their
performances, please visit or call Vicky Sarkisian at
845.658.8712.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
July 6, 2004 Tuesday 3:38 PM Eastern Time
Armenia is main strategic partner of Russia – MP Kokoshin
By Susanna Adamyants, Alexandra Urusova
MOSCOW
Armenia “is our main strategic ally with which we have no problems,”
Chairman of the Duma Committee for CIS Affairs and Relations with
Compatriots Andrei Kokoshin said after negotiations with Armenian
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan.
“The regional situation requires coordinated security efforts in the
Caucasus, the South Caucasus in the first turn,” he said.
“Negotiations between Vartan Oskanyan and Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov, and Oskanyan’s meeting with Russian parliamentarians
displayed identical opinions about all items on the agenda. Russian
deputies said they were ready to contribute to the development of
bilateral relations,” Kokoshin said.
“A number of conceptual issues need a closer discussion,” Oskanyan
said. “Many conflicts in the world and the region require close
cooperation between Moscow and Yerevan.”
Parties to the negotiations at the Russian Foreign Ministry said
“there is no alternative to peace settlement of regional conflicts,
including the one in Nagorno-Karabakh.” Armenia “is a prime partner
of Russia, an ally in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in
Europe, and a country with which Russia has lasting friendly
relations. In fact, we are one and the same people,” Lavrov said
referring to his Armenian blood.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
July 6, 2004 Tuesday 3:38 PM Eastern Time
Armenia sets no prelim terms for opening borders with Turkey
By Svetlana Alexandrova, Alexandra Urusova
MOSCOW
Armenia “has set no preliminary terms for opening its borders with
Turkey. Our borders are open,” Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanyan said on Tuesday. Oskanyan is on an official visit in Moscow.
“It is not Armenia that should open the borders, they are open from
our side,” he stressed. According to Oskanyan, Yerevan would like to
have its relations with Istanbul “restored without any preliminary
terms.”
“We wish Turkey would open the borders from its side,” the Armenian
foreign minister concluded.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
July 6, 2004 Tuesday 3:38 PM Eastern Time
Interaction with Armenia among Russia foreign policy priorities
By Svetlana Alexandrova, Alexandra Urusova
MOSCOW
The latest meeting of the Minsk group of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict showed that the sides are ready to look for
the solution to this long-standing problem, Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday following the talks with his Armenian
counterpart Vardan Oskanyan.
The Russian minister pointed to the “coincidence of the positions of
the two countries virtually on all the questions of the bilateral and
international agenda”.
He stressed that interaction with Armenia “is a priority trend in
Russian foreign policy”. “This is fully manifested in such areas as
cooperation in investment, trade and economic partnership and the
political dialogue”.
He said the recently formed Russo-Armenian business council
contributed much to the development of relations. Lavrov said
cooperation between the two countries within the framework of the
CIS, United Nations and the Council of Europe was discussed at the
meeting.
In his turn, Vardan Oskanyan expressed satisfaction with the results
of the talks with Sergei Lavrov. “I am sure that our political
dialogue will be continued, especially now that many interesting
events take place in our region”, he said.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
July 6, 2004 Tuesday 3:38 PM Eastern Time
World Armenian Congress worried over church destruction
MOSCOW
The World Armenian Congress has expressed concern over the condition
of the Akhtamar Saint Cross Church – a unique monument of medieval
Armenian architecture, which is situated in Turkey, on an island in
Lake Van.
The Saint Cross Church was built in 915-921, says a statement of the
World Armenian Congress received by Itar-Tass. It is so much
dilapidated now that “soon only ruins will be left of it.”
The World Armenian Congress urged the Turkish and Armenian
governments to take steps without delay for restoring the Akhtamar
Saint Cross Church and to hold talks with the participation of
international experts from UNESCO for outlining measures to be taken
for restoring this and other Armenian architectural monuments on the
Turkish territory.