ARMINFO News Agency
September 13, 2006 Wednesday
DATA SUBMITTED BY US EMBASSY IN ARMENIA TO ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT
CONTAIN NO FACTS AGAINST NATURE PROTECTION MINISTER
The data submitted by the US Embassy in Armenia to the Armenian
Government contained no facts accusing the minister of nature
protection, Vardan Ayvazyan, of bribery, Andranik Margaryan, the
prime minister of Armenia, told journalists, Wednesday.
The data just contained complaints by Global Gold Mining against the
minister, but no facts. The tense relations between the company and
the Nature Protection Minister are natural. Such tension often
originates between an economic entity and the government. “We
proposed Global Gold Mining to apply to the court, but it preferred
not to do it,” the prime minister said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Ekho Moskvy radio, Moscow, in Russian
13 Sep 06
MOSCOW PROSECUTORS CONFIRM POLICE CADET’S ARREST OVER ARMENIAN
YOUTH’S MURDER
[Presenter] The Moscow prosecutor’s office announced today that it
has solved a high-profile murder committed on the Moscow underground
in April. An Armenian youth, 17-year-old Vigen Abramyants was killed
at the Pushkinskaya underground station. It was announced today that
a certain Nikita Senyukov has been detained on suspicion of
committing this murder. The news can be regarded as quite sensational
because the supposed murderer was a police college cadet. The
detention was confirmed to us by Svetlana Petrenko, aide to the
Moscow prosecutor,.
[Petrenko] Nikita Senyukov, born in 1988, a fourth-year student at
College No 1 of the Moscow Main Directorate of Internal Affairs, has
been detained on suspicion of committing the murder of Vigen
Abramyants in April this year at the Pushkinskaya underground station
in Moscow. The criminal case was instituted by the Moscow Underground
Prosecutor’s Office under Article 105 Part 2 Clauses “zh” and “l” of
the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: murder by a group of
people committed for reasons of ethnic hatred. Moscow’s
Cheremushkinskiy Court ruled yesterday that the measure of restraint
applicable to the suspect is arrest. The underground prosecutor’s
office intends to bring charges against Senyukov shortly.
[Correspondent] Moreover, some reports suggest that Nikita Senyukov
is a second-generation policeman. His father was also a policeman –
not rank-and-file but a very senior one, they say. However, our radio
was told at police college No 1 that Nikita Senyukov had withdrawn
from the college a while ago. The college chief, Aleksey
Bezyazychnyy, told us about the cadet.
[Bezyazychnyy] Nikita Senyukov wrote an application saying he would
like to withdraw. You know, he was an ordinary student, just like any
other. He could not be classified as (? difficult). He went in for
sports, big way. He reached the qualifications of candidate master of
sports in unarmed combat. That’s all I can tell you. He was doing
fairly well in his studies too.
[Presenter] Sources close to the investigation point out that he was
traced thanks to the investigation into a criminal case of the
explosion at the Cherkizovskiy market. Some reports say Nikita
Senyukov was a member of one of the nationalist groups operating in
Moscow. Three of those detained on suspicion of [causing] the
explosion at the market were also members. This was mentioned
yesterday by the lawyer for Vigen Abramyants’ family, Simon
Tsaturyan.
[Tsaturyan] Obviously this individual, together with his accomplices,
was also linked to the explosion at the Cherkizovskiy market. The
motive is still the same: the crime was committed because of
interethnic strife. There could not have been any other motives. You
may remember that from the outset we protested strongly against the
theory that the murder was the result of a personal disagreement –
because Vigen allegedly quarrelled with a certain Kulagin. Thank God,
we have lived to see the day when the true circumstances of this
murder and the identities of the persons really involved in this
crime have been established.
[Passage omitted]
[Correspondent] The 17-year-old Management University student Vigen
Abramyants was killed on the evening of 22 April on a platform of the
Pushkinskaya underground station. He and his group-mates were
attacked by a group of teenagers wearing black jackets and high
boots. In the fight, one of the assailants stabbed Abramyants in the
heart, as a result of which the student died on the spot. Another two
people sustained non-life-threatening wounds to their faces and arms.
The assailants escaped. [Passage omitted.]
[Presenter] Let me quote the view of Ara Abramyan, president of the
Union of Armenians of Russia. He regrets that crimes with ethnic
motives are often committed by students and those from well-to-do
families. [Passage omitted.]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Arminfo, Yerevan, in Russian
13 Sep 06
ARMENIA, BULGARIA SIGN MILITARY ACCORD
Yerevan, 13 September: The Armenian and Bulgarian defence ministers
have signed a document on further development of bilateral
cooperation in the military sphere.
Armenian Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan and his Bulgarian opposite
number, Veselin Bliznakov, signed the document at their meeting on 11
September, the press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry told
Arminfo.
The Armenian and Bulgarian defence ministers discussed developing and
deepening of defence cooperation. The ministers agreed to cooperate
in conducting democratic supervision over the armed forces, forming
military budgets and ensuring transparency in defence planning, as
well as in the sphere of drawing up the military doctrine and
blueprint for national security. The ministers also agreed to
exchange expertise and re-train Armenian representatives at Bulgarian
military schools.
Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov received the Armenian delegation
led by the defence minister on the same day. The Armenian delegation
also visited the Bulgarian National Assembly and was received by
Deputy Speaker Petur Beron and members of the parliamentary standing
commission on defence.
In addition, meetings of working groups on defence planning and
logistics were held within the framework of cooperation between the
defence ministries of Armenia and Bulgaria.

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan, in Armenian
13 Sep 06
ARMENIAN MINISTER SAYS KARABAKH RESOLUTION SHOULD BE SPEEDED UP
[Presenter] Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan met the
co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group in Paris [12 September]. Oskanyan
told Armenian journalists that the framework of problems had been
clarified and the sides would discuss it in the near future.
[Oskanyan] We discussed additional problems constantly raised by
Azerbaijan in order for this process [negotiations] not to go off its
normal rails. This year, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen want to
make additional progress [in the negotiating process] before the
[Armenian] parliamentary election. We have no time to deviate from
this process.
I thing that it is time to put on the negotiating table a document
that we regard as balanced. Azerbaijan’s position regarding this
document is also positive and we think that it is time to avoid
making pointless statements and the sides should concentrate on
speeding up this process.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Arminfo, Yerevan, in Russian
13 Sep 06
ARMENIAN PREMIER AGAINST SENDING PEACEKEEPERS TO LEBANON
Yerevan, 13 September: Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan
believes it is not expedient to send Armenian peacekeepers to
Lebanon. Markaryan said this in a conversation with journalists
today.
We should note that the Armenian parliamentary opposition is
insisting that a contingent of Armenian peacekeepers be sent to
Lebanon.

Arminfo, Yerevan, in Russian
13 Sep 06
ARMENIAN MP BACKS SENTENCE HANDED DOWN ON EDITOR
Yerevan, 12 September: The Armenian Revolutionary
Federation-Dashnaktsutyun has always spoken out and is still speaking
out against the suppression of journalists’ professional activities
and violence against them, a member of the party’s supreme body, MP
Spartak Seyranyan, said at a news conference today.
However, he said that the faction of the party did support the editor
of Zhamanak Yerevan newspaper, Arman Babadzhanyan, who was sentenced
to four years in prison, because his trial had nothing to do with
freedom of expression. Babadzhanyan was convicted of dodging military
service. All are equal before the law. It does not matter if a person
is a journalist, a bus driver or a teacher if he refuses to carry out
his civic duties, Seyranyan said.

Aravot, Yerevan, in Armenian
12 Sep 06
RUSSIAN “CRIMINAL BOSS” REPORTEDLY VISITING ARMENIA
The famous Russian criminal boss, Vyacheslav Ivankov (Yaponchik),
arrived in Yerevan from Moscow on 9 September, Aravot newspaper has
reported.
The source confirmed that he was accompanied by five criminal bosses
and a businessman.
There are rumours that Yaponchik has problems with Armenian business
and the criminal world. Specifically, he is concerned about details
of the death of Beno from Rostov and other famous figures killed in
the crash of the Armenian A-320 plane in Sochi [on 3 May 2006].

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
September 13, 2006 Wednesday
BORDER OF REPELLING AN AGGRESSION
by: Igor Plugatarev
CIS COLLECTIVE SECURITY TREATY ORGANIZATION INDICATES ITS MILITARY
PROWESS IN THE EXERCISE IN BELARUS, KAZAKHSTAN, AND ARMENIA; An
update on military activeness of the CIS Collective Security Treaty
Organization.
The ink on the protocol President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov,
signed and returned his country into the CIS Collective Security
Treaty Organization was barely dry (it happened on August 21), the
Uzbek leader already suggests a joint Uzbek-Kazakh military exercise.
Karimov proposed the exercise while on a visit to the capital of
Kazakhstan on September 4.
The suggestion was made right in the wake of Border’2006, an
international exercise on a fairly large scope (by Central Asian
standards) official Astana staged in the Caspian Sea under the aegis
of the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization. The Uzbek
military also invited to the exercise was present in the capacity of
observers. The impression is that it was truly sorry the Uzbek
national army was not involved. Had Tashkent truly participated, it
would have signified its bona fide membership in the CIS Collective
Security Treaty Organization as an international structure whose
weight, political and economic, is growing by the year.
The Caspian Warsaw Treaty
Exercise Border’2006 took place at the specially built training
facility 30 kilometers east from Aktau (a major port, former
Shevchenko) between August 23 and 26. This was the first such
exercise in Central Asia. Exercises of the Border series in
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in the past had been but “rehearsals”.
Almost 2,500 servicemen, more than 60 armored vehicles, nearly 50
artillery pieces and mortars, almost 40 aircraft and helicopters, and
14 ships and tenders (including surface combatants of the Russian
Caspian Flotilla) were involved in Border’2006. The assets drilled
operations of the Collective Rapid Response Forces in the Kazakh
direction. It was the first joint maneuver within the framework of
the future Southern Group of Armies of the Seven States (Armenia,
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan).
The exercise near Aktau was tactical and ran for purposes of
research, according to Russian Ground Forces Second-in-Command
Colonel General Vladimir Bulgakov. As a matter of fact, Bulgakov even
ran a parallel with the exercises the Warsaw Pact had once run. “The
scale is different of course, but the quantity of troops does not
really matter. What matters is teaching commanders to view whatever
tasks they are facing from the standpoint of the Collective Rapid
Response Forces and to act accordingly,” Bulgakov said. “It is
particularly important now because the experience gained in the
Warsaw Pact exercises is lot for us now. Senior officers involved in
Border’2006 share common training (in the Soviet Army – Nezavisimoe
Voennoe Obozrenie), but low-ranking officers and noncoms do not.”
The exercise on the Caspian coast was an attempt to remedy that.
Exercise Commander General of the Army Muhtar Altynbayev (Defense
Minister of Kazakhstan) praised “the prowess of units of the
Collective Rapid Response Forces demonstrated in the course of the
exercise of the collective defense forces.”
Still, Altynbayev also pointed out that “We know now that the CIS
Collective Security Treaty will work if necessary, that its
signatories will make their regular armies available if need be, in
accordance with their commitments.”
This was an extraordinary statement indeed. “Military aid” to one
another has been so far a purely hypothetical issue, just a clause of
Article 4 of the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization
(aggression against any member of the CIS Collective Security Treaty
Organization or signatory of the CIS Collective Security Treaty is
taken as an aggression against all). The clause, however, does not
specify exactly what is to be done about it. This ambivalence
generated doubts that whenever one country of the Organization is
attacked, all others will rush to its side and prevent it from being
left to face the danger all alone. Say, there is a distinct
possibility of a conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, two
countries aspiring to claim Nagorno-Karabakh for their own. Neither
would hesitate to rattle sabers and each does so every now and then.
Nikolai Bordyuzha became general secretary of the CIS Collective
Security Treaty Organization in 2002. He has never spared time or
effort to make Article 4 of the Charter more than just an empty
declaration. CIS councils of the heads of states and defense
ministers passed the necessary decisions.
Exercises
The Russian-Belarusian exercise Allied Security’2006 as the largest
in the post-Soviet zone became the first practical measure. Involving
almost 9,000 servicemen and even strategic aviation, it took place at
the testing site right near the westernmost border of the future
Union in June. In other words, it took place near Poland, a NATO
country. Allied Security’2006 became the first exercise to involve
units of the West Group of Armies of the CIS Collective Security
Treaty Organization, the largest of all (200,000 men). Border’2006
became the second exercise of the series, another indication of the
readiness of members of the CIS Collective Security Treaty
Organization to strike back together.
It is reasonable now to expect the third analogous exercise to be
organized for the Group of Armies in the Caucasus, the one comprised
of units of Russian and Armenian armies (the Russian 102nd Military
Base near Yerevan 5,000 men strong). No official reports have been
made on it so far which is hardly surprising. It will mean an
immediate political scandal. Official Baku will immediately claim
that Moscow, a political negotiator between Azerbaijan and Armenia,
connives with “occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia.”
It is known, however, that Atom-Antiterror’2006 exercise of the CIS
Counter-Terrorism Center will take place in Armenia in late
September. According to what information is available, one of the
clauses of the document reads, “Drill interaction between the
tactical group of the United Headquarters of the CIS Collective
Security Treaty with command structures of the Armed Forces of the
Republic of Armenia in accomplishment of combat missions with the
purpose of containment and elimination of terrorist gangs against the
background of destabilization in the Caucasus.” Meaning that this is
not a petty conflict” (territorially petty, of course) over a nuclear
power plant seized by terrorists. The CIS Collective Security Treaty
Organization makes it plain to potential aggressors that they’d
better keep their distance if they know what is good for them.
In other words, in less than a year the CIS Collective Security
Treaty Organization will formulate its military prowess in all
regional alliances of the countries comprising it. This move is
fairly important. A series of these major exercises is like a
ceremony of presentation of the Organization for the countries that
may be contemplating membership in it. Why not indeed? Bordyuzha once
told Nezavisimoe Voennoe Obozrenie that “since our problems are
nearly identical, it will be nice to have Ukraine cooperating with
the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization.” Since Kyiv is
finally revising its views on the necessity of membership in NATO and
the Alliance has already been given a kick in the rear in the Crimea,
the Organization is quite correct to be as active as it is. Bordyuzha
also mentioned Georgia (as one of the founders of the CIS Collective
Security Treaty Organization) and Azerbaijan…
“Make War” Sans Ministers…
Border’2006 organizers were only disheartened by absence of deputy
defense ministers. Official reports were absent of course, but
insiders told Nezavisimoe Voennoe Obozrenie that Kyrgyz Defense
Minister Lieutenant General Ismail Isakov was Altynbayev’s only
foreign counterpart to turn up for the exercise. Even Tajikistan was
represented by Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Ramil
Nadyrov.
Belarus didn’t even bother to send observers. As spokesmen for Minsk
reasonably asked, “Where is the Caspian Sea and where are we?”
Moreover, Belarusian Defense Minister Colonel General Leonid
Maltsev’s position is known: learn only from whoever has something to
teach you; and Minsk has been running exercises involving 3-4 times
servicemen more than 2,500 men for years now. Moreover, Russian
Deputy Premier and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov preferred
Border’2006 to a tour of Far East military-industrial complex and a
meeting with US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld after that.
No need to say here that defense ministers’ very presence ups the
status of military exercises.
What Units Participated In Border’2006
Russia: tactical team of the Collective Rapid Response Forces;
company of the 77th Marine Brigade of the Caspian Flotilla, wing of
aircraft; 5 surface combatants of the Caspian Flotilla; more than 500
servicemen (mostly conscripts) of the Volga-Urals Military District;
tactical group. Almost 1,000 officers and soldiers in all.
Kazakhstan: Marine battalion; group of ships of the Coast Guards; Air
Mobile Forces units; army aviation; auxiliary units; tactical group.
One thousand and four hundred servicemen in all.
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan: one platoon of motorized infantry each;
tactical groups. One hundred officers and soldiers in all.
Uzbekistan: military observers.
CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization: command structures,
headquarters, units of the Collective Rapid Response Forces; United
Headquarters and Secretariat of the CIS Collective Security Treaty
Organization.
Source: Nezavisimoe Voennoe Obozrenie, No 32, September 8 – 14, 2006,
p. 2
Translated by A. Ignatkin
From: Baghdasarian

Critics’ Forum
Theater
Critics’ Forum Article, 9.16.06
A Triumphant “Love’s Labor’s Lost”
By Aram Kouyoumdjian
In some quarters of the literary world, “Love’s Labor’s Lost” is
considered one of Shakespeare’s “lesser” comedies. After seeing its
recent incarnation by the Actors’ Gang, you’d never believe it. In
director Simon Abkarian’s hands, “Love’s Labor’s Lost” (playing
through September 30 at the Ivy Substation), is a visual feast of
choreography and color that achieves a delicate balance between
levity and profundity.
Perhaps better known in the United States for his film acting – he
portrayed Arshile Gorky in Atom Egoyan’s “Ararat,” starred with Joan
Allen in Sally Potter’s “Yes,” and plays a villain in the latest
James Bond installment, “Casino Royale” – Abkarian, who is based in
France, boasts impressive theater credentials (including a Moliere
Award) and experience in the commedia dell’arte style, which he puts
to great use in “Love’s Labor’s Lost.”
The premise of the play itself is somewhat weak, even silly.
Essentially, the King of Navarre and his lords join in an oath to
give up the temptations of their physical world – including the lure
of women – and devote themselves to three years of scholarship.
This being Shakespeare, however, no sooner have they committed to
this oath than the Princess of France appears on the scene, with her
ladies in tow. Temptations are re-awakened, love letters dispatched
and accidentally switched, and identities mistaken. Romantic
upheaval ensues.
Perhaps “Love’s Labor’s Lost” does have the makings of a “lesser”
comedy. Abkarian, however, makes it bloom into a masterwork of
imagination, awash in surreal images and gorgeous stylized movement,
all bathed in luminous light. To be sure, Abkarian mines the play’s
humor and lends to it an absurdist sensibility. Yet, the boldness
of his tableaux (among them, striking variations on the crucifixion
theme) and his keen sense of the play’s shifting moods ensure
that “Love’s Labor’s Lost” is elevated from a “lesser” comedy to an
emotionally complex and sexually charged piece of theater.
A sequence in which the King and his lords disguise themselves as
Russians to secretly mingle with the Princess and her ladies, for
instance, serves as an exemplar of farcical chaos, featuring masks,
confetti, and vigorous dancing in a brilliant bit of pandemonium.
Still, the comedy, while integral to the production’s lively spirit,
never compromises the play’s emotional heft and its treatment of
deeper questions of love and coupling. When the King and his lords
finally realize the extent of their loneliness in the absence of the
women they’ve come to love, their clingy embrace of one another,
while funny, is even more heartbreaking. In the course of
comprehending love, these characters undergo an awakening and
maturation that Abkarian’s actors capture and communicate with
poignancy.
Indeed, a young, energetic cast executes Abkarian’s ambitious
staging with poise. Brian Kimmet and Ethan Kogan are well suited as
lords to Matt Huffman’s King. Huffman brings to the role a
vulnerability that proves quite moving, while Nancy Stone, as the
Princess, offers a perfect blend of strength and grace. Among the
characters populating the play’s less-successful subplots, Mary
Eileen O’Donnell crafts a memorable turn as Holofernes, proving that
sometimes the best man for the part may well be a woman.
The production greatly benefits from the talents of its design team,
including Francois-Pierre Couture, who does double duty with sets
and lighting, both to stellar effect. Sarah Le Feber’s modern
costumes (at times, lingerie-inspired) manage to be smart and
sensual in their elegant simplicity. And Ara Dabandjian’s musical
score, much of which he plays live on stage, sublimely accentuates
the action.
As breathtaking in its interpretation as Eric Tucker’s industrial
take on “Macbeth” was last year, Abkarian’s production proves, once
again, that Shakespeare’s words, as lauded as they may be, are only
a starting point to an unforgettable theatrical experience.
All Rights Reserved: Critics’ Forum, 2006
Aram Kouyoumdjian is the winner of Elly Awards for both playwriting
(“The Farewells”) and directing (“Three Hotels”). His collaborative
script for “Little Armenia” recently had its world premiere at the
Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles.
You can reach him or any of the other contributors to Critics’ Forum
at [email protected]. This and all other articles published
in this series are available online at To
sign up for a weekly electronic version of new articles, go to
Critics’ Forum is a group created to
discuss issues relating to Armenian art and culture in the Diaspora.

Azeri Press Agency
Armenian foreign minister refuses to meet with his
Azerbaijani counterpart
[ 16 Sen. 2006 15:33 ]
In the near future no meetings between Armenian and Azerbaijani
Foreign Ministers are planned, Armenian Minister Vartan Oskanian told
journalists today. Private meetings with the co-chairs of the OSCE
Minsk Group will be probably held, Oskanian said.
`I have a number of bilateral meeting in New York on September 24,
including a meeting with the co-chairs,’ the Minister said, adding
that to a certain degree the cause of not holding a meeting of
Armenian and Azeri FMs lies in inclusion of the item on `frozen
conflicts’ in the UN GA agenda at the initiative of the GUAM (Georgia,
Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova). It was reported that Mammadyarov and
Oskanian will meet in New York on 24 or 25 September this year./APA/