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/

REGNUM
September 17, 2006
Armenia gives opportunity to Nagorno Karabakh to become political
party in the conflict
`Lately, there has been much talk about taking the process of conflict
settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict from the format of the
OSCE Minsk Group to another institution. In the context of withdrawing
the issue we are getting ready to play our own role and speak with our
own position,’ Nagorno Karabakh Foreign Minister Georgy Petrosyan has
stated to reporters in Yerevan.
`The world is developing, the issue of Nagorno Karabakh is not an easy
one and should be discussed in various alternative institutions. Our
task is to be ready for discussions in various formats. In future, the
official Stepanakert will make its own specifications on the issue. I
think it will be done in the near future,’ he added. As Georgy
Petrosyan said, the highest assessment of the recent talks and
discussions on the Nagorno Karabakh issues is the fact that Armenia
gives an opportunity to Nagorno Karabakh to become a political party
in the conflict.
It is worth mentioning, GUAM member-countries (Georgia, Ukraine,
Azerbaijan, Moldova) introduced a new item into the agenda of the 61st
session of the UN General Assembly called `Frozen conflicts in the
territory of GUAM member-countries, their consequences for the world
peace, security and development.’

Panorama.am
13:58 16/09/06

HERO SAVING 20 LIVES TO VISIT ARMENIA TOMORROW
Thirty years ago on the same day, September 16, one of
the most tragic car accidents took place in Yerevan –
a trolleybus, full of passengers, lost control and
went into Yerevan Lake. At that moment, Shavarsh
Karapetyan, multiple champion of Europe in underwater
swimming, and his brother, Kamo Karapetyan, master of
international rank, were training near the lake.
Shavarsh Karapetyan managed to save the lives of 20
passengers diving into the water without diving
clothes. Of coarse, he could not save everyone. About
seven dozens people were killed in the accident.
The fatal accident was kept secret under the Soviet
regime and people learned about it only years ago. The
heroic deed of Shavarsh Karapetyan cost him a lot –
Karapetyan had to quit the great sport. However,
Shavarsh Karapetyan became known to people as a real
hero. Neither the Soviet Union, nor Independent
Armenia gave credits to the deed of the sportsman and
did not award him the title of hero. Moreover, in mid
1990s Shavarsh Karapetyan had to leave Yerevan and
reside in Moscow where he currently lives and has a
small shoes repair service. Tomorrow, it is expected
that Shavarsh Karapetyan will again visit his
Motherland. /Panorama.am/

Panorama.am
15:32 16/09/06
ANDRANIK OZANYAN’S MUSEUM HOUSE RE-OPENED IN YEREVAN
The sculptures of Vazgen ISAKOV, a sculptor, will be
exhibited at museum house of Andranik Ozanyan. The
re-opening of the museum house took place Saturday at
the pantheon after Komitas. The eighty-years-old
sculptor is happy that he is donating his sculptures
to the museum house on the occasion of 15th
anniversary of independent statehood in Armenia. The
museum house exhibits about ten thousand samples
telling about the leaders of fidai movement, a
national liberation movement in early 20th century.
In the words of Iliech Beglaryan, the founder of the
museum, the exhibition aims to `educate the new
generation in the spirit of the great people of the
nation who have fought for the sake of our
independence.’
`Wherever there is violence, there is my sword,’
Zoravar Andranik had said. And his sword is right here
– in this museum -house. /Panorama.am/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Panorama.am
15:54 16/09/06
ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA REFUTES ANTI-ARMENIAN MOODS IN RUSSIA
The Armenian Ambassador to Russia, Armen Smbatyan, believes the
violence against Armenians in Russia is not related to anti-Armenian
moods of Russians. `Russia is a big country and such attacks are
common. Some organizations are suffering from xenophobia and
Armenians fall victim to them,’ Smbatyan mentioned Saturday. In his
words, the Armenian embassy and the law enforcement officials are very
serious to such incidents and are watchful for their disclosure.
Asked why the prosecutor’s office has suspended the case on Vigen
Abrahamiants murder, the ambassador said, `Vigen Abrahamiants case was
never suspended. Recently a person was arrested on the case who
admitted that he has killed Abrahamiants. This man is a student of
police school and is related to skinheads.’
Note: Almost all Russian media told August 22 that the case in Moscow
subway was suspended due to `impossibility to identify the identity of
criminals.’ /Panorama.am/