THE JOURNEY TO ARMENIA
by Lisa Nesselson
Variety
August 7, 2006 – August 13, 2006
(FRANCE)
A Diaphana release of an Agat Films & Cie. presentation of an Agat
Films & Cie., France 3 Cinema production with participation of
Paradise, Canal Plus, CineCinema, CNC. (International sales: Films
Distribution, Paris.) Produced by Robert Guediguian, Agat Films &
Cie. Co-producers, Martin Adoyan, Taguhi Karapetyan.
Directed by Robert Guediguian. Screenplay, Ariane Ascaride, Marie
Desplechin, Guediguian. Camera (color), Pierre Milon; editor,
Bernard Sasia; music, Arto Tuncboyacyyan; production designer, Karim
Hamzaoui; art director, Karim Hamzaoui; costume designer, Anne-Marie
Giacalone. Reviewed at MK2 Odeon, Paris, July 13, 2006. Original title:
Le Voyage en Armeinie. Running time: 117 MIN.
With: Ariane Ascaride, Gerard Meylan, Simon Abkarian, Serge Avedikian,
Chorik Grigorian, Roman Avinian, Kristina Hovakimian, Madeleine
Guediguian, Marcel Bluwal, Jalil Lespert, Jean-Pierre Darroussin.
Title expedition in “The Journey to Armenia” is a long haul, as a
no-nonsense French cardiologist from Marseilles searches for her
abruptly AWOL father in the shadow of his native Mount Ararat.
Watchable odyssey follows the familiar template of a successful,
secular urbanite reluctantly discovering her ethnic roots, with social
and historical relevance injected along the way. Guediguian completists
— a commodity in which Gaul abounds — and the Armenian diaspora
will bite, but leisurely venture has as many endings as the third
installment of “The Lord of the Rings.”
Ariane Ascaride originated the story, assigning herself the relatively
unsympathetic role of Anna, the only daughter of a deceased Italian
mother and an Armenian father, Barsam (Marcel Bluwal). When Barsam,
who needs heart surgery, hightails it to his homeland without warning,
peeved Anna leaves hubby and daughter for a week to track him down,
finding (surprise!) herself along the way.
Matters perk up when it turns out Anna knows how to wield a gun as
well as a stethoscope. Pleasing score and scenery help pass the time,
but result remains conventional and just a sliver short of contrived.

A TRIP TO KHARABAKH (GASEIRNEBA KHARABAKHSHI)
By Ken Eisner
Variety
July 17, 2006 – July 23, 2006
(GEORGIA)
A Studio Remka production. (International sales: Studio Remka, Tbilisi,
Georgia.) Produced by Levan Korinteli, Giorgy Kharabadze.
Directed by Levan Tutberidze. Screenplay, Aka Morchiladze, Irakli
Solomonashvili, based on a novel by Morchiladze. Camera (color),
Goran Pavicevic; editor, Niko Tarielashvili, Boris Machytka; music,
Nukri Abashidze; production designers, Gogi Tatishvili, Kote Japaridze;
sound (Dolby SRD), Michael Houdek. Reviewed at Seattle Film Festival
(Contemporary Cinema), June 18, 2006. Running time: 107 MIN.
With: Levan Doborjnidze, Misha Meskhi, Nutsa Kichianidze, Nino
Kasradze, Gogi Kharabdze, Dato Iashvili, Daria Drozdovskaya, Avetik
Sanosian, Gagik Melkumov, Artavazd Paloian, Levon Chidilian.
(Georgian, Russian, Armenian dialogue.)
“A Trip to Kharabakh” gets off to a fascinating start, commenting wryly
on the tumultuous state of affairs in Georgia and its strife-wracked
neighbors. But a shift toward mock heroics and an increasingly vague
p.o.v. cause a terminal fuel shortage as it approaches the finish
line. This “Trip” requires a good grasp of regional politics to sort
out the players and find the humor.
However, even those in the know will find the story gets unnecessarily
muddled, which will limit the journey to specialized fests and limited
DVD play.
Veteran helmer Levan Tutberidze sets his initially “Mean Streets”-like
tale during overlapping civil wars of the early 1990s, but there’s
little to distinguish what’s happening then with what’s happening
today.
Gio (Levan Doborjnidze) is a handsome, notably unmotivated lynchpin
among restless young men in their early 20s. When a relative asks him
to travel to a peasant region disputed by Azerbaijan and Armenia,
to complete a seemingly simple drug deal, he and goofy pal Gogliko
(Misha Meskhi, playing Richard Edson to the protag’s Heath Ledger)
agree to go.
They take a wrong turn, however, and end up behind Azeri lines.
Eventually Gio busts loose and ends up with friendlier Armenians.
(Both sides say how much they like Georgians — it’s just the other
group that’s no good.) Gio can’t tell if he’s a guest or prisoner, but
— as we learn in challengingly structured flashbacks — it actually
makes for a handy break from pressures at home, where his big-enchilada
dad (Gogi Kharabdze) has come down hard on him for hooking up with
a sad-eyed hooker (“The Good Thief’s” Nutsa Kichianidze).
And the old man doesn’t realize yet that Gio is also having it off
with dad’s pretty, if cynical, young wife (Nino Kasradze).
Once ensconced with the Armenians, Gio is offered yet another love
interest, a Russian photojournalist (Daria Drozdovskaya) who denies
being part of her country’s imperialist past since she’s Jewish.
Script and Doborjnidze’s opaque perf make it hard to grasp why he’s
so diffident toward the woman, or anyone else, and helmer moves into
macho posturing as grittily shot tale goes on, with Rambo-like antics
— albeit possibly satirical — obscuring the character development
and the subtext about relationships between various ethnic groups.
Electro jazzy score helps lift the mood and fits loosely with Gogliko’s
funny Miles Davis fixation, but it also adds extra cheese factor to
“Trip” that already smells a bit overripe toward the end.

ROCKIN’ THE UAE
by Aryeman Raj, Staff Writer
Gulf News, nited Arab Emirates
July 13, 2006 Thursday
Sisters Jackie Wartanian and Lara Teperdjian are the people who brought
Sting, Shaggy, Tom Jones and Whitney Houston to Dubai. The organisers
of the Desert Rock festival tell Aryeman Raj why their job rocks.
These two sisters certainly are “doing it for themselves” – as Annie
Lennox would have it.
Armenians Jackie Wartanian and Lara Teperdjian of Center Stage
Management have brought many big-name performers to Dubai, including
Shaggy, Tom Jones, Sting, Whitney Houston and Enrique Iglesias. Yet
they’ve made their mark as the organisers of the Desert Rock festival,
which – in its third year – attracted an audience of 8,000 in March.
“Having a rock festival in Dubai was a dream for me,” says
Teperdjian. “Years ago ? I told Jackie that I would love to produce
a rock festival in Dubai like Rock in Rio or Rock am Ring (in Germany).
I wanted to have the same energy that other festivals got from their
audiences, which you don’t get from a one-off show.”
Convincing her older sister was a difficult task. Wartanian was
content organising other shows that were safer bets. Yet Teperdjian
persevered and gradually won her over to the idea.
“I would have never thought of the rock festival, but she got me
thinking,” says Wartanian. “Her strong conviction and innate confidence
of ‘Let’s do what nobody else has done’ amazed me. I realised that
this magic would work.”
The sisters, who have lived in the UAE for 30 years, have music in
their blood. Their recently deceased father, who also worked in the
music business, tried to dissuade them from entering the field.
Yet the pair – who’ve organised concerts in Dubai since 1999 – have
since learnt that he was proud of their work. They share their vision
for the Dubai rock industry with Friday.
How did you conceptualise the Desert Rock festival?
Lara Teperdjian: We wanted to create an oasis of rock, fun and
togetherness for a day or two in the desert. I wanted to do something
drastically different; something that could mean pure enjoyment for
the entire family.
What makes rock festivals so special?
Jackie Wartanian: It is a new concept that we brought to the UAE, even
though there have been many around the world, such as Rock in Rio,
the Glastonbury Festival in the UK, Ozzfest and others.
A rock festival isn’t just about the bands or who are performing
or appearing, it is about spending a whole day out with friends and
family. You get more than just a performance – there are activities,
extreme sports, merchandise being sold, food and drinks.
It also caters for different types of people with different types of
music genres – from mainstream bands to British rock, classic rock
and alternative rock or heavy metal. It satisfies a huge range of
people who love music in general.
How did you get involved in the music business?
LT: While growing up, we were always surrounded by music. Jackie
always listened to the classics like Journey, Eagles, Reo Speedwagon
and Queen. I started getting into the harder rock in my college days.
I listened to Disturbed and techno rock like The Prodigy.
Our father was involved in the entertainment industry a long time
ago, but he was against us joining it. But somehow, music had already
infiltrated our bloodstream.
JW: Organising festivals – from the planning stage to the time when
the lights go on – is pure excitement. Our adrenalin keeps pumping
as it gets closer to the day. When we see people smiling, jumping,
releasing their stress and enjoying the moment, the experience they
will take with them is the ultimate thrill. Music is our passion and
we are lucky to make it our business.
Having been part of the entertainment industry himself, why didn’t
your father encourage you to venture into the same field?
JW: Dad (John Teperdjian) was a financier and was involved with a
studio organising shows like the Grammy Awards. (Prior to coming
to the UAE, we lived in the US.) He (felt) the entertainment arena
wasn’t a good place for a lady to be in.
LT: Dad passed away in August, 2005. Although he had never been to any
of the shows we organised, we learnt from (others) that he praised
the job we were doing to promote rock music in the UAE. Our mother
(Angel) is on tenterhooks whenever she sees me struggling to meet the
deadlines for a show. But once she sees the exuberant reactions from
the audiences, a smile lights up her face.
You’ve been through some hardship. Is it true Jackie was hospitalised
when one of the lead performers backed out of one of your shows?
JW: Well, the only shocker we have ever experienced would be Limpbizkit
backing out within 48 hours before the show (in 2004).
They decided to fly to the US directly (rather than stop over) and
gave no excuse for their fans here in Dubai. We were at the airport
waiting to receive them and I got a call that they weren’t arriving.
Yes, I was hospitalised, it was a stressful moment and a learning
experience. We had sold 8,000 tickets and were expecting to sell more
on the same day. After (they) backed out, we had to refund most of
it and also take the blame for it.
We ended up having 3,000 people to see the other bands. Besides this,
local band Juliana Down also didn’t perform. I would not wish this
to happen to any promoter, especially in your inaugural festival.
Because of this situation, sponsors pulled out and some asked (for)
half (their money) back and so on. We had to rebuild our relationship
with the media, audiences and companies ? and prove to them that
it was not our fault. I was almost going to call it quits, but with
encouragement from Lara and my staff we are in our third year now.
Lara, you seem to have been the pillar of strength when things went
wrong. Otherwise, it might have been the end of the festival.
LT: I told her (Jackie) I didn’t want our dream of promoting rock
music to end like this. This was just one bump on the road. As sisters,
we have a strong tendency to never give up.
We knew we could make rock festivals happen here. We made a mistake
by choosing the wrong artist, but you learn from mistakes. We were
charged up to make it even better the following year.
What are the UAE audiences like?
LT: The crowd out here realises that rock music gives you power and
relief. It de-stresses you when you are screaming, jumping up and down.
This year, we sold the tickets without announcing which bands would
be performing. We want people to understand the music, we want to
educate them – through radio and other media – that this is a great
day of having fun with music. We revamped the festival concept to be
an all-day outing with food and fireworks.
What does the public want out of a rock festival?
JW: All (people want) is to have a good time and see their favourite
artists perform. Unless you are in the industry, you will not know
or care how a festival is put together. We are still educating the
people in the UAE about what a festival is all about and about the
different types of music that are out there.
How innovative and creative are you in your approach to rock festivals?
JW: We love to be as creative as possible. We like to come up with new,
interesting ideas to keep audiences entertained or shocked. When they
leave the festival we want them to have the ‘wow’ factor. We always
seek to push the envelope, trying to be different.
What obstacles do you face when approaching performers?
JW: Most of the bands love playing in places they have never been to.
It is also interesting for them to see they have fans in the Middle
East that they didn’t know about. But first trying to go through
their agents is the hardest part in getting the bands to come.
Why are rock musicians put on a pedestal?
JW: Rock stars have a connection with their fans, not only through
their lyrics but also through the charity work and concerns they put
forward to help the community. Rock never dies.
The UAE fans are very similar to those in Europe and the US. They
are many and they are underground, waiting to come out.
We get e-mails every day begging us to have (various) metal bands
perform at the festivals. There are many metal fans out there – not
just in the UAE, but also in Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Egypt –
and they are die-hard fans.
Tell us about the most outrageous incident you’ve experienced
involving fans.
LT: There was this young kid who tried to get past the green room
security guard. He claimed that he was the long-lost brother of the
artist and needed to re-unite with him. Seriously, loads of fans want
to meet the band or lead singers whom they adore.
Different genres of rock music appeal to different people. Have times
changed with the rock scene? Who sells now?
LT: Rock is not just for the youth. Our audiences range from 13 to
50. Classic rock bands always top the list in (terms of) selling out
(tickets). For the British rock groups, (the most popular bands)
would have to be the Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs, Stereophonics,
U2 and Coldplay.
For hard rock, it is Disturbed while for alternative rock, it
would have to be Nickelback. Also, you will always have the hard
metal/thrash scene.
Do you get a lot of people returning each year? Is the festival
attracting attention overseas?
JW: When people come to Desert Rock, they leave wanting to know what
is going to happen next or who is coming next year.
Once we announce the next date, we get calls asking if it is true that
this or that band is coming. The tickets are being sold outside the
country faster than locally. This year, we had people coming from the
US, UK, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia – even Russia and Iran.
LT: We have changed and improved our media coverage and have (gained
more) international coverage. We have managed to put the UAE rock
scene on the international music circuit.
What are your upcoming events?
JW: Coming up is the Desert Rhythm Festival on October 26, a world
music festival. We’re also organising Shamal 2006: The Battle 4 Dubai
Desert Rock Festival in December, which will help search for the most
talented unsigned rock band in and around the Middle East.
For more information about CSM, go to

HAIGAZIAN STUDENTS HELP REFUGEES
Haigazian University, Lebanon
Aug. 5, 2006
>From the very first day of the July 2006 war, Student Life officers
started contemplating ways to have their share in ameliorating the
hardships the country faced.
Obviously student brotherly help could not proceed unless the security
situation allowed. Plans were put down, several brainstorming sessions
were held, all concluded with the determination of extending a
helping hand.
Preliminary work began; students were contacted to check about the
whereabouts and conditions of HU students of the bombed areas. Others
were asked about their availability for the university-sponsored
philanthropic work. A long list of volunteer students was prepared.
HU students from the university neighborhood checked in and offered
their assistance and help too.
Soon refugees started to pour into the Armenian Evangelical School,
next to the university. Student volunteers were called to an emergency
meeting. Plans were drawn, and social outreach assistance was put into
action in the form of entertaining the forty refugee kids of those 30
families who had taken refuge in the neighboring school, and extend
help to their parents and elderly in trying to relieve their hardship
and establish a minimum living conditions in collaboration with the
Armenian Evangelical Outreach Project coordinator, Maria Bakalian.
Now one can come across the students playing football or basketball
or table tennis with the kids. Others are coloring figures or drawing
pictures with watercolor paint.
By the end of the day the students gather at the Student Lounge,
brief on their daily activity, assess it and plan for the next day.
Apart from this university-sponsored project, large numbers of
Haigazian University students have volunteered in social outreach
centers at their residential areas.

L’ARMENIE DEPEND TOUJOURS PLUS DE L’ARGENT DE SA DIASPORA
Schweizerische Depeschenagentur AG (SDA)
SDA – Service de base francais
13 août 2006
Erevan (ats/afp) L’Armenie est toujours plus dependante de l’aide
financière de sa diaspora. Selon des donnees presentees jeudi par
la Banque centrale armenienne, ces fonds representent plus de 15 %
du produit interieur brut (PIB) du pays du Sud du Caucase.
“Ces dernières annees, le volume des transferts financiers en Armenie
a augmente de facon significative”, a declare une experte de la Banque
centrale, Karine Karapetian. Entre 2003 et 2005 cet indicateur a en
moyenne bondi de 37 %, jusqu’a representer 15 % du PIB.
De janvier a juin 2006, le volume des transferts financiers en Armenie
a encore augmente de 34 % par rapport a la meme periode de l’annee
precedente”, a-t-elle ajoute. L’an passe, ces transferts de fonds
prives ont atteint 940 millions de dollars (1,13 milliard de francs).
La majorite (72 %) etait expediee par des proches vivant en Russie,
14 % des Etats-Unis, devant l’Allemagne, la Grèce et l’Ukraine (5 %
pour chacun de ces trois pays). Les habitants d’Armenie, ex-republique
sovietique du Caucase du Sud, sont nombreux a vivre grâce a ces
transferts d’argent de leurs proches.
–Boundary_(ID_33RpsAPoX9aNIOkTcLF5xg)–

DIPLOMATIC POST TANGLED IN HISTORY
by Michael Doyle
Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
August 6, 2006 Sunday
Sunday First City Edition
The U.S. ambassadorship to Armenia is snagged on the nominee’s refusal
to call the slaughter of Armenians genocide.
Washington, D.C.
Armenian American activists are flexing their muscles to block approval
of a new U.S. ambassador to Armenia.
The delay is temporary, and career diplomat Richard Hoagland is
probably still a good bet to win the Yerevan posting. He must wait,
though, in a vivid illustration of how ethnic constituencies exert
political clout.
“We’re pretty fortunate to have leaders who do listen to what we have
to say,” said Hygo Ohannessian, chairwoman of the Armenian National
Committee’s Central California chapter. “They know how the community
feels.”
Instead of routinely confirming President Bush’s nominee as scheduled
last week , the GOP-controlled Senate Foreign Relations Committee
pushed Hoagland’s fate over into September.
Instigated by Democratic Sens. Joseph Biden of Delaware and John Kerry
of Massachusetts, the confirmation delay is a symbolic gesture, a
ratcheting up of pressure and a reflection of what Armenian National
Congress spokeswoman Elizabeth Chouldjian termed a “full-bore,
nationwide grassroots campaign.”
Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota last week became the first Republican
to announce his opposition. Coleman, who is Jewish, told the Associated
Press that he feels “heightened sensitivity to the reality of genocide
and mass murder, and the importance of recognizing it for what it is.”
Chouldjian said she has sent out e-mail advisories to about 50,000
activists nationwide and a postal mailing to an additional 15,000.
“It’s like anything; not everyone is involved,” Ohannessian said,
“but those that are interested in this, are quite interested.”
The activists and the senators dispute the Bush administration’s
refusal to acknowledge an Armenian genocide.
Hoagland, a 21-year State Department veteran and one-time ambassador
to Tajikistan, likewise sidestepped the word “genocide” at his June
28 confirmation hearing. Instead, he used words like “horrific” and
“tragedy” to describe the slaughter and deprivations in the Ottoman
Empire between 1918 and 1923.
Hoagland’s own ambassadorial qualifications have not been questioned.
Rather, he is more of a political hostage. The ambassador he seeks
to replace, John Evans, is a diplomatic lame duck after apparently
angering State Department officials with his public references to an
Armenian genocide.
“Mr. Hoagland is caught in the middle of the situation,” said Natalie
Ravitz, spokeswoman for Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.
Boxer is one of nine Senate Foreign Relations Committee members to
press Hoagland on the Armenian genocide issue in follow-up written
questions. The questions from Armenia’s supporters are blunt; the
answers are unfailingly discreet.
“Please provide the State Department’s definition of the term
`genocide’ and an explanation of how the killing and forced exile of
1.5 million Armenians between 1915-1923 fails to meet that definition,”
Boxer urged.
Hoagland replied that “this tragedy is of such enormous human
significance that its historical assessment should be based not on
politics, but through heartfelt introspection among civic leaders,
scholars and the societies at large.”
Although they don’t vote on nominations, House members have likewise
been weighing in. With 159 members, the Congressional Caucus on
Armenian Issues has rallied. Sixty-one House members wrote the State
Department protesting Evans’ removal, including Minnesota Democrats
Collin Peterson and Betty McCollum.
Still, when the dust settles, most nominated ambassadors win
confirmation. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has held hearings
on 476 nominations since President Bush took office in January 2001,
committee records show. Only a handful of would-be ambassadors have
had their nominations thrown back to the White House.
“Defining `winning’ is always a challenge,” said Bryan Ardouny,
executive director of the Armenian Assembly of America, “but this has
been a very good opportunity to have U.S. senators look at history
and understand the past.”

Armenians carrying out archaeological excavations on the territory of
Nagornyy Karabakh

Arminfo
11 Aug 06

Yerevan, 11 August: Armenian archaeologists have launched large-scale
excavations in one of the biggest and well-known settlements of the
pre-Christian period on the territory of Nagornyy Karabakh founded by
Armenian King Tigran II (the Great), Gamlet Petrosyan, head of the
expedition and doctor of history, has told an Arminfo correspondent.
He said the excavations prove that Armenians lived in the valley of
the Khachenaget River in Agdam District in the first century BC. He
said that during the first days of the excavations, the archaeologists
found remains of a citadel wall that belongs to one of the four cities
built by Tigran II – Artsakh’s Tigranakert.
It is notable that the stone blocks discovered there are joined
together with the help of the then Hellenic technology or so-called
knots in the form of a martin’s tail. The archaeologists are also
excavating barrows and quarters of the city.
[Passage omitted: Armenians archaeologists have been searching for
historic monuments in Nagornyy Karabakh for three years]

Berlin exhibition stirs painful memories

By Tristana Moore
BBC News, Berlin
pe/4788167.stm
2006/08/13 10:41:13 GMT
Even before it opened its doors, the exhibition “Forced Paths”
attracted a lot of controversy in the German and Polish media.
The aim of the organisers of the exhibition at the Kronprinzenpalais
on Berlin’s Unter Den Linden Avenue is ambitious – to explore the
plight of millions of people who were forced to flee their homes in
Europe during the 20th Century.
There are dozens of examples of civilians who were expelled in Europe,
ranging from the mass killing of Armenians from 1915-16, the
Holocaust, to refugees in Cyprus and the former Yugoslavia.
There are many objects on display, including suitcases, photo albums
and other personal belongings which the refugees took with them into
exile.
But, controversially, the exhibition also focuses on the suffering of
Germans who were expelled from Poland and Eastern Europe after World
War ll.
German victims
The exhibition has been organised by a foundation closely linked to
the Federation of the Expelled, which represents 12 to 14 million
ethnic Germans, and their descendants, who were forced from their
homes.
“It’s clear that expulsion in the 20th Century was a common instrument
of politicians who did not pay any regard to the fate of humans,” said
Erika Steinbach, president of the Centre Against Expulsions
Foundation.
The struggle against totalitarianism, Nazism and
Communism… were the most important parts of 20th Century
history. The expulsion, especially of Germans, was only a
consequence of that Slawomir Tryc
Polish Embassy official
For Ms Steinbach, who is a Christian Democrat politician, this
exhibition is seen as the first step towards setting up a permanent
centre in Berlin to remember the millions of Germans who were expelled
after WWll.
But that is highly controversial, and many politicians and other
groups in Germany are opposed to the idea.
The organisers are hoping that the exhibition will focus attention on
the plight of ethnic Germans who were driven from their homes, but
also the plight of many other Europeans.
“It’s probably not well-known outside Germany that at the end of World
War ll, around 12 million Germans had to leave their homes in the
former eastern German provinces and elsewhere,” said Wilfried Rogasch,
the curator of the exhibition.
“It was the largest forced migration in the history of modern
Europe. We show this in European context.”
But the exhibition has angered many people in Poland and several dozen
Poles staged a demonstration outside the gallery in Berlin on the
opening night.
‘Re-writing history’
Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski has condemned the exhibition
as a “very bad, worrying and sad event,” as it “relativised the
history of the World War ll”.
The acting mayor of Warsaw, Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, has cancelled a
trip to Berlin, saying he could not visit the city while the
exhibition was running.
“My visit to Berlin could be misinterpreted and abused under these
circumstances,” he said.
Critics argue that the exhibition is an attempt to re-write history,
claiming that Germans are portrayed mostly as victims and the role of
the Nazi regime is overlooked.
“We think that the struggle against totalitarianism, Nazism and
Communism, and the resistance movements, were the most important parts
of 20th Century history. The expulsion, especially of Germans, was
only a consequence of that,” said Slawomir Tryc from the Polish
embassy in Berlin.
But the exhibition’s curator says Germans should be able to explore
all aspects of history.
“I think it’s significant to show that Germans were victims after
World War ll,” said Mr Rogasch.
“We know that Germans committed many crimes, and that’s well
documented. More than 60 years after the end of the war, we can start
to focus on the fate of 12 million Germans who were expelled. This is
an important part of our national history.”
Relations between Berlin and Warsaw are strained, and given the
reaction to this exhibition from the Polish government, it is likely
to deepen the mistrust between the neighbouring countries.

Now that’s what I call a minister
Cyprus Mail
13 Aug 06
THE ONE MAN who stands head and shoulders above all the
recently-appointed ministers, despite being short and shunning high
heeled shoes, is the former mayor of Lefkara and EDEK vice-president
Sophocles Sophocleous, who was given the Justice and Public Order
Ministry portfolio.
In just a couple of months, Soph has become a household name thanks to
his insatiable appetite for publicity. You rarely turn the radio on,
during the morning, current affair zone shows, without hearing him
expressing an opinion about some news topic.
His five-minute monologues, which feature many fancy words and
important-sounding phrases, are delivered with such self-belief and
pomposity you would never have thought his previous job was as modest
village mukhtar. But nowhe has arrived on the bigger stage, enjoying
the exposure that his truly, dazzling political oratory deserves.
In this respect, he is another upholder of that fine EDEK tradition,
started by the party’s founder and former leader, Dr Faustus
Lyssarides and kept alive by the latter’s successor Yiannakis Omirou –
using the maximum amount of words to convey a minimum amount of
thought. Being a true socialist windbag, Soph will almost certainly
succeed Omirou when he steps down as leader in 2026.
Soph is from the same village as Dr Faustus which would support the
theory that his gift for rhetorical wizardry is not in his
genes. There must be something in the water of Lefkara, because, by
the law of probability, it is impossible for such a relatively small
village to produce two world class, natural-born, socialist, windbags
within 40 years of each other.
PUBLICITY-MAD Soph has inaugurated a new way of doing things at the
ministry that ensures maximum media coverage for him. He has been
inviting journalists to sit in on meetings with different groups,
because he is a great believer in transparency, which leads to greater
personal publicity.
Ten days ago he invited hacks to attend his meeting with a delegation
of cabaret owners, who wanted to discuss the problems faced by the
pimping sector.
What minister with any sense would have ever invited a bunch of
lowlifes who live off prostitution to his office?
Even if he felt obliged to see them, surely he should have kept the
meeting a carefully-guarded secret. But not Soph – he invited hacks to
themeeting so they could tell the world that our Minister of Justice
and Public Order is so open-minded he would even grant an audience to
owners of vice dens.
It gets better. The street-wise minister told the sleaze-merchants
that he knew what went on in cabarets and had given the cops
instructions to clamp down on the sexual exploitation of women. And if
police found that a cabaret was pushing women into prostitution it
would be closed down, `through the strict enforcement of the law’,
relating to inadequate fire safety measures and lack of licences.
But if the cabarets did not engage in prostitution, the minister would
not insist on the strict enforcement of the law. It’s a weird kind of
message he’ s sending out. If this ingenious plan works, next month he
should invite the Pancyprian Association of Drug Dealers to his office
and tell them that if they stopped selling drugs the cops would not
give them speeding tickets or arrest them for possession of guns. And
if the dealers behave, the cops could waive the strict enforcement of
the law for the odd murder or bomb attack as well.
BUT WHY had the cabaret owners asked for a meeting with the Justice
Minister? Apparently, there was too much competition from freelance
hookers and cabaret earnings were falling so they wanted the state to
help the freelancers find alternative employment.
As the lawyer representing the cabaret owners said, his clients were
concerned because the government was pushing foreign students (Chinese
in their majority) and asylum seekers into prostitution by denying
them work permits. It would not even allow them to work in restaurants
washing plates, said the lawyer, thus making prostitution the only way
for them to earn a living.
Yes, it’s official – cabaret owners not only have a socialconscience
but high morals as well. Unfortunately Soph, could do nothing as work
permits came under the authority of the interior ministry and he could
not help the cabaret owners’ noble campaign to save asylum seekers and
studentsfrom the indignity of prostitution, even though it pays much
better than washing plates.
SUPER-SMART Soph Soph appears not to have understood what the meeting
was about. The cabaret owners were openly demanding help from the
state to reduce competition and protect their revenue from
prostitution and Soph was telling them that he would close them down
if they continued the sexual exploitation of women.
As he said: `I know what goes on in cabarets. I am not an Amerikanaki
(a naive American).’
THE EDUCATION Ministry has at long last issued an official statement
confirming that it would not give the remainder of the money owed to
director Panicos Chrysanthou for the completion of his film Akamas,
because he was in breach of his contract. According to the statement,
Chrysanthou had included a scene in the film that the ministry’s Film
Advisory Council, a body safeguarding artistic freedom, had asked him
to leave out.
Chrysanthou, I am informed, is now trying to raise the cash (about
30,000 euros), needed for making copies of the film, from private
individuals, sothat he can show it at the Venice Film
Festival. Incidentally, the ministry=80=99s announcement did not
mention the fact that the Advisory Council had writtento Chrysanthou,
instructing him to withdraw Akamas from the Festival.
The decision not to give any more money for the film was taken by
education minister Pefkios Georgiades.
People who know him found it hard to believe that he could have taken
sucha hard-line on the film as he is quite an arty and open-minded
chap that, normally, would not dream of behaving in such an illiberal
fashion.
A ministerial committee consisting of the Finance, Interior and
Education ministers had seen the film. Michalis Sarris and Andreas
Christou found nothing wrong with it and neither did Pefkios, in
private at least. However, Pefkios decided to raise the issue of the
contract and insist on the contentious scene being cut, because he was
afraid Akamas would provoke an outcry by nationalists, something that
was certain to have angered his friend the Ethnarch.
And rather than face the Ethnarch’s righteous wrath he chose the
lesser of two evils – to be seen as a Stalinist bully who supports
censorship and clamps down on artistic freedom.
EARLIER this week, our establishment was contacted by a member of the
Cyprus State Orchestra who informed us that last week’s item, saying
thatthe orchestra’s director Spyros Pisinos did not want to use the
refurbished and revamped Nicosia Municipal Theatre because of the poor
acoustics was not correct.
While it was true that Pisinos had decided to use the Strovolos
Municipal Theatre instead, it was not because of the bad acoustics. It
was because the Cyprus Theatre Organisation (THOK) had priority on
booking dates for usingthe Nicosia theatre and the Orchestra had to
take the days left. The highly-strung Pisinos could never accept
playing second violin to THOK, ashe is an orchestra conductor.
This does not mean that the acoustics of the revamped theatre are
satisfactory, especially for piano recitals and string quartets. When
the theatre was being refurbished, a well-connected music enthusiast
had arranged for a foreign expert on acoustics to visit Cyprus and
offer advice on what should be done.
A meeting was arranged with Mayor Zampelas, but it was cancelled at
the last minute, after the project’s architect raised a fuss, because
she knew more about theatre acoustics than a man who had worked for
some of the best-known concert halls in the world.
THE CAMPAIGN for the election of a new Archbishop moved to war-ravaged
Lebanon this week as some of the candidates for the throne decided to
become international relief agencies. Paphos Bishop Chrysostomos was
taken to theLebanon by a French military helicopter and took with him
60,000 bucks which he distributed to representatives of the different
faiths (Latins, Orthodox, Shi’ ite, Sunni). He had four meetings in
three hours and then boarded the chopper and returned to the
plantation.
Moneybags Kykkos Bishop Nikiforos, the front-runner of the campaign
after spending millions of the Kykkos monastery moullah on purchasing
support, did not go to the Lebanon himself, but he sent his
representative, Archimandrite Isaias Kykkotis, who also arrived on
Wednesday. He went to take delivery of the 100 tons of food, medicine
and water – collected by the Departmentfor the Provision of
Humanitarian Help of Kykkos monastery and the Armenian Church- that
arrived on a Greek ship the following day.
There had been some squabbling over the sending of help to the
Lebanon.
Chrysostomos said he had initially proposed that the Holy Synod sent
humanitarian but his fellow bishops decided that this should be done
at a later stage.
Could their reticence have anything to do with the fact that as head
of the Synod Chrysostomos would have taken most of the credit for this
electoral Christian charity? He was left with no choice but to
undertake a personal initiative. It had nothing to do with the
elections, he assured us.
Meanwhile the fabulously wealthy Nikiforos Monastery had a special
department for offering international aid, which had been in operation
for 10 years.
According to Kykkotis, Chrysostomos was informed, from the first day
of the war that the department was at the disposal of the Synod if the
bishops wanted to send aid.
Chrysostomos, who chairs the Synod, never got back to him, presumably
not wanting rival candidate, Nikiforos to take the credit for leading
the relief effort. So we had the ludicrous situation of two separate
Church relief missions to the Lebanon in two days.
IS DIKO seriously considering backing walrus lookalike, Ouranios
Ioannides as its candidate for Nicosia mayor? Is the party so short of
adequate members that it has to resort to backing a horribly mediocre,
over-the-hill, superannuated, political opportunist who has served as
a DISY deputy and Clerides minister?
This refusal of our politicians to retire is really
irritating. Ouranios had his stint as a deputy and several years as a
monumentally ineffective education minister. Despite earning a good
living – and now a generous pension – from the taxpayer for all those
years, he also stood in last May’s parliamentary elections as DISY
candidate.
He failed to get elected, so now he has gone to DIKO in the hope that
it would back him as a mayoral candidate for Nicosia. And the idiots
at DIKO are trying to persuade their alliance partners to accept this
political drifter, who could not organise an orgy in a brothel, as a
credible candidate. Why?It must be because of his good looks.
A WORD of sympathy for former Minister of Agriculture Timis Efthymiou
who spoke of his deep hurt, in an interview with Simerini, after he
was unceremoniously dumped by the Ethnarch in the last cabinet
reshuffle. Timis, spoke with the bitterness of a spurned lover, about
his treatment by Tassos, whom he accused of `ingratitude and
arrogance’.
But if anyone is ungrateful it is Timis. He came from nowhere and
served as a minister for three years after fooling the Ethnarch about
the number of votes his joke of a party – Movement of Free Citizens –
would bring him. But after May’s parliamentary elections, when the
Free Citizens failedto win a seat, the Ethnarch realised that he had
no need for Timis and sent him home.
Timis must be a complete Amerikanaki, if he thought Tassos would
sacrificea ministry on someone who commanded an electoral strength of
one per cent because he was generously handing out state subsidies to
Paphos farmers.
THE PLANTATION’S airports were put on high alert after the news about
the possible terrorist plot against planes leaving Heathrow. However
one customer who flew out of Laranca yesterday morning informed us
that there was a little confusion among cops and ground staff over
what should be done about lab-tops.
On arriving at the gate for boarding, the man was told by a young,
zealous cop with a shaved head, in charge of the baggage scanner, that
he could not take the laptop onto the plane and had to give to the
ground staff.
This was strange, because the passenger had been told at the
checking-in desk that he could take the laptop with him. Others, who
had arrived earlier were queuing up to hand in their laptops to a
diminutive Cyprus Airways ground stewardess.
At that moment a high-ranking police officer (in a white shirt)
arrived and overheard the exchange. `Nobody had to check in their
laptop,=80=9D he told his subordinates. `But the airline security told
us that they should,’ responded the young cop with the shaved head.
`We don’t take security orders from the airline staff,=80=9D said the
senior cop. `Yes, but the newspapers say that laptops should be
checked in,’ insisted the young cop.
`What do we care what the newspapers say?’ the officer replied. `We
take orders from Police HQ and those orders say that as long as
laptops are removed from their bags and inspected, they could be taken
on to the plane.
`So stop inconveniencing people and let them take the laptops on to
the plane.’ The young cop obeyed the orders, but a feisty CY
stewardess, on gate duty, had heard the exchange started shouting at
the cops.
`You can’t do that. We have already forced half the passengers to hand
over their laptops and it would be unfair if the others are allowed to
take them onto the plane. That’s just not right’ The officer, who was
a true hero, stuck to his guns, saying `why should everyone be
inconvenienced?’
After he got a two minute tirade by the feisty stewardess about
treating all passengers in the same way, he gave in. Everyone had to
check in their laptops, not for security reasons, but for the sake of
equal treatment.

Anniversary is a time of reflection for the families
By John Leonidou
Cyprus Mail
13 Aug 06
IT WAS meant to be day of excitement for most of the passengers on
board Helios Airways flight ZU 522 as families boarded for their
summer holidays. It ended a day of national tragedy, shock and
mourning as their plane crashed into the hills of Grammatikos near
Athens, killing all 121 passengers and crew on board.
On the eve of the first anniversary of the disaster – the worst
inCypriot aviation history – the Head of the Helios Crash Victims
Relatives Committee Nicolas Yiasoumis told the Sunday Mail, `This is a
very sad time for us as the anniversary approaches.
`Memories of that fateful day come back to us, in which we said
goodbye, or rather au revoir, to our relatives who were going on
holiday only to be told some hours later that we were not to see them
again… ever.’ Around 190 relatives of the victims will fly to
Grammatikos to attend a memorial service tomorrow, August 14, he said,
`and then pray at the site of the disaster’.
Twelve entire Cypriot families, including a family of four Armenian
Cypriots, were wiped out in last August’s horrific crash. The
youngest victim was four years old.
In all, 17 children under the age of 16 died in the crash. Three of
the children, aged 16, 14 and five died along with their parents.
The oldest passengers were a couple aged 63 and 65.
Few people in Cyprus did not know one of the victims, but places like
Paralimni and Dhali lost more than most.
Sixteen resident of Paralimni died, half of them children.
Three entire families from the town were wiped out, including Christos
Pyrillis 40, his wife Antonia, 36 and their three children Eva 12,
Xenios 10 and Marcos six, who had gone on a week-long holiday
Another Cypriot family in Paralimni, who were visiting from Australia,
left their 20-month old baby at home with its grandparents because it
had a fever. The boy, George Xiourouppa, is now an orphan.
His father Demos, 39, his mother Margarita, 34, and sisters Sophia,
10, and Joanna, nine, died in the crash.
It has been a daunting time for the relatives, who have had to go on
with their lives thinking of what might have been had their loved ones
just nothad chosen that day or that plane to fly.
The relatives’ committee was formed in the aftermath of the crash`to
protect the orphans who have been left behind by this horrible
event,’ said Yiasoumis.
Maintaining those rights has not been without its problems.
The relatives have more than once come into confrontation with the
Communications Ministry, mainly over what they believe is the
Ministry’s loose handling of some of Helios Airways’ activities
after the accident.
But as the eve of the anniversary approaches, Yiasoumis believes that
it is a time of reflection and a time to remind ourselves that those
responsible must not escape unpunished.
`I call on the authorities also to reflect on what happened and get to
find out once and for all what happened aboard Helios Airways flight
ZU 522,’ said Yiasoumis.
He added: `However, right now we are just waiting for the commentsof
Boeing and Helios to be reviewed so Mr Kallis’ investigating team in
Cyprus can get to work and bring those responsible to justice.’