KENYAN PRESIDENT IN TROUBLE AS PARLIAMENT REOPENS
By Wangui Kanina

Reuters, UK
March 21 2006

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki opened a new session
of parliament on Tuesday but he looked in deeper trouble than when he
suspended the assembly four months ago after a humiliating referendum
defeat.

Kibaki postponed the opening of parliament on November 25 in response
to opposition calls for snap elections after voters defeated the
referendum on a new constitution.

But Kibaki’s attempt to win breathing space has backfired and he is now
beset by a string of problems including two big corruption scandals,
a blundering raid on the media, and a worsening east African drought.

In his opening address, Kibaki defended his record against corruption
and attacked opposition exploitation of the issue.

“Those that seek to politicise the fight against corruption should
know it is not words that will eradicate the vice but firm action,”
Kibaki said.

He said political turmoil could scare away investors from Kenya,
east Africa’s biggest economy

The referendum defeat and corruption scandals that forced three
ministers to resign have fractured Kibaki’s ruling coalition,
strengthened the opposition and further tarnished his image as
a reformer.

As if that was not enough, the government dug itself into a deeper
hole on March 2 when masked police commandos raided Kenya’s second
biggest media house, the Standard group.

Far from intimidating Kenya’s critical media, the raid has provided
damaging ammunition for the front pages every since.

The coverage became even more colourful after opposition allegations
that two Armenian businessmen, mocked in the press for their taste
for heavy gold chains, watches and rings, led the raid and had shady
dealings with Kibaki’s government.

Nation newspaper columnist Macharia Gaitho said on Tuesday: “With
every new claim, every new revelation, every new accusation, the
Kibaki government sinks deeper into the muck.”

Kibaki has still not referred directly to the raid but in his speech
he said press freedom must have some limitations.

“Although the freedom of media cannot be over-emphasised, it is clear
that freedom must be exercised within the bounds of responsibility,”
he said.

‘OUT OF TOUCH’

Prominent opposition politician Kalonzo Musyoka — who fell out with
Kibaki in 2004 — said the president should have apologised for the
raid instead of talking as if nothing had happened.

“This afternoon we heard from a president that is completely out of
touch with his people,” Musyoka told Reuters.

Outside the tightly guarded parliament, about 100 people protested
against Kibaki’s government.

“Everywhere you go there is corruption, there’s nowhere you can go
here without paying a bribe,” Yussuf Galgalo said to cheers. “The
government is not able to lead the country.”

Analysts say political battles between the opposition, itself split,
and Kibaki loyalists keen to restore his credibility could paralyse
attempts to pass a backlog of bills dealing with everything from the
next budget to sexual crimes.

Instead, assembly sessions are expected to be dominated by debate
over the corruption scandals, Kibaki’s worst crisis since he took
power in 2002 on promises to create jobs, tackle poverty and stop
high-level graft.

LOVELY DAY FOR WEIGHT OF GOLD

Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
March 21 2006

Gold for Deborah Lovely.

AUSTRALIA’S Deborah Lovely won a gold medal after a tight battle in
the women’s 75 kilogram weightlifting event at the Games last night.

It was Australia’s second weightlifting gold of the day, after Alex
Karapetyan earlier won the men’s 94 kilogram event.

Lovely was equal with Nauru’s Sheba Deireragea after the snatch,
but outlifted her by six kilograms in the clean-and-jerk to take
the title. Deireragea won silver and South Africa’s Babalwa Ndleleni
bronze.

Lovely won a silver medal in the same event at the Manchester Games
in 2002.

The woman who won gold on that occasion, India’s Pujari Shailaja,
had been favourite to defend her title here until she was disqualified
from competing after she recently tested positive to a banned drug.

Karapetyan’s 94 kilogram event was an Australian success. He took
gold and compatriot Simon Heffernan silver.

Karapetyan, defending the title he won in Manchester in 2002, was
far too strong for the rest of the field and his win was never in
serious doubt.

The former Armenian’s total of 350 kilograms was well ahead of
Heffernan’s 332 kilograms. Bronze medallist Thomas Yule, of Scotland,
lifted 326 kilograms.

It was Australia’s second weightlifting gold after Ben Turner won
the 69 kilograms event on Saturday night.

Heffernan delighted his home-town crowd with his exuberant
celebrations, including an air guitar solo.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKISH WAR MEMORIAL IN NAHCIVAN OPENED
By Cihan News Agency, Ordubad

Zaman Online, Turkey
March 21 2006

A Turkish War Memorial, for Turkish soldiers who died protecting
Nahcivan (Naxcivan/Nakhchivan) lands from Armenian occupation during
World War I, was opened with a ceremony in Ordubad.

“Turkish Armed Forces will always stand beside its Azeri brothers as
was the case in the past,” said Staff Officer Celalettin Bacanli in
his speech.

“Have no doubts; the Turkish people and Turkish Armed Forces will
always stand beside Azerbaijan, just as they did throughout history,”
added Bacanli, declaring the memorial a sign of recognition for Azeri
and Turkish brotherhood, as he reminded of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s
words, “Azerbaijan’s problem is our problem, its happiness is ours.”

Turkey’s Nakhchivan Ambassador Ismail Sefa Yuceer, Military Attache
of Naxcivan Mehmet Torun, Deputy Governor of Ordubad, Itibar Ismailov;
and many citizens from both countries participated in the ceremony.

During World War I, soldiers from some of the divisions under Nuri
Pasha were martyred fighting against Armenians.

The location of the Turkish Memorial was determined after talking
to witnesses of the war and historians. President of the Nakhchivan
Assembly Vasif Talibov also helped in the preparations of the war
memorial.

DWELLING FOR NKR OFFICERS

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
March 21 2006

March 20 delivery in usage of two twelve-flat houses for the officers
of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Defense Army took place. The NKR
President Arkady Ghoukasyan, Prime Minister Anoushavan Danielyan, the
Republic Security Council Secretary Karen Baburyan, Minister of Defense
Seyran Ohanyan and other officials participated in the solemn ceremony.

Presenting the servicemen with the orders for the new flats Arkady
Ghoukasyan noted, in part: “I believe we must pursue the policy.

Civil authorities and army together try to settle the tasks,
the solution of which will enable our officers to fulfill their
professional duties under calmer conditions”.

Talking to journalists Arkady Ghoukasyan again mentioned the
necessity of improving social position of the NKR Defense Army Staff
Officers. “Providing an officer with normal living conditions we
resolve a strategic task as well”, stressed the Head of the Republic.

The NKR leadership goes on undertaking measures on providing the
families of the perished and invalids of the Karabakh war with
dwellings.

At present over 400 officers of the Karabakh army are provided with
new flats. For this purpose 1 milliard 200 million drams have been
allocated by the Republic state budget in 2006 versus 750 million
last year.

DARTMOUTH CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS TO ARRIVE IN YEREVAN MARCH 29

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
March 21 2006

According to the information De Facto received at the RA Democratic
Party press service, the Dartmouth conference Co-Chairs on Nagorno
Karabakh Harold Saunders and Vitaly Naumkin would arrive in Yerevan
March 29, after visiting Baku March 27-28. From Yerevan the Co-Chairs
will leave for Stepanakert. The visit’s program is being verified,
however, according to the preliminary data, top-level meetings are
expected to be held in the three cities, RA Democratic Party leader
Aram Sargsyan told De Facto Information-Analytics Agency.

To remind, after the delegations of public of Armenia, NKR and
Azerbaijan approved draft of Framework Agreement on peaceful process
in the conflict region last September meetings within the Dartmouth
conference frames have not been conducted.

KARABAKH “WILL INCREASE INVESTMENTS IN MILITARY SPHERE”

Regnum, Russia
March 21 2006

In capital of Nagorno Karabakh – the city of Stepanakert two
12-apartment two-storied houses are put into operation for officers
of NKR Defense Army.

As a REGNUM correspondent in Stepanakert reports, presenting officers
with vouchers for apartments, President of NKR Arkady Gukasyan
mentioned that the republican authorities and the military command
should together solve everyday social problems of servicemen.

According to him, the state will increase investments into the
military sphere.

The state gave 750 million drams for construction of serviceman
housing in 2005. The sum totaled 1,200 million drams in 2006.

AT NA FOUR-DAY SITTINGS

National Assembly, Armenia
March 21 2006

On March 20 NA regular four-day sittings commenced with the endorsement
of the agenda. Only the Ardarutiun/Justice faction-submitted draft on
setting up NA Ad-hoc Committee on Offences committed at the referendum
on Constitutional amendments held in RA on November 27, 2005, which
was to be put on the session agenda, was not endorsed. The MPs passed
the drafts debated at the previous four-day sittings, too. Artur
Baghdasaryan, NA President, informed that the debate of the draft on
Making Amendment to RA Law on Energy is adjourned by the government’s
consent to make up the disagreements on the suggested amendment and
come to an agreement.

The MPs debated the RA government-submitted drafts on Making Amendments
to RA Land Code and Making Amendment to RA Law on the Repressed.

Davit Lokyan, Minister of Agriculture, presented the draft on Making
Amendments and Addenda to RA Law on State Duty.

Manvel Badalyan, Chairman of the Civil Service Council, presented
the draft on Making Amendments and Addenda to RA Law on Civil Service.

The MPs also debated the draft on Precious Metals and the related
amendments suggested to other laws, the drafts on Making Amendments
and Addenda to RA Law on Pawnshops and Pawnshop Activity, on Making
Amendment and Addendum to RA Law on Gambling and Casinos, on Making
Amendments and Addenda to RA Law on Acts on Civil State, on Making
Addendum to RA Law on Advertisement and Conventions on Cybercrimes
and International Protection of Plants, Development Credit Agreement
Number 4144 (Second Poverty Reduction Support Credit) between Republic
of Armenia and International Development Association.

According to the main speaker Armen Gevorgyan, Deputy Minister
of Trade and Economic Development of the Republic of Armenia, the
draft on Copyright and Co-rights solves the problem of intellectual
property rights’ protection and regulates the rights of the authors
and performers of the works in the sphere of literature, science and
art, of sound-recorder and filmmakers, of broadcasting organizations,
publishers and database makers with regard to their work. The draft
regulates the management of property rights on collective bases, too.

The debate of the draft will be continued at the March 21 sitting.

March 21 2006

Karabakh “will increase investments in military sphere”

In capital of Nagorno Karabakh – the city of Stepanakert two
12-apartment two-storied houses are put into operation for officers
of NKR Defense Army.

As a REGNUM correspondent in Stepanakert reports, presenting officers
with vouchers for apartments, President of NKR Arkady Gukasyan
mentioned that the republican authorities and the military command
should together solve everyday social problems of servicemen.

According to him, the state will increase investments into the
military sphere.

The state gave 750 million drams for construction of serviceman
housing in 2005. The sum totaled 1,200 million drams in 2006.

CRISIS “SPECIALISTS” APPEAL TO EU TO COMPETE MORE ACTIVELY WITH RUSSIA AND USA IN SOUTH CAUCASUS

Regnum, Russia
March 21 2006

“Defending its own security, the European Union should be
closer involved in conflict settlement in South Caucasus, to
prevent the conflicts from breaking out as scaled wars immediately
neighboring Europe,” is said in report of International Crisis Group
non-governmental organization. In its “Settlement of Conflicts in
South Caucasus. EU Role” report, the ICG tries to analyze current
efforts of EU “in strained situations, arisen around Nagorno Karabakh,
Abkhazia, and South Ossetia”, and also denotes additional expectations
from EU to settle these conflicts. “Just recently, Brussels started
reacting to the challenges more profound,” stated, in particular,
Director of ISC Caucasus program Sabine Freizer.

According to her, “several very promising steps were made, but a long
way is still ahead to be gone through.”

As it is mentioned further, the UN is occupied with settlement in
Abkhazia, and the OSCE – in Nagorno Karabakh and South Ossetia.

However, decades later, talks are not crowned with peaceful
agreements. “Having authority of ‘honest mediator’, various soft and
hard instruments of influence, as well as ability to offer closer
European integration, EU can play more significant role, and add to
UN and OSCE efforts,” believe ICG authors.

“In order to avoid destabilization of its own borders, the EU
wishes to establish around itself a circle of states with effective
governing. It is interested in South Caucasus because of one more
reason; it wishes to guarantee access to oil and gas of Caspian
region, to develop communication corridors between Europe and Asia,
as well as to restrict such threats as trafficking, smuggling, and
environmental pollution. It is hard to imagine, that the EU will let
have its membership to Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan within the next
few years, and that is why it should find new approaches to ground its
assistance and use it as instrument of influence. Action program of
New European Neighborhood policy is now at stage of generalization. It
provides a good opportunity to strengthen EU role, especially if
peaceful conflict settlement will be fixed as a necessary one. New
special EU representative is to become observer at talks on settlement
of Abkhazian, South Ossetian, and Karabakh conflicts. The European
Union has considerably contributed to reconstruction of Abkhazia and
South Ossetia. It must evaluate, what it may do in Nagorno Karabakh
and neighboring areas,” pointes out the ICG.

“The EU tries to define its role in new neighborhood, where there
is neither peace nor war,” says Director of ICG European program
Nicolas Wait. “If the EU is not able to implement strategy of safe
neighborhood, then, trust in it will suffer comparing with Russia
and the USA. Most of all, the fact worries, that if the conflicts
in South Caucasus continue to escalate, then, the EU can turn out to
be not ready for looking for answers in wars between its neighbors,”
believes Wait.
From: Baghdasarian

CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS: THE EU’S ROLE

International Crisis Group
March 21 2006

International Crisis Group new report

Tbilisi/Brussels, 21 March 2006 (International Crisis Group Press
Release – website) – To guarantee its own security, the EU must become
more engaged in resolving the conflicts in the South Caucasus lest
they ignite into full-fledged wars in Europe’s neighbourhood.

“Conflict Resolution in the South Caucasus: The EU’s Role”, the latest
report from the International Crisis Group, examines the EU’s efforts
to address tensions over Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia,
and points out how the EU can do more.

“Greater engagement is a challenge Brussels has only just begun
to address”, says Sabine Freizer, Crisis Group’s Caucasus Project
Director. “There have been a few promising steps, but there is a long
way to go”.

Thus far, others have taken the lead in promoting conflict settlement
in the region, but over a decade of negotiations led by the UN in
Abkhazia, and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) in Nagorno-Karabakh and South Ossetia, have not produced
comprehensive peace agreements. With its reputation as an “honest
broker”, access to a range of soft and hard power tools, and the lure
of greater integration into Europe, the EU has a greater role to play,
and offers added value to compliment the UN and the OSCE.

To avoid instability on its borders, the EU seeks a ring of
well-governed countries around it. It is further interested in the
South Caucasus to ensure access to Caspian oil and gas, develop
transport and communication corridors between Europe and Asia, and
contain such threats as smuggling, trafficking and environmental
degradation.

As the EU is unlikely to offer membership to Georgia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan any time soon, it must identify innovative means to
impose conditionality on its aid and exercise influence. European
Neighbourhood Policy Action Plans are being finalised. These offer
a chance for the EU to enhance its role especially if the peaceful
resolution of the conflicts are defined as commitments.

The new EU Special Representative should observe ongoing negotiations
for the Abkhazian, South Ossetian and Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts. The
Commission has allocated significant funding to rehabilitation in
South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It should assess how it can start doing
more in and around Nagorno-Karabakh.

“The EU is trying to define its role in a new neighbourhood which is
neither at war nor at peace”, says Nicholas Whyte, Director of Crisis
Group’s Europe Program. “If the EU fails to implement its strategic
vision for a secure neighbourhood, its credibility in the region, and
generally vis-a-vis Russia and the U.S., will suffer. More troublingly,
if the South Caucasus conflicts continue to deteriorate, the EU may
find itself unprepared for responding to wars among its neighbours”.

ELECTRIC VIOLINIST
By Bradley Bambarger
Star-Ledger Staff

Newark Star Ledger, New Jersey
March 21 2006

Jarvi and London Philharmonic bring rising star to Newark concert

The London Philharmonic Orchestra’s latest tour of the U.S. has had
its share of challenges. The group’s principal conductor, Kurt Masur,
was to lead the tour, but had to pull out due to a viral infec tion.

Neeme Jarvi, music director of the New Jersey Symphony Orches tra,
was one of several conductors enlisted to cover the tour. But,
hav ing fallen ill, too, Jarvi pulled out of the March 12 date in
San Francisco, which Roberto Minczuk covered (as he did yesterday’s
Lincoln Center concert).

But Jarvi was in Newark with the London Philharmonic at the New
Jersey Performing Arts Center on Sunday afternoon, having also led
the orchestra in Greenvale, Calif., the day before. Fit as a fiddle,
he seemed to relish conducting such a sleekly powerful ensemble in
one of his “home” halls. Although the players looked a bit glum,
Jarvi managed to elicit some smiles with his enthusiastic gestures
and occasional hoochie-coochie swaying.

Veterans in the LPO are familiar with Jarvi from’90s’ recording
ses sions of Medtner, Bruckner and Reger. The repertoire wasn’t so
imposing at Prudential Hall, starting with Britten’s Simple Symphony,
the composer’s buoyant recasting of sketches from his youth. This
neo-Baroque suite for strings isn’t all light as air, though. In the
Sara bande section, the London violins had not only surface sheen,
but a crying depth of feeling. The Sara bande’s ideally soft ending
belied what little experience Jarvi and the orchestra had together
in the score.

For all the charms of the Brit ten, the day belonged to Aram
Khachaturian’s 1940 Violin Concerto — and the soloist for the piece,
a 21-year-old fellow Armenian and near-namesake, Sergey Khachatryan.

That this is a sorely undervalued score might be apparent to those
who have heard the pioneering recordings by David Ois trakh and Leonid
Kogan. But Kha chatryan’s electric performance made a case for a work
that would be hard for any music lover to deny.

Frequenters of NJPAC have had the chance to hear exceptional young
violinists in recent seasons, including the Georgian Elisabeth
Batiashvili (in Sibelius) and the Dutch Janine Jansen (Britten).

Khachatryan was their equal — and he needed to be, as Khachatu rian’s
concerto demands that the soloist spin out one long-breathed melody
after another. The violin ist’s face was as expressionless and dark
as his playing was expressive and colorful; his visage only softened
as he communed with the more reflective tunes, many derived from
Armenian folk tradition.

Khachatryan, who made a fine recording of this concerto in 2003,
pushed the first movement at a boldly exciting pace (as did Ois
trakh). But he was lyrically rumina tive in the solo cadenza — that
is, until its finish, where his double- stopping vibrated white-hot.

After the violinist caressed the slow movement like a cradle song and
surged through the rondo finale, the full house’s ovation wrested a
shy smile from him that grew as Jarvi led the applause for a fourth
curtain call.

Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, which Jarvi recently recorded with
Sweden’s Gothenburg Symphony, was the afternoon’s closer. Doleful and
balletic by turns, this music can be performed more viscerally, but
it would be rare to hear it played more romantically. In the autumnal
slow movement, the cellos sang out with proto-Hollywood sweep, and
the orchestra’s brass had their beautifully tuned say in the finale.

Surprisingly, given Jarvi’s pen chant and the convention for touring
ensembles, there was no en core. But he was obviously pleased, making
a show of eliciting applause for every section of the orchestra,
even wading back to shake hands with the double-bassists.

ledger/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/11429223091 1630.xml&coll=1

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress