VICE PRESIDENT OF URUGUAY SIGNS AN APPLICATION TO EU WHICH CALL ON UNION TO DEMAND RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE FROM TURKEY

MONTEVIDEO, JUNE 17, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Vice President of
Uruguay Rodolfo Nin Nova reasserted the country’s position on the issue
of the Armenian genocide when making a speech at an event dedicated
to the 90th anniversary of the execution of 20 members of the Social
Democratic Hunchak Party (SDHP). According to the SDHP press service,
Vice President signed an application to the European Union, calling
on EU to demand that Turkey recognize the Armenian genocide prior to
starting the negotiations for joining the Union. To recap, Yruguay’s
parliament memebers earlier initiated filing such an application to
the European Union.

Boris Goudenow, Boston Early Music Festival
By George Loomis

FT
June 17 2005 09:47

Opera-goers often encounter familiar subjects in diverse operatic
settings, but who would have thought a German composer would seize
on the saga of Boris Godunov 160 years before Mussorgsky? This shows
the resourcefulness of composers for Hamburg’s Goosemarket theatre,
a public opera house for which Johann Mattheson in around 1710 wrote
his Boris Goudenow, an opera that was never performed.

Long thought lost in the allied bombing of Hamburg, the score of
Mattheson’s Boris had in fact been relocated “for safe keeping”. As
with many musical treasures, however, the Red Army got there first. The
score resurfaced in the 1990s in Yerevan, Armenia, and now the biennial
Boston Early Music Festival gives its world premiere.

The subject does offer an appealing twist, but Mattheson’s Boris is
largely a run-of-the mill baroque opera driven by scheming lovers and
political intrigue. The most memorable scene comes when a chorus of
old men and children implore Boris to accept the throne, repeating
their entreaties to amusing effect each time the comic servant Bogda
tries to silence them. You could almost think Mattheson was satirising
Mussorgsky. But these Hamburg operas are curious works – throwbacks
to older Venetian operas in their blatant audience appeal, with many
short musical numbers in sound-bites and heavy, off-colour humour.

Mattheson, better known as a theorist than a composer, wrote
much engaging music for Boris, but composers such as Telemann and
Reinhard Keiser managed Hamburg’s peculiar requirements better. Lucy
Graham and Nils Niemann mastermind the lively stage action and David
Cockayne’s sets have a hint of old-style Bolshoi opulence. The young
Russian bass Vadim Kravers is impressive as Boris, though not yet
ready for Mussorgsky’s tsar. The other singers have the pleasant but
lightish voices early music attracts; among the lovers, the soprano
Nell Snaidas and the tenor Colin Balzer are especially good. Paul
O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs oversee the musical direction with verve
and scrupulous attention to detail.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MORE THAN 1300 ARMENIAN SHOOL-LEAVERS OF JAVAKHK TO HAVE GREAT
DIFFICULTIES IN ISSUE OF ENTERING HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
BOTH OF GEORGIA AND ARMENIA

AKHALKALAK, JUNE 17, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The last bell rang
for school-leavers of all schools of Georgia on June 16. According
to the “A-Info” agency, in Javakhk populated with Armenians, 1313
pupils of the 11th grade, including 917 in the region of Akhalkalak,
396 in the region of Ninotsminda, left school this year. This year
school-leavers of schools in Georgia must take combined exams for
entering higher educational institutions. About 400 people from the
regions of Akhalkalak, Ninotsminda are going to participate in those
exams to enter Georgian higher educational institutions, particularly
the Akhalkalak branch of the State University of Tbilisi. But the
probability of their entering is very small as they do not know
Georgian at a level cooresponding to one of Georgian schools, and the
entrance exams will be held for all with the same standards. Hence,
one may suppose the most part of regular first year students of
the Akhalkalak branch of the State University of Tbilisi, which
(the branch) is said to have been created for those from Javakhk,
will be young people from other regions of Georgia. This year the
number of Armenians from Javakhk wanting to enter higher educational
institutions of Armenia imcomparably reduced because of even harder
social-economic situation of Javakhk.

“EUROPEAN CALL” PUBLISHED ON OCCASION OF 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE PRESENTED TO HEADS OF EU COUNTRIES

BRUSSELS, JUNE 17, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The European
Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy presented “European
Call” published on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide to heads of 25 EU member countries who arrived in
Brussels to participate in the European Union Summit on June 16. As
Noyan Tapan was informed by the European Armenian Federation for
Justice and Democracy, the call has already been signed by hundreds
of European unions, organizations and institutions which appealed
to the Council of Europe and the European Commission to include the
resolutions having adopted by the European Parliament since 2000
and demanding the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey
in the official documents of negotiations on the issue of Turkey’s
membership to the European Union. “Producing an impression that it
wants to undertake its responsibility, the Turkish state in reality
continues its agressive policy of betrayal of the Genocide, imposing
the Union not to touch upon that issue,” the call reads. “Hence,
only a stable and decisive position of the European Union will
support Turkey’s significant progress in this issue,” Hilda Choboyan,
the Chairwoman of the European Armenian Federation for Justice and
Democracy stated. “European citizens whom we represent, find that
the democratic voice of the European Union expressed by the European
Parliament, will find a response in European decisions,” she mentioned.

“GOLDEN APRICOT” SECOND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL TO GO UNDER WATCHWORD “ARMENIA AT CROSSROAD OF CIVILIZATIONS AND CULTURES”

YEREVAN, JUNE 17, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The “Golden Apricot”
second international film festival under the watchword “Armenia at
Crossroads of Civilizations and Cultures” in which artists of 45
countries of the world will particpate, starts in Yerevan on July
12. Haroutiun Khachatrian, the Director of the festival, a film
director stated this at the June 16 press-conference. According to
Haroutiun Khachatrian, the goal of the festival is to gather directors
of different ethnic, national, religious, aesthetic belonging and their
films. The solemn opening ceremony, to which world famous directors
among them Nikita Mikhalkov, Yos Stelling, Klod Miller, Atom Egoyan,
etc. are invited will take place at the Alexander Spendiarian National
Opera and Ballet Theater. Director Edgar Baghdasarian’s “Mariam” film
will be shown after the opening ceremony. Haroutiun Khachatrian also
mentioned that the festival will have three competitive programs:
the art of acting, documentary and “Armenian Panorama”; as well as
numerous extra-competitive programs “Documentary World,” “Yerevan
Premieres,” “Russian Program,” “Tribute of Respect,” “Artsakh Diary,”
“Genocide-90,” “Day of France.” A regional seminar “Film as Mean
of Intercultural Dialogue” as well as classes of mastery will be
held by famous directors during the days of the festival. Susanna
Haroutiunian, a member of the organization committe of the fetival
informed journalists that in contrast to the previous festival, this
year a new prize is envisaged for the competitive programs of the art
of acting and documentary films. A portrait of Sergey Paradjanov, a
world-famous film director will be pictured on that prize. And prize
winners of the “Armenian Panorama” competitive program will be given
“Golden Apricot” prizes this year as well.

GOLDEN JAM FOR OUR SPECTATORS

AZG Armenian Daily #112, 18/06/2005

Cinema

“We are going to have a new Armenian film for each year. And each
year we will open “Golden Apricot” international film festival with
that new Armenia film,” the organizers of the film festival stated. As
compared to the last year, there will be two competitions at the film
festival, one for Armenian, and the second for foreign films. Harutyun
Khachatrian, director of “Golden Apricot” film festival is sure that
the Armenian cinema has its unique place in the world. He said that
contemporary Armenian directors continue the path of Parajanov and
Peleshian.

The members of “Armenian Panorama” Jury, the films included in the
festival, as well as the envisaged arrangements were introduced to
the journalists at the press conference on June 16. On June 12-17
“Cinema Is Means of Intercultural Dialogue” international seminar
will be held in Yerevan, besides the festival. Evenings dedicated to
Hrant Matevosian, Mher Mkrtchian, Henrik Malian, Khoren Abrahamian,
Aghasi Ayvazyan will be held. There will also be meetings with Arsine
Khanjian. Krystoff Zanussi and Claude Miller.

“Armenian Panorama” program aims at uniting and representing the
pieces of the Armenian film directors from all over the world. “They
will familiarized with our films, with the Armenian culture, while we
will learn more about them. It~Rs also very important that we will
have the opportunity to enrich our film collection with new films,”
Garegin Zakoyan, chairman of “Armenian Panorama” competition, said
at the press conference.

Atom Egoyan, chairman of the Fiction Film Jury, will deliver master
class lectures together with the other prominent figures of the
world~Rs cinema at the cinema hall of the Yerevan State Picture
Gallery.

Susanna Harutyunian, head of festival programs, sad that they are
going to show documentary films shot in Chili, Nicaragua, Turkey,
Russia, Georgia, Lithuania about the contemporary life.

This is the second year the film festival is held. The specialists said
that it grew and ripened in a year. It is symbolized by the logo of
the festival that pictures apricot jam on bread. “The apricot ripened
in a year and became jam and now we treat it to our spectators,”
Harutyun Khachatrian said.

By Tamar Minasian

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian resolution strains ties with Germany

Saturday, June 18, 2005

DIPLOMACY

A German official says it has every interest in maintaining its good
ties with Turkey but terms Erdogan’s criticism targeting Schroeder as
‘unfortunate’

FATMA DEMÄ°RELLÄ°

ANKARA – Turkish Daily News

A German parliamentary resolution calling on Turkey to re-examine the
killing of Armenians in the last century risked souring ties yesterday
between Ankara and Berlin ahead of the Oct. 3 start date of Turkish
accession talks with the European Union and amid mounting European
hesitation to press ahead with enlargement after the failure of the
bloc’s constitution in French and Dutch referenda.

The German parliament voted unanimously on Thursday for a resolution
pressing Turkey to investigate the “organized expulsion and destruction
of Armenians.” In a strongly worded statement, the Foreign Ministry
warned of damage to ties with Berlin and said the move stemmed from
“petty domestic political calculations.”

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan later termed passage of the
resolution as “ugly and wrong” and criticized German Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder for not trying to stop the motion.

“Chancellor Schroeder should at least have stated his own position
and should have prevented members of his own party (from backing the
resolution),” he told reporters late on Thursday. “This is not right
in politics. I like politics to have backbone,” he added.

‘Unfortunate’ statement:

Germany is a key supporter of Turkish aspirations to join the EU,
and tension may sour the atmosphere between the two countries in the
countdown to opening accession talks and undermine Berlin’s backing
for Turkey.

“The German government has every interest in continuing our excellent
relationship in all fields. We have no interest in damaging this
relationship,” said a German official, emphasizing that it was up to
Turkey to decide whether to take the issue any further.

However, the official said Erdogan’s criticism targeting Schroeder was
“unfortunate.”

“If the prime minister really said what has been reported, it would
be an unfortunate statement because of the personal nature of the
criticism,” said the official.

The resolution was drafted by the conservative opposition, which
opposes Turkey’s membership and promotes privileged partnership
instead.

Mounting protest:

The German resolution avoids using the word “genocide” but still
touches a raw nerve here. Turkey categorically rejects Armenian charges
that 1.5 million Armenians were killed as part of a genocide campaign
at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire during World War I and says
it is ready for a scholarly investigation of the allegations.

Around 150 members of a Turkish trade union held a protest outside
the German Embassy in Ankara yesterday denouncing the German move.

The protesters from the Turkish Public Workers’ Labor Union (Kamu-Sen)
shouted, “Fascist Germany,” “Racist Germany” and “Germany, don’t
test our patience” as some 100 police officers stood guard. They also
scuffled with police for about 10 minutes after a plainclothes police
officer removed and broke a black wreath they had left at the embassy
gate in protest.

In another act of protest, Parliament Speaker Bulent Arınc is planning
to send a letter to his German counterpart Wolfgang Thierse to condemn
the parliamentary resolution, said the Anatolia news agency. Opposition
True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar criticized the German move
and said German lawmakers seem to have forgotten the Ottoman-German
alliance during World War I. Turks living in Berlin are also expected
to stage a protest today after a Turkish NGO, Turkish Community Berlin,
called for a demonstration earlier this week. There was no information
on how many would attend. Berlin is home to a 200,000-strong Turkish
community.

–Boundary_(ID_B3CdFbj5EqMk6DxQUfq6Dw)–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZG Armenian Daily #112, 18/06/2005

World press

FRANCE RAISES SUMMIT STAKES WITH FEARS ON ENLARGEMENT

Now French add Turkey’s admission to tension over budget and constitution

France opened a third front with Britain on the eve of today’s
European Union summit by publicly voicing grave reservations about
Turkey’s impending membership. The statement yesterday by Dominique
de Villepin, the new French Prime Minister, increased the tension
surrounding a summit that is already engulfed in bitter disputes
over the EU budget and constitution. Britain has insisted enlargement
will be a priority during its EU presidency, which begins next month,
and will proceed on schedule.

With the EU now split over its future direction, Jose Manuel Barroso,
the European Commission President, served warning that unless the
dispute over EU financing was resolved this week “the Union will sink
into a permanent crisis and paralysis”.

But Tony Blair and most other leaders were travelling to Brussels
having all but abandoned hope of agreeing a seven-year budget. Britain
will not surrender its £3 billion annual rebate; France refuses to
consider cuts to agricultural spending.

A last-minute compromise proposed last night by Luxembourg, which
holds the current EU presidency, made only small concessions to
British concerns, and is unlikely to break the deadlock. It no longer
suggested the British rebate should be phased out, but proposed that
it be capped, which would cost Britain about ~@25 billion, without
offering corresponding cuts in agricultural subsidies.

Earlier, Mr. de Villepin told the French parliament that the results
of its referendum on the EU constitution had shown the speed of
enlargement had shaken EU citizens.

“We must take it into account,” he said. Bulgaria and Romania should
be admitted in 2007, but “beyond that we must certainly open a
discussion with our partners on the mode of future enlargements”. He
did not mention Turkey by name but was clearly referring to the poor,
predominantly Muslim country which is due to start membership talks
with the EU on October 3.

In London Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, insisted that the
EU’s commitments to Turkey and other applicant countries were
clear and would be honoured under existing rules, not the stalled
constitution. Senhor Barroso also insisted that Turkey’s membership
talks should proceed.

The only dispute the summit is likely to resolve is over the
constitution. Britain looks certain to prevail in its campaign to kick
the treaty into the long grass. There now seems to be broad consensus
among EU leaders that the ratification process should be put on hold.

Even Germany was stalling last night after President Kohler decided
to withhold his signature, pending the outcome of a legal challenge
in the country’s highest court.

Both the Commission and Luxembourg have come round to the British
position. Señhor Barroso said: “I am not proposing that we abandon
the process of ratification, I am proposing a pause for reflection.”

The about-turn came after an internal European Commission report warned
of a “tsunami” of “no” votes if Britain, Ireland, Poland, Denmark and
the Czech Republic continued with their referendums. Gunter Verheugen,
the Commission Vice-President, said: “The mood has changed everywhere
where referendums are planned. A feeling of discontent that has been
building up for a long time has spilled over.”

Britain was having less success persuading Europe to cut its ~@40
billion (£26.5 billion) farm budget in return for Britain surrendering
its rebate. Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxembourg Prime Minister
predicted: “I’m pretty sure we won’t get the financial perspectives
[budget] through at this summit.”

By Anthony Browne in Brussels and Philip Webster; The Times/UK,
June 16, 2005

–Boundary_(ID_DrgyldGuuEoaSmkuiR/h/g)–

AZG Armenian Daily #112, 18/06/2005

Communication

NEW LAW ON ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION TO COME INTO FORCE ON JAN. 1, 2006

ArmenTel to Hold Monopoly

The Cooperation for Open Society NGO organized a press conference yesterday
to discuss the draft law on electronic communication. Justice minister, the
head of the Communication Administration within the Communication and
Transport Ministry and the chairman of Internews-Armenia jural service were
invited to deliver their reports.

Justice minister Davit Harutyunian spoke about the draft law elaborated in
2000 and adopted at the first reading. Noting that the law aimed at solving
problems with ArmenTel, justice minister said that the new draft will give
the power in the sphere to another supervisor.

Perhaps, the key point the minister mentioned was that they made an attempt
to settle the issue of communication network, which is historically under
the control of ArmenTel, i.e. the issue of other operators utilizing the
network infrastructure.

Speaking of the fees for the services, the minister said that they will be
“rational and fair”. Asked by daily Azg what he means by that, Davit
Harutyunian said that the rational fee is the one that circulates today for
such services. As to the “fairness”, the minister kept silent. Anyhow, the
justice minister noted that there should be rivalry in the sphere in order
to have law tariffs and to make it develop.

By Aghavni Harutyunian

US Makes Financial Aid to Armenian Occupation

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
June 18 2005

WASHINGTON – The Appropriations Sub-Committee of the U.S. House
of Representatives approved the levels of spending for Armenia
and Nagorno-Karabakh Occupation Administration proposed in the
Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill. The
bill calls for $67.5 million for Armenia, up to $5 million for the
unrecognized ‘Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’, and $5.75 million each in
military assistance to both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenian forces
occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and many other Azerbaijani towns. The US
made pressures on Syria to withdraw from Lebanon while she gives
financial support to Armenian Occupation. Turkish experts finds the
American Armenia policy double-standard.

Although total U.S. financial aid to the countries of the former
Soviet Union continues to decline steadily, the aid earmarked for
Armenia is $12.5 million more than for FY 2005. Armenia, contrary to
the other regional countries, has very close relations with Russia.
Yerevan is considered the only Russian ally in the region.

The bill will be considered by the full House Appropriations Committee
in July.

More than 1 million Azerbaijanis have been refugees for more than
a decade and the US has made no aid to the Azerbaijani refugees. No
Azerbaijanis remained in Armenia after the Armenian discriminative
policies against the Muslims in Armenia. Not only the Muslims but
also the Jews and other ethnic groups have suffered from the Armenian
ultra-nationalism.

The EU and OSCE condemned the Armenian occupation in Nagarno-Karabakh
and no state recognize Karabakh as a separate political entity.