JOHN EVANS: CHANGE OF POWER NOT NECESSARY CONDITION FOR DEMOCRATIZATION IN ARMENIA
Pan Armenian News
05.09.2005 06:05
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ U.S. Ambassador to the RA John Evans said the
U.S. does not consider change of power to be an essential condition
for democratization in Armenia and will exert every effort to make
the parliamentary elections in 2007 and presidential election in 2008
free and fair, RFE/RL reports. Mr. Evan confirmed the U.S.’s support
to the constitutional reform. “Armenia has a possibility to pass
the necessary changes in constitutional order”, the Ambassador noted
adding that the U.S. is not trying to tell the Armenian electorate
how to vote. “We say the following: this is a very important task,
which is worth proper attention of the voters and serious discussion
in the National Assembly”, the diplomat said. The Ambassador does not
think that the constitutional reform will empower Robert Kocharian to
run for President for the third time. When asked of the consequences
of an unfair referendum, the Ambassador said, ” We witnessed how
falsified elections drove people to streets. It should serve as a
good lesson not only for Armenia but also for all the states of the
region. People are expecting fair election. So does the U.S.”, he said.

ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN MILITARY EXERCISES START IN ARMENIA SEPTEMBER 13
Pan Armenian News
05.09.2005 03:41
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Servicemen of the Group of Russian Troops in
Transcaucasia (GRTT) and the Armed Forces of Armenia will take part
in planned joint exercises. Starting September 13 and continuing for
6 days these will be held in the territory of Armenia. “They will
be rather large-scale exercises and these are held in compliance
with the plan the two countries have agreed over.” GRTT Commander,
major general Andrey Popov will arrive in Armenia on the occasion of
the exercises, reported Interfax.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT RECEIVES CREW OF CILICIA SAILING VESSEL
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 1. ARMINFO. President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan
jhas rdceived today the crew of the sailing vessel Cilicia built
on the model of Middle Age vessels of Cilicia Kingdom. The sailing
vessel has completed te second stage of its sailing by 9 seas.
The presidential press-service informs ARMINFO that the crew handed
over the national flag of Armenia to President Kocharyan and took
another flag from the president to sail under it next year. Sailors
presented Robert Kocharyan the photo of Cilicia with their autographs.
The president talked to the crew around the issues related
the forthcoming third stage of sailing and the problems of the
vessel’s transportation to Armenia. Robert Kocharyan pointed out
the importance of construction of a special berth on Lake Sevan and
promised to assist the sailors in this issue. The sailors told about
the interesting incidents during the sailing and assured him that
due to their accumulated experience they will cope with the remaining
way and bring Cilicia to the native shore.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The Boston Herald
August 29, 2005 Monday
ALL EDITIONS
MUSIC REVIEW;
For thrash-metal sound, you can’t beat the System
By Linda Laban
System of a Down, the Mars Volta and Bad Acid Trip, at the DCU Center,
Worcester, Saturday night.
Smart-rock ruled Worcester this weekend.
Following the Mars Volta’s cancellation of its European tour in June,
due to guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s illness, the experimental
combo was back and in stunning form, supporting System of a Down at
the DCU Center.
This time out, too, Mars Volta included former At the Drive-In
bandmate Paul Hinojas, who recently quit Sparta (the other Drive-In
offshoot), to man Volta’s tape loops and sound manipulation. Fronted
by dapper-looking, pipe-thin singer Cedric Bixler, the expanded
eight-man touring lineup also added keyboards, percussion, saxophone
and flute – all jamming on Mars Volta’s beautiful, fierce music,
which culls from prog rock, classic rock, Latino-Cuban and free jazz.
Familiar reference points aside, the result was epic songs that
sounded unique and boundless.
Similar to Mars Volta’s delving into its founding members’ Latin
heritage, headliner System of a Down co-opts curious, and amusing,
Eastern European stylings in its bombastic, thrash-rooted metal,
echoing the Los Angeles quartet’s Armenian heritage. System of a Down
is one band whose music fits a stadium with ease. No need for added
theatrics: The songs are already so intense they breathe heartily in
such a vast space, becoming truly realized. If on record the band is
a manic, frenzied affair, filled with agit-prop ADD rock, then live
System of a Down is dignified and commanding.
Though the band is touring for its recently released platinum-selling
“Mezmerize,” the avid Massachusetts fans got a taste of System’s
similarly styled forthcoming companion disc, “Hypnotize,” due in
November.
The thrashy metal punch and Slavic strut at the base of most songs
was blindsided by abrupt passages of whacky reggae, and quieted by
frontman Serj Tankian and guitarist Daron Malakian’s keen folky vocal
harmonies, both adding more layers to this voluptuous music. Then,
amid all this pomp and punch, the catchy “Violent Pornography,” with
its surfy guitar licks and sing-along chorus, came off as a pop romp.
Metal, outside the box. Smart.

Fresno Bee (California)
August 31, 2005, Wednesday FINAL EDITION
One special deli that’s a cut above To many of Armenian descent from
across the country, Fresno is best known for Ohanyan’s.
by Joan Obra The Fresno Bee
Fresno’s Armenians know Ohanyan’s. So do local Greeks, Lebanese
and Egyptians.
But the influence of this Fresno deli and factory stretches
nationwide. Armenians who love bastirma and soujouk — the cured
pastrami-like beef and sausage popular in the Middle East and Middle
Asia — trek to Ohanyan’s for these old-fashioned delicacies.
Last week, Manas Sherenian, an Oriental rug importer from Dallas,
visited Ohanyan’s Deli at Shields and West avenues to buy about 25
pounds of bastirma for his family.
“We’ve been buying [Ohanyan’s] products for a long time,” says
Sherenian, who went to the store to ask for direct shipping to
his home. In smaller Armenian communities like the one in Dallas,
Ohanyan’s meat isn’t readily available.
Not so in cities with larger Armenian populations.
“If I lived in New York or Boston,” Sherenian says, “it would be easy
to find it.”
Fresno residents, of course, have an ample supply of delicacies from
Ohanyan’s, which is the central San Joaquin Valley’s only manufacturer
of bastirma and soujouk.
In Nina’s Bakery at Shaw and West avenues, Nina Tashchian sells
Ohanyan’s soujouk and bastirma along with her Armenian pastries and
handmade meals. Most of her customers buy packaged Ohanyan’s products
to take home, but some also order the sliced meats in sandwiches with
pocket bread.
“They have the best bastirma and soujouk,” Tashchian says of
Ohanyan’s. “They’re famous. And the people like it so much.”
At MGA Liquor and Deli at Bullard Avenue and Figarden Drive, co-owners
Armen Pogosyan and Marine Gevorgyan started offering Ohanyan’s products
after customers began asking for them.
And other ethnic stores, such as Fresno Deli at Fresno Street and
Gettysburg Avenue, Hagopian International Deli in Visalia and Hye
Deli at Bullard and Marks avenues sell Ohanyan’s products.
It isn’t just Armenians who buy Ohanyan’s products, says Sevan
Havatian, owner of Fresno Deli. “Everybody likes it,” she says.
Together, bastirma and soujouk make up the base of Ohanyan’s business,
which is led by Jerry Hancer and his brother-in-law, Markos Garabetyan,
Armenians who grew up in Turkey.
The two were working at a belt-manufacturing company in Toledo, Ohio,
when a relative told them that Ohanyan’s, an Armenian deli at Shields
and West avenues, was up for sale.
Hancer and Garabetyan jumped at the chance to buy it, and they moved
their families to Fresno.
“We weren’t thinking about this,” Hancer says. “But the opportunity
came up suddenly.”
The two took over Ohanyan’s in 1981 and started tinkering with
soujouk and bastirma recipes. They wanted to improve the traditional,
Turkish-Armenian bastirma and soujouk made by Hancer’s grandparents,
who originated from Kastamonu, a central Turkish city near the
Black Sea.
They started out by making 400-500 pounds of bastirma and soujouk
a week. By the mid-1990s, they’d bought a factory on Sussex Way,
increasing their production to 15,000 pounds a week.
About five years ago, they added another Armenian specialty called
manti — tortellinilike pasta stuffed with ground meat and parsley,
typically served with a garlic-yogurt sauce and buttery tomato sauce.
The manti “was a very popular dish with the Greeks and Armenians,”
Hancer says. “We decided, ‘Why can’t we make this here?’ ”
“It’s so time-consuming,” he adds, “and not everybody is making it.”
These are foods with a lot of history. Legend has it that Turk
horsemen in central Asia created bastirma by squeezing cured meat
between their legs and saddles. In the Kayseri province of central
Turkey, bastirma and soujouk became culinary specialties.
The blend of spices reminiscent of Kayseri — fenugreek, cumin,
paprika and garlic — attracts customers such as Sherenian, who grew
up in that region of Turkey.
“My grandmother used to work in the bastirma and soujouk business in
Kayseri,” he says.
Sherenian says he loves the quality of the bastirma, which is made of
New York strip steak. “But it’s not just the beef,” Sherenian says.
“It’s that paste, those ingredients that [Ohanyan’s] uses.”
A tour through the factory on Sussex Way reveals the pungent odor
of various spices. Workers cut New York strip steak, throwing the
gristle in the trash and saving the trimmings in a separate bin to
make soujouk.
The slices of strip steak are then cured with salt and spices in the
first step of making bastirma. The meat then is cured with a wet
marinade to flavor its interior. Afterward, it’s dried again with
another spice paste.
The trimmings for soujouk are similarly spiced with garlic and cumin,
stuffed into sausage casings, then dried.
At Ohanyan’s Deli, Hayik Garabetyan, Markos’ son, thinly slices both
meats. Both are heavily spiced with garlic, but the bastirma has more
of a spicy flavor, especially when heated.
Currently, the factory is producing all the bastirma, soujouk and
manti it can. Ohanyan’s owners would like to expand — they already
have blueprints in hand and extra land to build on, but they say
they’re held back by their meat suppliers.
“We’re using New York strip steaks only, and it’s hard to find it as
lean as we want,” Hancer says.
They also hope to add new products, such as European sausages.
“I lived for 15 years in Germany,” says Markos Garabetyan, “I believe
we can do the same for those sausages as we did for bastirma and
soujouk. We have a better chance than someone new.”
The reporter can be reached at [email protected] or (559) 441-6365.
INFOBOX
Ideas for serving soujouk and bastirma
Soujouk and bastirma are traditional Armenian meats that are eaten
in a number of simple ways:
As an appetizer, serve slices of soujouk with Armenian string cheese.
For breakfast, fry thin slices of bastirma as you would bacon. Serve
them with fried eggs. (Or mix the slices of bastirma with eggs in
an omelet.)
For a soujouk or bastirma wrap, layer slices of soujouk or bastirma
with Armenian string cheese on softened lahvosh, the Armenian cracker
bread. Roll the lahvosh around the meat.
Chop soujouk or bastirma into small pieces, and brown them in oil.
Add the browned meat to bulgur pilaf.
Instead of adding pepperoni to pizza, try using soujouk instead.
Cook pieces of bastirma with spinach, green beans or white beans to
flavor the vegetables.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

School Library Journal Reviews
September 1, 2005
The Dark Pond
by Jo-Ann Carhart
The Dark Pond (unabr.) 2 cassettes. 2:45 hrs. Recorded Books . 2005.
ISBN 1-4193-3103-5 : $19.75; read-along pack: $19.75.
Gr 6 Up -Joseph Bruchac (HarperCollins, 2004) creates a suspenseful
tale set at the North Mountains School which Armin (Armie)
Katchatorian, a Shawnee-Armenian-American student whose parents travel
often due to their humanitarian work, attends. As he is adjusting
to life at his boarding school in upstate New York, he finds himself
mysteriously drawn to a pond in the forest. Armie has always been able
to “feel things,” especially when it comes to a special relationship he
has with animals. When a zoology student and fellow Native American,
Mitch Sabattis, joins the ground crew at the school, he acknowledges
Armie’s special qualities but warns him to stay away from whatever
is calling him to the pond. While spending a vacation at the school,
Armie uses the time to research the native lore about sea monsters. He
and Mitch are determined to vanquish whatever danger is lurking in
the pond. As the story unfolds, Armie comes to terms with his unique
abilities and those of his new friend and mentor. Although portions of
the plot seem contrived and didactic, listeners will become entwined
in the mystery, folklore, and details of outdoor life. Classically
trained actor, Ramon de Ocampo reads with appropriate pace, suspense
and energy. For tween collections where Gary Paulsen and Will Hobbs
are very popular.-Jo-Ann Carhart, East Islip Public Library, NY

Resignations not to weaken opposition party – Armenian politician
Arminfo
3 Sep 05
Yerevan, 3 September: The opposition Anrapetutyun [Republic] Party
will hold an extraordinary congress in late September or early October
this year, the member of the party’s political board, Gegam Arutyunyan,
said during a press conference at the Azdak Press Club today.
He stressed that the conduct of the congress is not linked to the
resignation of seven members of the party’s political board. “The
decision to hold the extraordinary session was adopted long before the
resignation of the seven members of the political board. Initially,
we intended to discuss at the congress the further strategic steps
of the party in the sphere of implementing a democratic revolution,
however, taking into account the latest events, we will also discuss
the current internal situation in the party and elect its political
board,” Arutyunyan said.
There is no turmoil in the Anrapetutyun Party after the resignation
of the seven members of the political board, Arutyunyan pointed out.
He expressed his confidence that the resignation of the seven members
of the political board will not lead to a mass exodus. Moreover,
[ex-Prime Minister] Albert Bazeyan and his supporters themselves
will not prompt a mass exodus from the Anrapetutyun Party, Arutyunyan
maintains.
He said that members of the party do not condemn their former
colleagues, but only express their regret about their decision.
Arutyunyan found it difficult to explain the reason for the decision of
the seven members of the political board to leave the party, however,
he confidently said that this decision was not adopted on the basis
of their political ambitions or under pressure from some internal or
foreign forces. He stressed that the decision of the seven members of
the political board to leave the Anrapetutyun Party will not weaken
the positions of the party or the Justice bloc, of which the party
is a member.
“The authorities will not manage to split the Anrapetutyun Party or
the opposition in general. The authorities’ attempts to split the
opposition failed when the opposition unanimously said “no” to draft
constitutional amendments,” Arutyunyan said.
[Passage omitted: Arutyunyan comments on Bazeyan’s statement that
the party is making unrealistic plans]

Moscow doubts Armenian constitutional reforms for Kocharyan’s third term
Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Moscow
31 Aug 05
Excerpt from report by Viktoriya Panfilova and Nelli Orlova
in Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta on 31 August headlined
“Armenbasy. President Kocharyan is trying to amend constitution in
order to remain in power”
In the footsteps of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan,
and Belarus, which are consistently switching to a near-indefinite
essentially monarchical form of government, the possibility of
extending the term of the incumbent president has unexpectedly begun
to be widely discussed in Armenia, which seemed to be clearly oriented
towards European democratic values.
At an extraordinary session on 29 August the republic’s parliament
began the second reading of draft amendments to the constitution.
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan’s staff claims that this is
necessary in order to bring the country’s basic law “into line with
European standards”. However, in observers’ opinion, it is very likely
that during the process of examination the package of amendments
will be transformed into a draft new Armenian Constitution. In that
case the incumbent head of state may receive the right to begin
his presidential career from scratch, so to speak, in other words,
to remain in office for at least another two terms.
Under the current constitutional provisions, President Kocharyan
cannot run for a third term. But if a new constitution is adopted in
Armenia, this possibility cannot be ruled out. The possibility of
such a transformation of the republic’s constitution has seriously
alarmed the Armenian opposition. [Passage omitted]
However, the Armenian authorities see no grounds for these opposition
misgivings. For instance, Viktor Sogomonyan, President Robert
Kocharyan’s press secretary, has told Nezavisimaya Gazeta that the
changes under consideration in parliament are “merely amendments
to the current Armenian Constitution”. “They are legally drawn up
as amendments, and that is what they will be. The changes to the
constitution will not entail the adoption of a new basic law,” Viktor
Sogomonyan told Nezavisimaya Gazeta .
However, Russia also doubts the sincerity of the Armenian
authorities. In the opinion of Nezavisimaya Gazeta’s informed source
in the Russian presidential administration, “the transformation of
the amendments in question into a new draft Armenian Constitution
and its subsequent adoption are inevitable”.
“So far as I am aware, all the main Armenian political forces have
already reached a consensus about this. There can be no doubt that the
amendments will become the final version of the Armenian Constitution,”
the high-ranking representative of the Kremlin administration told
Nezavisimaya Gazeta . At the same time he doubts the likelihood of a
scenario whereby Robert Kocharyan will have a third presidential term.
“The changes to the constitution can be regarded more as a concession
by Armenia’s leadership to pressure from the Council of Europe, and
also partly as a step to accommodate the domestic opposition. The draft
proposed amendments are aimed at turning Armenia into a parliamentary
republic and expanding the powers of parliament and the prime
minister. Moreover, Kocharyan has repeatedly declared that this is
his last term. In all probability, he is accepting these concessions
in order subsequently to make a peaceful departure without waiting
for domestic political instability and maybe reserving the post of
premier for himself,” Nezavisimaya Gazeta’s source said.
He said it is very likely that the current regime’s man in the next
elections and therefore Robert Kocharyan’s successor will be Serzh
Sarkisyan, the Armenian defence minister. [Passage omitted]

FM officials receives envoys
WAM – Emirates News Agency, United Arab Emirates
Sept 4 2005
Sep 4, 2005 – 06:20 –
Abu Dhabi, Sept. 4, 05 (WAM)–Abdullah Rashid Al Nuaimi, Foreign
Ministry Under Secretary, received here Sunday Michele J. Sison,
US Ambassador.
The meeting discussed avenues of cooperation between the two countries.
Meanwhile, Dr. Tariq Ahmed Al Hidan, Foreign Ministry Assistant Under
Secretary for Political Affairs, held talks here Sunday with Prof.
Arshak Poladian, Armenian Ambassador on means of further strengthening
cooperation between the two countries.

THE TEACHERS ARE TAUGHT TO SOW PEACE
By Liza Weisstuch, Globe Correspondent
The Boston Globe
August 28, 2005, Sunday THIRD EDITION
The conversation started with the Armenian genocide and flowed into
the Bosnian-Serbian conflict. Then came the matter of United Nations
intervention or lack thereof in Africa, which led to talk of the pros
and cons of international intervention in general.
They had come from Colombia, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Northern Ireland.
For 10 days in Brookline this month, 40 educators from 11
countries made similar connections at a symposium organized by the
Brookline-based nonprofit foundation Facing History and Ourselves,
which uses the Holocaust to teach children about tolerance, democracy,
and human rights.
The symposium was the first time so many of the foundation’s
international partners have come together.
“Learning about problems in other places helps you reframe your own
perspective and challenge your assumptions,” said Tony Gallagher,
professor of education at Queen’s University in Belfast. “It’s helped
me see things in Northern Ireland that I didn’t notice.”
Rwandan educators Innocent Mugisha and John Rutayisire are developing
a history curriculum for their country, a subject that had been banned
nationwide in the years since the genocide. “Now we can go back and
ask teachers to debate and connect issues,” Rutayisire said. “It’s
a major shift in Rwandan teaching.”
Facing History opened in Brookline in 1976 after Margot Stern Strom,
then a public school teacher, was frustrated with the detached,
sanitary way textbooks imparted history. She and fellow Brookline
teacher Bill Parsons thought students should connect what they learn
to the realities around them.
Their goal: develop a curriculum that teaches children how societies
have failed, so they can play a role in wiping out discrimination
and preventing genocide.
Karen Murphy, director of international programs and one of the
symposium’s organizers, said: “There are basic issues, like how do you
deal with conflict in the classroom? How do you deal with a divided
society? How do you deal with legacy of violence? How [do you] help
students imagine democratic participation?
“If you want effectiveness in democratic society, if you want engaged,
thoughtful citizens, you have to invest in them.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress