Official says Abkhazia must not help Georgian party of war by rejecting talks
Regnum, Moscow
8 Aug 05
Abkhaz separatist security council chief Stanislav Lakoba has said
many Georgians are calling for a peaceful settlement of the conflict
and Abkhazia should not help the party of war in Tbilisi by
withdrawing from peace talks. In an interview with the Russian news
agency Regnum, published on 8 August, Lakoba said he believed a
balanced model would be found for Abkhazia, but warned against
attempts to resolve the conflict quickly. He said, however, that
Abkhazia has never left Russia and will not turn its back against
it. The following is an excerpt from the report; sub-headings inserted
editorially:
[Question] Six months have passed since the change of government in
Abkhazia. What are the most important changes in people’s lives? What
are the most notable achievements of the new government?
[Lakoba] Whether or not this is a new government is an interesting
question.
Unfortunately, we do not live in a stable European country where a
government’s work is evaluated after three months of its coming to
office. The situation in Abkhazia is somewhat different. We live in
completely different conditions to which common democratic norms do
not fully apply just yet. It is inappropriate to draw this sort of
parallel. Relative stability in people’s life and in politics is the
most important thing for us and in this regard some progress has been
achieved. [Passage omitted]
Not all Georgians want war
[Question] Does it make sense to hold talks with Georgia given that
the president of that country keeps saying that the only way to
resolve the conflict is to bring Abkhazia back under Georgian control?
[Lakoba] I think we should look at these issues in a broader
context. Why should we help the party of war in Georgia by rejecting
talks? Such a behaviour could weaken the people [in Georgia] standing
on completely different positions. By the way, there are quite a lot
of them. We know that there are people calling for a peaceful
settlement of the conflict. We know that rhetoric may be completely
different from behaviour. No-one rules out the use of force against
Abkhazia, but would this suit the forces behind Georgia and Abkhazia?
This is an important question too. I realize that these forces do not
decide everything. Their position, however, is very important.
Naturally, the president of Georgia can disobey everyone and start
something here of his own accord. It would be a risky move, however,
for him in the first place, as far as I understand. He has already
tried this once, in South Ossetia [reference to Summer 2004]. Everyone
knows what came out of it. This is extremely dangerous, and above all
for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan [BTC] oil pipeline which was opened with
fanfare not too long ago.
One should not forget that just 101 km separate Tbilisi and Tskhinvali
[South Ossetian capital]. One should not forget about such time bombs
as the Armenian and Azerbaijani enclaves either. There are scores of
other difficult problems.
The example of Turkey is noteworthy in this context. The Kurdish
movement has become active there and the Turkish army is carrying out
punitive operations in the area of the BTC pipeline, trying to
establish order.
I think things are not as simple [as they appear to be]. Frequent
meetings between [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and [Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdogan speak volumes. Russia and Turkey have
common interests in the transportation of oil and natural
gas. Attempts by Ukraine and Georgia to transport oil from the port of
Supsa to Odessa run counter to the plans of Russia and
Turkey. Therefore, Ankara realizes that the weakening of Russia will
weaken Turkey itself as Turkey would lose a strategic ally. [Passage
omitted]
Balanced model to be found for Abkhazia
It is hard to say whether we will win independence or create some kind
of a structure with Russia, or a confederation with someone else. It
is one thing to believe that we are independent. Nonetheless, the
international community has to either recognize our independence or
not recognize it. It is hard to say what sort of a model will be
found, but I think that it will be a balanced model.
[Question] What sort of a model would you prefer?
[Lakoba] We have said it many times and it is not just my opinion. The
people expressed their will in the 1999 referendum. Abkhazia is an
independent state and the people of Abkhazia stand on this position.
[Question] You mentioned the possibility of creating a
confederation. Could you be more specific? Which country could
Abkhazia create a confederation with?
[Lakoba] The issue of confederate relations with Georgia was discussed
in Geneva in 1994. At the time we proposed to Georgia that we create a
federation. Georgia responded by attacking us. After the war an idea
of confederation was proposed, but they rejected it as well. Now what?
Should we rejoin Georgia as an autonomous republic? This wouldn’t give
us anything.
Some people think the problem of Abkhazia can be solved in a matter of
days, just like the issue of Srpska Krajina. This is absurd. The
situation may descend into chaos, first in Russia and then in the
whole of Caucasus. All of this will question the viability of
mega-projects, including the oil pipelines. By and large, as far as
energy is concerned, the USA is not interested in Abkhazia. It lies
off the routes of major projects.
One thing that may not be in America’s interest is an increased
regional influence of Russia. It is in this context that one should
look at their position on the restoration of train services through
Abkhazia, which is widely discussed. This jeopardizes America’s plans
because it runs counter to the idea of the East-West transport
corridor. The same is true for the Russian-Iranian project North-South
which does not fit in with the removal of Russian bases from Georgia
in any way. There are plans to remove Russian troops from Armenia as
well. It is no accident that the American embassy in Armenia is the
second largest in the world. The proximity of Iran has played a major
role here. There was a joke – a railway to Yerevan is a railway to
Tehran.
I think the restoration of transit rail services through Abkhazia will
be torpedoed. This issue does not fit in the deal.
[Question] Is Abkhazia ready to discuss a confederation with Georgia?
[Lakoba] How can we discuss this sort of issue given Georgia’s
militaristic rhetoric you mentioned?
[Question] Do the Abkhaz people support these views?
[Lakoba] Yes, of course.
[Question] What about members of the government?
[Lakoba] Yes, they do.
Russia not ready to incorporate Abkhazia
[Question] Would it not be easier for Abkhazia to join Russia and
ensure its security in this way? The issue would have been closed.
[Lakoba] How would Russia do this? In what way? Abkhazia has appealed
to Russia many times. I think it is not realistic.
[Question] Who is it not realistic for, Russia or Abkhazia?
[Lakoba] Right now, it is not realistic for Russia.
[Passage omitted: Lakoba’s views on world politics; nothing terrible
will happen even if Russia leaves]
[Question] Who will be responsible if misfortunes befall Abkhazia? Who
is responsible for the slogan Independent Abkhazia? Independence is a
beautiful thing, but can it ensure the security and wellbeing of the
Abkhaz people? Things may go wrong. For example, Russia may close its
border with Abkhazia.
[Lakoba] Of course, this may happen. No-one rules out such a
scenario. It is difficult, however, to see the real picture. We are in
the middle of a complex web of contradictions, cut off from true
information. We know only a little bit of what is happening. There are
other things, however, we can only guess about.
We know which way to sail. We realize the problems. We understand that
the situation in Russia isn’t simple.
Besides, Abkhazia has never left Russia. I have already said this. You
can refer to the complete set of laws published in 1810. We have been
in the orbit of cultural, military, political, economic and language
relations with Russia for 200 years. It is absurd to demand that our
people turn their back against their big neighbour. [Passage omitted]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Alienation of the Islamic Diaspora in Europe
By Fawaz Turki
Arab News, 8/10/05
The Daily Telegraph of London, a respected conservative paper,
published a survey on July 23 of British Muslim opinion and found that
though the vast majority of the respondents condemned the bombings in
the capital, a substantial minority are so alienated from their
objective world that they are prepared to justify terrorist acts.
According to the poll, 88 percent of Muslims, evidently moderate,
law-abiding citizens or residents of the United Kingdom, abhorred the
attacks and evinced no support for the perpetrators. However, 6
percent claimed that the bombings were justified. That’s clearly 6
percent too many, representing roughly 100,000 people who mean their
native or adopted country harm, individuals who, though not prepared
to carry out terrorist acts themselves, are ready to support those who
do.
The survey revealed other figures that are both reassuring and
disturbing. Before we consider what all this says about the Muslim
community in Britain, and perhaps by extension in the rest of Europe,
let’s step back a little and take stock.
Public pollsters, like statisticians, can be manipulative with their
figures. In other words, before we trust the results of a survey such
as this, where 526 Muslim adults across Britain were interviewed
online July 15 and again on July 22, we have to ask some relevant
questions here. Who conducted the poll? Who should have been
interviewed but was not? What was the sampling error for the results?
Did the pollsters avoid the pitfall of wording questions in such a way
as to suggest an answer by the respondents? Was a cross-section of the
entire community interviewed (randomly rather than selectively)? Were
other polls done on the subject, and if so, were the figures
different? And if they were different, then why?
All we get from the Telegraph is that its survey was conducted by a
group called YouGov. We have to accept the findings on faith, though
few of the direct questions or respondents’ answers were in quotes,
which is obviously troubling.
Yet, since we refuse to believe that a highly respected publication
would cook the books, because it has an ideological ax to grind or
deliberately promote a skewed view of the Muslim community, then we’ll
let its findings stand as credible ones indeed.
According to these findings, a large majority of Muslims believe that
the time has come when they must shoulder their share of the
responsibility for preventing and punishing those who commit terrorist
acts such as those in London, and as many as 70 percent said they took
it as their duty to go to the police if they saw something in the
community that made them feel suspicious.
A majority, 60 percent, believed that Western society may not be
perfect but Muslims should live with it and not seek to harm
it. Nevertheless, a third of British Muslims, 32 percent, are
dismissive, claiming that `Western society is decadent and immoral and
that Muslims should seek to bring it to an end,’ one of the few
answers in the survey, incidentally, presented in quotes.
Among those who hold this view, almost all go on to say that Muslims
should only seek to bring about social change by non-violent means,
but one percent, about 16,000 individuals, declared themselves ready,
willing and able, even eager, to embrace violence.
So does that mean that the Muslim Diaspora in Britain, and along with
it the rest of Europe, have a problem with integration?
Clearly, this Diaspora, numbering roughly 20 million, has effected a
demographic shift on the Continent, altering its social landscape. All
of which is not surprising.
Cultural flow and population transfers have always been an integral
part of human history, and copious research has been done, by
historians, sociologists and anthropologists, of diasporic societies,
of forced or voluntary migration of Greeks, Armenians, Africans,
Palestinians and Puerto Ricans.
We also read of the Chinese Diaspora (60 million in Southeast Asian
countries), the French Diaspora in Canada, and the Irish Diaspora in
the US, Australia and the UK. And most recently the Muslim Diaspora in
Europe, whose members hail from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh,
Indonesia, Somalia and a wide range of other Asian, North African and
Middle Eastern countries.
For Muslims in Europe, if we can generalize about them, it has been a
constant battle with alienation ‘ how to see the world around you in
terms that redefine your relationship with the Other, how to live in
and be not just from but of those societies that continue to refuse to
accept you, that thrust upon you a range of hybrid images.
The young in particular are socialized from an early age on the need
to deal with integration conflict and racist bias ‘ a heavy lot of
cargo for a youngster to have to carry on his back growing up.
You don’t have to have written a dissertation on the psychology of
alienation to discern these youngsters’ human response: If you’re a
young Turk, Pakistani, Yemeni or any other kind of Muslim born in a
European country that thrusts a sense of otherness on you, your
identification with Islam, as a pan-ethnic identity, becomes more
strongly felt than with your ancestral national heritage.
Then the defense mechanisms kick in. You feel pride in this otherness
than had been thrust upon you by the Other, and turn upside down those
racist labels, that define you, into labels of pride.
Consider how in Germany, the term `barbaren,’ used by some (note, I
say some) Germans to dismiss foreigners, is co-opted and embraced by
ethnic Turkish gangs to describe themselves, where the term here
connotes power, inclusiveness and acceptance. To call yourself
`barbaren’ is a means to challenge a culture that rejects you, denying
you its solidarity and connection to a reference group.
Diaspora, a word from classical Greek that means a `scattering or
sowing of seeds,’ is a sad term ‘ sad because it implies an uprooting
of a community, a struggle by its members to reassemble their inward
preoccupations in order to fit in their new locale.
The Muslim Diaspora in Europe, representing 56 nationalities speaking
over 100 languages, feels, it has to be admitted, an emotional
distance from the societies they inhabit, loss of a robust sense of
identity, and a crippling numbness at their core.
So the answer to the question, whether the Muslim Diaspora in Britain,
and along with it the rest of Europe, have a problem with integration,
is yes, it does. It definitely does.
But that is a problem for Britain and the rest of Western Europe to
deal with, not Islam.
The integration of millions of well-adjusted Muslims in places like
the US, Canada and Australia, countries with a tradition of welcoming
and assimilating immigrants, must surely tell you something here. In
America, we don’t use terms like barbaren, wog, bicot or the N-word ‘
not unless we want to go to jail.
An opinion poll, such as that in the Daily Telegraph two weeks ago,
may reveal the sentiments, `disturbing’ and `alarming,’ as the paper
called them, that a segment of the community harbors. What triggered
them in the first place is the real revelation.
[email protected]

Cyprus unlikely to extradite oil-for-food official
Wed Aug 10, 2005 9:54 AM ET

By Michele Kambas
NICOSIA (Reuters) – Cyprus is unlikely to extradite the Cypriot former
head of the U.N. oil-for-food program to face allegations of receiving
bribes, a senior government official said on Wednesday.
Benon Sevan, a Cypriot of Armenian descent known to be in Cyprus as
recently as last Saturday, was accused by U.N. investigators of
receiving nearly $150,000 in kickbacks for oil allocations under the
program he headed from 1997 to 2003.
Sevan has strongly denied any wrongdoing.
It was not immediately clear whether the former diplomat, who waived
his diplomatic immunity by resigning from the U.N last weekend, would
voluntarily return to the United States if criminal charges were
brought against him.
“I am not even aware of him being here,” Cypriot Foreign Minister
George Iacovou told Reuters.
However, asked how authorities would respond to any request, another
official replied: “There is a constitutional prohibition on
extraditing one of our nationals to another jurisdiction.”
If a formal extradition request was filed, a court could cite the
constitution to block it, he said.
A U.N. inquiry committee, headed by former U.S. Federal Reserve
chairman Paul Volcker, recommended that Sevan, who ran the $67 billion
humanitarian program for Iraq, and Alexander Yakovlev, a former
U.N. purchasing officer, should be prosecuted.
The report is the first to accuse U.N. officials of outright
corruption in connection with the program.
It accused Sevan of getting kickbacks after receiving oil allocations
on behalf of a trading company run by a relative of former
U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
Sevan, 67, issued a statement last weekend saying he had been made a
scapegoat.
He said the sum represented remittances from an elderly aunt who
raised him in Cyprus. The woman died last year. However, the report
said the windfall coincided with debt obligations on the part of
Sevan, stung by losses on the stock market and the costs of running
two residences.Sevan keeps a low profile when visiting his native
Cyprus, where Armenians represent less than five percent of the
population.”I have known him for such a long time. I refuse to believe
that he would jeopardize 40 years of service for $150,000,” said a
friend. “He wouldn’t be involved in such dirty business.”

RESULTS OF PROGRAMMERS’ CONTEST SUMMED UP IN YEREVAN
YEREVAN, August 10. /ARKA/. The results of the programmers’ contest
have been summed up in Yerevan. Director of the “Enterprises
Incubator” Foundation Bagrat Yengibaryan said at the award ceremony
that the professionalism of the participants has improved this
year. He said that many young programmers participate in the contest
not for the first time, and they have some experience. “It is
surprising, but there was a stubborn struggle for the second place,
which was not registered last year. That is why we have five teams
ranked second this year”, Yengibaryan said.
The winners were awarded based on the individual and team rounds
results. Vahe Musoyan, who is 16 years old, was ranked first in
individual round (we also was the first in 2004). The sponsors
instituted the following prizes for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd places: PDA
(personal digital assistant), digital camera and free Internet access
during the year (depends on the rank).
Executive Director of the Pan-Armenian Youth Center Armen Sinanyan
reported that the money prizes were reduced due to the number of the
winners. He said that the team ranked 1st will receive USD 210, the
2nd – USD 120 and the 3rd – USD 90 in AMD equivalent.
The contest is organized by the EIF, Pan-Armenian Youth International
Center and the Union of the IT Enterprises of Armenia (UITE). The
contest is sponsored by Synopsys, Unicomp and CIT companies, which
have provided additional awards for the participants.
This is the 3rd contest of young people interested in programming. The
first contest was held in Yerevan in 2002. A.A. -0–

“VIVACELL” TO COVER ARMENIA WITH MOBILE COMMUNICATION NETWORK BEFORE
WINTER
YEREVAN, August 10. /ARKA/. The VivaCell company intends to cover
Armenia’s territory with a mobile communication network before winter,
Director General of the company Ralph Yirikian told reporters in
Gavar, Gegharkunik region, Armenia. According to him, the company has
started work in Gegharkunik and will try to cover the entire region
with mobile communication before September. Yirikian reported that
after finishing work in Gegharkunik the company will start working in
Vanadzor, Gyumri, Spitak, Aparan, AS WELL AS IN Vaiots Dzor and in
Southern Syunik. He pointed out that VivaCell retrains from leasing
communication lines of the ArmenTel company, using it only for
long-distance communication. However, if VivaCell expands its
communication network as far as Syunik it will have to lease
ArmenTel’s communication line. Yirikian did not report any information
on the number of VivaCell clients, saying that it is a “good number”,
and the company seeks to increase it.
In his turn, Gegharkunik Governor Stepan Barseghyan pointed out the
paramount importance of the company’s coming to the region. According
to him, communication is one the most urgent problems in the
region. Barseghyan reported that before VivaCell came to the region
mobile communication was only available to the residents of Gavar,
Sevan and Martuni, whereas 15 communities did not even have telephone
communication. Barseghyan said that Gegharkunik is the largest region
of Armenia, and VivaCell will make it possible to keep touch with
communities, enterprises and population.
VivaCell currently covers Yerevan, the Armavir and Ararat regions, as
well as part of the Gegharkunik region. P.T. -0–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NUBARASHEN AND VARDASHEN SPECIAL CLOSE EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS TO
TURN INTO OPEN ONES
YEREVAN, AUGUST 10, ARMENPRESS: World Vision Armenian Office
implements “Children in Difficult Situations” program for children in
Nubarashen and Vardashen special educational establishments where
children who have violated the law, brought from streets and socially
unsecured live. Almost all the children living there have parents. In
Vardashen 93 children and in Nubarashen 62 children are living. At
first the program was implemented by “Doctors without Limits” French
organization.
Kristina Mikhailidi, head of the “Children’s Protection” programs,
said it is not right to keep the children who appeared in the
establishment because of different reasons together as the works
directed towards their restoration must be different. The organization
has sent a proposal to the Armenian Education and Science Ministry, to
which the establishments belong, saying it is necessary to clarify the
standards according to which children are accepted and thus to develop
relevant services for them.
Kristina Mikhailidi said in many cases the teachers do not know how to
work with children and in this respect the organization conducts
training classes for the staff of the establishments. Within the
frameworks of the program the organizers are trying to restore ties
between children and parents. At present 30 percent of parents are
actively participating with the heads of the programs.
Through material support the program also tries to create favorable
conditions for returning children to their families. Last year 4
children returned to their families this year 8. By the end of the
4-year long program it is expected to change the two close
establishments into open ones so that the children would not be forced
to stay there without their will. In this case the children will live
there not until they are 18 but for 6 months or a year.

VIVA CELL TO SECURE MOBILE SERVICES IN GEGHARKUNIK
YEREVAN, AUGUST 10, ARMENPRESS: Viva Cell company, hence, will provide
mobile services in the Armenian province of Gegharkunik which,
according to its governor Stepan Barseghian, has a problem connected
with mobile communication. He said ArmenTel’s services are reachable
only in Gavar, Sevan and Martuni towns while in Vardenis and Chambarak
there is no mobile communication at all.
The Executive Director of Viva Cell company Ralf Yirikian said by the
end of August they will secure mobile communication for the whole
province, thus, promoting its development. He said Sevan is one of the
main tourism centers in Armenia and the existence of high-quality
mobile communication is very necessary there.
The executive director said the company aims at securing mobile
communication in all the Armenian territory. In near future they are
going to secure mobile services in Vanadzor, Gyumri, Spitak and Aparan
towns, later in the southern parts of Armenia – Vayots Dzor and
Syunik. The company is already securing mobile communication in Ararat
and Armavir provinces.

NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED DECREASES IN GYUMRI THANKS TO GOVERNMENTAL
PROGRAMS IMPLEMENTED THERE
GYUMRI, AUGUST 10, ARMENPRESS: After the devastating earthquake in
1988 Gyumri had the highest index of unemployment then any other town
of Armenia and for its decrease the government developed a set of
programs securing temporary jobs for the Gyumri population.
In particular with the help of one of the programs “Paid Public Labor”
which is implemented for already 5 years some 1,000-1,300 unemployed
got temporary jobs. This year 1,200 citizens got jobs. Unlike past
years, this year not only those who have the status of unemployed can
participate in the program but also unemployed members of the families
who are getting poverty allowance and also the students.
The programs which launched from July 1, 2005 include reconstruction
of roads, restoration of territories and greening. During this year
mostly the programs which have community importance have been adopted
for the implementation of which the government released 55 million
drams. Besides Gyumri the program also includes Akhurian, Ashotsk and
Maralik.

Enjoying the gentle life in Portugal
The rigours of travel are softened by the friendly locals and relaxing
pursuits around Lisbon
DOCTOR ON THE WING
The Medical Post
August 09, 2005
Volume 41 Issue 27
By Ron Charach
IN RECENT YEARS travel has become an issue for me, as I have a bad back
and the hours of waiting around in airports remain a challenge. It had
been some 20 years since, in pre-back-problem days, I crossed the
Atlantic with my wife on a visit to Venice, Florence and Rome.
So why Portugal, in late May, and for only a week? Even with a stop-over
it is only an eight-and-a-half hour flight from Toronto; nine hours is
about my limit on a plane. And my adventure goals were modest. My wife
and I were nearing our 24th anniversary and with some indoor decorating
going on, we needed to escape the paint fumes.
So when I read an article called “Falltime in Portugal” by D.S. Morris,
and discovered one driving tour that suited my limited range of
mobility, we decided to go.
Base yourself in the restful resort area of Cascais, advised Morris, and
from there, consider scenic drives to a number of fabled towns, such as
nearby Sintra, described by the Romantic poet Lord Byron as the fairest
town in Europe. We were close enough to take a commuter train into
Lisbon, since I’d read that driving into the city could take years off
your life.
We established a few realistic goals before taking off; mine included
luring my wife away from her scientific research, trying to speak a
little Portuguese (since I find it a playful and mildly erotic
language), hearing a little live Fado music and strolling the streets of
one of the world’s great cities.
From the moment we arrived at the Lisbon Airport Autojardim (literally
“automobile garden”) to rent one of the few automatic cars left in
Europe, I knew we were a long way from Toronto. It was but 5:30 a.m.,
fully six hours before check-in time at our hotel in Cascais. The gangly
Euro-whiz-kid clerk had spiked black hair and was losing his voice; he
had spent the whole night cheering on his soccer team in the finals.
Though hung over, he processed our rental with courteous dispatch. His
colleague, another kid hoarse from soccer screams, provided some cursory
directions for our escape from early-morning Lisbon onto the coastal
road to Cascais, the Marginal.
After negotiating several bewildering roundabouts that characterize
Lisbon (a city of ruas and avenidas around central piazzas), we realized
we were heading away from Cascais and consulted the occupants of a car
filled with Portuguese men hauling a large fishing boat on a trailer.
Who better to point us in the right direction to a fishing hamlet?
Realizing how hopelessly off course we’d strayed, the fishermen drove
more than a mile out of their way to deposit us on the coastal road to
Cascais. Such courtesy was as ubiquitous as the country’s genius for
fixing fresh fish.
“So Canadense” (“I’m a Canuck”) is not a bad bit of add-on vocabulary to
the obligatory “thank you” (obrigado), to “good morning,” “good
afternoon” and “good evening”: bom dia, boa tarde and boa noite.
If Cascais was a place to eat well and gaze at fishing boats, Sintra was
unfairly gifted with palaces and even an old Moorish castle – all perched
on lushly green mountains with a breathtaking view, and the ideal
location for a honeymoon or anniversary. Before leaving your heart in
San Francisco, check out the hills around Sintra. Even a bad traveller
like me is vowing one day to return.
Bustling Lisbon is known for the winding streets in its Moorish Alfama,
the oldest part of the city, and the heroic-scaled pracas built after
the Great Earthquake of 1755 that claimed 40,000 souls on All Saints’
Day. Safe by North American big-city standards, it is also one of the
cleaner cities, as Portugal is one of the cleanest countries on the planet.
Portugal’s lively café scene rivals its more upscale restaurants. What
could be grander than posing alongside a statue of the country’s
best-known Bohemian poet Fernando Pessoa (whose name means “person” and
who wrote under a number of pseudonyms) outside the exquisite Café A
Brasiliera in the tourist-hopping district of Baixa-Chiado?
As for the Fado music, we cancelled our reservations at Senior Vinho’s,
one of the best venues in the city, once we appreciated just how smoky
it would be. Instead we bought recommended CDs by Fado legend Amalia
Rodrigues, the most adored woman in Portugal since the Virgin Herself,
and up-and-coming superstar Marizia.
In many European cities, as in the Orient, people still smoke like
fiends. The only unpleasant aspect of our week in Portugal was our
continually wandering into little billows of smoke, even in interior
public spaces such as airports.
A lesser gripe concerns the cuisine. No matter how wonderful the dish of
fresh peixe or carne, it must be accompanied by the same combination of
boiled potatoes, broccoli and carrots, all drenched in butter. The
Constitution must also ban whole wheat from bread. Although the
Portuguese make a delicious peasant-grade pao, similar to the Italian
calabrese, almost everywhere it is the identical pao before and while
you dine, albeit with an endless variety of delicious cheeses. The
Portuguese wines, especially the whites, were routinely good. And who
can sip a glass of port wine without pondering that Portugal is
England’s oldest ally, if a sometimes ambivalent one?
Arresting art
An oasis of calm in the middle of Lisbon was Portugal’s finest art
museum. The Museu Calouste Gulbenkian was named for the founder, an
Armenian business magnate, and features especially strong collections of
carpets, robes, 16th and 17th century Oriental tiles and glassware,
through pre-modern European Old Masters, a dash of impressionists, right
up to the Art Deco jewelry fantasies of René Lalique. A beguiling show
featured the history of Oriental carpets, appropriately called “Heaven
in a Carpet.” The lush grounds around the Gulbenkian and its five-star
cafeteria, featuring great food and the world’s most comfortable
furniture, offered the perfect place to recover from the hectic pace of
Lisbon. The adjacent Museu de Arte Moderna also featured an unusually
strong local collection.
“Why limit yourself to one week,” people might well ask, “when there are
options as exotic as Oporto to the north, Evora to the south and Tavira
to the east? Why use up three of those precious days visiting Sintra?”
As I said, I don’t travel well. And how could I do justice in a few
words to two weeks, let alone three, spent in a mystifying place like
Portugal, a land of brandos costumes – gentle ways?
Ron Charach is a Toronto doctor who recently completed a volume of new
and selected poems, called Dreams in Exile.

Armenian Rhapsodies
Syracuse New Times (The Central New York Alternative)
August 10, 2005
By Colette Hebert
A hero to Armenians around the world, Syracuse musician, composer and
recording artist Daniel Decker has written two nationalist songs that
have gained much positive response. Always interested in music from
other cultures, Decker frequently travels to his homeland to present his
music, most recently in April to memorialize the Armenian genocide that
began in 1915.
During his first trip to Armenia in 2001, Decker heard a captivating
melody while shopping at an open-air market. Moved by the piece, he
located the composer, Ara Gevorkyan, and grew interested in writing
lyrics to the music. With Gevorkyan’s approval, Decker’s lyrics created
the successful song, “Noah’s Prayer,” based on the story of Noah and his
ark on Mount Ararat. The song’s premiere was accompanied by the Armenian
Opera Orchestra during the Independence Day celebration in front of
Mount Ararat. “It was an amazing experience,” Decker explains. “I’m
singing this song about Noah and this ark is sitting a few miles behind it.”
The pair joined forces again as Decker chose Gevorkyan’s melody for
“Adana.” “It was the perfect music to tell the story of the Armenian
genocide,” an event that during World War I resulted in the Turks’
execution of 1.5 million Armenian Christians. “Most of the world
remembers nothing about the event, and I thought this was a story that
needs to get out,” Decker says.
In April, the song premiered during the 90th anniversary of the Armenian
genocide at a nationally televised concert as Decker sang “Adana” along
with singers from Finland, Germany, Moldova, Bulgaria and Armenia, who
performed in their native language. “I felt a very heavy weight on my
shoulders,” Decker says, “singing to descendants of those killed in the
genocide.”
“Noah’s Prayer” and “Adana” are available on Decker’s CD My Offering
(Candelas Music). A remake of “Dust in the Wind,” “One Faith” with
flamenco guitars, the Brazilian samba “There Is a Place” and the
Latin-flavored “Wonder Of Your Love” are also on the disc. With his
vocal and keyboard talents, Decker creates a range of unique sounds: “I
like a lot of diversity in my composing and arranging. I want to bring
in as many cultural and musical influences as possible.” For more
information, visit
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress