The Warsaw Voice
April 13, 2005

CAPTURED TIME

A new photo exhibition is on display at the Center for Contemporary
Art (CSW). It presents the work of Mexican photographer Flor Garduno,
born in 1957. Garduno studied art at the San Carlos Academy in
Mexico. For two years she was an assistant to photographer Manuel
Alvarez Bravo. Garduno has worked as an independent photographer
since 1980, displaying her work in numerous galleries and museums in
Mexico, the United States and Europe (exhibitions in Paris, London
and Zurich).

The CSW presents one of her most beautiful projects, the series
Testigos del tiempo (Witnesses of Time). This is a documentary of
human life outside large urban centers, a record of local people and
their ceremonies. The pictures were taken in the years 1983-1991. In
terms of subject matter, the exhibition resembles the brilliant film
Seasons by Armenian director Artavazd Peleshian, recently shown at
the CSW.

Garduno’s photographs are very rich in form, while Peleshian is
slightly more economical with respect to expression. “Garduno
photographs life, religious ceremonies and social events from a
distance, with great care for composition and balance in the picture,
irrespective of whether she shows the real world of the poor or
whether her photos depict landscape, architecture or nature. She
achieves this through very sophisticated but-just like
Peleshian-economical means, in which light and composition play the
most important role,” said the curator of the exhibition.

Mexican photography is highly praised internationally, in large part
thanks to the late Manuel Alvarez Bravo, its most eminent
representative and Garduno’s mentor. Many other outstanding Mexican
photographers have made names for themselves in the past 50
years-including Garduno. Her art focuses on South American
countries-her native Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador,
Bolivia-regions with which she feels the strongest emotional and
cultural affinity.

The exhibition Testigos del tiempo enjoys enormous popularity
worldwide and has already been presented in 35 museums, including the
Art Institute of Chicago, the Center of Creative Photography in
Tuscon, fine art museums in Mexico, Chile and Argentina, the Musee de
l’Elysee in Lausanne and Salamanca University, Spain. In Warsaw, the
exhibition will be shown through the end of May.

Center for Contemporary Art, Ujazdowski Castle, 6 Ujazdowskie Ave.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Baltic News Service
April 14, 2005

RUSSIAN COMMUNIST SAYS UNDERGROUND COMMUNIST PARTY EXISTS IN ESTONIA

MOSCOW, Apr 14

According to a senior member of the Russian Communist Party,
underground communist parties exist in all the three Baltic states,
including Estonia.

The 33rd congress of the Union of Communist Parties (UCP-CPSU)
beginning in Moscow on Saturday will be attended by representatives
of banned communist parties from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, among
others, secretary of the Communist Party’s Central Committee Oleg
Kulikov told Russian news agency Interfax.

He said in all 16 communist parties from post-Soviet republics will
be sending representatives to the event. In addition to the Baltic
states, he mentioned Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan,
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia and the unrecognized republics of
Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria.

The delegates will elect new leaders of the organization and it is
highly probable that the chairman of the Russian Communist Party,
Gennady Zyuganov, will be elected chairman of the UCP-CPSU, Kulikov
said.

A spokesperson for Estonia’s security police declined comment on the
report.

DAMAGE TO GEORGIAN SECTION OF ALAVERDI SUBSTATION ELIMINATED

YEREVAN, APRIL 14, NOYAN TAPAN. Director of the company Armenian
High-Voltage Electricity Systems Sahak Abrahamian told NT
correspondent that the damage caused by a recent accident at the
Georgian section of the Alaverdi 220 kw high-voltage substation has
been eliminated. As previously reported, as a result of the accident
the power supply to Georgia was cut off. S. Abrahamian noted that 100
megawatt power supply to Georgia has been restored.

DRAFT LAW PROPOSES BUILDING WASTE NUCLEAR FUEL STOREHOUSE AT ANPS

YEREVAN, APRIL 14, NOYAN TAPAN. At the April 14 sitting, the RA
government approved the draft law on building a waste nuclear fuel
storehouse at the Armenian Nuclear Power Station CJSC, which will be
submitted to the National Assembly in the prescribed order. According
to the RA Government Information and PR Department, the draft law
proposes that the Armenian Nuclear Power Station CJSC be allowed to
build a waste nuclear fuel storehouse with a storage term of up to 50
years in dry conditions.

The Telegraph, UK
April 15 2005

Men jailed over ‘Thatcher plot’ are being starved to death in jail,
claims Amnesty

By Christopher Munnion in Johannesburg
(Filed: 15/04/2005)

Foreigners alleged to be part of a coup plot linked to Sir Mark
Thatcher are among dozens of inmates facing death by starvation in
Equatorial Guinea, Amnesty International said yesterday.

Authorities in the notorious Black Beach prison reduced the daily
food ration in December from a cup of rice to one or two bread rolls.
But since February prisoners have been without food for up to six
days at a time.

“Many are extremely weak because of torture or ill-treatment and
because of chronic illnesses,” said Kolawole Olaniyan, the director
of Amnesty’s Africa programme. “Unless immediate action is taken,
many of those detained there will die.”

Some receive food only from relatives who hand it to the prison
guards. In the past six weeks, however, relatives, lawyers and
consular officials have been denied access to the alleged
mercenaries.

The men are Armenians and South Africans alleged to have been the
advance party of a group of mercenaries led by Simon Mann, a former
British SAS officer. The group of 70 was arrested in Zimbabwe as its
aircraft landed to pick up arms. Mann was jailed for seven years,
reduced to four, and the rest, mostly apartheid-era special forces,
to lesser terms.

Nick du Toit, a former South African special forces soldier and
allegedly the leader of the Equatorial Guinea advance party, at first
admitted taking part in the coup attempt but withdrew his statement
claiming it was extracted under torture.

He was jailed for 34 years after what Amnesty and other international
observers condemned as a grotesquely unfair trial. Thatcher was
arrested at his Cape Town home in connection with the Equatorial
Guinea plot which was uncovered and reported to the governments
involved by the South African intelligence service.

Lady Thatcher’s son denied any knowledge of the coup attempt, saying
he had agreed to purchase a helicopter for the group. He later
pleaded guilty to helping to finance the mission and was fined
£265,000 and given a four-year suspended jail term by a South African
court. He has left South Africa having agreed to co-operate with
investigators “in any way I can”.

Ricardo Nfube, Equatorial Guinea’s second deputy prime minister,
accused Amnesty of tarnishing his country’s image. “Prisoners are not
going hungry,” he said. “We have assured their basic rights.”

REOPERATION OF ABKHAZIAN RAILWAY AND FUTHER WORK ON KABKAZ-POTI FERRY
LINK TO BE DICUSSED IN KRASNODAR ON APRIL 15

YEREVAN, APRIL 14, NOYAN TAPAN. On April 13, the RA National Assembly
President Artur Baghdasarian, who is on a visit to Moscow, met with
memebers of the RF State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs and Relations
with Compatriots. During the meeting, the sides discussed the
implementation of the Debt for Property Agreement and the problem of
speedy relaunching of the 5 enterprises transferred to Russia, which
has acquired not only economic but also poltical importance. The
issue of reoperating the railway was also discussed. An agreement has
been reached to hold a discussion on this issue with the participation
of parliaments of the countries concerned, which is of importance for
the political and economic life of the region and Armenia. At the
meeting with the RF Minister of Transport, Co-Chairman of the
Armenia-Russia Intergovernmental Commission Igor Livitin,
A. Baghdasarian addressed the problem of further work on the
Kavkaz-Poti ferry link, which of special importance to Armenia. The
necessity for relaunching the Abkhazian railway of great significance
for the region was underlined as well. According to the RA National
Assembly PR Department, I. Levitin stated that he will have a meeting
in Krasnodar on April 15 with specialists of the sphere to discuss the
two above mentioned problems. He noted the most important thing is
that the legal aspect of the problem has been ensured and now the
technical and economic issues have to be regulated.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SHAVARSH KOCHARIAN: “A REAL PRO-WESTERN IS THE ONE WHO SUPPORTS
EUROPEAN VALUES”

YEREVAN, APRIL 14, NOYAN TAPAN. Urgent discussion concerning the
Armenian cause is possible at the session of the PACE to be held in
April. Shavarsh Kocharian, a member of the “Ardarutiun” (Justice)
faction stated about it in his speech at the April 13 forum,
mentioning that process of constitutional reforms in Armenia will be
discussed. This is, according to MP, the reason of the latest
statements of the authorities of Armenia about accepting proposals of
the Venice Committee and bringing the Constitution in correspondence
with those proposals. According to Shavarsh Kocharian, after the
“colored” revolutions conducted in different countries only 2 leaders
of the 46 member-countries of the Council of Europe made statements
that their authorities are strong and that’s why a revolution is
impossible in their countries. They were the Presidents of Armenia and
Azerbaijan, which made similar statements on the same day. “I do not
know what will be in Azerbaijan but end of the power in Armenia is
inevitable,” the MP assured. According to him, the authorities hinder
solution of the most important problems of the country. Particularly
bringing the legislation of the country in correspondence with
European standards is among them. According to Shavarsh Kocharian,
being pro-western is not the readiness of concessions in the Karabakh
issue or sending an army to Iraq: “A real pro-western is the one who
supports European values, and our nation does support.”

STEPAN DEMIRCHIAN: “STRUGGLE FOR DEMOCRACY REQUIRES UNITING OF
EFFORTS”

YEREVAN, APRIL 14, NOYAN TAPAN. “Just a year passed from the day when
the illegal administration resorted to violations to prolong its
inglorious power. We want to remind, that it is impossible to keep
power with bayonets for a long time,” Stepan Demirchian, the leader of
the “Ardarutiun” (Justice) faction stated during his speech at the
April 13 forum. “The past period showed the absolute failure of this
administration,” the speaker mentioned, expressing confidence that
both foreign and internal policy of Armenia had failed. According to
Demirchian, violations must be convicted by everybody regardless of
political veiwpoints and party membership. Meanwhile, some political
forces which made a blind eye to violations conducted against the
people, today speak about future fair elections, public solidarity and
cooperation. “These conversations are false because if we want to hold
fair elections in future then falsifiers and persons conducted acts of
violation must certainly be called to account,” he emphasized. Stating
that removing of the current authorities is “a fatal necessity”,
Demirchian emphasized that this is the problem of the whole community
and a result can be reached with the means of constant struggle which
must be led by responsible political forces. “We are sure that finally
our society will win the struggle for the future, and Armenia will
develop in democratic way, rule of law will be established. A
pre-condition for this is removing of the present administration, and
this must be reached with joint efforts,” the speaker stated.

Emphasizing the necessity of consolidation, Demirchian stated that it
must be “not around lie and false but around justice”. Demirchian
mentioned in his interview to journalists that new proposals, which
must be still discussed, were represented at the forum. According to
him, the forum showed that different political forces are ready to
cooperate. “It is clear that struggle for democracy requires uniting
of efforts, which we have seen today: other issues will be discussed
by working order,” Stepan Demirchian stated.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ACCORDING TO PRELIMINARY DATA, HEAD OF RF FEDERAL SECURITY SERVICE’S
FRONTIER DEPARTMENT TO VISIT ARMENIA ON APRIL 18

YEREVAN, APRIL 14, NOYAN TAPAN. According to preliminary data, the
visit of Colonel-General Vladimir Pronichev, Deputy Director of
Russian Federal Security Service, Head of Federal Security Service’s
Frontier Department, is scheduled for April 18. Noyan Tapan’s
correspondent was informed by the RF Frontier Department in RA that
the Colonel-General hasn’t visited Armenia before and will arrive in
Armenia on a cognitive visit. The head of RF FSS Frontier Department
is going to get acquainted with the course of service of Russian
frontier troops dislocated in Armenia, to discuss the prospects of
Russian Frontier Department’s development in Armenia. A number of
bilateral documents and agreements, in particular, concerning the
sphere of financing, are to be signed within the framework of the
visit.

ON BEHALF OF RA PRESIDENT MINISTER OF FINANCE GUARANTEES SECURITY OF
AZERBAIJANI DELEGATION

YEREVAN, APRIL 14, NOYAN TAPAN. The 7th annual meeting of managers of
the Black Sea Bank of Trade and Economic Development (BSBTED) and
Black Sea Business Day will be held in Yerevan on June 5-6. The RA
Minister of Finance and Economy Vardan Khachatrian currently holds the
chairmanship of the bank’s board of managers, which he assumed at the
meeting in Albania in 2004. The BSBTED Secretary General Charalampos
Tsarukhas stated at the April 13 press conference that it is envisaged
to summarize the results of the bank’s 2004 activities and to discuss
future programs at the Yerevan meeting, with special attention being
given to SME and the financial sector, in particular to the issues of
the banking system. In addition to the delegations of the bank’s 11
member states, representatives of a number of international financial
institutions, prominent businessmen and private investors will
participate in Buisiness Day. The advantages and peculiarities of the
Armenian economy will be presented to them in anticipation of future
investments. Ch. Tsarukhas noted that the Black Sea Bank’s first
investment in Armenia was the establishment of a joint financial
service with the Izmirlian Fund – a credit line of 4 mln USD was
opened in 2003 by the service founders to implement direct crediting
of small and medium enterprises (SME). This year, the bank intends to
implement new programs in Armenia. According to Ch. Tsarukhas, the
participation of the Azerbaijani delegation in the SBTED managers
meeting is envisaged. He said that the bank’s activities are aimed at
business development and there must be no problem in terms of
cooperation of the member states. V. Khachatrian stated on behalf of
the Armenian President that the security of Azerbaijan’s delegation
will be guaranteed during their visit to Armenia. The Black Sea Bank
of Trade and Development was founded in 1999 by Albania, Armenia,
Georgia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Turkey,
Russia and Ukraine. At present, its capital makes 1 bln SDR (about 1.4
bln USD). The bank promotes the economic development and regional
cooperation of its member states through financing both state and
private programs. The bank also envisages to sign in Yerevan a
memorandum on mutual understanding with the European Union, the World
Bank and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress