Boston Globe, MA
Feb 3 2005
Philharmonic performance marks Black History Month
By Robert Knox, Globe Correspondent | February 3, 2005
In tune with Black History Month, the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra
will celebrate the diverse strands of American orchestral music
during an 8 p.m. concert Saturday that will feature William Grant
Still’s ”Afro-American Symphony.”

Originally performed in the 1930s by the New York Philharmonic, it
was the first orchestral work by an African-American composer to be
played by a major American orchestra.
The Plymouth Philharmonic’s music director, Steven Karidoyanes, said
Still’s symphony might remind listeners of a Gershwin classic,
”Rhapsody in Blue,” because it draws on ”that whole Tin Pan Alley,
pop song, jazz influence.” A superb orchestrator, Still was able to
use ”a bluesy English horn,” the baritone clarinet and other reeds
to conjure up the sounds of instruments missing from the symphony
orchestra, Karidoyanes said. ”You really hear a dance band, but
there’s no sax,” he said.
In addition to Still’s symphony, the PPO’s ”American Reflections”
concert, scheduled for 8 p.m. in Plymouth’s Memorial Hall, will
include a tone poem by a Hungarian exile, a work that draws on an
American composer’s Armenian roots, and a work by New Englander
Charles Ives that incorporates church bells, camp songs, and
Protestant hymns.
Ernö Dohnányi’s ”American Rhapsody” was written in the 1950s in
Florida, where the Hungarian composer spent the last 10 years of his
life after fleeing Communist Hungary.
”You’ll never feel the same way about ‘On Top of Old Smoky’ again,”
Karidoyanes said of the composer’s use of the classic folk tune.
Dohnányi added versions of a moving American spiritual and sprightly
fiddle tunes in creating his work’s mixture of themes and moods.
A composition by Somerville native Alan Hovhaness, ”Prayer of St.
Gregory,” is a lush five-minute work with an Eastern European sound.
The piece relies on the orchestra’s strings and a solo by the
philharmonic’s principal trumpet player, Philip Hague. The trumpet
gives voice to the saint who is credited with bringing Christianity
to Armenia.
Ives mixed formal innovation and small town ”Currier and Ives”
Americana in his music, Karidoyanes said, and in ”Camp Meeting
Symphony” employed a free association of popular old time melodies to
create a ”very approachable” orchestral work.

EiTB24.com, Spain
Feb 3 2005
Festivals of San Blas
On February 3, the traditional procession of San Blas is held in the
Basque Country, in honour of the Christian martyr who is attributed
with the miraculous healing of throat ailments.

People in the Basque Country hold every February 3 the procession of
San Blas. This procession is a tribute to San Blas, a Christian
martyr who is attributed with the miraculous healing of throat
ailments.
In the main squares of Basque towns and cities, stalls are set up
where you can buy the traditional doughnuts and coloured cords of San
Blas. The Basques bless the cord before the image of the Saint in
some churches. Afterwards, according to tradition, the faithful wear
the cord around their neck for nine days, after which it must be
burnt. If the process is carried out correctly, San Blas will protect
the throat of the wearer for the whole year.
Blas was an Armenian doctor and bishop who lived in the third century
A.C. He was a victim of the persecutions to the Christians by the
Emperor Diocleciano, so he hid in a cave in the mountain Argeo and
lived like a hermit there. In the year 313, the emperor Constantino
stopped the persecutions so Blas could come back to his diocese. Two
years after, the emperor Linicio resumed the persecutions. February
3rd 316 Blas was beheaded and his body torn to pieces with iron
hooks. Some people say San Blas healed miraculously a child who had a
fish bone put across his throat. This is why it is believed that this
saint protects us from the throat ailments.

PanArmenian News
Feb 2 2005
AZERBAIJAN MAY BE EXPELLED FROM PACE
01.02.2005 19:01
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “If before the PACE April session the question of
political prisoners is not solved in Azerbaijan, the country can lose
its mandate in the organization,” PACE Rapporteur on political
prisoners in Azerbaijan Malcolm Bruce told BBC. In his words, he
studies the case of seven opposition leaders and thinks that these
could be referred to as political prisoners. Human rights proponent
Leyla Yunus noted that she had many times warned about the patience
of international organizations being limited. “Only by means of
universal amnesty Azerbaijan can avoid undesirable consequences,” L.
Yunus emphasized. It should be reminded that Azerbaijan is the only
South Caucasian country, where political prisoners are still
available

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Feb 3 2005
Settlement depends on conflicting sides

OSCE Minsk Group may only foster dialogue – French co-chair
The OSCE Minsk Group cannot settle the Upper Garabagh conflict
instead of Azerbaijan and Armenia, the new French co-chair of the
OSCE Minsk Group, Bernard Fassier, said. He stated that the co-chairs
may assist the sides only in fostering dialogue.
First of all, trust should be established between the two presidents
and afterwards, between the two peoples, Fassier told a news
conference during his two-day familiarization visit to Baku last
week.
The co-chair said the OSCE MG does not have considerable resources to
assist in resolving the problem. “The Minsk Group is a political
forum and it may put forth political ideas. However, it has no
financial resources to implement them”.
As for Armenia’s withdrawing its armed forces from the occupied Azeri
land, Fassier said that the “the co-chairs are unlikely to say
anything specific in this respect, as a relevant decision should be
made by the conflicting sides”.
President Ilham Aliyev, in a meeting with Fassier on Thursday, stated
that the OSCE-mediated talks on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over
Upper Garabagh, carried out over the last ten years, had been
fruitless.
Aliyev said, however, that the active work carried out by the OSCE MG
of late and the ongoing talks between the two countries’ foreign
ministers “allow us to hope for certain progress in the settlement
process”.
The President emphasized that Upper Garabagh and the adjacent seven
regions, which are historically Azerbaijani territories, are occupied
by Armenian armed forces and that Azerbaijan entered the United
Nations with these areas included within its boundaries. Azerbaijan’s
position on the conflict resolution, based on the principles of the
country’s territorial integrity, remains unchanged, he said.
Fassier said that the unresolved status of the conflict is impeding
not only peace and stability in the South Caucasus, but also the
implementation of global economic projects in a wider area, including
Central Asia. He also voiced confidence that his meeting with
President Aliyev would provide him with broader information on this
‘sensitive’ conflict.
The new co-chair acted as the French ambassador to Georgia in
1993-1997 and to Belarus in 1997-2002. He succeeded the previous
co-chair Henry Jacolin late in 2004.

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 3 2005
Deputy FM says settlement of Armenians in Garabagh confirmed

Baku, February 2, AssA-Irada
The Azerbaijani side has no official information on the activity of
the OSCE fact-finding mission in Upper Garabagh. However, some
sources indicate that the evidence forwarded to the mission by
Azerbaijan is being confirmed, the Deputy Foreign Minister Araz
Azimov told journalists on Wednesday.
Azimov underlined that settlement of Armenians in the occupied lands
of Azerbaijan is part of Armenia’s state policy and the Armenian
press give a broad coverage to this issue.
`Armenians settled in the occupied lands are encouraged with certain
privileges, as they are granted land plots free of charge, freed from
tax payments and even their children are granted rights to reject
military service,’ the Deputy Foreign Minister said.
Azimov added that `it is impossible not to see the facts’, adding
that the OSCE mission will prepare a report based on these facts.*

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 3 2005
`Several occupied regions may be returned this year’ – Foreign Minister

BAKU
`Opportunities exist for returning several Azerbaijani regions
occupied by Armenia this year, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov
told journalists on Wednesday. For this to happen, first of all, a
favorable attitude must be shown by the other party, he said.
Commenting on the fact that the OSCE fact-finding mission, which is
monitoring the occupied Azeri territories, is accompanied by the
so-called `foreign ministry official’ from the self-proclaimed Upper
Garabagh `republic’, Mammadyarov said that this individual is not an
observer and has no official status.*

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 3 2005
Russian FM cautiously optimistic of Garabagh conflict settlement

BAKU
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is cautiously optimistic with
regards to the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over
Upper Garabagh.
`We believe that there are grounds to be cautiously optimistic,
considering the ongoing meetings of Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign
ministers. We will assist by all means for the parties to come to
terms’, Lavrov told journalists upon arriving in Baku for a two-day
visit.
`We are considering the fact that the mediators working within the
OSCE Minsk Group (Russia, US and France) are regularly in touch with
the parties – Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Lavrov also said that `Russia is quite active in the settlement of
conflicts in the former Soviet Union’.
Earlier, the US Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian
Affairs, Elizabeth Jones, said the Bush administration is concerned
over the lack of efforts being taken by Moscow at resolving conflicts
in the former Soviet Union countries.*

Itar-Tass, Russia
Feb 3 2005
Armenia FM cuts short visit to Tbilisi

YEREVAN, February 3 (Itar-Tass) – Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskaryan has cut short his trip to Georgia in connection with the
death of Prime Minister Zurab Zhvaniya, Oskaryan’s spokesman told
Itar-Tass by telephone.
The spokesman, Gamlet Gasparyan, said the minister is getting back
halfway to Tbilisi. The Armenian foreign minister was heading to
Tbilisi for talks with the Georgian leadership. On Friday, he was due
to take pat in the international forum South Caucasus in the 21st
Century: Challenges and Opportunities.

Journal of Turkish Weekly
Feb 3 2005
US Supports Azerbaijan in Karabakh Issue
The United States (US) does not recognize Upper Karabakh as an
independent state and supports Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity,
according to a report released by the US Department of State on
Monday.
“The United States does not recognize Upper Karabakh as an
independent state, as its authorities are not recognized either by
the international community or the US. The US supports Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity and believes that the future status of Upper
Garabagh should be determined through talks between the parties.”
The US report, which cites key figures and the history of the
Karabakh conflict, says the United States continues to play an active
mediating role in resolving the problem in peace and supports seeking
settlement options within the OSCE Minsk Group.
The report also says that the armed conflict over Upper Karabakh
continued between 1990 and 1994. After the ceasefire was reached in
1994, Armenian armed forces controlled Upper Karabakh and the
adjacent extensive territories. As a result of military action and
the ousting of Azerbaijanis from their homes, over a million people
became refugees and displaced persons.
Apart from Karabakh, Armenian forces occupied other Azerbaijani
towns. Armenian State moreover does not recognise Turkey’s
territorial integrity. The Armenian Constitution and Declaration of
Independence call Turkey’s Eastern provinces ‘Western Armenia’. In
addition, the Armenian irredentism towards Turkey, Azerbaijan and
Georgia is strong.

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Feb 3 2005
PACE resolution sparks differing reactions

The approval of Atkinson’s report on Upper Garabagh by the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has drawn
differing opinions from the parties interested in settling the
conflict. President
Ilham Aliyev gave a positive assessment of the PACE resolution on
Upper Garabagh, regarding it as a victory of Azerbaijan’s diplomacy.
The opposition also welcomed the document in general.
Yuri Merzlyakov, Russian co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group (MG), told
Radio Liberty that he disagrees with a provision of the resolution
criticizing the lack of activity on the part of the MG.
“They call on us to step up activity, although we are often more
active than the parties to the conflict. However, we are not
responsible for resolving the problem instead of the conflicting
sides”.
The PACE resolution also says that if the OSCE MG-mediated talks are
unsuccessful, Azerbaijan and Armenia may take the matter to the
International Court of Justice. Merzlyakov pointed out that this
action would probably be avoided as both countries are aware that the
issue may be interpreted differently by the court. “Therefore, the
conflict should be resolved not through legal but political means,”
he said.
The Russian co-chair continued that the problem will not be resolved
this year and only a certain amount of progress is likely to be
achieved.
“The parties are interested in resolving the problem, but no
agreements have been reached thus far.”
Merzlyakov also expressed some unpalatable views for Azerbaijan. “I
believe that Upper Garabagh is a party to the conflict, as the
ceasefire, concluded by Azerbaijan and Armenia in 1994, along with
the two countries, was signed by the ‘defense minister’ of Upper
Garabagh.”
The United States has also criticized the reproach voiced against the
OSCE MG co-chairs.
The US ambassador to Azerbaijan Reno Harnish said that the OSCE MG
has carried out extensive work this year.
“Several meetings were held between the Azerbaijani and Armenian
presidents, as well as the two countries’ foreign ministers,
illustrating the efficiency of the OSCE MG activity”, he said.
Touching upon the passed PACE resolution on Garabagh, the ambassador
commented that in his opinion it is of a “declarative” nature.
In reply to a question as to whether the US will continue to provide
aid to Armenia, which was recognized as the aggressor by PACE,
Harnish said that Washington has always pursued a consistent policy.
“From this standpoint, the aid being provided is aimed at achieving
peace in the region.”
“We have not and will not recognize the self-proclaimed Upper
Garabagh republic. The US recognizes Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity. We welcome the attempts by the parties to settle the
conflict in peace and are witnessing progress in this area.”
The ambassador stated that Russia is playing both a negative and a
positive role with regards to the resolution of the Upper Garabagh
conflict, along with many other conflicts in the former Soviet Union.
Russia’s role in the Garabagh conflict is undeniable, he said.
Harnish added that the conflict settlement is not dependent only on
the US and Russia.
“The Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents need to step up efforts in
this area”, he said.
The French co-chair of the OSCE MG, Bernard Fassier, said that the
PACE resolution on Garabagh states the stance of this organization,
which is one of the beacons of democracy in Europe. Fassier said that
other international organizations should state their position on the
Garabagh conflict as well.
The co-chair added that statements implying that the OSCE Minsk Group
is not engaged in any serious work are erroneous.
Conflicting views
Political forces in Armenia have issued conflicting opinions on the
issue.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry, via its spokesman, Hamlet Kasparian,
said that the PACE rapporteur David Atkinson’s report on the Garabagh
conflict, although it included some positive parts, was generally
incomplete.
Kasparian said the PACE resolution covers the results of the conflict
but not the reasons behind it.
“Yerevan believes that changes were made to the resolution in a
biased manner. On the initiative of the Turkish representative at the
PACE Political Committee, one of Armenia’s proposals, which was
earlier agreed upon with Atkinson, was not approved. The resolution
is not mandatory but advisory and declarative,” Kasparian said. He
said that peace talks will continue within the OSCE Minsk Group and
the positive and negative provisions of the resolution are unlikely
to affect the negotiating process.
Chairman of the Armenian parliament commission on foreign relations,
Armen Rustamian said the PACE resolution includes all the ‘dangerous’
provisions that Azerbaijan can take advantage of in the future.
“The resolution contains such terms as ‘occupied territories’ and
‘separatists’, and Azerbaijan will certainly take the opportunity of
using them against Armenia.”
Rustamian expressed confidence that Azerbaijan will start imposing an
ultimatum not only on Armenia, but also on the international
community soon, as adopting the mentioned resolution gives Azerbaijan
a legal right to retrieve its territories.
Head of the Armenian delegation at PACE, Tigran Tarasian, stated that
Armenia is satisfied with the PACE resolution. He viewed favourably
the fact that certain parliamentary members brought up the issue of
self-determination of Upper Garabagh.
Nonetheless, Armenian opposition termed the document as an absolute
diplomatic defeat of Yerevan, and essentially as an ultimatum put
forth to Armenia by the international community.