ArmenPress
June 29 2004
TURKEY WANTS TO PROGRESS IN RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA, SAYS ARMENIAN
FOREIGN MINISTER
ISTANBUL, JUNE 28, ARMENPRESS: The delegation headed by Armenian
foreign minister of Armenia Vartan Oskanian arrived June 28 in
Istanbul to attend NATO Summit.
Within the framework of the visit the foreign minister had
meetings with the Turkish deputy prime minister, foreign affairs
minister Abdullah Gul. During the meeting, according to Oskanian,
obstacles impeding progress in bilateral Armenian-Turkish relations
were outlined. “These obstacles are known to both sides and I think,
we will be able to focus on them and will try to eliminate them in
order to be able to register progress. I think that Turkey wants
progress but it seems that the time did not come for it yet”, said
Oskanian. In his words, because of some recently voiced comments on
Armenia’s position, he once again reaffirmed that Armenia is ready to
normalize relations with Turkey without pre-conditions, to start
trade and establish diplomatic relations. During the dialogue the
issue of Nagorno Karabagh was also discussed. “I informed Mr. Gul
about the results of my meeting in Prague with Azerbaijan’s Elmar
Mamedyarov “, said Oskanian.
The meeting between Armenian, Azeri and Turkish foreign ministers,
initiated by Turkish side, was also held. Speaking to the reporters
after the meeting, the parties expressed satisfaction with it. Mr.
Gul particularly said that the South Caucasus was recently involved
in EU’s “Wider Europe” program and must develop a corresponding
policy, promote economic development and cooperation. The three
ministers also discussed economic, political and other issues.
The foreign minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mamedyarov said that it
was decided to continue the meetings in such format. “Everything must
be done to establish security, peace and stability in the region”, he
said.
Oskanian also assessed the meeting as constructive and useful,
saying that this was the first trilateral meeting with the
participation of Azeri foreign minister Elmar Mamedyarov. He said
that there was no agenda prepared in advance for this meeting. He
said that the conversation went on in the context of international
and regional developments. “The issue is to form a new concept for
the region in accordance with the recent developments, which are NATO
enlargement and new strategic approach to the countries of Caucasus
and Central Asia. The other is the EU enlargement”, said Oskanian.
During the trilateral meeting the sides also touched upon the
issue of Nagorno Karabagh. The sides did not go into details as, in
Oskanian’s words, Turkey is not a mediator. “This was a meeting
between the three equal sides which have interests and benefits in
the region”, he concluded.

ArmenPress
June 29 2004
JOURNALISTS URGED TO JOIN EFFORTS TO DEFEND THEIR RIGHTS
YEREVAN, JUNE 29, ARMENPRESS: Boris Navasardian, the chairman of
the Yerevan Press Club, joined today both pro-government and some
opposition figures to commend president Kocharian for his “positive,
frank and interesting’ speech at June 23 PACE session.
He was speaking at another discussion on current political
developments in Armenia and their reflection in mass media, organized
by the Yerevan Press Club in cooperation with Friedrich Nauman
Foundation.
Another speaker, Levon Barseghian, the chairman of Asparez Press
Club in Armenia’s second largest town of Gyumri, said the reflection
of the most recent developments by mass media was “very polarized.”
He said analytical stories and comments were faulty and incomplete.
In his estimation, even the pro-opposition mass media was critical of
the opposition and its modus operandi in the last month.
Asparukh Panov, the deputy coordinator of Friedrich Nauman’s
projects in Bulgaria, Moldova and the South Caucasus said Armenian
domestic developments were also reflected in foreign media,
particularly, the events of April 13 morning when the authorities
used force to disperse an anti-government rally staged by the
opposition.
Before wrapping up the discussion the Yerevan Press Club, the
Union of Armenian Journalists, Internews organization and the
Committee for Defense of Freedom of Speech issued a joint statement
calling on all mass media and journalists to act more consistently
when the point in question is their professional solidarity and
violation of their right to free collection and dissemination of
information.

G I B R A H A Y E R
e – n e w s l e t t e r
[email protected]   
 
TURKEY INVITED TO RECOGNISE CYPRUS THROUGH EUROPEAN COUNCIL CONCLUSION
ON CUSTOMS UNION
Extension of Turkey’s customs union towards Cyprus cannot be prevented
Nicosia, Jun 17 (CNA) — The extension of Turkey’s customs union towards
Cyprus cannot be prevented, Cyprus Government Spokesman Kypros
Chrysostomides has said.
Chrysostomides described as satisfactory paragraph 26 of the European
Council draft conclusions which says ”the European Council invites
Turkey to conclude negotiations with the Commission on behalf of the
Community and its 25 Member States on the adaptation of the Ankara
Agreement to take account of the accession of the new Member States.”
The spokesman described the European Council, which started today in
Brussels, as very important, and expressed certainty that the EU wisely
and in the way it functions will find the way forward for the Convention
for the Future of Europe, so that there will be unity among the states
and people… with every EU citizen at the epicentre of its interest.”
————————————————–
FRENCH SOCIALIST LEADER URGES TURKEY TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE FOR
EU MEMBERSHIP
Saturday June 5, 2004.- French Socialist Party (SP)
leader Francois Hollande yesterday said that the European Union giving a
date to Turkey to begin its accession talks should be contingent on
Ankara recognizing the so-called Armenian genocide. In a joint press
conference with Murat Papazyan, the European head of Armenia’s Tashnak
Party, Hollande said that in addition to the Copenhagen criteria, Turkey
should heed a 1987 European Parliament 1987 resolution calling for
recognition of the so-called genocide, withdrawal of Turkish troops from
Cyprus and respect for human and minority rights. /Milliyet/
————————————————–
ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF EUROPE TO HOLD OPEN TO THE PUBLIC ANNUAL GENERAL
MEETING
Brussels, 11/06/2004 – The Administrative board of the Assembly of
Armenians of Europe informs you that AAE’s general annual meeting will
take place on September 25-26, 2004 in Brussels, Belgium.
AAE’s all members and guest organizations will take part in the general
annual meeting. Important issues, such as Turkey’s accession to the
European Union, the strengthening of EU-Armenia relations and
Armenia-Diaspora relations, the resolution of Nagorno Kharabakh problem
will be discussed during the annual general meeting.
The annual general meeting will be followed by exhibition on Armenian
Cultural Heritage in South Caucasus and Middle East to be held in the
European Parliament on September 27, 2004. The AAE’s Administrative
Board will take into account your proposals and suggestions while
finalizing the Agenda of the Annual meeting. Therefore, you are kindly
requested to send your proposals and suggestions to the AAE’s Brussels’
Head Office until August 10th, 2004.
The AAE’s general annual meeting is open to the general public, as well.
In order to take part, you can contact  AAE Brussels’ Head Office,
Assembly of Armenians of Europe, Rue de Treves 10, 1050 – Brussels –
Tel: +32 2 647 08 01  [email protected] until September 15th, 2004.
————————————————–
NEWS IN BRIEF
– Foreign Minister Oskanian was on a two-day working visit to the
U.S.On Monday, June 14, he held two separate meetings with Secretary of
State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice.
– Speaking at a conference on Monday, Turkish President Ahmet Necdet
Sezer said, “we note with regret that concrete steps have not been taken
for the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh dispute.”
– Local human rights activists joined about 1,000 Armenians in a
demonstration in Paris on June 12 calling to prevent Turkey’s accession
to the European Union citing that country’s denial of the Armenian
Genocide.
– Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian and his Azerbaijani
counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov are scheduled to meet in Prague on June 20
and 21 for another round of the Nagorno Karabakh peace talks.
– The European Armenian Federation has sent a questionnaire to a
representative sample of some 20,000 candidates participating in the
upcoming European Parliament elections.
– Azerbaijani forces opened fire from machine guns on the early hours of
June 11 on the Paravakar village of the Tavush region.
– Armenia expects to receive $700 million in aid from the United States
in 2004-2008 under the Challenges of the Century program, Armenia’s
Finance Minister Vardan Khachatryan said on Thursday.
————————————————-
THE END OF AN ERA?  NOT EVEN CLOSE –
     By Skeptik Sinikian
I have a confession. I wasn’t really upset when I heard about the
passing of President Ronald Wilson Reagan last Sunday. Judging from the
media frenzy and the hordes of people lining up to view his casket, I’m
probably in the minority when I say that I wasn’t really moved by the
loss of our 40th President. In fact, I felt bad but it wasn’t because
Reagan had suffered from Alzheimer’s in the last years of his life but
because I had thought that he had already died some time ago. C’mon. As
if any of you knew he was still alive. Some folks in the media have gone
so far as to say that the passing of President Reagan is the end of an
era. I wasn’t sure what era they were referring to.
Would it be the era that plunged our nation into its worst deficit ever,
caused thousands to drop out of college due to slashing of federal
grants for poor students, ignored the AIDS crisis which cost thousands
of lives and is ravaging Africa today? Or was it the era that witnessed
blatant disregard for the rule of law in the way of the Iran-Contra
scandal, the ludicrous invasion of Grenada and Lebanon, and the Savings
and Loan disaster? to read the rest of the commentary click here
Skeptik Sinikian is trying to become an actor so that he can break into
politics. After his first movie starring a gorilla, orangutan or chimp,
he plans to declare his candidacy for Governor of California. His
campaign can be reached at [email protected]
————————————————
GIBRAHAYER MOBILE ALERTS
Gibrahayer are initiating Gibrahayer mobile alerts, a mobile sms
notification service about upcoming events and happenings as well as
important news related to Armenia and Cyprus.
If you would like to subscribe to this service, you can do so by sending
an sms to 99437073 with your subscription notification reading: YES HOS
EM and you will be added to the list.
Alternately to unsubscribe you can send a notification reading: TS
The service will begin on a trial run for FREE from July 2004. Details
to follow. Friday June 11, 2004. Gibrahayer – Nicosia.
————————————————
RECOMMENDED SITES
For all your Notary Public services you can visit Vazken Medzavorian’s
site at
——————– —————————-
g i b r a h a y    c a l e n d a r
* HAND PAINTED CLOTHING…Anahid Nassibian’s SPRING-SUMMER 2004 FASHION
COLLECTION on FRIDAY 18th JUNE 2004 From 5:00pm to 9:00pm, Venue: AGBU
clubhouse Nicosia – Free entrance, Snacks & Drinks. An exhibition of
unique & original hand painted designs on clothing for all ages. All
artistic designs are hand painted on fashionable garments and sold at
reasonable prices.All welcome. For more information: Anahid: 99 428052,
Alidz: 99 487701
* Tour to Armenia and Artsakh organised by the Armenakan Movement of
Armenia from August 7-14, 2004. Open to all diaspora youth from 13-35
years old. Participation fee 335 CYP, including seven day stay and full
board at Lousagerd Hotel 20 m from Yerevan. All rooms, fully equiped
with modern facilities, TV, constant supply of hot water. Daily tours to
historic sites. Book early to ensure participation to the following
numbers in Cyprus. 99747798 and 99929343.
* A Tour to Armenia is being organised by the Central Executive of
Hamazkayin from August 20-September 3, 2004 with the participation of
members and friends from Armenian diaspora communities. Trips to
Karabagh are also scheduled. To receive more info and to apply for the
trip please contact the Cyprus Hamazkayin committee members until June
30 2004.
* The Armenian Prelature of Cyprus announces that the next permit for
the Armenian Cemetery visitation at Ayios Dhometios on the Green line,
is scheduled for this Sunday June 27, 2004.
* HAMAZKAYIN FORUM 2004 The 10th Forum, Lebanon:From July 12-18
(Optional) Armenia: From July 19-31, 2004. Thought provoking lectures,
trips to historic and amazing destinations, and nights of dancing and
entertainment are only some of the Forum highlights. For many Armenian
students across the globe, the Hamazkayin Summer Forum is one of the
most anticipated events of the year. Those interested should visit the
website for more details on how to apply.
* JOURNEY TO ANATOLIA 2004
13th. August 2004 – 28th.August 2004
– Flights – Istanbul – Kayseri  (2004-08-13)
               Kars – Istanbul  (2004-08-28)
Airport Transfers*Boat Transfers*Package of Excursions*All Entrances for
Museums & Sights*Guide Interpreter*Overnight stay in 4 star Hotels with
breakfast (only double rooms)
Price: EURO  1150 – Inquiry:
Alfrant Bedros Tel:00491739026590 Email: [email protected] Journey
details  (details are posted, as sent to us by the organiser)

The Times (London)
June 28, 2004, Monday
Wherever you go people want to bend your ear. Erica Wagner takes up
the tale
by Erica Wagner
Thought the festival season was over? Think again. Sure, you’ve done
books at Hay-on-Wye and mud at Glastonbury. But don’t give up yet
-the best is yet to come, with festivals and performances that bring
something out of the ordinary across the country.
This year’s Beyond the Border International Storytelling Festival in
the Vale of Glamorgan (July 2-4, 01446 799100) promises to be another
corker. Last year was this wonderful festival’s tenth anniversary,
but its directors clearly have no intention of resting on their
laurels.
Every year the gorgeous setting of St Donats Castle (home to Atlantic
College) hosts a remarkable gathering of storytellers from all over
the world -artists of the revival of this vibrant form as well as
bearers of living oral tradition.
Within the castle’s walls, and in the beautiful landscaped gardens
that surround them, you will be able to experience the art of Ai
Churek, a female Tuvan shaman from southern Siberia. She will be
working with Karashay (below) -Tuvan throat singers collaborating
with Steven Kent, master of the Australian Aboriginal didjeridu.
Praline Gay-Para, a one-woman whirlwind, tells stories from all over
the world, including Freeze-Frame Beirut, a guided tour of her native
city which, she says, has forgotten its true identity.
Mike Burns is an Irish storyteller and aikido master living in
Montreal; he tells stories heard from his father in Gaelic and Irish
English. He is funny, magical, mysterious. There will also be the
“Young Storyteller of the Year” competition, presided over by Jan
Blake, one of Britain’s premier tellers, and talks by Professor
Ronald Hutton, an authority on myth and shamanism, and Jeanette
Winterson. More wondrous tales can be found at the latest series of
Stories within Stories at the Barbican Pit in London (July 7-9, 0845
1207598). This summer you’ll be able to catch a real masterpiece: the
Company of Storytellers (Hugh Lupton, Pomme Clayton and Ben Haggarty)
are reviving their astonishing adaptation of the Grimm tales, The
Three Snake Leaves.
Book early -then head back to the countryside for the 13th annual
Festival at the Edge in Much Wenlock, Shropshire (July 16-18, 01939
236626). This festival takes place in a lovely greenfield site and
includes workshops, story rounds and sessions for those who want to
take part.
Here you’ll find A Spell in Time, a unique British-Bulgarian
performing arts company comprising Moni Sheehan, storyteller and
dancer, Ivor Davies, musician, and Dessislava Stefanova, singer, who
perform works including The Dark-Eyed Warrior, a gripping tale of a
man who finds a bride but loses his heart.
Also appearing are Vergine Gulbenkian, a young British storyteller of
Armenian origin; Hugh Lupton, one of Britain’s finest storytellers;
and the wonderful, unpredictable TUUP -The Unorthodox, Unprecedented
Preacher. A children’s festival runs in parallel with the Edge, so
there’s something for everyone.
Afterglow Circus Arts, a group of young stilt-walkers, jugglers and
unicyclists, will also be appearing at the Festival at the Edge -but
if circus arts and street theatre are your passions, you might want
to try the Winchester Hat Fair, now in its 30th year (July 1-4; 01962
849841). It began as a buskers’ festival in Covent Garden, but one of
the performers, Jonathan Kay, took it to his home town. Hat Fair
brings Winchester to life with its breathtaking stunts, specialist
circus acts, clowning and world music. Highlights include the UK
premiere of Producciones Imperdible’s Mirando Al Cielo from Andalucia
-they are an innovative dance company who will perform on a glass
stage while the audience is seated comfortably below. What’s more,
the whole festival is free.
* For information on national storytelling events, contact the Crick
Crack Club, [email protected]

Agency WPS
What the Papers Say. Part B (Russia)
June 28, 2004, Monday
NEGOTIATED PRICE
SOURCE: Vremya Novostei, June 28, 2004, p. 2
by Nikolai Poroskov
The Duma has voted to ratify the adapted Conventional Forces in
Europe (CFE) Treaty by 355 votes in favor, 28 against, and two
abstentions. The CFE treaty is called the “cornerstone of European
security.” At present, this is the only legally functioning mechanism
of interstate arms control. The treaty was signed as far back as
November 1990 by NATO member states and Warsaw Pact states, aiming to
improve the security balance in Europe by means of reducing five
kinds of armaments: battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, artillery,
combat aircraft and attack helicopters. The Agreement on Adaptation
of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe was drawn up in
Istanbul in November 2003. Russia insisted then that the Baltic
states and Slovenia must sign the treaty before they join NATO. NATO
ignored Russia’s position at the time, although new NATO Secretary
General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer promised that the Baltic states would
certainly join the treaty.
At the moment, some 30 European states and the US and Canada have
signed the treaty. However, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan have been
the only nations to ratify it so far. NATO member states say they are
prepared to ratify the adapted CFE treaty after Russia, but only
after Russian bases are withdrawn from Georgia and the Trans-Dniester
region. Russia sees no legal link here, and regards withdrawal of its
bases to be a subject for bilateral interstate talks. In the opinion
of Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, Russia has already fulfilled the
demand on flank restrictions by removing two of four bases from
Georgia.
The main distinction of the adapted CFE treaty is that the levels of
arms permitted are determined individually for each state, rather
than according to a state’s affiliation with a military-political
bloc. This considerably reduces the ability of NATO member states to
deploy troops in other countries. Ratification of the CFE treaty will
yield many advantages to Russia. Firstly, according to Sergei Ivanov,
the treaty contributes to strengthening Russia by no-military methods
and is in line with our national interests. Secondly, the Russian
military will have to receive information about the location of NATO
aircraft across the entire treaty area. Besides, the Alliance will
have to inform Russia whenever over 18 aircraft are brought into the
application areas, and submit quarterly figures about the strength of
aviation in the area of NATO member states. Overall, the 19 “old”
NATO members will discard around 4,800 battle tanks, 4,000 armored
vehicles, and almost as many artillery systems. This is equivalent to
10 full NATO divisions. Russia won’t have to make any cuts, since we
are already within the parameters of the treaty (6,350 tanks, 11,280
armored combat vehicles, 6,315 artillery systems, 3,416 battle planes
and 855 attack helicopters). Besides, the increased quota for arms
for regular troops will enable Russia to preserve its military
presence in Armenia and Ukraine.
The Duma is urging states which have signed the CFE treaty to ratify
the adapted treaty, if only because the former version of the treaty
is out of step with the current situation. Formally, NATO has the
ability to deploy its arms and military facilities on the territory
of new member states, but doing so would raise doubts about arms
control and Russia-NATO relations on the whole. In case of an
emergency which could endanger Russia’s overriding interests, Russia
will take measures, “including measures which infringe the CFE treaty
limits.”
Translated by Andrei Ryabochkin

MENA Business Reports
June 28, 2004
IRAN’S DEFENSE MINISTRY EXPORTS LIQUID AND SOLID PRODUCTS
Iran’s Defense Ministry exported liquid and solid cooking oil, and
soap to Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Armenia in the first quarter of
the current Iranian Year (started March, 20 ). The goods were
produced in the ministry s affiliated-organization “Etka”. The
exports amounted to about $ 135,000.
According to IRNA, the Defense Ministry also exported $ 1.537 million
of similar goods to western Europe, Central Asia and Caucuses and
Afghanistan last year.
Iran’s Customs Administration reported last month that non-oil
exports including carry-on luggage and border market trade exceeded $
5.708 billion in the first 11 months of the last Iranian year
(started March 21, 2003.) It added the figure was 25.6 percent higher
compared to the same period last year. (menareport.com)

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
June 28, 2004 Monday 6:33 AM Eastern Time
South Ossetia blocks buses with Georgian passengers
By Eka Mekhuzla
TBILISI, June 28
Police of South Ossetia, Georgia’s enclave, has stopped six passenger
that were en route from different cities of Russia to the Georgian
capital Tbilisi.
More that 150 Georgian passengers, including 40 children, have
entered South Ossetia’s Dzhavsky district from Russia through the
Roksky tunnel, and have been stranded for about 24 hours, a spokesman
at the office of the Georgian state minister for conflict settlement
told Itar-Tass on Monday.
Several passengers managed to make telephone calls to Tbilisi, saying
that they were running out of food.
They said South Ossetian authorities demanded that Georgia release
two trucks with fuel cargoes that Georgian police seized last week as
contraband.
South Ossetian Interior Minister Robert Guliyev has confirmed the
fact of blocking the busses at a migration control post.
“The ban on the traffic of the private passenger and cargo transport
has been introduced for the time until Georgia lifts the economic
blockade of South Ossetia and returns the trucks confiscated from our
citizens,” Guliyev told Itar-Tass by phone from Tskhinvali.
He added that “this measure applies only to those who live in
Georgia; Russians Azerbaijanis, Armenians and citizens of other
countries can calmly travel in transit through the territory of South
Ossetia”.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)
June 27, 2004 Sunday ZONED EDITION
Today’s the day that Armenians celebrate;
Food and community are focus of annual picnic
by SHEILA B. LALWANI [email protected]
Members of the area’s Armenian community will gather today at Johnson
Park in Caledonia to celebrate the largest and biggest event for the
ethnic group.
Through the annual Armenian Picnic — admission is free — members of
the community hope to raise money for their church, St. Hagop
Apostolic Church in Racine. Members hope to raise $10,000, about a
quarter of the church’s budget.
The daylong event will feature ethnic dishes from Armenia including
marinated shish kebab and chicken dinners, stuffed grape leaves,
cheese puffs and butter cookies.
Dinners are priced between $6 and $8. Vegetarian options are
available.
For the last several weeks, members of the church have been buying
ingredients and baking together to prepare for the festival.
“All the members of the church are all working together to make a
success of this picnic,” volunteer Julie Dergarabedian said. “We
start baking in early May and go to June to prepare all the foods.
It’s all prepared ahead of time.”
Perhaps the dish that takes the most time is sarma, or stuffed grape
leaves. Members of the church spent much of Friday rolling grape
leaves that they picked shortly after Memorial Day. Even though grape
leaves are getting harder and harder to find locally, members
collected enough.
Throughout Friday, women sat in the church stuffing the length of the
grape leaves with a mixture made up of 40 pounds of rice and herbs.
They then cooked the dish. The appetizer is eaten cold.
They expect to sell as much as $5,000 worth of the appetizer, which
costs 50 cents apiece.
“It’s wonderful,” said Sara Micaelian, who helped lead the group.
“It’s back-breaking work, but everyone is chattering away.”
The festival is a day to celebrate their heritage and ethnic
identity, said Zohrab Khaligian, who has been helping plan the event.
“When two Armenians come together, they will start their own
Armenia,” he said. “That’s what we have done.”
The focal point of the picnic will be a blessing, in which members of
the community gather to pray. Armenia, which is in central Asia, has
been influenced by neighbors from the Middle East and Europe. With a
small community in the United States, Khaligian said, maintaining
their identity and passing it on to their children has become all the
more essential.
“The church is not just a church,” Khaligian said. “It’s also our
community center. It’s the source to maintain our religion and
language. Being politically active and socially aware is also
necessary. The church provides spiritual guidance. It also provides
us with a meeting place.”
The church also offers Sunday school and language classes.
“It’s important for young people to see their culture and heritage,”
Dergarabedian said. “The blessing we do at the church ground and the
incense and the beautiful songs that are sung — it’s like a blessing
of the universe. We are blessing the world and thanking God for his
blessing.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City)
June 27, 2004 Sunday
Limelight shines on pianist, Utah
by Rebecca C. Howard Deseret Morning News
It was the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition that
initially brought Karen Hakobyan to Salt Lake City. And it was the
University of Utah that kept him here.
But now, it’s the 18-year-old college student who is bringing
recognition to the Beehive State.
Recent winner of the 2004 ASCAP (American Society of Composers,
Authors and Publishers) Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer
Competition, and invited artist in the 2005 Lille International Piano
Festival, Hakobyan has distinguished himself as both a composer and a
performer in the international music world.
But for now, he is with us.
The Armenian-born musician was 5 when his father first bought a
piano. “My sister is five years older than me,” he recalled, “and she
started to play the piano. Every time she would finish playing, I
would go up to the piano and perform the same thing that she had been
practicing without even having any knowledge of music. So my parents
decided I should start taking lessons.”
He was only 6 when his parents enrolled him in the Tchaikovsky
Special Music School in Yerevan, Armenia, and 13 when he wrote his
first symphony for a full-size orchestra.
“After I finished this symphony, I was commissioned to write my
second symphony by a very big festival. It’s called the Young
Euro-Classic International Festival up in Berlin, and they asked me
to compose the second symphony, which was performed in 2001. So I
finished it at the age of 15.”
It was this second symphony that eventually won the ASCAP award, as
well as the Robertson Scholarship in Composition at the University of
Utah.
While all of this was going on, Hakobyan was also busy performing
with different orchestras and entering competitions. “In fact, one of
the biggest accomplishments around then was the Armenian Legacy
Pianists International Piano Competition,” he said.
It was right after that competition that he heard about the Gina
Bachauer competition and decided to enter.
As a 16-year-old, he entered the Young Artists division in 2001.
While he was here, he gave a solo recital at the University of Utah,
where he was “discovered” by some of the faculty. After being offered
a scholarship, he decided to enroll that fall while still only 16.
Now a junior with a double major in piano performance and music
composition, Hakobyan says that the U. has been a great place for
him. “I’ve had very great positive experience here, and I’ve enjoyed
my teachers very much,” he said, acknowledging both his piano
instructor, Susan Duehlmeier, and the several composition faculty
members with whom he has studied.
In fact, it was while giving a solo recital at the U. that he was
again discovered, this time by maestro Jean-Claude Casadesus, who
invited him to be one of about 10 pianists in the 2005 Lille piano
festival. “We each get to perform one concerto with the orchestra and
also one solo recital,” he said. “It’s just a very exciting event,
and it’s something I’m very much looking forward to.”
Since entering the U., Hakobyan has taken first prize in a number of
competitions — including the Pinault International
Audiotape/Videotape Piano Competition, which resulted in a debut
recital at Carnegie Hall. “(It) was very well received by the press
and also the musicians there,” Hakobyan said of the performance.
He added that the ASCAP award is also a significant achievement
because it’s one of the biggest competitions in the United States for
composition. He said they had a record number of people enter this
year — about 500– with his age division reaching up to 32 years
old.
“I would say it’s quite a nice achievement and it’s nice to be
recognized by the ASCAP competition,” he said. One of the most
valuable outcomes of the competition, he added, is the recognition
and potential for future commissions.
“Many musicians, many conductors and chamber musicians contact you
later on for performances for new pieces or commissioning new
pieces,” he said, “so it’s just a very nice opportunity.”
Already, he said, he has been contacted by several people interested
in seeing his work.
In the meantime, he’s hoping to complete a piano concerto that he’s
writing for himself and a work for string orchestra. E-mail:
[email protected]

Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City)
June 27, 2004 Sunday
‘The Last Day’ subtle and elegant
by Susan Whitney
THE LAST DAY OF THE WAR, by Judith Claire Mitchell; Pantheon Books;
366 pages; $24.95.
She’s Jewish. He’s Armenian-American-Christian. They meet by chance
and spend a half an hour together in a library in St. Louis, where he
is supposed to receive a bag full of guns to be used for an
assassination.
She finds the bag by mistake. She makes him explain himself before
she will give him the guns.
Then he’s off to France, guns in hand, forgetting all about her. He’s
a soldier, and he has not only war but revenge on his mind. She,
however, cannot forget him.
“The Last Day of the War” is magnificent historical fiction. In this,
her first book, Judith Claire Mitchell has not only re-created 1918,
she gives the reader intriguing characters. She also gives us a
beautifully nuanced love story.
Mitchell’s Jewish character, Yael, is not a perfect human being. (In
the opening paragraph, for example, she is stealing a dress.) Still,
she is so lively and so brave that the reader comes to care about her
and, through her we see how unfairly Jews were treated in the United
States in the early days of the century.
We not only see the wrong, we feel deeply sad about the lies people
felt forced to tell.
It seems that Yael’s parents named her Yael because it was a family
name. Mitchell doesn’t beat us over the head with this or any other
social issue — but when Yael changes the spelling of her name and
begins to hide the truth of who she is, the reader feels the loss
that Yael, herself, doesn’t feel.
On the other hand, Dub, the soldier in the U.S. Army, is trying to
carry on the values of a culture he can barely remember. His plight
is complicated, satisfyingly complicated. His best friend is jealous
of Dub’s place in an Armenian revenge organization. Dub finds his
best friend annoying, but he sticks by him.
Because Dub is a good and loyal man, he has become engaged to a young
woman who has only recently emigrated. His fiancZe was a child in
Armenia, while Dub was a child in America. She witnessed the murder
of her people, including the murder of her sister. She will never be
whole. Dub wants to protect her.
Underlying this novel are two events of immense importance, one of
which has been pretty much overlooked in modern-day history classes.
It is this: In 1915, in Armenia, the Turks killed about 1 million
Christians. Women were raped and forced to bear children to
repopulate the country with Turkish offspring.
Then, in 1919, in France, the Treaty of Versailles was signed. Turkey
promised to punish the leaders responsible for the massacres in
Armenia — but never did.
Subtly and elegantly, Mitchell lays out the plot of her novel. It
rests on these two pieces of history, on the Armenian atrocities and
the end of the first World War. Along the way, Mitchell forecasts a
future for both Dub and Yael. (Will it include each other? The reader
has no idea and really doesn’t know if they are right for each other
anyway.)
Mitchell also forecasts a future for the world. In her end notes, she
includes a timetable so that the reader can understand the truth of
the fiction she has written. She describes what really happened after
1915 between the Turkish leaders and the Armenian avengers.
Mitchell’s timetable ends like this:
August 1939: The night before the invasion of Poland, Adolf Hitler
assures his generals that the world will not long object should they
treat the Polish citizenry brutally. “After all,” Hitler says, “who
today speaks of the annihilation of the Armenians?”
1944: The United Nations coins and defines the word genocide. E-mail: [email protected]