Author: Andres-Papazian

Azg Daily, Armenia
May 28 2010

ET TU BRUTE?

By Marietta Khachatryan

According to the French Embassy to Armenia, French Ministry of Foreign
and European Affairs made a statement on May 26 about parliamentary
elections of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh.

According to the statement, France, like the international community,
including Armenia, doesn’t recognize the independence of Nagorno
Karabakh.

“All interested parties are currently negotiating peaceful settlement
of Karabakh conflict under the aegis of OSCE MG French, U.S. and
Russian Co-Chairs. Recent parliamentary elections can’t affect either
negotiations course or the future NKR status,” the document notes.

It concludes, “France, along with its U.S. and Russian partners,
confirms its position, urging Armenian and Azeri leaders for peaceful
settlement of Karabakh as stipulated in Helsinki Final Act principles
of territorial integrity, nations right for self determination and
non-use of force”.

From: A. Papazian

Journal of Technology & Science
May 30, 2010

ELECTROMAGNETIC RESEARCH;
Study results from Yerevan State University broaden understanding of
electromagnetic research

According to recent research published in the Journal of Synchrotron
Radiation, “An X-ray one-dimensionally focusing system, a
refracting-diffracting lens (RDL), composed of Bragg
double-asymmetric-reflecting two-crystal plane parallel plates and a
double-concave cylindrical parabolic lens placed in the gap between
the plates is described. It is shown that the focal length of the RDL
is equal to the focal distance of the separate lens multiplied by the
square of the asymmetry factor.”

“One can obtain RDLs with different focal lengths for certain
applications. Using the point-source function of dynamic diffraction,
as well as the Green function in a vacuum with parabolic
approximation, an expression for the double-diffracted beam amplitude
for an arbitrary incident wave is presented. Focusing of the plane
incident wave and imaging of a point source are studied. The cases of
non-absorptive and absorptive lenses are discussed. The intensity
distribution in the focusing plane and on the focusing line, and its
dependence on wavelength, deviation from the Bragg angle and
magnification is studied. Geometrical optical considerations are also
given. RDLs can be applied to focus radiation from both laboratory and
synchrotron X-ray sources, for X-ray imaging of objects, and for
obtaining high-intensity beams,” wrote A.H. Grigoryan and colleagues,
Yerevan State University.

The researchers concluded: “RDLs can also be applied in X-ray astronomy.”

Grigoryan and colleagues published their study in the Journal of
Synchrotron Radiation (X-ray focusing by the system of refractive
lens(Es) placed inside asymmetric channel-cut crystals. Journal of
Synchrotron Radiation, 2010;17(Part 3):332-347).

For additional information, contact M.K. Balyan, Yerevan State
University, Solid State Physics Research Laboratory, Dept. of Solid
State Physics, Faculty Physics, Yerevan, Armenia.

The publisher’s contact information for the Journal of Synchrotron
Radiation is: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc., Commerce Place, 350
Main St., Malden 02148, MA, USA.

From: A. Papazian

Agence France Presse
May 29, 2010 Saturday 11:01 PM GMT

Turkish PM cancels Argentina visit: report

Ankara, May 30 2010

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cancelled a visit to
Argentina, Anatolia news agency reported Sunday.

His office was to make a written statement on the reason behind the
cancellation of the trip, it said.

Erdogan had been scheduled to travel to Argentina after wrapping up a
visit to Brazil, and meet with Argentine President Cristina Kirchner
on Monday.

The Hurriyet daily said on its website that Erdogan scrapped the visit
after the Argentine authorities cancelled the inauguration of a bust
of Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Buenos Aires. They had
reportedly bowed to pressure from ethnic Armenians in the country.

Turkish-Armenian ties have been poisoned for decades over allegations
that Armenians were the victim of genocide under the Ottoman Empire,
Turkey’s predecessor, during World War I.

Argentina is among those countries that have recognised the mass
killings as genocide, a label that Turkey fiercely rejects.

From: A. Papazian

Nezavisimaya Gazeta , Russia
May 27 2010

Karabakh leader views Armenia-Azeri talks, Turkey’s involvement

[Interview with Nagornyy Karabakh President Bako Sahakyan by Yuriy
Simonyan, 27 May; Bako Sahakyan: ‘We Are Betting on Independence’:
President Asserts Nagornyy Karabakh Is Living as a Free State”;
accessed via Nezavisimaya Gazeta Online]

Bako Sahakyan is sure everything is being done properly.

Nagornyy Karabakh President Bako Sahakyan’s workday begins at 10 and
ends – whenever. Most often well after midnight. During the
parliamentary elections, held on 23 May, his work schedule accrued
inconceivable intensity. Nonetheless, the NKR [Republic of
Nagornyy-Karabakh] president carved out time for an exclusive
interview with NG [Nezavisimaya Gazeta] correspondent Yuriy Simonyan.

[Simonyan] Lately there have been more frequent discussions about the
need to return Nagornyy Karabakh representatives to the negotiations
process to settle the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. What will this
yield? How much would Stepanakert’s return to the negotiations table
be a constructive position for the Azerbaijani side?

[Sahakyan] We have not observed constructivism from the Azerbaijani
side. Indeed, there have been more discussions of the need to give the
negotiations process a full-fledged format. And it’s true, this is
essential. The farther they get, the more precisely the organizations
that are today carrying out the mediation mission, in particular the
OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] Minsk
Group, are realizing and coming to the conclusion that there is no
achieving serious results without the Republic of Nagornyy-Karabakh’s
participation in the negotiations. In our statements, and in the
course of contacts with international organizations and the OSCE Minsk
Group, we have constantly underscored the necessity of restoring the
former format of the negotiations process, in which our
representatives would participate. The very nature of the issue
requires that international mediation organizations utilize every
possible method to return the process to its former channel. We are
certain that this will lead the opposing sides and the very settlement
process itself to more effective and efficient solutions.

[Simonyan] Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who only recently had
categorically rejected the possibility of a dialogue with Stepanakert,
eased up on his attitude somewhat, mentioning casually that this is
basically acceptable. But simultaneously he toughened up his rhetoric:
the problem will not be decided by peace; it will be decided by
military means. How serious do you think these threats are?

[Sahakyan] It’s not a matter of seriousness. It’s a matter of the
absence of constructivism in the behaviour of Azerbaijan’s political
leadership. For a long time the Azerbaijani side has been
demonstrating the same primitive line. In our view, this is the main
reason – along with the fact that Karabakh is not participating in the
negotiations – why there have been no results in the negotiations
process to the present day. This kind of behaviour by Azerbaijan, in
particular the militaristic statements, the country’s militarization,
can in no way facilitate the conflict’s resolution. Therefore we have
been constantly calling on the OSCE Mission and those organizations
that talk to us from time to time to utilize every opportunity to get
Azerbaijan to change its completely unjustified and aggressive
behaviour. A line like that cannot improve the effectiveness of the
negotiations process.

[Simonyan] Turkey – Azerbaijan’s strategic partner – is already
prepared to intervene and basically already is intervening in the
already complicated process of conflict settlement.

[Sahakyan] There has always been a Turkey factor in the region.
Ankara’s participation in regional affairs has been of various natures
at various times. Today Turkey is laying more obvious claims to direct
participation in the Karabakh negotiations process. This is, of
course, unacceptable for us. We do not hide the fact that Turkey’s
participation would only aggravate the process. Therefore we do not
see any necessity for its participation or any necessity for changing
the format, other than our return to the negotiations table.
Ultimately, the Budapest summit decisions should be respected and in
accordance with them Nagornyy Karabakh recognized as a full-fledged
party in the negotiations process.

[Simonyan] Mediators have declared the Madrid principles for settling
the basic issues, and both Yerevan and Baku apparently have agreed to
them. Then that turned out not to be true at all, that the sides had
to present certain additions and changes. Now Baku and Yerevan are
accusing each other of delaying the presentation of these correctives.
At the same time we are hearing certain formulas about surrendering to
Azerbaijan the seven districts of the so-called security belt of
Nagornyy-Karabakh: “2 plus 3 plus 2.” In short, everything is very
vague and confused. Can you explain what is actually going on?

[Sahakyan] Not only the Madrid principles but also all the others that
have been worked out and presented to the sides for consideration will
always seem vague and unclear for the same reason: they are not being
worked out in conjunction with us. We respect the work of the OSCE
Minsk Group and are deeply grateful to it because we believe that
today’s relative peace was achieved thanks to its work, among other
things. However, while respecting this mission, at the same time we
say that any principles and schemes for settling the problem have to
be worked out together with us. Putting them into practice requires
NKR concurrence at each stage, since a lack of agreement will
subsequently create serious problems.

[Simonyan] Simultaneously with the leak of information about the
“plan” for the gradual handover to Azerbaijan of those districts
another one appeared as well, about the imminent return of Azerbaijani
refugees. Is Karabakh society prepared to accept them?

[Sahakyan] We have touched on this topic quite often. In this light I
want to emphasize that the problem has to be viewed comprehensively.
If we are talking about Azerbaijani refugees, then we must not forget,
too, about the half a million Armenians who were forced to abandon
their native homes or were forcibly evicted from them. Therefore we
cannot accept the return specifically of only Azerbaijani refugees. We
are prepared to consider the issue of refugees as a whole, that is,
with consideration for the interests of the Armenian refugees.

[Simonyan] Funds were found in Nagornyy-Karabakh’s limited budget to
restore the mosque in Shushi. Aren’t there enough other problems as it
is?

[Sahakyan] The mosque is a one of our republic’s cultural treasures
and does not belong to an individual people. Just as our church cannot
belong only to the people of Karabakh. We believe that these are
treasures of a universal nature. Thus this attitude. As much as
possible, we will be allocating even more funds to restore monuments
of culture and architecture, regardless of their religious
affiliation, be they Muslim or Christian.

[Simonyan] How do you see Karabakh’s future? As a part of Armenia or
will the republic be a second Armenian state after all?

[Sahakyan] For a fairly long time now we have been insisting on the
independence of our republic and have been living as a free state. Our
efforts today are aimed at having the international community
recognize our de facto independence. This is our state’s main
political line.

[Simonyan] Is your main goal the NKR presidency?

[Sahakyan] Many things need to be done. First of all, we need to solve
socioeconomic issues. The war destroyed our economy and the republic’s
entire infrastructure was decimated. Today we are gradually restoring
our economy. Last year, for example, GDP growth was 13.1 per cent, and
that is given the world crisis. I am inclined to explain this success
by our people’s attitude towards their country. And the main goal or
dream of us achieving recognition of our independence and providing
for normal living conditions for our citizens, and of our nation,
which has been living on this land for four and a half thousand years,
having the opportunity to labour in peaceful conditions, raise their
children , and enjoy life.

>From the NG Dossier

Bako Sahakyan has been president of the unrecognized Republic of
Nagornyy Karabakh since 2007. He graduated from the law school of
Artsakh State University. Full member of the Russian Academy on Issues
of Security, Defence, and Law. Since 1988, one of the Artsakh
movement’s activists, and in 1990 joined the Nagornyy Karabakh
self-defence ranks. In the years 1999-2001, NKR interior minister,
then national security service director. Major-general. Decorated with
the order of the Russian Federation, Peter the Great 1st degree.

[translated from Russian]

From: A. Papazian

Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week
May 29, 2010

HIV/AIDS;
New HIV/AIDS data have been reported by scientists at American
University of Armenia, College of Health Sciences

New research, ‘A randomized controlled trial of an HIV prevention
intervention for street-based female sex workers in Yerevan, Armenia:
preliminary evidence of efficacy,’ is the subject of a report.
According to a study from Yerevan, Armenia, “This study evaluated the
efficacy of an HIV intervention among female sex workers (FSWs)
randomized to an intervention or wait-list control. FSWs (N=120)
completed baseline, 3-and 6-month assessments.”

“A health educator implemented 2-hour intervention emphasized
gender-empowerment, self-efficacy to persuade clients to use condoms,
condom application skills, and eroticizing safer sex. Over the 6-month
follow-up, FSWs in the intervention reported more consistent condom
use with clients (p=.004) and were more likely to apply condoms on
clients (p=.0001). Intervention effects were observed for other
psychosocial mediators of safer sex,” wrote K. Markosyan and
colleagues, American University of Armenia, College of Health Sciences
(see also HIV/AIDS).

The researchers concluded: “Brief, gender and culturally congruent
interventions can enhance HIV-preventive behaviors among FSWs.”

Markosyan and colleagues published the results of their research in
Aids and Behavior (A randomized controlled trial of an HIV prevention
intervention for street-based female sex workers in Yerevan, Armenia:
preliminary evidence of efficacy. Aids and Behavior,
2010;14(3):530-7).

For additional information, contact K. Markosyan, American University
of Armenia, College of Health Sciences, Yerevan, Armenia.

The publisher of the journal Aids and Behavior can be contacted at:
Springer, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA.

From: A. Papazian

The Pioneer (India)
May 29, 2010 Saturday

Gramphone years with Gauhar Jaan

India, May 29 — Vikram Sampath’s latest book is about a Hindustani
classical music diva, born into the abandoned tawaif tradition. She
had a rockstar-like, turbulent career and was the first Indian voice
to be frozen for posterity in 1902, during the infancy of recording
technology in India, says Shana Maria Verghis.

Kolkata may not have any memorials to one of its former daughters,
Gauhar Jaan, who was of Indian and Armenian parentage, living and
singing between 1873-1930. But the city’s Chor Bazaar also proved to
be a treasure trove for her biographer, Vikram Sampath. He managed to
locate a scratchy 78 rpm recordings of hers there, as well as many old
timers, who knew about her music and also the mansion that she had
lived in. She would lose it over a case with her
secretary-cum-husband, Abbas. One of many dramas in her eventful life.

There are supposedly 600 recordings by Gauhar, but only about 200 are
available. Some in possession of a group called India Record
Collectors. Sampath digitially mastered about 25. They accompany the
book. He narrated how early voice recordings had musicians loudly
announcing names. Hence the exclamation point in the title of his
book, My Name is Gauhar Jaan! (Rupa&Co). And the quality of the
equipment was such that they would “shout in a crooning falsetto, with
undistinguishable words. Later the quality improved.” He has included
different stages of recordings in a CD.

Sampath has a day job with Hewlitt-Packard, and is trained in Carnatic
music. His earlier book, Splendours of Royal Mysore: the untold story
of the Wodeyars first gave him a glimpse of Gauhar, who by accounts in
his book, was a temparamental, passionate vocalist invited by the
Maharajah to play at Mysore court, being entranced by her personality.
Apart from her repetoire, Gauhar Jaan’s legacy, was risking convention
and superstitions of the time and having chutzpah to be first to have
her songs on gramophone. This opened the way for today’s digital
music. Her life also coincides with an anti-nautch campaign, which was
an extension of a somewhat self-righteous ‘social purity movement’
begun in Britain in the 19th century, coming hard on Brit residents
with bibis or Indian mistresses, tawaifs and devadasis as immoral.

In the event, these women who for centuries were linked to aristocrats
or temples, for whom they sang and danced, lost their social position
and many died without former patronage. What is also tragic, is Indian
classical music was ‘purged’ of their influence and repackaged as more
divine, leaving a gaping hole in cultural history with artistes from
these traditions denying associations with it. So Sampath’s work is a
welcome blank-filler, if one might use this crude phrase. He mentioned
poor documentation made digging up material on Gauhar Jaan difficult.
In fact, classical musicians who sing her songs, are often unaware to
whom credit must go. But that is the state of biographies on Indian
classical music. “It is meant to be bigger than a singer’s’ life, and
material on them is scarce. It was only after Bhimsen Joshi got a
Bharat Ratna that, books about him were written in Kannada,” Sampath
said. In Gauhar’s case, he had anecdotes of her celebrity status, like
her rides to Kolkatta streets in a buggy, which for the times was a
unique vehicle for anyone to possess. The parties that she held. Once
she walked in with two bodyguards to watch over her diamond brooch. So
gangsta! Comments on her beauty went like, “she was so fair you could
see red juice of paan she took, coursing through her veins as if she
was a lizard!” chortled Sampath. He was attracted by her un-classical
musician-like, rockstar persona. “Recitals usually have a diya on
stage. And there is seldom anything in a presentation to make one go,
“wow!” Apart from the music itself of course.

In the course of research, he learnt that after Thomas Alva Edison had
had a breakthrough with his phonograph on December 22,1877, a German
based in Washington named Emile Berliner, was working on his version,
with pianist Frederick William Gaisberg. He licensed this to a newly
formed syndicate called the Gramophone Company (that launched the HMV
label in 1916), and Gaisberg went around London making recordings in
various languages, including Sikh/Gurumuki, Arabic, Hindi and
Urdu/Hindustani. So technically, the first experimental recording by
Indian voices happened before Gauhar Jaan was recorded in 1902. And as
Sampath, who avows to be a feminist, put it, “A woman, not a man,
welcomed this new form of technology, being received with a lot of
misgivings.”

Gauhar’s history is checkered. Her mother, Malkaha Jaan, a singer like
her, who left behind a book of her poetry, was born Victoria Hemming,
daughter of an English sailor Hardy Hemmings and his mistress Rukmani.
Victoria, supposedly a beauty, married an Armenian engineer who
abandoned her and a daughter, Angelina (later Gauhar). Malka/Victoria
became the ‘keep’ of a nobleman named Khurshid and moved to Benaras.
There’s an interesting paragraph where Sampat relates hierarchies in
the tawaif system, separating them from common prostitutes, called the
veshyas or ganikas. They were usually more well-versed in traditional
skills like arts and languages than traditional family women. One of
their roles being to teach aristocrat’s sons court etiquette. Their
kotha was as such, not a brothel, Sampath said. The bottomline
involved exchange of sexual favours and money, but it was conducted
more classily. “Tawaifs were top of a hierarchy allowing power to
choose clients.” The ‘Bais’ sang, Jaans danced and sang. Others were
lower-class Mirasans, called Kanchan, Kashmira, Gandharva, Dholis or
Dominis. This group had kanijis, who were entertainers. Khanagis gave
favours and entertainment. Thakahis and randis could not access arts,
and sold their bodies. Gauhar, as a tawaif daughter had access to
prestigious venues when her mother sang. But even her mother’s clout
did her protect her from preying eyes of a decrepit, raja in his
nineties, who raped her at the age of thirteen. Sampath mentioned
“ghazal singer Begum Akhtar was raped by a raja at a young age too.
The child was brought up as her half-sister.” Girls in such positions,
were always walking a tightrope. Living in relative respectability and
luxury still made them vulnerable to wolves.

Gauhar lived her music through several wealthy men, who supported her
and also won appreciation from compatriots and wealthy patrons on the
basis of her talent, not just the ‘casting couch’ factor. She was one
of the stars to perform for the English king and queen at the
prestigious Delhi Durbar. But at different stages of her life, the
label of ‘prostitute’ or someone who was immoral was a shadow. When
she retired from music into isolation and depression, neighbours
created a storm outside her house, saying they didn’t want to be
around a prostitute. On the other hand, the recording of her voice,
which came with lots of publicity – her face was on Austrian
matchboxes – would have given women in her position, some leverage
over clients. There were many others across India like her. Famous
tawaifs and devadasis. Malka Jaan Agrewali, Zohrabhai, Selum Godavari,
Coimbatore Tali, whose stories aren’t told. One effect of the
Anti-Nautch Act, Sampath explained, was on “padams and javalis,
reflecting tawaif music, that were earlier replete with innuendoes.
Today they resemble bhajans. People like Pandit Bhatkande saw to it
Hindustani classical would be taught in ‘respectable’ families. So
immoral references in songs were erased. We lost shringar ras, a vital
component.” Published by HT Syndication with permission from Pioneer.

From: A. Papazian

The Sun (England)
May 29, 2010 Saturday
Edition 1;
National Edition

An 83-year-old flute player, a giant apricot, Lithuanian reggae stars
in spangly shorts. It must be Eurovision;
FULL POINTS OR NUL POINTS? YOUR GUIDE TO TONIGHT’S SONG CONTEST

by: LEIGH HOLMWOOD; JENNA SLOAN

THE collection of oddballs hitting the Eurovision stage tonight will
give Graham Norton a field day.

The Irish funnyman, below, will be commentating on the event in the
Norwegian capital Oslo on BBC1 from 8pm.

Armenia’s giant apricot stone and 83-year-old flute-playing fella are
ripe pickings for comedy gold. The spangly-panted Lithuanian reggae
act are also ideal comedy fodder … but sadly they didn’t make it
past the semi-finals.

Another talking point will be the battle between the babes and the
boys. Surprise frontrunner is sexy Safura, from Azerbaijan, but there
are other beauties from Portugal and Albania.

Among the boys is 19-year-old UK entry Josh Dubovie, with leading lads
from Israel and France too.

The spectre of reality TV looms large this year, with a lot of the
acts having started out on talent searches. The voting system has been
modified too, with viewers able to vote for their choice from the
start.

Here, LEIGH HOLMWOOD and JENNA SLOAN run the rule over the entries to
watch – and the most wacky acts.

Waterman’s Eurovision snub – see TV Biz pullout

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR BOOM BANG A BANG?

CALL yourself a Eurovision expert? Well, did you know all this?

Last year’s UK entry, Jade Ewen, who finished fifth, is now in pop
band Sugababes.

There was a controversial winner the last time the UK hosted the
contest in 1998, Israeli transsexual Dana International.

We have been the hosts five times, with the contest held in London,
Edinburgh, Brighton, Harrogate and Birmingham. Ireland are the most
successful nation, with seven wins. Last year’s winners, Norway, are
the least successful, finishing last ten times. And they have the
worst record – scoring “nul points” four times.

The UK, who came joint first in 1969 with Lulu’s Boom Bang A Bang,
have twice finished last – in 2003, when Cry Baby by Jemini failed to
score a single point, and 2008. White outfits can lead to success,
with six previous winners wearing it. Gold and brown have scored just
one top place each. Female soloists are the most popular artists to
win, with 33 victories. And there have been 24 winning songs in
English.

The longest wait for a win was 45 years, for Finland, who triumphed in
2006. Austria, who won in 1966, are still waiting for another victory
– the longest gap in competition history. The UK have come second a
record 15 times. Since 1975 we have received 12 points 58 times,
second to Ireland, who have won 65 “douze points”.

SOME TO WATCH

UNITED KINGDOM

SONG: That Sounds Good To Me, by Josh Dubovie

ODDS: 175-1

It’s not looking great for poor Josh, who won Eurovision: Your Country
Needs You! Unsurprisingly the Essex boy’s song, from hit-maker Pete
Waterman, has a distinct Eighties Kylie/Rick Astley feel. It has been
panned by critics.

AZERBAIJAN

SONG: Drip Drop, by Safura

ODDS: 5-2

Azerbaijan have pulled out all the stops this year. Safura won their
version of Pop Idol and the track is written by the Swedish team
behind some of Britney Spears’ hits and is choreographed by Jaquel
Knight, who masterminded Beyonce’s Single Ladies. Safura’s the one to
beat.

GERMANY

SONG: Satellite, by Lena

ODDS: 11-4

Germany, for so long at the bottom of the Eurovision pile, have made a
real effort with Lena. The 19-year-old is billed as a Germanic Lily
Allen and ditches her mother tongue to sing in English. Satellite has
already been No1 in Germany and Lena has also had a No1 album.

ISRAEL

SONG: Milim, by Harel Skaat

ODDS: 8-1

This dry and dreary ballad is inexplicably one of the favourites to
win. Singer Harel – a runner-up on Israel’s version of The X Factor –
has had huge success at home, where he has toured extensively and sold
a shedload of records.

DENMARK

SONG: In A Moment Like This, by Chanee And N’evergreen

ODDS: 14-1

Denmark could win a lot of Eastern European votes with singer
N’evergreen – aka Thomas Christiansen – already a big success in
Russia and Ukraine. He is joined by sexy Chanee, who sang in a TV
group called Nubian Frauleins.

IRELAND

SONG: It’s For You, by Niamh Kavanagh

ODDS: 28-1

Graham Norton’s (admittedly biased) tip, Niamh won Eurovision for
Ireland in 1993. She also appeared on the soundtrack of movie The
Commitments and has performed at the Grammy Awards. Her soaring
ballad, complete with panpipes, could land some “douze points”.

BELGIUM

SONG: Me And My Guitar, by Tom Dice

ODDS: 20-1

The song does exactly what it says on the tin – a simple tune
featuring 20-year-old Tom with his trusty guitar. The rock ballad is
belted out in English and is being seen as a viable alternative to a
lot of the other more glitzy frontrunners in Oslo.

CYPRUS

SONG: Life Looks Better In Spring, by Jon Lilygreen And The Islanders

ODDS: 100-1

Could be the UK’s “second entry” – Jon, 22, is a Welshman and his pub
band members hail from Scotland, England, Norway and Cyprus. Jon was
spotted by Cypriot songwriters on Google. Long odds but the ballad’s
gone down well.

THE WACKIEST

ARMENIA

SONG: Apricot Stone, by Eva Rivas

ODDS: 11-2

Eva, 22, who sings in English, is joined on stage by a giant apricot
stone. There’s also an 83-year-old bloke playing a flute, left. The
song tells of the stone which Eva has hidden in her head. It’s nuts,
but it could win.

BELARUS

SONG: Butterflies, by 3+2

ODDS: 150-1

The performance from the earnest five-piece – made up of, yep, three
women and two chaps – sees the girls sprouting wings just like, you’ve
guessed it, butterflies. Like all classic Eurovision entries, it’s all
just a bit weird.

SPAIN

SONG: Algo Pequenito, by Daniel Diges

ODDS: 75-1

Curly-haired Daniel looks like a cross between Leo Sayer and Michael
Ball, and the children’s TV host’s act includes fairground sounds and
creepy-looking clowns. Not so much childhood fantasy as scary
nightmare.

SERBIA

SONG: Ovo Je Balkan, by Milan Stankovic

ODDS: 66-1

Milan stands out with his blond fringe and eccentric clothing. He’s
been described as a cross between Heather Mills and Su Pollard. With
looks like that, no wonder he shot to fame on a reality TV show.

MOLDOVA

SONG: Run Away, by Sunstroke Project And Olia Tira

ODDS: 100-1

This group bust a move to the sound of a saxophone. The song features
blonde Olia, a morning TV star in Moldova. Think Holly Willoughby but
with less self-awareness.

GREECE

SONG: OPA, by Giorgos Alkaios And Friends

ODDS: 25-1

This starts with heavy breathing then progresses to homoerotic
acrobatic moves with blokes dressed in rubber. It has a chance of
winning but the broke nation will be praying they don’t or they’ll
have to host next year.

ICELAND

SONG: Je Ne Sais Quoi, by Hera Bjork

ODDS: 17-1

Another near-bankrupt country hoping it doesn’t win. Hefty Hera
doesn’t have the talent of her famous namesake but she could cause a
stir across Europe … just like her country’s volcanic ash cloud.

From: A. Papazian

World Markets Research Centre
Global Insight
May 28, 2010

Azerbaijan Declares Five Russian Legislators Unwelcome over
Controversial Monitoring Mission

BYLINE: Lilit Gevorgyan

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement declaring five
members of Russia’s lower house of parliament aspersonae non gratae,
which means that they will not be welcome to come to Azerbaijan in a
diplomatic capacity. The harsh move comes after the Russian
legislators took part in the parliamentary election in Azerbaijan’s
breakaway republic of Nagorno-Karabakh on 23 May as international
monitors (seeArmenia – Azerbaijan: 25 May 2010:). Ministry
spokesperson Elkhan Pulukhov has added that the decision could be
reversed if the Russian lawmakers admit that their participation in
the polls was deliberate malice. The affected people are Igor
Chernyshenko, Kirill Cherkasov, Tatyana Volozhinskaya, Maxim
Mishchenko, and Konstantin Zatulin. The latter expressed his surprise
with the Azerbaijani government’s decision as he has repeatedly
monitored both parliamentary and presidential elections in
Nagorno-Karabakh since its decision to break away from Azerbaijan back
in February 1988. However, this is the first time that such dramatic
measures have been employed against the Russian monitors.

Significance:The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s tough decision is an
unusual gesture addressed towards Russia, which together with France
and the United States is one of the three co-chairs of the Minsk Group
of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) that
oversees the peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the
status of the Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. It comes as
Azerbaijan has been toughening its stance at the peace talks and
towards the mediators in recent months. Only last month Azerbaijani
authorities criticised the United States for being biased towards
Armenia. By slamming two out of the three mediators, Azerbaijan is
showing its growing frustration with the Minsk Group and also signals
that it has no intention of finding a more collaborative approach to
the conflict resolution other than full submission of the region to
Azerbaijan’s control, a stance that Azeri president Ilham Aliyev holds
now. The Foreign Ministry’s decision is not likely to induce any
positive change in already difficult peace talks.

From: A. Papazian

Hurriyet, Turkey
May 30 2010

Turkey’s daily Milliyet was wiretapped, says former deputy police chief

Sunday, May 30, 2010
NEDÄ°M Å?ENER
ISTANBUL – Milliyet

A former top police officer who was arrested in a drug trafficking
investigation said Saturday that he was told in August 2008 that the
phone lines at the daily Milliyet were wiretapped.

Former Deputy Police Chief Emin Aslan, arrested in September 2009,
said during a hearing in his ongoing trial that a group in the Police
Department was wiretapping journalists, politicians, judges and
bureaucrats through the use of IMEI numbers.

`I criticized the IMEI wiretaps during the meetings, but nothing has
changed. To the contrary, some intelligence officials told me that my
telephone and also daily Milliyet’s phones were tapped,’ said Aslan,
adding that if the court can ask the Telecommunication Transmission
Directorate, or TÄ°B, for details about the wiretappings. Aslan said he
did not know whether Milliyet had any mobile telecommunication system
but was told it did and that the system had been tapped.

IMEI numbers are similar to serial numbers and are used to identify
mobile devices on telecommunication networks.

Aslan said he believed that some people were unhappy because he
mentioned in public the negligence of institutions in the
investigation of the murder of Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
He said daily Milliyet also published many stories about the Dink
case, implying that the newspaper might have been wiretapped by those
who are investigating Dink’s case. Aslan was released pending trial
after Saturday’s hearing.

Wiretapping process

Both cell phones and land phones can be wiretapped. All phone calls
can be wiretapped by using the phone number of a cell phone or land
phone, but the wiretapping can occasionally be done by using IMEI
numbers through a court decision. With access to a phone’s IMEI
number, all lines used via the communication device can be wiretapped.

Mobile systems can be used by firms that sign a contract with a
telecommunications operator. The firm assigns a number and if this
number is wiretapped, then it is possible to record all phone calls
made over the system, according to an expert. When a firm’s
switchboard is wiretapped, then all lines connected to the board can
be tapped and all calls recorded. It is possible to wiretap calls to
extension numbers and calls made from external lines, as well as to
wiretap and record simultaneous phone calls through the switchboard.

Only three institutions can legally wiretap phones: the Police
Department, the National Intelligence Unit, or MÄ°T, and the
Gendarmerie, but the three institutions cannot install a wiretap
without a court order.

When they have a court order, they have to send it to TÄ°B for approval.

After the wiretapping is complete, the Police Department, MÄ°T and
Gendarmerie bring the records together and deliver them to the court.
The recordings cannot be shared between the institutions or with the
TÄ°B as only the courts can legally use the recordings.

The phone line used by Milliyet is also shared with Posta, Radikal and
Fanatik newspapers and all are located in the DoÄ?an Medya Center in
Ä°kitelli. All of them are DoÄ?an Media Group newspapers employing 850
people.

From: A. Papazian

American Chronicle
May 30 2010

Schiff Submits Armenian Genocide Survival Stories into the Congressional Record

Congressional DeskMay 30, 2010Washington, DC ` Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)
submitted four stories from survivors of the Armenian Genocide to be
included in the Congressional Record ` the first four of many
submissions the Congressman has received as part of the new Armenian
Genocide Congressional Record Project.

“It is difficult if not impossible to find an Armenian family not
touched by the genocide, and this is an opportunity to make their
experiences part of the national record,” Rep. Schiff said. “Through
the Armenian Genocide Congressional Record Project, I hope to document
the harrowing stories of the survivors in an effort to preserve their
accounts and to help educate the Members of Congress now and in the
future on the necessity of recognizing the Armenian Genocide.”

The Armenian Genocide Congressional Record Project, pioneered by Rep.
Schiff, is part of an ongoing effort to parallel H. Res. 252, the
Congressional resolution he sponsored to recognize and commemorate the
genocide carried out against Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915
to 1923. Rep. Schiff continues to encourage survivors of the genocide
and their families from throughout the country to participate in the
project by sending in the stories of what happened to their family
during the genocide.

Please send your family’s story to Mary Hovagimian in Rep. Schiff´s
Pasadena office at [email protected].

Below please find the stories submitted by Rep. Schiff, as well as the
format that will be used when submitting these accounts into the
Congressional Record:

Mr. SCHIFF: “Madame Speaker, I rise today to memorialize and record a
courageous story of survival of the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian
Genocide, perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923,
resulted in the death of 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and
children. As the U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Henry
Morgenthau documented at the time, it was a campaign of ‘race
extermination.’

The campaign to annihilate the Armenian people failed, as illustated
by the proud Armenian nation and prosperous diaspora. It is difficult
if not impossible to find an Armenian family not touched by the
genocide, and while there are some survivors still with us, it is
imperative that we record their stories. Through the Armenian Genocide
Congressional Record Project, I hope to document the harrowing stories
of the survivors in an effort to preserve their accounts and to help
educate the Members of Congress now and in the future of the necessity
of recognizing the Armenian Genocide.”

Below are a few of those stories:

Varsenik Demirjian, a Genocide survivor, eventually made her way to
Yerevan, Armenia, where she lived in a comfortable, two-story home
with her two sons, their wives and six grandchildren.

According to her family, she did not discuss what transpired during
the genocide for most of her life. However, in her final years, she
found the strength and will to tell her children and grandchildren
what happened. Edward Djrbashian, her great grandson, translated her
experiences that took place in Adabazar, Turkey, in 1915:

“I had no idea what the future had in store for me. Yet, my father and
mother had heard of what happened to the Armenians in neighboring
villages, so they asked our Arabic neighbors to take care of me, just
in case something happened. On April 24 of 1915, when I was only five
years old, the bloodthirsty Turks invaded our village. Just as my
parents predicted, my mother quickly told me to run to the closet and
to stay there.

“Panic-stricken, I curled up in the dark closet and in a blink of an
eye I heard loud screaming and a loud bang! Out of fear, I dropped the
bag of gold coins my mother had given me. The clinking sound alerted
the soldier because I heard the clicking of his boots on the hardwood
floor coming closer and closer. Thankfully, as he was approaching the
closet, one of his superiors called him down and he left the house
without finding me. As my eyes closed, I slowly fell asleep.

“After a very long time it seemed, I heard a voice calling, ‘Varsenik,
Varsenik!’

“The familiar voice comforted me and gave me courage to rush out of the closet.

“My heart sunk when I saw the tears in Hassan´s and his wife´s eyes.

“‘I am sorry to be the one to tell you this, but your parents have
been murdered,'” Hassan told me.

“Since that day, my life had never been the same. I lived with Hassan
and his wife for a few months. They gave me my own room and fed me
well. I didn´t mind living with them, but the thought of my parents
being dead hurt me greatly. One morning as my eyes just opened, Hassan
came running to my room and told me to wear my clothes and quickly
hide in the closet. As I did what he said, I heard a knock on the
door. It was an American´s voice. As I closed the closet door,
flashbacks of my mother screaming went through my head. It seemed like
only a few moments had passed by, and before I knew it, the closet
door swung open. There were two men. One seemed to be an American, and
the other was an Armenian. I couldn´t resist not answering the
questions the Armenian man asked me, and eventually he nicely asked me
to pack my belongings because he was going to take me to a Red Cross
orphanage in Jerusalem. That was the last time I saw Hassan.

“In the orphanage, I learned to read and write English and Armenian,
cook and knit. I made a couple of friends, but none were ever close to
me.

“After living in the orphanage for twelve years, my teacher gave me a
reason to smile again. She called me up and said, ‘You are nearing the
age of 18 and I have very good news for you, Varsenik. Your uncle from
Greece has somehow contacted our Orphanage and we have agreed to let
you decide if you want to leave.’

“Of course, I was grateful for receiving news that would spark a ray
of hope in my melancholic life.

“The remaining weeks at the Red Cross orphanage were very delightful,
because I knew that in a week or so I would be in a beautiful country,
Greece, with people I can call family. As the time approached for me
to leave, I thanked everyone in the orphanage house and the teachers
for all they had done for me.

“What I found in Athens was my future husband, Hakop, whom I married a
few years later. We had three children and our family survived during
the harsh times of the WWII era, when the Nazis occupied Greece.
Finally after the war, we decided that it is time to return to our
real homeland, Armenia. In 1947, we boarded another ship which took us
to Yerevan.

“I knew that this was my very last destination.”

Nora Hovsepian, the granddaughter of Vergine Djihanian, a Genocide
survivor, expressed a story on her grandmother’s behalf:

“Vergine Djihanian was an Armenian girl who lived with her parents and
eight brothers and sisters in the city of Erzinga, Turkey.

“In the summer of 1915, Vergine witnessed her father and uncle being
beaten and axed to death in front of her eyes by Turkish gendarmes.
Her mother and aunt frantically gathered up all of their children,
took them to the nearby banks of the Euphrates River, said their
prayers, and holding hands together at the river´s edge, threw
themselves into the raging waters, choosing to die by their own hands
rather than falling victim to the barbarity of the Turkish soldiers
surrounding them.

“All of them drowned, except 9-year-old Vergine, who clung to the
branch of a weeping willow tree overhanging the river, instinctively
wanting to survive. Vergine was too young to understand why her family
way dying around her. She was too young to understand the fear of
being raped or enslaved by Turkish soldiers, but she was old enough to
know that is she could just hold on a little longer to the hanging
branch, then maybe she could be saved. She hung on for what seemed an
eternity. However, she felt hopeful again when a compassionate Kurdish
family came to the river´s edge, saw her desperation, and rescued her.
She was the only one who survived the ordeal, saving her from an
agonizing death.

“She worked as a maid in the house of her rescuers for a few years.
Then American missionaries had come to the region trying to find lost
souls. Vergine was taken to an American orphanage, and at the age of
14, she was reunited with her two older brothers who had been in
America for several years and who were frantically trying to find any
surviving members of their large family.

“Vergine came to New York on a ship through Ellis Island in 1921 and
built her life there. She met and married Missak Kalebdjian, another
survivor of the Armenian massacres, in Adana in 1909, and she never
told her only son or anyone else about the unspeakable horrors she had
witnessed.

“Vergine Djihanian Kalebdjian was my grandmother. She told me her
story when I was 10 years old, sitting me down with a serious and sad
look, preparing me for what I was about to hear. As I listened, I
could not even fathom what she had gone through at the same age, and
until now, and for the rest of my life, I will never forget her story.

“Nearly 60 years after her nightmare, the memory remained fresh within
my grandmother’s mind. She wept uncontrollably as she told me the
story of her family´s fate. I tried to comfort her, telling her I did
not want her to cry, but she wanted to get it out, as it had been
festering inside her for all those years. She could not bring herself
to tell my father, her only son, about her childhood as he was growing
up, because she wanted to spare him the pain she had endured. She
wanted to give him a better life and happy memories.

“My grandmother said that she had to pass down the legacy of what
happened to her and her family to my generation, so that we could tell
the world and seek justice for the unspeakable crime against our
people.

“I will forever cherish her words and her memory.”

>From Simon Sako Simonian, an Armenian man, on behalf of his father,
Nerses, and grandparents, Johnny and Golanbar:

“My Grandfather, Johnny, and my Grandmother, Golanbar, lived in
Orumieh, a city in Iran close to the Turkish border. They had been
blessed with four children (one of them named Nerses, my Father). My
Grandfather was a well-educated and knowledgeable person. He was
fluent in more than 12 languages, as well as one of the few people at
that time who was able to properly and accurately translate and
describe the Bible. He was a respected man’a religious man devoted to
God. He was so highly respected that whenever the Consul of the U.S.
would go there, he would always request to meet with my Grandfather.

“During the Armenian Genocide, the Shah (King) of Iran was a very weak
person; therefore the Turks were able to enter Iran and do the mass
killing and elimination of Armenians and Christians in that area.

“One day, during the dark years of the Armenian Genocide, a group of
Turkish soldiers knocked my Grandfather´s door. One of the Turkish
soldiers told my Grandfather that they were going to kill him and that
he should speak now or never if he had any requests. My Grandfather
said that his only wish is for them to let him pray just one more
time. He was allowed to step forward to the courtyard for his prayer.
As soon as he raised his hands towards the sky to God to start his
prayer, he was shot and killed from behind.

“He was shot and killed from behind, without a single word of prayer
being spoken from his lips. They also killed my Grandmother.

“The four children, one of them being Nerses, were hiding. When this
occurred, they fled out and joined the crowd in the street running
away as fast as they could. All four children ranged anywhere from 10
to 16 years old. During this time, my father, Nerses, caught a severe
cold since he was out in the cold for 20 to 25 days. Orumieh is cold,
especially during the time of this occurrence. However, my father was
soon taken in and cared for by the Presbyterian Church in Iran, where
he was cared for for a few years.

“Sadly, he was still not feeling well, and soon developed a kidney
malfunction. In 1929, regardless of his fragile state, he married
Sophia, the love of his life in Masjed Suleiman, which is a city
located in the southwest region of Iran.

“My father passed away at the young age of 38, when I was only two
years old. He left behind his written testimony–his terrifying and
heartbreaking memories of the Armenian Genocide. This is why I can
share all this with you today.”

Mary Samanlian Poladian’s grandmother, Mary Hasesian, married Artin
(Haroutyoun) Samanlian when she was 16 years old — it was Artin’s
second marriage and Mary’s first marriage. They were from the city of
Marash. From Mary Samanlian Poladian on behalf of her grandmother,
grandfather and ancestors:

“My grandfather´s first wife had died and left behind an 8-year-old
daughter named Siranoush, and a 7-year-old son named Panos. After a
year of marriage, my grandmother was already expecting a child.

“One evening, when the French army left the city, the Turkish army
armed with knives and axes attacked the city before sunrise. The
Armenian people were still asleep. My grandfather and grandmother were
awakened by the noises and realized that they should run to safety.
They immediately took the children and got out their home to go to the
nearby church. On their way, the Turkish soldiers fired at them from
far away. Panos cried in pain when one of the bullets struck his leg.
His father carried him, and they all continued walking towards the
church. Not long after, my grandmother began to feel pain, and she
knew she was ready to deliver her baby.

“When they reached the church, my grandmother gave birth to a baby
girl who she named Zarouhi. The church was full of people, and sadly
my grandmother and grandfather lost each other. During this time, she
also found out that Lutfia and Gulen, two of the nine sisters, had
been burned alive in the furnace with their husbands and children.
With no sign of her husband, she carried her baby and asked her
husband´s son and daughter to hold her skirt as they walked out of the
church with the rest of the people.

“Now, they had to walk from Marash to Aleppo (Syria). The weather was
cold and it began to snow. They ate snow when they felt hungry. It was
a long way and they were exhausted. Panos´s pain was not subsiding as
well. Eventually, they all made it to Aleppo, where they joined other
Armenian refugees. An Armenian priest sent them, as well as three
other Armenian women and their children, to Damascus by train. In
Damascus, they lived together in an old house.

“One day, some Armenians and Americans came and took the children to
the orphanage. My grandmother was devastated. As time passed by, good
news sparked a ray of hope in her life. Three years later, there was a
knock on her door, and guess who it was? My grandmother fell on the
ground unconscious when she saw her husband standing in front of the
home. After she absorbed what had happen, he told her that he had been
looking for them for a long time, and was told by some relatives that
they had heard of them coming to Aleppo. He immediately brought back
his children from the orphanage, and they went to Beirut where my
father Georgie was born. Years later, they were also blessed with two
daughters.

“They named their two daughters Lutfia and Gulen in memory of my
grandmother´s sisters who lost their lives during the Armenian
Genocide.”

From: A. Papazian