Author: Chaltikian Arsine

Pacific News Service
Dec 30 2004

Blair-Bush Plan: Cut Near East Off From Middle East
Commentary, Franz Schurmann,

Editor’s Note: British Prime Minister Tony Blair knows America can’t
win in Iraq, writes PNS Editor Franz Schurmann. So he and President
George W. Bush are concentrating on bringing peace to
Israel/Palestine and bringing Turkey into the EU. Such “Near Eastern”
nations are historically more European.

As the war in Iraq gets worse and worse, British Prime Minister Tony
Blair, who is President Bush’s co-visionary on the Middle East, has
launched a major effort to bring peace to Israel/Palestine. Is his
strategy to show that if the Holy Land antagonists can make peace
with each other, so can those in Iraq?

In fact, the Blair-Bush vision is the opposite. The new strategy is
based on severing the Near East from the Middle East. Blair probably
thinks that with Iraq caught between two revolutions, the Western
Coalition can never win. But it can gain a win if it can bring the
Near Eastern nations onto its side.

A clue of the new Blair-Bush strategy was the recent nine-nation
conference on furthering democracy in the Arab world, held in the
Moroccan capital Rabat. The nine nations included Syria and oil-rich
Sudan, but not Iraq. Colin Powell attended, showing top American
interest. Also attending were North African Egypt and Morocco, which
are not considered part of the Middle East. Both are part of the Near
East.

Both terms are geopolitical, but “Middle East” was coined in World
War II, whereas “Near East” goes back to Napoleonic times. Napoleon
spread French language and culture and the aura of revolution in the
region. Until “Middle East” crowded it out, the only political term
used by Europeans about the region was French: Levant, meaning Near
East. In contemporary terms that covers Israel/Palestine, Lebanon,
Syria, Jordan, Turkey and Egypt.

“Middle East” was an Anglo-American military term designating the
territory between the European theater of operation and East Asia.
Originally that extended from Greece to undivided India. But the
connotation of Near East was that, politically and culturally, it was
closer to Europe than the “Far East.”

Tony Blair knows full well that the West cannot win in Iraq but he
also sees how fast anti-Islamism, such as the politics of French
politician Jean-Marie Le Pen, is spreading throughout Europe. But if
the Near Eastern region openly accepts the Napoleonic heritage of
liberty, equality and fraternity, as has Continental Europe, Turkey
could end up in the European Union (EU). Significantly, Blair
recently got verbal concessions from both Turkey and the EU that
could pave the way for admission.

With some 20 percent of its territory in Europe, Turkey considers
itself both European and Near Eastern. And it’s modern hero, Kemal
Pasha Ataturk, demonstrated his tilt toward Europe by having a postal
stamp made showing himself in a tuxedo holding a martini glass.

But Turkey also cannot shake a bloody past. It contests the
accusation of an “Armenian holocaust.” It cannot contest the fact
that for decades it has made war on the Kurds, who have brought about
one insurrection after another. Insurrections are an angry revolt
against oppressors. If they go on for a long time they become
revolutions, forcible transformations of political power and of the
people’s culture. It can occur like a single thunderbolt or go on and
on until the transformation is completed.

In the Middle East, two major insurrections are occurring: the
Palestinian and the Iraqi. The first Palestinian Intifada, (“Tremor”)
was of medium duration (1987-1993). The second began in early 2000.
Tony Blair and George W. Bush hope to channel the political energy of
the Intifadas to bring about a Napoleonic revolution of liberty,
equality and fraternity. But the Near Eastern peoples could turn to
Islamic revolution instead.

Iraq is now undergoing two different revolutions. One follows the
Sunni Wahabi creed of Osama bin-Laden. The other is the Shia one of
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The recent bloodbaths carried out in the
Shiite holy cities of An-Najaf and Karbala showed this clash of two
creeds.

Some Sunni Kurds are now making common cause with the northern Sunni
Arabs. Earlier this year Northern Arabs and Kurds killed some 100
people who were celebrating Eid-ul-Adha. Since both Arabs and Kurds
in Iraq’s north are both Sunni, each takes pride in the great Kurdish
liberator, Salah-ad-Din/Saladin (1137-1193), who finally crushed the
last Crusaders in the Near East.

So American forces in Iraq face both insurrection and revolution, the
worst situation, as Napoleon found out first in guerrilla-ridden
Spain and then in Russia’s frozen winter.

All over the Islamic world a sense of revolution is prevailing.
Theirs is likely the last in a chain of revolutions that began with
the American and French ones. Bush and Blair hope that by bringing
the Near East to their side, they can break this chain.

Schurmann is emeritus professor of sociology and history at U.C.
Berkeley and the author of numerous books.

The Hindu, India
December 26, 2004

CUPA SORE OVER GIFTING OF ELEPHANT

Staff Reporter

For this young female elephant, this is a journey she may never want
to embark on. Animal rights organisations are sore over the decision
of the State Government to send Veda from the Bannerghatta Biological
Park to the Yerevan Zoo in Armenia in West Asia. The proposed
transfer is in disregard of animal welfare guidelines, legal
provisions and government policies, according to Compassion Unlimited
Plus Action (CUPA).

The organisation has said that the practice of gifting elephants to
temples or States and countries should be checked, keeping in mind
the welfare of animals.

Violation

In a press release issued here, CUPA said Veda, which is Schedule 1
wild animal, is being sent to a far away place in violation of the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, the Wildlife Protection
Act of 1972 and the policies of the State Government. According to
the organisation, the pachyderm, which is six years old, is living
with a herd of elephants in the park. The elephants are given
adequate food and water at the park and are taken to the forest in
the evenings. The elephants live closely as a family and if Veda is
separated from the herd, it may be harmful to her wellbeing. It said
Section 42 of the Wildlife Protection Act states that with respect to
any wild animal, the Chief Wildlife Warden should ensure that the
applicant (in this case the Yerevan Zoo authorities) has adequate
facilities to take care of it.

However, in this case, no inquiry about the conditions at the Yerevan
Zoo has been made by the Chief Wildlife Warden of the park, the State
Government or the Centre. The Yerevan Zoo is not a sanctuary. Apart
from the freezing temperature, the zoo in Armenia is not suitable for
elephants. The enclosures there are not adequate for the big animal
to move about, CUPA said.

ESTABLISHMENT OF A BANK IN ARMENIA WILL REQUIRE AT LEAST 10 MLN USD

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 27. ARMINFO. To establish a bank in Armenia at
present, at least 10 mln USD are required. The Armenian CB Press
Service told ARMINFO that the CB adopted the decision on revisal of
the standard of the minimal size of the total capital for newly
established banks and its establishment at 5 bln AMD on Dec 24. In
conformity with this decision, the provision No.2 “On regulation of
the activity of the banks and the basic economic standards of the
banking activity” was amended.

To note, earlier this provision approved by the CB Board on August 6,
2002, provided for the size of the total capital for newly established
banks at 5 mln.

4,107 ARMENIAN REFUGEES FROM AZERBAIJAN NATURALIZED IN ARMENIA IN 2004

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 24. ARMINFO. 4,107 Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan
have got Armenian citizenship in 2004, says the head of the migration
and refugees department of Armenia Gagik Yeganyan.

This is half of the previous year’s index – 8,287.

1,577 of the naturalized refugees live in Yerevan, 739 in Ararat,
473 Kotayk, 312 Syunik, 303 Gegarkunik, 160 Armavir, 160 Lori, 135
Vayots Dzor, 108 Tavoush, 101 Aragatsotn, 39 Shirak.

68,766 refugees have refused to accept Armenian citizenship since 1999.

U.N.: ‘Almost a million refugees face hunger’

Baku Sun: Azerbaijan
Dec 24 2004

GENEVA (AP) – Around a million refugees could face hunger and
malnutrition next year because of meager donations from governments
of more prosperous countries, the United Nations said Tuesday.

Several hundred thousand refugees are already struggling to survive
because aid agencies have had to drastically reduce rations to ensure
there is enough to go round, said Ron Redmond, spokesman for the U.N.
high commissioner for refugees.

“We are especially worried for refugees in Africa,” Redmond told
reporters.

In Zambia, handouts already have been halved in the past two months
and soon will be slashed again, putting 87,000 people at risk of
malnutrition.

“Already, we are hearing reports of refugee women resorting to
prostitution to support themselves and their children,” Redmond
added. “Field offices in Zambia also report there has been a marked
increase in children dropping out of school, presumably to help their
families find food.”

In Tanzania, rations were cut by a quarter in October. UNHCR and the
World Food Program found last month that malnutrition is rising among
some 400,000 refugees from Burundi and Congo who live in Tanzania’s
camps.

Malnutrition also threatens some 118,000 refugees in Ethiopia, and
another 224,000 in Kenya, Redmond said.

In conflict-ravaged Congo, WFP says that next month it will need to
make ration cuts of almost one third, Redmond noted.

“Africa is not the only continent facing a breakdown in the food
pipeline,” he said.

In January, 140,000 displaced a decade ago by conflict between Armenia
and Azerbaijan face a complete cut in rations — just two months after
handouts were halved.

Non-U.N. aid agencies also have sounded the alarm, but some have
chastised the United Nations for failing to respond fast enough
to crises.

On Monday, U.S.-based Refugees International said the world body was
moving too slowly to hand out food to people who fled the conflict
in Ivory Coast.

–Boundary_(ID_/r+1LxpfzhAgRvatPbnSVg)–

‘Vodka Lemon’: A Warm Glance at Life on the Rocks
By Ann Hornaday, Washington Post Staff Writer

Washington Post
Dec 24 2004

If “Vodka Lemon” conjures images of tonic cocktails served against a
sun-splashed backdrop, think again. This wry romantic comedy from
writer-director Hiner Saleem is set against a snowscape of such vast
desolation that it makes Monday’s cold snap seem like the doggiest
days of August.

Set in post-Soviet Armenia, “Vodka Lemon” dispenses with the usual
conventions of most holiday films at the multiplex. Indeed, it’s
amusing to imagine how this almost defiantly quirky film might be
pitched in the bowels of Culver City: “It’s a love story about people
who are poor, disenfranchised and almost completely without hope!
With a cast of complete unknowns! In Armenian!”

An old man has a strange way of going to a funeral in Hiner Saleem’s
quirky “Vodka Lemon.” (New Yorker Films)

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It also works, thanks in large part to those unknowns. Romen Avinian
plays a sixtyish widower named Hamo who lives in an impoverished
unnamed village with his alcoholic son and voluptuous granddaughter.
Playing a man whose haggard sense of defeat belies still robust
appetites, Avinian provides the ballast in an ensemble cast playing a
motley crew of characters, villagers whose chronic shifts between
hope and resignation have congealed into a permanent state of
suspended animation.

The good news is that they’re free of the Russian boot, which is
precisely the bad news: Without state subsidies, these scrappy
survivors must now carve a precarious existence out of anything at
hand — selling their own meager belongings on the gray market (“Does
it work or does it really work?” a buyer asks Hamo about a television
that really doesn’t), or providing the local aperitif of choice at
the open-air outpost from which the movie takes its title.

That rickety boite’s shy, shivering barkeep would be Nina (Lala
Sarkissian), a middle-aged beauty whom Hamo meets at the cemetery
where both come to visit their late spouses’ graves. Saleem takes his
time getting the two together; first he puts them in any number of
absurdist vignettes designed to convey both the bleakness of the
Armenians’ lot and the tough humor with which they confront it. These
scenes are sometimes orchestrated with a self-consciousness that’s a
bit too precious (Saleem, an exiled Iraqi Turk, started out as a
painter and poet, and it shows). But many of them have the
existential whimsy of Ionesco. (Indeed, one of the film’s visual
leitmotifs recalls Ionesco’s play “The Chairs”; this is a village
where nearly everyone carries his or her own, whether to plop down
for an impromptu drink or, more likely, wait for a bus that always
arrives, eventually.)

The sense of unrequited anticipation is finally resolved in an
improbably lush love scene set — where else? — on that very bus.
Saleem is too unsentimental to linger there for long; soon Hamo and
Nina are trudging through those same impenetrable snowdrifts. But
he’s just romantic enough to end “Vodka Lemon” on an impossibly
hopeful note — and on the cusp of what looks suspiciously like an
impending thaw.

Vodka Lemon (88 minutes, in Armenian, Russian and Kurdish with
English subtitles, at Landmark’s E Street Cinema) is not rated.

–Boundary_(ID_/N9DoYgDNlsGbHzTmDci+Q)–

World opens up for Darchinyan

Herald Sun

Grantlee Kieza
20dec04

AUSTRALIA’S new world boxing champion, Vic Darchinyan, was back in
Sydney yesterday promising his IBF flyweight title was just the start
of his domination.

And Australia’s most powerful boxing official, Ray Wheatley, who
orchestrated Darchinyan’s assault on the long-time IBF world champion
Irene Pacheco in Florida on Friday, says the new champ can keep the
crown for years. “Vic can dominate the flyweight title in the same way
Kostya Tszyu has ruled the junior welterweights for nearly a decade”
IBF vice-president Wheatley said.

“Kostya won the IBF junior welterweight title in 1995 and then crushed
the champions of the other major boxing organisations, the WBC and WBA.

“I can see Vic doing the same thing.

“Irene Pacheco was a great champion who had held the title for five
years and had never lost in 30 fights dating back to 1993.

“He has been an exceptional IBF champion but, with Jeff Fenech calling
the shots, Vic came out and crushed him.”

Darchinyan, 28, used a series of left hooks to separate Colombian
Pacheco from his crown in round 11 and wants to apply the same brutal
force to WBC flyweight champ Pongsaklek Wongjongkam.

The Thai pocket-sized southpaw sharpshooter shot down the title hopes
of Fenech’s other flyweight contender, Hussein Hussein, in Bangkok
last year.

“I will crush Pongsaklek,” Darchinyan said.

He was in Hussein’s corner the night he lost and has been licking
his lips since for the chance to tangle with the Thai.

“I want to make one defence of the IBF title and then go after him,”
Darchinyan said.

Darchinyan will enjoy a few weeks’ holiday with his parents, who are
coming out from Armenia for three months to celebrate his triumph.

Then he will resume training with Hussein, who hopes to face WBO
champ Omar Narvaez of Argentina at Penrith on February 6.

It has been a remarkable rise for Darchinyan, who lost in the
quarter-finals at the Sydney Olympics when representing Armenia and
using his real first name, Vakhtang.

The 51kg fighting force wanted to have his photo taken with that
other great Vic, Vic Patrick, not long ago, but was too shy to ask.

Patrick was Australia’s great lightweight of the 1940s and the pair
have a similar style, with a crab-like southpaw stance and awesome
power in both hands. But Darchinyan also boasts the intensity and
relentless aggression of his trainer, Fenech.

“Vic is an incredibly strong guy,” said Fenech, who says his fighter
can match his feat of three world titles at different weights.

“Not only does Vic have tremendous power but he has great desire and
determination, too. He’d fight Mike Tyson if he had the chance and,
like Kostya, he is incredibly professional and focused on what he
wants to achieve.”

Muslim attitudes towards Christians must change
By: Ray Hanania*

AMIN, Palestine
Dec 16 2004

The Arab World is slowly being transformed into the Muslim World as
the numbers of Christians continues to dwindle.

And although I am Christian by religion, I consider myself Muslim by
culture. Certainly, most Americans who meet me believe because I am
Arab, I am Muslim, too.

Following a speech on the justice of the Palestinian cause, an elderly
American woman with gray hair and a mild personality, walked up to
me and whispered in my ear, “How could you abandon your Christian
faith to become an Arab?”

I am amazed by the depths of the ignorance of the West towards the
peoples of the Middle East and to Arab culture. No wonder so many
Americans hate us, as hate originates in ignorance.

But every Christmas, the greatest consternation I experience comes
not from the “stupid American” with the stupid stereotypes, but the
educated Muslim who experiences bigotry so often, you wonder how they
can become bigots themselves.

I have been reading the writings of many Muslims who must believe
they are being “tolerant” and “well intentioned” when they write
that Muslims should approach the Christian season in America as
“an opportunity to convert Christians to Islam.”

These Muslim writers do not see the challenge as one of insulting
the Christians who live in the Muslim World. Rather, they view the
challenge in the subtleties of the new age of reason and understanding.

Imagine if I, as a Christian, proposed that Christians in the Middle
East should do all they can to exploit Islamic holidays, like Ramadan,
and use them to convince Muslims to convert to Christianity.

The truth is, in many “Arab” countries, that would be a capital
offense. Minimally, the offender would be jailed or expelled from
the country. Christians are not permitted to “proselytize.”

When I was in Bethlehem last October at the beginning of Ramadan,
I was pointedly told that I should not eat my food on the outdoor
patio in deference to Muslims who were fasting until sunset.

And I constantly am reminded that Christians should not consume any
alcohol in public, whether it is during or after Ramadan. That’s Haram,
the Arabic word for “sinful” or “shameful.”

I am also often invited to perform my stand-up comedy satire and
give public speeches defending the rights of Palestinians at dinner
banquets. But oftentimes, when the organizers of Muslim events discover
that I am Christian, they always note that maybe I can’t reflect the
same message to the audience as a Muslim comedian.

Even though Muslims and Christians are fighting and dying together
in Palestine? And both suffer the oppression of brutal dictatorships
and monarchies in the Middle East?

But Muslims in American feel it is their duty to convert Christians
to Islam.

One writer wrote, that at Christmas, Muslims can show Christians
“the beauty of Islam,” and explain that the embrace of Jesus, who
is recognized by Islam as a prophet, is a natural progression that
leads them to the Islamic awakening.

Really? If Muslims want to show Christians, especially those in
America, about the beauty of Islam, how about denouncing the vicious
carnage by such groups as al-Qaeda a little more often and a little
more persuasively than they have in the past?

How about if Muslims, instead of seeing Christmas as an opportunity
to advance themselves, look at it with a sense of respect for a fellow
human being whose faith shares one common belief in one God?

What if Muslims, rather than separating themselves on the belief that
Islam is a better religion, embraced not only Christians but Jews
and treated them as equals, rather than as “tolerated” peoples in a
system of ancient “millets,” religious distinctions for Armenians,
Jews, Catholics and Orthodox Christians under the Ottoman sultunates.

For many years, Christians and Jews living in the “Arab” World were
required to pay a Jizya, or tax, for the privilege of being recognized
as “special.” Christians and Jews were required to dress “modestly” in
conformance with Islamic tradition, rather than with their own custom.

Most of the Jizyas have long gone. But the attitudes have remained.

And this Christmas, while I pray for the suffering of all Muslims and
Christians who are dying in Bethlehem and throughout the oppressive
Israeli occupation, I also hope that many of the ugly attitudes that
dominated the Muslim World might change so that the world can see
the true beauty of Islam, rather than its vanity.

* Ray Hanania is an award winning nationally syndicated columnist,
author and satirist. He can be reached at

ANSA Notiziario Generale in Italiano
13 Dicembre 2004

UE: TURCHIA; FRANCIA, ANKARA RICONOSCA GENOCIDIO ARMENI (2)

BRUXELLES

(ANSA) – BRUXELLES, 13 DIC – Il progetto dell’Ue, ha detto
Barnier incontrando la stampa nel pomeriggio, “si fonda
sull’idea della riconciliazione” fra i paesi europei e per tale
ragione, ha aggiunto, Ankara “dovra’ fare quest’opera di
memoria e di riconciliazione con la sua stessa storia
riconoscendo questa tragedia”.

Proprio l’apertura dei negoziati con la Turchia sara’ al
centro del prossimo Consiglio europeo in programma giovedi’ e
venerdi’ prossimo a Bruxelles. Qualora i capi di stato e di
governo dell’Ue decidano di aprire i negoziati con la Turchia –
come ampiamente atteso – la Francia intende dunque chiedere che
la questione armena sia messa sul tavolo.

Lo stesso Barnier ha infatti precisato che il tema della
tragedia armena non influira’ sulla decisione dei leader Ue di
aprire o meno i negoziati con Ankara.

L’Armenia da tempo chiede che la Turchia riconosca il
genocidio di circa un milione e 500mila armeni all’inizio del
secolo perpetrato su ordine del partito dei ‘Giovani turchi’
allora al potere nell’Impero ottomano. Ankara ha invece sempre
negato il genocidio.(ANSA).

La Croix
13 décembre 2004

PORTRAIT. Ariane Ascaride, en solo au thétre.;

Nouvelle année faste pour la comédienne qui reçut un César pour son
rôle dans Marius et Jeannette (1997) de Robert Guédiguian. Elle
s’impose dans un premier film, Les Brodeuses et revient en solo au
thétre de l’Est parisien (Paris) dans un texte cousu main de Serge
Valletti où sa grce et sa force s’imposent.

MIGLIORINI Robert

Au conservatoire d’art dramatique, ses professeurs la voyaient bien
dans des rôles de servantes, discrètes et enjouées. À cinquante ans
Ariane Ascaride s’est fait connaître sur des registres différents et
rêve encore d’endosser d’autres habits que ceux des soubrettes. Elle
s’imagine en vraie aristocrate, de celles qui peuplent les films de
Visconti. Un jour peut-être? “Je m’en rapproche un peu,
confie-t-elle, avec le rôle que m’a confié Véronique Olmi dans la
pièce Mathilde”. Elle y incarne une vraie bourgeoise. “J’ai toujours
préféré les extrêmes”, poursuit-t-elle avec un sourire dans la voix.

En attendant de partir sur les routes pour jouer cette pièce, de
janvier à avril prochain, avec Pierre Arditi, Ariane Ascaride affiche
sa fidélité aux auteurs contemporains avec ce solo de Serge Valletti
Pour Bobby. Du cousu main, conçu par un orfèvre en la matière. La
comédienne et Valletti, tous deux marqués par Marseille, s’étaient
déjà rencontrés dans Papa, folie en cinq actes, un texte d’un des
auteurs les plus joués actuellement en France. “J’ai toujours suivi
le travail de Valletti, assure Ariane Ascaride. Je l’avais découvert
un jour en dégustant, lors d’un voyage en avion, sa pièce Pourquoi
j’ai jeté ma grand-mère dans le Vieux Port. J’ai tellement ri que mon
voisin se demandait ce qui m’arrivait.”

Gaieté et tristesse sont au menu de Pour Bobby, mis en scène par
Michel Cerda. Le solo raconte la quête d’une femme qui cherche sa
place dans la société. Valletti y décline toutes les figures que lui
inspire Ariane Ascaride, s’inscrivant dans une mythologie de thétre:
la femme, la mère, l’actrice, la militante. L’étendue des questions
abordées est large. Être seule sur scène? Ariane Ascaride avait
pourtant juré de ne pas recommencer après une première expérience
pour Le Grand Thétre, à Chaillot, un texte d’Évelyne Pieiller. “Il
faut croire que j’aime avoir peur comme ceux qui aiment sauter à
l’élastique”, reconnaît-elle. Les projets s’enchaînent pour celle qui
a commencé sa carrière au cinéma, en 1977. 2004 est notamment marqué
par le succès des Brodeuses, un premier film d’Eleonore Faucher.
Ariane Ascaride vient elle-même de boucler un scénario qui serait
tourné par son mari, Robert Guédiguian. Elle y évoque le sort de
l’Arménie.