Author: Chavushian

PREMIERE OF "DOCTOR WILLY-NILLY" TO BE HELD OCTOBER 9 IN YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
07.10.2009 18:57 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Theater troupe of the "Bridge of Hope" NGO will
give a premiere of the play "Doctor willy-nilly" on October 9 at the
Yerevan Puppet Theater after Tumanyan " (by Hasmik Khachatryan and
Levon Ivanyan) by Jean Baptiste Moliere.

Theater troupe was formed in 1997. Children with disabilities are
also involved in the troupe. The theater’s repertoire includes works
of Armenian and international classics. The troupe is supported by
the Denmark’s International Development Agency and the "Mission East"
Danish organization.

RUSSIA AND ABKHAZIA AGREE ON VISA-FREE TRAVELS

369
Oct 03 2009, 08:00

On October 2, Heads of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Russia
and Abkhazia Sergey Lavrov and Sergey Shamba signed an agreement on
visa-free travels, which will allow Abkhazians and Russians crossing
their border not only by foreign documents, but also by their domestic
passports. It is expected that the agreement will come into force in
30 days.

According to Mr Lavrov, the signed agreement assumes a visa-free
entrance and stay in each other’s territory for the period of up to 90
days. "The agreement will cover not only the holders of passports for
travelling abroad, but also those with internal (national) passports,
children up to 14 with birth certificates, and holders of seaman’s
certificates. It’s as much as possible preferential regime," the
Russian Minister has explained.

De-facto, citizens of Russia could come to Abkhazia without foreign
passports before, and those who visited the republic by their foreign
documents, not always received their border-crossing mark.

SEVERAL ARMENIAN POLITICAL PARTIES ARE AGAINST RATIFICATION OF THE PROTOCOLS ON NORMALIZATION OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS AT THEIR PRESENT CONTENTS

ArmInfo
2009-10-06 17:00:00

Arminfo. Several Armenian political parties have come forward with
a statement that they are against ratification of the protocols on
normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations at their present contents
and suggest to make some changes which will neutralize the threats
in these protocols as they said, the statements says.

‘Assertions that establishment of diplomatic relations with Turkey and
removal of the blockade will take place without the pre-conditions
out forward by the turkish party, do not meet the contents of the
protocols and are called to weaken vigilance of our people’, – the
statement says. It also reads that recognizing the border set by the
Moscow and Kars illegal treaties, Armenia will satisfy pre-condition
of Turkey. The next fear is connected with the sub-commission which
should study historical problems, which will lead to delay of the
process of international recognition of the Armenian genocide. The
statement also says that the protocols contain obligation of the
parties to respect the principle of territorial integrity, but there
is no word about the right of the peoples for self-determination, this
threatens to link the process on normalization of the Armenian-turkish
relations with the Karabakh conflict settlement.

The statement was signed by : Armen Rustamyan [ARF Dashnaktiutyun],
Tigran Karapetyan [People’s Party], A. Arakelyan [Ramkavar Azatakan
Party], Aram Karapetyan {New Times party], Armen Martirosyan [Heritage
party], and others.

STREET VENDORS VIE FOR CUSTOMERS AMIDST CATS AND DOGS IN SEVAN
Grisha Balasanyan

20 09/10/06 | 15:47

Society Marzes

Walk down the two main streets in the town of Sevan and you’ll see
fruits and vegetables being sold on the sidewalks alongside wandering
cats and dogs. It would appear that no one from the mayor’s office,
located close by, is either aware of this evident violation of the
health codes or either they know but don’t care.

Robert Rafaelyan, an advisor to the Sevan Municipality, took issue
with our observation of official neglect.

He stated that the town was doing all it could to stop sidewalk vendors
from selling their goods on the streets but that no one was listening.

"We have proposed that they relocate to the market and sell their
goods there but they won’t go. True, the market is small but all the
necessary facilities are in place. This issue is at the top of our
list to solve," said Mr. Rafaelyan.

We tried to get some of the street vendors to talk to us but they
refused. They told us that if they gave us an interview they’d be in
trouble with the municipality.

Anahit was one of the brave ones who talked to us. When we asked why
she was selling her goods on the roadside she angrily answered, "Do
you think I like sitting in this dust and dirt all day long? Let the
mayor find me decent work to do and I’ll dump all this stuff in the
garbage and leave here. It’s easy for them to sit in their offices
and tell us what to do. There’s no work, what else can I do to make
a living. I raise a family on the few pennies I make here."

We checked out the market and saw that most of the stalls were
empty. We found out that another reason why those selling on the
street are reluctant to relocate to the market is that they’d have
to pay a fee of 300-500 AMD, whereas selling out in the open is free.

WOMAN IN IRANIAN THEATER

-fest
05:25 pm | October 06, 2009 | society

The Iranian "Saye" theater group presented a rather bold play in the
7th "HighFest" international theater festival.

The play was called "Woman and Man" that tells the story of the
relations between a man and a woman and the development of those
relations. The theater group is comprised of three young actors of
which one is a girl.

The young actors consider the participation of an actress in the play
as a bold step for the Islamic Republic of Iran where conventions
are a priority.

The play was created based on the personal experience of 26-year
old Monteza Mir Montazem. As Monteza told "A1+", this is the most
personal play through which the issue of man and women is presented
and an attempt is made to find solutions.

"Everyone looks at this issue differently and tries to find
solutions. I was able to find a solution and I show it here,"
says Montazem.

The only actress Melody Aramia played with a cloth on her head and
it seemed as though she was playing by herself, keeping distance from
the male actor.

"I know that in reality, I can love somebody, but I know that I can’t
show that on stage. That doesn’t bother us because that is what is
accepted in our country," said the stage director.

This is Monteza Mir Montazemi’s first time in Armenia as a stage
director. Monteza was in charge of the costumes for another play
during last year’s festival.

Monteza has great impressions of Armenia and says that Armenians are
very hospitable and have not felt that they are foreigners here. What
Monteza liked about "HighFest" was that every play starts at the
exact time.

THE OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS VISITED THE NKR

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2009-10-05 12:31
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs on Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement Yuri Merzlyakov/Russia/, Bernard Fassier/France/ and Robert
Bradtke/USA/ visited the Nagorno Karabakh Republic within the frames
of the regional visit.

The mediators met with the NKR President Bako Sahakyan. A wide range of
issues related to the settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict
and regional processes were discussed at the meeting.

The Head of the State underlined the importance of restoring
the full-fledged format of negotiations, stating that it would be
impossible to reach the final settlement of the conflict without full
participation of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

The President drew the attention of those present to the need of
activating efforts aimed at strengthening mutual confidence between
the societies of the conflicting parties. Bako Sahakyan underlined
that bellicose and aggressive policy of Azerbaijan is one of the most
important obstacles of the peace process.

Touching upon the Armenian-Turkish relations, the President noted
that this process has nothing to do with the settlement of the
Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict and welcomed the Minsk group co-chairs’
analogous statement.

NKR Minister of Foreign Affairs Georgy Petrosyan and Personal
Representative of the OSCE chairman-in-office Andrzej Kasprzyk were
pre sent at the meeting.

After the meeting with the President, the OSCE Minsk Group Russian
co-chair Yuri Merzlyakov told the journalists, that Nagorno Karabakh
would by all means take part in the works on the adoption of basic
documents on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement. The US
newly-appointed co-chair Robert Bradtke underlined the importance
of acquaintance with the real situation in the NKR and with the
opinion of its leadership. At the same time, he noted that though
he is only on the way of getting acquainted with Nagorno Karabakh,
he has distinct positions on certain issues.

"One point is absolutely obvious: peaceful settlement can not be
reached without taking into account the Nagorno Karabakh people’s
opinion", Robert Bradtke underlined.

HFH ARMENIA CELEBRATES WORLD HABITAT DAY AND RESTATES ITS COMMITMENT TO SERVE ARMENIAN FAMILIES

armradio.am
05.10.2009 18:06

On World Habitat Day, Oct. 5, 2009, Habitat for Humanity Armenia
joins the larger family of Habitat for Humanity, the United Nations
and Organizations around the world in raising awareness of, educating
about, and mobilizing individuals and communities to action on working
together to ensure adequate housing for all.

In December 1985, the United Nations General Assembly declared the
first Monday of October to be "World Habitat Day" in recognition
of the state of human settlements and the basic need for adequate
shelter for all.

By celebrating World Habitat Day, Habitat for Humanity Armenia aims
to call attention to the current state of the human habitat in our
country.

Habitat for Humanity Armenia celebrates World Habitat Day with a build
launching the reconstruction works on the home of Lernik Babayan,
a Habitat partner family from the village of Nshavan in the Ararat
region. Volunteers from Yerevan and Nshavan, including the Mayor of the
village, joined hands with the family members and the Habitat staff
to make the Babayans’ home a decent place to live. The launch of the
construction was blessed by Father Ghazar, the priest of St. Grigor
Lusavorich Armenian Apostolic Church in Byurakan, the neighboring
village of Nshavan.

"We have always been hardworking people, but never in the past four
decades had the opportunity to improve our living conditions," said
Lernik. "The hand up from Habitat excites us and gives real hopes
for the better future of our family. Now we know that this winter
rainwater will not pour in and our children will be healthier."

Throughout the past year, Habitat for Humanity Armenia has served
more than 150 families in the villages in the regions of Vayots
Dzor, Ararat, and Armavir, thus reaching the total number of families
Habitat has served in Armenia to around 550. In Nshavan alone Habitat
has helped 14 families to help themselves, renovate their homes and
live in decent shelters.

"World Habitat Day is an opportunity to unite our efforts toward
eradicating poverty housing throughout our country," said Habitat
for Humanity Armenia executive director Irina Vanyan. "Habitat for
Humanity Armenia is working actively to meet its goal of giving a
hand up to every family in Armenia in need of simple, decent, and
affordable shelter."

Tert.am
00:36 ¢ 05.10.09

There Will Never Be a Split Among Armenian People, Says Sargsyan

On October 2 in Paris, during a meeting with representatives from
various Armenian community organizations and structures, Serzh
Sargsyan discussed the week-long Pan-Armenian tour, reported the
President of the Republic of Armenia press office.

During a ceremony held on the evening of the same day, Sargsyan drew
attention to the process of establishing Armenian-Turkish relations
and the key concerns and views expressed by Armenians in Armenia and
the Diaspora to the pre-signed Protocols.

Noting that such a meeting is in and of itself unprecedented, that is,
listening to various opinions of Armenia people around the world and
discussing their approaches on subjects of pan-national significance,
President Sargsyan said: `This auditorium represents a collective
strength, a hundred thousand European-Armenians has the power to
advise, and that I am registering proudly. That strength has solved a
great deal of pan-Armenian issues over decades; it [that strength] has
been consistently by and remains by Armenia’s side. And it will
remain; for centuries, Armenia has been the refuge for Armenian
people’s dreams. And today, we are together, this time to consult [one
another] on the issue of making decisions, for dividing the labour on
[this] important path.’

Sargsyan once again denied the possibility of any preconditions
whatsoever in the issue of establishing relations with Turkey,
highlighting that negotiations have followed and continue to follow
exclusively along that line of thinking.

Speaking about the pre-signed Protocols, Sargsyan said, `Those
Protocols are merely the beginning steps of establishing
Armenian-Turkish relations. Other than creating the most tolerable
environment for negotiations, they [the Protocols] don’t solve other
issues at this time; on the contrary, they foresee the means to
discuss current issues and to resolve them over time. Their purpose is
to pave the road for establishing relations
ppropriate for civilized countries in the 21st century.’

The Armenian president, in his concluding speech, summarized the key
opinions and views, and all the concerns expressed during his visit,
responding to participants’ questions. `I don’t believe the time has
come to talk about the split among the various segments of the
Armenian people. I am confident that such a time will never come,’
assured Sargsyan.

Sen.Menendez went on to restate the importance of international
recognition of the Armenian Genocide
04.10.2009 19:41 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Senate Foreign Relations Committee member and
outspoken advocate of international affirmation of the Armenian
Genocide, Sen. Bob Menendez, called provisions in the Turkey Armenia
protocols which would create a historical commission `frankly absurd.’
The New Jersey legislator went on to state that `I do not think that
Armenia should be pressured into anything that is not in their
national interests or in the long-term national interests of the
United States.’

Expanding on his concerns of the Protocol’s historical commission
provision, Sen. Menendez called such an action `an insult to the
Armenian people. It is an insult to the memory of the victims. It is
an insult to the top scholars who have clearly spoken on this issue
and issued their unequivocal conclusions.’

Sen. Menendez went on to restate the importance of international
recognition of the Armenian Genocide. `The Armenian Genocide is an
irrefutable fact of history,’ explained the Senator. `It is time that
Turkey recognizes it and accepts it. It is time that the world
acknowledges this fact of history and moves on towards a viable peace
that honors the true history of the Armenian people.’

Army of Crime

The Sunday Times
October 4, 2009

Edward Porter

Robert Guédiguian, a French Ken Loach, has sought a fresh angle on his
country’s wartime resistance movement by focusing on Missak Manouchian,
a French-Armenian communist who led a diverse group of young Resistance
fighters, including Poles, Hungarians and Romanians. Plainly meant as a
corrective to present-day anti-immigrant politics, the film has
Manouchian (Simon Abkarian) and his wife (Virginie Ledoyen) at its
centre, but also tells of several other members of the group. Few of
these individuals are fleshed out enough to give their stories much
emotional power, so the film, in a sense, has too many subplots. Then
again, that broad scope helps Guédiguian to paint a credible, detailed
picture of day-to-day life in occupied France: an attraction in itself.

15, 139 mins