Author: Emil Lazarian

USA TO FAIL IN KARABAKH, AZERI DAILY SAYS

Ekho, Baku
29 Apr 04

The US business interests in the South Caucasus will eventually
require political backing, and Washington seems to have decided to
deal seriously with regional conflicts, and firsty the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagornyy Karabakh conflic t, Azerbaijani
newspaper Ekho has reported. In order to resolve the problem, the USA
has to dismiss its balanced policy and define favourites, Ekho said.
Washington might try to drive Armenia out of Russia’s influence, while
at the same time putting pressure on Azerbaijan and Turkey. But in
this case, the USA could alienate its two strategic partners and,
moreover, provoke an upsurge in Islamic influence in the region, the
paper said. The whole plan might have “catastrophic repercussions” for
Washington and make it forget about its major economic projects in the
region, Ekho concluded. The following is the text of Nurani report by
Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho on 29 April headlined “American
rollercoaster”; subheadings inserted editorially:

USA vs Russia in South Caucasus

This popular attraction is called “Russian rollercoaster” everywhere
in the world. It is believed to repeat the traditional Russian
amusement – sliding down an ice hill on a sleigh. However, in Russia
it is said to be “American” since this “round-the-year” attraction
came from America.

For some reason, this unserious comparison comes to my mind every time
I compare how the Russian and Western press comment on the situation
in the South Caucasus. The majority of Moscow (and pro-Moscow)
newspapers believe that the South Caucasus has long been “ruled” by
the USA that has turned this region, which is geographically and
environmentally destined to be none other than “Russia’s backyard”,
into “its 51st state”. On the other side of the former “cold war”
frontiers, the situation is conceived in a completely opposite way.

The composition, to be more precise, the style of the (OSCE) Minsk
Group was the best proof: while Russia was officially represented by
unimpressive (Nikolay) Gribkov, the former deputy director of the
Russian foreign intelligence service and the incumbent deputy foreign
minister, Vyacheslav Trubnikov, visited the region along with his
colleagues. Moreover, the “strategic concepts” of the two super
powers, as regional observers could witness more than once, do not
concur.

We should probably expect that the US business interests in the region
will sooner or later require political “backing”. Today, one can find
dozens of ongoing political developments which, if you have enough
desire and imagination, could pass for the manifestation of that US
strategy. For instance, the “rose revolution” in Georgia (even if the
USA’s real role in it is a topic where telling whisper and hints will
for a long time dominate clear-cut and unambiguous statements) was
unequivocally interpreted as the start of a “purge” of the political
field of the oil-rich region from corrupt undemocratic regimes,
despite their loyalty and the leader’s past merits.

USA has to dismiss balanced policy

Against this background, the appointment to the post of US co-chairman
of the Minsk Group of Steven Mann, who used to be in charge of the
“energy diplomacy” in the region which proved to be very successful,
is said to clearly show the USA’s decision to seriously deal with the
settlement of regional conflicts in the South Caucasus, and the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in the first place.

If we remember that the USA has been for quite a long time “pushing”
Armenia and Turkey towards a dialogue, Steven Mann’s appointment,
which reveals the USA’s aspiration to a speedy settlement to the
conflict which is simmering near pipelines, completes the “picture” of
the situation in the region.

However, the “conflict diplomacy” in general, and the brokering
mission in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in particular, might
prove to be a much more difficult task for the USA than an effective
economic breakthrough. The world has already witnessed the failure of
three mediation initiatives in Nagornyy Karabakh – the step-by-step
and package settlements and the territorial swap. Although today US
diplomats react quite painfully to criticism of the Minsk Group, one
has to draw not at all encouraging conclusions from 10-year-long
negotiations: the chances that the parties themselves can “reach a
compromise” are most likely to be very slim. To put it simply, if the
USA is serious in its intention to settle the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict, it will sooner or later have to dismiss its hope to conduct
“balanced policy” and define its likes and dislikes.

A fairly extraordinary situation has been formed in the region. Both
regional political mega projects – the Karabakh settlement and the
Armenian-Turkish dialogue – impact Armenia. This country is the only
strategic ally of Russia in the region, while it is opposed in one
case by Turkey, for which, despite all the recent problems, the USA is
undoubtedly number one strategic partner, and in the other case by
Azerbaijan, for which Washington is again closer than Moscow.

“Catastrophic” repercussions for USA

Rumours have been going on in the South Caucasus for quite a while
that the USA will finally try to “buy out” Armenia from Russia and
take this country out of Moscow’s monopoly and thus gain control of
the whole of the region. Hence, there is a clear conclusion that now
Washington will try its best to “interest” Armenia and,
correspondingly, step up pressure on Azerbaijan and Turkey: it is
always easier to pressurize your ally than a country which you have
yet to improve relations with.

However, the situation is far from being simple. If in the early 1990s
analysts said that those who would succeed in mediating conflicts
would get carte blanche in the region, today’s forecasts are
completely different: in case of the mediators’ failure, all the other
US projects in the region, including economic projects, might be
threatened.

Indeed, relations with Armenia are a very sensitive issue both in
Azerbaijan and Turkey. It is hardly possible, even theoretically, to
“dose up pressure” in order, on the one hand, to force Azerbaijan and
Turkey to make a concession that would impress Armenia, and on the
other hand, not to damage its own positions in these countries. The
reason is simple: the “limit” of Armenia’s requirements is extremely
high. On the other hand, excessive pressure on Baku and Ankara might
prompt these countries not only to look for “alternative partners”,
from the European Union to Russia. An upsurge in Islamic influence in
these countries could prove to be much more dangerous. These will be
the same Islamists who found themselves in power in Iran unexpectedly
for the whole world, easily won the majority of seats in the Algerian
parliament elections, and proved to be the most influential political
force in today’s Iraq. They hardly have any particular influence in
Azerbaijan nowadays, and the ruling JDP (Justice and Development
Party) in Turkey can hardly be described as a radical group. However,
politicians know well about the possibility of “catastrophic” shifts
in the public opinion, particularly if sensitive and painful problems
such as Karabakh are at issue. This means that an attempt to buy out
Armenia from Russia at the expense of Turkey and Azerbaijan could have
catastrophic repercussions for Washington, and the USA will have to
forget about those regional mega projects for a long time to come.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN DEFENCE MINISTER SLAMS OPPOSITION

Hayots Ashkarh, Yerevan
29 Apr 04

Armenian Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan has commented on the
domestic political situation in the country and other
issues. Following is the text of a report by the Armenian newspaper
Hayots Ashkarh on 29 April headlined “They are justifying their own
inaction”:

(Hayots Ashkarh correspondent) How do you assess the failure of the
coalition-opposition dialogue?

(Serzh Sarkisyan) I think this is first of all a problem of the
parties which form the coalition. As the defence minister I refrain
from expressing any view, so that tomorrow you have no reason to say
that I am interfering in political problems. Though this problem is in
some way connected with national security as well. But I have not
studied the details of the political consultations initiated by the
president.

(Correspondent) The opposition has submitted political proposals that
consist of 10 points. They are demanding that political persecution be
stopped and free movement of citizens be ensured.

(Sarkisyan) Do you think that there is political persecution in our
country? I do not agree with this view of the opposition. The latest
provocation that they have disseminated is that armoured personnel
carriers closed the streets to block the way of rally-goers. This is a
simple means for the opposition to justify their own inaction. Why do
those journalists, who are so active and have become a microphone for
the opposition, not go and take a photo of at least one armoured
personnel carrier? Why do they not tell the truth? When the agressive
political forces publicly announce that they are going to change power
by violence, the police is simply obliged to make the relevant checks
to ensure public security.

(Correspondent) How possible do you think it is that, after studying
our country’s domestic political situation, they will raise the issue
of Armenia leaving the Council of Europe?

(Sarkisyan) I am sure this will not happen. Azerbaijan and Turkey do
not have enough force to do this.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

UCLA Today
APRIL 28, 2004

Welcoming 800 international guests annually
Visitors bureau rolls out red carpet

BY ANNE BURKE
UCLA Today Staff

Gohar Grigorian stands at the ready as a charter bus rolls to a stop
at UCLA’s Westholme entrance. She is straight-backed, dark-suited and
nicely coiffed, with a cell phone clipped to her waist and a stack of
documents in the crook of her arm.

The bus is carrying a delegation of 11 Europeans who are meeting with
UCLA administrators and academics as part of a U.S. State
Department-sponsored visit to America. The passengers alight, among
them a police officer from Norway, a German politician and a
journalist from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Grigorian welcomes each with a
wide, warm smile and a `Hello, I’m Gohar, so nice to meet you.’

Grigorian knows better than most that you don’t get a second chance to
make a first impression. For the past decade, she has worked for
UCLA’s International Visitors Bureau, which each year brings more than
800 international guests to campus, eager to forge bonds with
professional counterparts and to learn about America from the vantage
point of one of its most storied academic institutions.

Recent visitors have spanned the globe, ranging from Afghan judges
learning about U.S. jurisprudence and Tunisian opposition politicians
studying grassroots democracy to Italian Ambassador Sergio Vento, who
took in the Young Research Library’s collection of works by the
Italian Renaissance book printer Aldus Manuzio.

`If they’re in Los Angeles, they usually want to come to UCLA,’ said
Grigorian, the program officer for the visitors bureau since 2002. The
bureau traces its history to 1966, when it was part of the
now-disbanded UCLA Visitors Center. The bureau later moved to Special
Events and Protocol and in 2001 became part of the International
Institute.

As UCLA’s unofficial hostess, Grigorian makes sure that visitors get
face time with a faculty member or administrator in their area of
specialization. The European delegation, for example, was interested
in diversity, so Grigorian arranged a meeting with a leading campus
expert on that subject, Assistant Vice Chancellor Thomas
E. Lifka. From a small office on the 11th floor of Bunche Hall, she
works the phones, arranging the tiniest details, down to side dishes
on the lunch menu. Her only staff is a part-time student assistant.

`Gohar does an excellent job,’ said Napah Phyakul Quach, director of
exchange programs for the International Visitors Council of Los
Angeles, with which Grigorian works closely.

The protocol business is laden with land mines, but Grigorian has so
far managed to sidestep them. She keeps a book on multicultural
manners nearby and is a keen reader of body language who can `tell if
someone is going to shake my hand or not.’ For Muslim visitors who are
so inclined, she sets aside prayer time. When picking a menu, she
usually bypasses meat and poultry in favor of salmon.

Snafus are inevitable, though. When a professor couldn’t meet with a
delegation at the last minute, she frantically knocked on faculty
doors until she found someone who agreed to substitute. `The visitors
didn’t even notice what happened,’ she said.

But Grigorian’s hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed. In February, UCLA’s
work promoting citizen diplomacy won the bureau a commendation from
the State Department, which each year brings thousands of
international visitors to the United States for professional exchanges
and study.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Metro West
Arts & Lifestyle

CD reviews: Prince;
Thursday, April 29, 2004

Shoghaken Ensemble: “Traditional Dances of Armenia” (Traditional Crossroads)
Hasmik Harutyunyan with the Shoghaken Ensemble: “Armenian Lullabies”
(Traditional Crossroads)

Drawing on the musical traditions of the Middle East, Europe and Asia,
Armenian music is at once seductively familiar and thrillingly exotic. On
“Traditional Dances of Armenia,” the Shoghaken Ensemble does more than
preserve fading rural artifacts — the band gives them eternal life though
interpretations that are stunning in their drive, beauty and mystery. While
there’s no denying the marvelous voice of the great Armenian folk singer
Hasmik Harutyunyan, the stark “Armenian Lullabies” does its work a bit too
well. Better to start with the fully caffeinated “Traditional Dances.”

— KEVIN R. CONVEY

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address: Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel: (374 1) 517 163
Fax: (374 1) 517 301
E-Mail: [email protected]
April 30, 2004

Newest Priest and Member of the Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin

On April 24 and 25, Deacon Aren Jebejian was ordained and consecrated a
celibate priest in Saint Vartan Armenian Cathedral of New York by His
Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America (Eastern).

On Tuesday, April 27, Rev. Father Aren Jebejian arrived in the Mother See of
Holy Etchmiadzin to receive his cowl (veghar) and begin his forty days of
seclusion in preparation for the celebration of his first Divine Liturgy.
During Evening Services, His Grace Bishop Navasard Kjoyan, Vicar of the
Araratian Pontifical Diocese, presided during Father Aren’s recitation of
his oath to remain faithful to Jesus Christ, the teachings, canons and
traditions of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, and to remain a loyal and
devoted servant of the Catholicosate of All Armenians and the Mother See of
Holy Etchmiadzin. In reciting and signing this oath before the Main Altar
of the Mother Cathedral of All Armenians, Father Aren became the newest
member of the Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin.

Bishop Navasard then offered the service of “Granting of the Cowl”, whereby
Father Aren became the newest “abegha” (monk) of the Armenian Church. The
cowl is the black hood worn by celibate priests in the Armenian Church,
signifying their renunciation of the secular world and its pleasures, and as
a visible symbol of their devotion to service and sacrifice.

With the addition of Father Aren, the Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin
currently consists of 49 bishops, 83 celibate priests (archimandrites and
monks) and 54 deacons who bring their spiritual service to the Dioceses of
the Armenian Church dispersed throughout the world. Following the
celebration of his first Divine Liturgy, Rev. Father Aren Jebejian will
return to the Eastern Diocese to continue his service to the faithful of the
United States.

##

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian TV buyer denies front man charges

Arminfo
28 Apr 04

YEREVAN

In an interview with an Arminfo correspondent, the new owner of the
Armenian TV company Kentron (Centre), prominent businessman and MP of
parliament, Murad Guloyan, denied rumours that the true owner of the
controlling block of shares in the company is the chairman of the
Multi-group concern and oligarch, Gagik Tsarukyan.

Murad Guloyan stressed that he owns 100 per cent shares in the
company. “I have bought the shares in Kentron TV with my own money and
reports that I bought the company with Gagik Tsarukyan’s money do not
correspond to reality,” the MP said.

Murad Guloyan is confident that in the near future he will make huge
profit from the investment in the TV business. To recap, Murad Guloyan
bought the shares in Kentron TV from the head of the Ars-oil company,
businessman and MP of the Armenian National Assembly, Gurgen Arsenyan.

Paper reacts to USA reportedly wanting its political system in Azerbaijan

Zerkalo, Baku
30 Apr 04

Not only we, the Azerbaijanis, but international organizations, which
have interests in the region, and the leading world countries are
concerned about the future of Azerbaijan’s political system as
well. In this situation the Baku government is naturally forced to
listen to many advises and recommendations. Despite the fact that
Azerbaijan has been independent for more than 10 years, the country
has been lacking a stable political system up till now. The point is
not even about the level of democracy in Azerbaijan. There is a need
to at least determine what type of multiparty democracy we aspire to
and then move in that direction. But this is not a simple issue. The
subject of this article is, however, different. It is about the
Americans’ vision of Azerbaijan’s political system.

According to informed sources, Azerbaijan is the only country in the
post-Soviet area where the USA will try to conduct an experiment of
its kind and introduce the US system of the two-party democracy.

[Passage omitted: about US political system]

The Americans believe that in Azerbaijan, as they say, the natural
course of events helps to establish the two-party system of this
kind. They are guided by the proverb that “every cloud has a silver
lining”. They think that the regionalism, which exists in the country
at the current stage and has almost decisive impact on political
processes, creates a good base to apply in Azerbaijan the US system of
the two-party democracy. At first sight, this is a logical, but very
primitive plan.

Thus, let us detail the US plan on building our political system. They
believe that the incumbent political elite, which mostly consists of
the people born in Naxcivan [Azerbaijani exclave] and Armenia, may
become a prototype of one of the parties of this kind. All others, who
are currently united around the people born in Karabakh and who are
the most active part of the population as a consequence, will join a
second party. It is not important in this case who will be leaders of
these parties and what names they will acquire. The main thing is to
implement this scheme. In addition, the two-party democracy proposed
by the Americans, as a whole, fits in the first-past-the-post system
of elections endorsed in the Azerbaijani Constitution.

Strengthening of the regional elite will lead to two undesirable
consequences. First, in our opinion, this will lead to the complete
criminalization of the political elite. It is not a secret that the
human rights and democracy situation in the regions is much worse and
everything is under local groups’ patronage there. This, in fact,
means that local, let us name them, Mafia groups will govern
Azerbaijan’s political system for many years. Their leaders have
neither special intellect nor political tolerance.

Second, without changing the country’s administrative and territorial
division, the moves for strengthening the local elite may stimulate
separatist trends, especially given the existing Karabakh problem. In
addition, some external forces both in the country’s north and south
stimulate trends of this kind.

Authors of this plan do not take into consideration that its
implementation in Azerbaijan will most probably lead not to the fall,
but to the growth of regional confrontation because Azerbaijan is a
small country unlike the USA. The regionalism in the USA is restricted
by local boundaries. As for Azerbaijan, the regionalism of the people
born and deported from Armenia has no local boundaries, i.e. depending
on the place of their residence, their political activity may cover
the whole country. In other words, if this plan is implemented,
i.e. if the two-party system is established at the regional level, the
existing circumstances will force the aforesaid people to carry out a
power struggle both in the regions and in the whole country. The same
scenario may be applied to another strong regional group, i.e. the
Karabakh one.

Finally, the main point is that national unity is a problem number one
in Azerbaijan today. It may be more serious than the Karabakh problem
because only through national unity one could determine precisely
national priorities both in internal and foreign policies. As for the
proposed American-type two-party system with regional emphasis, it
leads not to uniting the nation, but to its split, somewhat similar to
the period of khanates in the Azerbaijani history in 17th-18th
centuries.

That is why, the US model of the political system is not suitable for
Azerbaijan…[ellipsis as published].

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Press-Enterprise, CA
April 30 2004

Inland Armenian services scheduled

By BETTYE WELLS MILLER / The Press-Enterprise
Armenian Apostolic Church
What: Church service
When: 3 p.m. Sunday
Where: All Saints Episcopal Church, 3847 Terracina Drive, Riverside

It’s been 60 years since Norma Cosby worshipped in an Armenian
Apostolic Church, a lifetime since she heard the language of her
grandparents.

Now the 67-year-old Catholic is eager to attend an Armenian service
Sunday in Riverside, the first of what Inland Armenians intend to
become monthly events in a parish created in February.

“I’m a practicing Catholic, but this is a culturally intimate thing
with the Armenian church. Your culture is a part of your religion,”
the San Bernardino resident said in a telephone interview.

Inland Armenians who want to attend services of the Eastern Orthodox
Church must drive to Los Angeles or Orange counties, or the Coachella
Valley, said Betty Kalpakian Bown of Riverside. An Armenian
congregation in Palm Desert is completing a building this year.
Services there have been held monthly. Riverside services were held
once each in 1998, 2000 and 2002.

“If we want to go to church, we drive,” Bown said by phone. “We don’t
go every Sunday. It’s too far. This has been my dream from the
beginning.”

As a mission parish of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of
North America, there will be monthly services in May and June, and
again in the fall, said the Rev. Stepanos Dingilian, who will conduct
the Divine Liturgy, or Badarak, as it is known in Armenian.

“The service we have goes back 1,700 years,” Dingilian said in a
phone interview. The hymns and much of the service will be in
Armenian, with English translations, the priest said.

Cosby said Armenian services are long, ornate, and full of ritual and
symbolism.

“It’s going to bring back a lot of nice memories of going with my
grandparents,” said Cosby, who is president of the Inland Empire
Armenian Club. The club has more than 60 families on its mailing
list, with members from Banning, Beaumont, Blythe, Corona, Hemet,
Loma Linda, Redlands, Riverside, Temecula and Yucaipa. There are
about 4,150 people of Armenian ancestry living in the Inland area,
according to the 2000 census.

More than 90 percent of the approximately 10 million Armenians
worldwide belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church, Dingilian said.

There are about 1.4 million Armenians in the United States, most of
them residing in Southern California.

With Sunday’s service coming a week before Mother’s Day, the priest
said his sermon will emphasize the importance of womanhood. In June,
when many students graduate from high school and college, the service
will focus on education, a central element of the Armenian church.

“The church itself embodies respecting the value of the individual
person, and the importance of the family and the community,” he said.

Dingilian said that as visiting priest he will conduct seminars and
discussions regularly. He already has met with Armenian students at
UC Riverside.

In 301, Armenia became the first nation to declare Christianity the
state religion.

The head of the church, the Catholicos of All Armenians, lives in
Etchmiadzin, Armenia, and is elected by the National Ecclesiastical
Assembly, composed of lay leaders and clergy around the world.

The other three members of the church hierarchy are: the Armenian
Church Catholicos of Cilicia, in Antelias, Lebanon; the Patriarch of
Jerusalem, and the Patriarch of Constantinople, in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Council of Bishops is the highest religious authority in the
church. Some priests are celibate, and some are married.

The Armenian Church of America was created in 1898. The Western
Diocese, which includes California, Washington, Arizona and Nevada,
was established in 1928.

The church is central to the lives of many Armenians in a way that
differs from many denominations, Dingilian said.

“It brings all of the edification of the Bible, the meaning of
Armenian civilization and history,” he said. “They find a sense of
empowerment, fulfillment and growth.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Islam Online, UK
April 30 2004

Azeri Muslims Call For Hijab Photos

Hijab is banned in photographs used in Azeri official documents

By Damir Ahmad, IOL Correspondent

BAKU, April 30 (IslamOnline.net) – The Islamic Party in Azerbaijan
appealed to President Ilham Aliyev to allow Muslim women to wear
hijab in photographs taken for official documents.

“We presented an urgent appeal to the President to that effect, as
the female party members see the matter as part of preserving their
personal freedom,” Erada Goliefa, the party’s Women Committee
chairman, said Thursday, April 29.

The Russian NTV said security officials have refused to issue
passports and IDs to women photographed with their head covered,
forcing the women and human rights groups to file lawsuits against
the government.

Goliefa said that the wife of the country’s mufti and his daughter
only are allowed to get ID photos with hijab.

“While the rest of Muslim women are not permitted to do so,” she
lamented.

The government has recently approved a personal freedom law, which
allows any Muslim woman to choose the form of their photographs
attached to official documents.

Goliefa hoped the move should go further for hijab to appear in these
photographs, which dissuaded 2000 Muslim women from casting ballots
in the recent 2003 Presidential elections as they have no IDs.

Islam deems hijab a religious obligation which has nothing to do with
portraying any political affiliation.

Goliefa called on the government to leave Muslim women meet this
obligation.

Permanent Suffering

The hijab is a nagging issue for Muslim women in the former Soviet
Union republic.

“It causes several problems for women here while they try to get
permits for hajj and Umrah,” Goliefa complained.

University officials have warned students against wearing the gear in
campus – much to the consternation of Muslim females who considered
dropping out.

Female students at three schools in Baku, the medical institute, the
pedagogical institute and Baku State University, had said that their
lecturers ordered them to remove the hijab.

Chequered Record

Azerbaijan has a remarkably chequered record on religious freedoms.

The government is frequently accused of violating religious freedoms
in its desire to shore up the country’s secular principles.

In 2002, over a hundred Muslim women have applied for political
asylum in German and French Embassies in protest at the law banning
them from wearing hijab in their passport photographs.

The women then said that the move is an affront to their honor and
dignity.

The government had also imposed on the same year compulsory
registration of religious groups, in a move considered as a new bid
to clamp down on minority faiths.

Earlier in January, Azeri security forces detained four Islamic
activists on suspicion of attempting to cross the border into
Chechnya to join independence-seekers fighting Russian forces.

Nearly 93.4 % of the population in Azerbaijan is Muslim, nearly 2.5 %
are Russian Orthodox, 2.3 % Armenian Orthodox and the other sects
have 1.8% adherents.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Saint Paul Pioneer Press
April 30, 2004, Friday

The top 10 actresses you don’t know _ but should

by By Chris Hewitt

1. TILDA SWINTON

Tilda Swinton is the best actress you’ve never heard of.

The Scottish Swinton, who earned raves for “Orlando” and
“Adaptation,” knows exactly why she isn’t a star: She can’t stomach
it. “Sometimes, these scripts come to you. You know the movies will
be made, you know they have the money to make them, you know they’ll
win Oscars, and you just can’t do them.”

For her, it’s an issue of taste (she says, “I was too
well-brought-up” to reveal titles). The movies Swinton’s interested
in making are not the kinds of movies 15 million Americans are
interested in ponying up 8 bucks for on opening weekend. In other
words, they’re nothing like the last several Angelina Jolie movies.

Other factors work against some actresses: Sandra Oh and Paula Jai
Parker get pigeonholed by an industry where women of color who aren’t
named Halle don’t sell tickets. Judy Greer’s ability to do comedy,
like Joan Cusack and Janeane Garofalo’s before her, may have typecast
her before audiences could even figure out who she is.

And, of course, all of these talented women are competing for a
limited number of roles. Although the movie audience is 60 percent
female, the percentage of female characters is much lower (of this
month’s 30 movies, only 11 feature prominent female roles). Swinton,
who generally appears in independent films such as the new “Young
Adam,” says “industrial scripts” from Hollywood reveal how
marginalized women are there.

“The leading man is always described as ‘ruggedly handsome,’ so
everyone from Tom Cruise to Dustin Hoffman can see themselves in the
role,” she says. “The script will say he’s just a ‘regular guy,’ but
at the same time, every single woman in the script _ mothers,
daughters, waitresses, all of whom are described as incredibly
beautiful _ will go weak in the knees the minute they set eyes on
him.”

Swinton believes Hollywood _ and, to a certain extent, Joe Moviegoer
_ isn’t sure what to do with women whose looks are unconventional by
Hollywood standards. Her character in “The Deep End,” for instance,
is a mother who goes to extraordinary lengths to protect her young
son, who she believes is guilty of murder. When the character is
described as “ferocious,” Swinton disagrees.

“I don’t think of her as that way at all. I don’t think any woman has
ever described the character that way. She does what a mother does,”
says Swinton. “But the male American critics all said she’s
ferocious, and I think that’s because she didn’t wear makeup and
doesn’t look gorgeous like women are supposed to in the movies.”

Maybe it’s the rough edges and surprising behavior that keep so many
fine actresses below Hollywood’s radar. Maybe if they were getting
hired for big roles in big movies, they wouldn’t be able to do what
they do best. That’s how Swinton sees it, and that’s why she says
she’s “very happy” right where she is.

“I would like to see more women on film, and, of course, I would
absolutely love to have a six-picture deal and be paid a lot of money
by Warner Brothers,” says Swinton. “But I’m not naive, and I’m not
willing to do that if it means leaving myself outside the door.”

She’s not the only one. Here are nine other actresses who _ so far,
at least _ are unwilling to check their unique talents at the door.

2. SHIRLEY HENDERSON

She’s prolific _ seven films in 2002 alone _ but if a big part of
what makes a star is a larger-than-life quality, then it’s no mystery
why Henderson remains virtually unknown. Her characters are exactly
life-sized. Moviegoers may know her face _ she was the title
character’s best friend in “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and Moaning Myrtle
in the second “Harry Potter” _ but they aren’t getting the full
picture. She’s a woman who seems to have become a good mother just to
spite her ex-husband in “Wonderland,” a drug-addicted tearstain of a
singer in “Topsy-Turvy” and an achingly vulnerable survivor of the
romantic wars in this year’s “Intermission.” Bruised and battered,
her prickly character spends all of “Intermission” being teased for a
mustache she’s told resembles either Burt Reynolds’ or Tom Selleck’s
(glamour is another Hollywood quality Henderson lacks). She only lets
down her defenses in the lyrical finale, in which Henderson reveals
the hurt beneath her bravado.

You’ve seen her in: “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”

You should see her in: “Intermission”

3. HOPE DAVIS

Her high-profile role as Jack Nicholson’s whiny daughter in “About
Schmidt” and the one-two punch of last year’s “American Splendor” and
“The Secret Lives of Dentists” _ both well-reviewed, underseen films
_ helped her line up four big movies in the next 19 months. In those
films, which include “Proof,” opposite Gwyneth Paltrow, and “The
Weatherman,” opposite Nicolas Cage, audiences will get a chance to
see how wry and down-to-earth Davis’ talent is. When she’s miscast,
as she was as the shrewish mom in “Hearts in Atlantis,” it’s as if
she’s wearing a straitjacket. But put her in the right part _ as the
beleaguered mom in “Dentists,” coping with three daughters, her
confused husband and her own malaise _ and Davis fills in the margins
with humor, determination and a weary sense of having seen and
learned too much.

You’ve seen her in: “About Schmidt”

You should see her in: “The Secret Lives of Dentists”

4. SARAH POLLEY

She almost got left off this list because “Dawn of the Dead” has
given her enough oomph to merit an Entertainment Weekly puff piece.
But even “Dawn” fans probably aren’t familiar with Polley’s best
work. A look at her resume makes it clear she’s attracted to
iconoclastic, personal films by directors with skewed visions. Not
exactly the stuff of big box office, but this former child star in
Canada (she was Ramona Quimby in the “Ramona” series that also aired
here) hasn’t made a false move since “The Sweet Hereafter” in 1997.
That movie established her ethereal, deceptively steely, presence.
Polley has excelled in small roles in surreal experiments (David
Cronenberg’s “eXistenZ”), large roles in riskier Hollywood comedies
(“Go”) and _ when a director is smart enough to cast her _ huge role
in dramas that reveal painful, complicated emotions (“My Life Without
Me,” where she’s a woman figuring out what she wants to do before she
dies of cancer).

You’ve seen her in: “Dawn of the Dead”

You should see her in: “My Life Without Me”

5. ARSINEE KHANJIAN

Being married to a great director may hurt Khanjian’s career more
than it helps. Yeah, she gets to be in all of Atom Egoyan’s features,
but that’s practically all she’s been in. Do people assume she’s busy
working on his films? Or don’t the other movies she is offered
measure up? The Canadian-Armenian Khanjian has intriguing roles in
the French films “Late August, Early September,” “Irma Vep” and “Fat
Girl,” but her fierce intelligence is best showcased in Egoyan’s
films. Check out “Felicia’s Journey,” where she wittily hinted at the
dark side of being a domestic goddess long before Martha Stewart’s
downfall. And “The Sweet Hereafter,” where she plays a mother,
grieving for a child killed in a bus accident, who challenges the
platitudes of a lawyer urging her to file suit against the bus
company. Alone among that film’s mournful characters, she recognizes
immediately that finding someone to blame will bring her no comfort.

You’ve seen her in: “The Sweet Hereafter”

You should see her in: “Felicia’s Journey”

6. PAULA JAI PARKER

It always gives me a little lift to see Parker’s name in the credits
because I know that, even if the movie stinks, she’s going to do
something fresh and surprising. And, by the way, virtually all of the
movies she’s in do stink _ she’s at her most inventive in otherwise
worthless comedies such as “Sprung” or “My Baby’s Daddy.” As a black
woman, she’s in a double minority, movie-wise, which means she’s
competing with a very talented group of actresses for a limited
number of roles. She doesn’t end up with the best roles, but she can
make even the cliched role of a saucy hooker in “Phone Booth” seem
vivid and funny by attacking it like a dog devouring a bone. Humor
and perseverance are her weapons, and there isn’t an actress with
more energy in the movies today.

You’ve seen her in: “Friday”

You should see her in: “My Baby’s Daddy”

7. SANDRA OH

Wry, straightforward Oh made a bewitching debut as a young woman
rebelling against the Chinese traditions of her uptight family in
1994’s “Double Happiness,” and she hasn’t had a well-rounded role
since. It’s a common malady for actresses who make big, early
splashes: “Welcome to the movies, and don’t slam the door on your way
out.” Oh has taken what she could find, including providing what
humor and class she could to the wretched HBO series, “Arliss,” and
small roles in “The Princess Diaries” and “Under the Tuscan Sun”
(where she was Diane Lane’s wise-cracking pal), but here’s hoping
marrying Alexander Payne, who wrote and directed “About Schmidt,”
will lead to better roles. Anyway, she’s in Payne’s next film,
“Sideways.”

You’ve seen her in: “Under the Tuscan Sun”

You should see her in: “Double Happiness”

8. ISABELLE HUPPERT

I’ve seen Huppert in at least 40 films, and I still can’t get a bead
on her. Her characters usually have secrets _ whether it’s the
privately tormented title role in “The Piano Teacher,” the homicidal
mom in “Merci pour le Chocolat” or the prim nag in “8 Women” _ and
they’re almost always upper-class, maybe because Huppert’s slightly
turned-up nose and delicate features have a patrician air. France’s
top actress for more than two decades, Huppert wouldn’t have to take
chances at this point in her career, but she’s drawn to dark stories
that explore the extremes of emotional behavior. And her gift goes
deeper than simply protecting her characters’ secrets; by artfully
revealing and withholding information, Huppert shows us the secrets
the characters keep from themselves.

You’ve seen her in: “Heaven’s Gate”

You should see her in: “The Piano Teacher”

9. EMILY MORTIMER

A native of London, although she has a flawless American accent,
Mortimer belongs in the women’s role hall of fame for her work in
“Lovely and Amazing,” in which she played a woman who has gravitated
to a job guaranteed to make her feel rotten about herself: acting. In
a breathtaking scene in which she strips and demands that her
boyfriend tell her everything that’s “wrong” with her body, Mortimer
shows a woman coming to terms with herself. That character has formed
a template for Mortimer. In the upcoming “Bright Young Things,” where
she’s a British party girl who’s tired of martinis and cocktail
dresses, and in the musical version of “Love’s Labours Lost,” where
her charming voice doesn’t seem to match her uncertain footwork, she
seems intent on reminding us that not being sure of ourselves is a
fact of life.

You’ve seen her in: “Scream 3”

You should see her in: “Lovely and Amazing”

10. JUDY GREER

The go-to person for Joan Cusack roles that Joan Cusack doesn’t want
to do, Greer has made a nice little career out of playing the ditzy,
slightly pathetic sidekick. She’s made 20 movies in the past six
years, playing that part in virtually all of them, most memorably as
the suicidal woman who helped Mel Gibson figure out “What Women
Want.” Hollywood often slots funny women into that Eve Arden/Joan
Cusack/Janeane Garofalo role, but her career is taking a turn for the
better. In the current “13 Going on 30,” she’s still the best friend,
but a hilariously mean one. And the current “Hebrew Hammer” is no
classic, but it lets Greer play something higher-profile films
haven’t: a romantic lead, a film noir-like mystery woman who is
complicated enough to be sexy, confused and _ yes _ funny, too. Greer
has a bunch of stuff lined up, including the next film by Cameron
Crowe (“Elizabethtown”), who has a history of finding interesting
ways to use the talents of offbeat actresses such as Lili Taylor and
Frances McDormand.

You’ve seen her in: “What Women Want”

You should see her in: “The Hebrew Hammer”

___

Chris Hewitt: [email protected]

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress