Author: Harutyunian Christine

ArmenPress
Aug 25 2004

MUSIC AND POLITICS COMBINE IN SUPPORT OF KERRY/EDWARDS VICTORY

BOSTON, MA, 25 AUGUST, ARMENPRESS: Armenian musicians from around
the world are teaming up with the New England chapter of Armenians
for Kerry and Pomegranate Music Events for an unprecedented music
festival in honor of Democratic party Presidential nominee John
Kerry. “Armenstock 2004” will take place on August 28th, from 11:00am
– 8:00pm at AYF Camp Haiastan, in Franklin MA and promises to be a
celebration with Armenian food, music and dance dedicated to Sen.
Kerry’s twenty years of support on issues of concern to the Armenian
American community. The day-long festival – a veritable “Kef for
Kerry” – boasts the participation of five bands with a full range of
Armenian musical styles from progressive kef to Armenian jazz, pop
and traditional and alternative folk. The bands include the: **
Vardan Ovsepian Jazz Group (Armenian Jazz) ** Gor Mkhitarian Band
(Alternative Folk) ** Arev Folk Ensemble (Traditional Folk) **
Cascade Folk Trio (Traditional Folk and Armenian Pop) ** John
Berberian Ensemble (Progressive Kef). In addition to the band
performances, there will be two solo oud performances by John
Bilezikjian and John Berberian, the latter accompanied by Ara
Dinkjian (guitar), and, finally, a solo performance by world-renowned
percussionist Arto Tuncboyaciyan. The musicians will be collaborating
together throughout the day, with John Bilezikjian joining the John
Berberian Ensemble, John Berberian sitting in with the Gor Mkhitarian
Band and the Ara Dinkjian-John Berberian duet and a number of
additional impromptu collaborations. Extensive biographical notes on
all the bands and performers are available on the Armenstock 2004
website – .
In the tradition of Woodstock, Armenstock 2004 combines a
celebration of Armenian music with American political activism. The
festival will kick-off a nationwide Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA) postcard campaign encouraging Armenian Americans in
swing states to support the Kerry/Edwards ticket in November. Voter
registration will be a key focus, as part of the ANCA “Hye Voter
Turnout” campaign, working to increase the Armenian American voice at
the polls in November through an extensive registration and “get out
the vote” effort. More than a dozen speakers and activists will
address the audience between musical sets, including a prominent
figure close to the Kerry campaign yet to be announced. Each will be
outlining the importance of greater community-wide participation
within the American political process during election season and
beyond. Speakers will also outline the clear differences between the
Kerry/Edwards and Bush/Cheney teams on issues from Armenian Genocide
recognition to efforts to build a stronger U.S. / Armenia
relationship. Response from Armenian Americans and music lovers from
throughout the New England and Mid-Atlantic states has been
overwhelming, with groups planning road trips from as far as Racine,
Wisconsin and flying in for the day-long concert at Camp Haiastan.
Tickets for the concert are available on the Armenstock 2004 website
– .

AAP NEWSFEED (Australia)
August 20, 2004, Friday 8:24 AM Eastern Time

Wgt: Chakhoyan looks for gold in tarnished sport

By Glenn Cullen

Golden moments in Australian weightlifting have been few of late but
there could be one tomorrow for Sergo Chakhoyan.

The Armenian-born weightlifter is in contention for the gold medal in
the 85kg class at the Games, along with hometown favourite and
three-time gold medallist Pyrros Dimas, China’s Aijan Yuan and Turk
Izzet Ince.

World weightlifting has already had its share of drugs scandals at
this Olympics, with seven international competitors testing positive
in out of competition tests before they had a chance to lift.

While distanced from drugs controversies here so far, the Australians
have not had a good record in the last six months.

Two positive tests to fringe national squad members were followed by
the debacle involving women’s lifter Caroline Pileggi who was kicked
off the team for failing to undergo a drugs test while training in
Fiji.

In between time there were questions raised about Chakhoyan, who
tested positive to stanozolol and served a two year ban that finished
in 2003.

The Australian Olympic Committee complained it could not find the
Armenian-based athlete for more than three months.

He was drug tested, his result negative.

Of more immediate concern tomorrow may be Chakhoyan’s weight, which
appears to have dropped in the competition lead-up.

Sam Coffa, head of the Australian Weightlifting Federation, said it
wasn’t ideal.

“I had heard he was losing a little bit of bodyweight and that’s
always a concern,” he said.

“You can’t go into the competition having lost too much bodyweight.

Coffa, who is also vice president of the International Weightlifing
Federation and is officiating here, said he couldn’t say why positive
tests from lifters couldn’t be confirmed before the Games to avoid
the embarrassment here.

“I don’t know I am not really competent to answer those questions.
There are medical and scientific reasons why this can’t be done and
there’s all the logistics,” he said.

“But I am clearly a technical man so I don’t interfere with those
sorts of things.”

iofilm, UK
Aug 20 2004

Edinburgh Film Festival 2004 – Day Two
EIFF 2004 Diary: Day Two

Super Size Me proves to be an extra large hit and the director, super
nice.

By Douglas Bell

Edinburgh venues have a tendency to be far too hot during August.
Whether it’s a local joke to provoke tourists or just a problem with
the old venues, today seemed a welcome exception as the cruel heat
stayed at bay. The enormous UGC at Fountainbridge seems best equipped
with air conditioning, so at least you may sit in comfort whilst you
watch the abysmal Hungarian murder movie After The Day Before. This
time it’s Hungarian inbreds who are all cross-wired, rather than the
more dangerous Belgian kind.

A jigsaw of non-linear events have been thrown together and you have
to pick up the pieces. It makes you suspicious of everyone from the
start, and unfortunately, suspicious that nothing is ever going to
happen in the movie.

The film festival offers an abundance of foreign productions this
year and they are not all of this standard. The Filmhouse is hosting
the Armenian black and white Documantarist which drew oohs and aahs
from the audience with its emotional observations of a damaged
nation. The caesarean births may put you off your Deuchars at the
Filmhouse bar afterwards, but there’s plenty mind broadening stuff
out there for all to see.

If you thought that the World’s Weirdoes all perform on The Royal
Mile, you should see some of the ones caught on film. It seems that
nothing has escaped the camera as even butt-naked coal-covered Dutch
diggers adorn the screens with their coal black buttocks and communal
shower scenes.

Today’s big show was undoubtedly Super Size Me, which had its UK
premiere at the UGC, introduced by the director/victim himself, the
spellbinding Morgan Spurlock. The anticipation surrounding this movie
is like no other and it leaves no-one in any doubt whatsoever about
how they feel about McDonald’s. I was sneaky enough to get into the
packed theatre to witness Spurlock’s witty intro. With the same
humour he uses to get his powerful message across on film, the man
had everyone at ease and craving for more.

Having seen the movie, he took his wife to the bar whilst Edinburgh
sat through his gastric study. He was delighted to chat with your
diarist and had no pretence about his work and the film’s incredible
success. Spurlock is very smart and modest. His ability to be
perfectly normal is one of his most endearing qualities and it’s a
powerfully authoritative way to get people to listen to something
that should be obvious – McDonalds will not make you happy, nor
healthy.

His next piece may well end up being called `Would you like salt and
sauce with that?’ as I suggested he try the Rose Street Fry whilst in
town. He was amused by the recent closure of McDonald’s at the UGC
too, although he refused to take any credit for it. This man made the
fast food giant take the supersize option away from an addicted
America, and yet he boasts of nothing.

We joked about the weight that he’s lost over the last few months
eating little more than aeroplane food as he follows his success
wherever it calls him. We were very lucky to have him here in
Edinburgh and he felt lucky to be here. We should all watch his movie
as he went through Hell to do us all a favour. It’s also a great
documentary and amongst my favourites. Somehow, I think that it will
have a profound effect on the way we think about food. Even those who
already hate junk food should go and see it. It’ll be good for you.

Libération , France
18 août 2004

Le pont de Galata en eaux troubles;
Eté. Lieux mythiques. La casbah d’Alger, Yalta, le pôle Nord, le
Watergate… Tout au long de l’été, Libération revisite les lieux que
l’histoire, la géographie ou la culture ont rendus célèbres et qu’on
connaît mieux de nom que de vue.

SEMO Marc

Aujourd¹hui démonté, il était à l¹image d¹Istanbul, à la charnière
entre l¹Europe et l¹Asie.

Istanbul envoyé spécial

La rouille ronge les poutrelles et les plaques de tôle du vieux pont
flottant de Galata. Après plus d’un siècle de bons et loyaux
services, il a été traîné là en 1994 au fond de l’estuaire de la
Corne d’Or comme un navire au rebut. Désormais inutile, il pourrit
tout doucement sur ces eaux sombres et nauséabondes que bordent des
chantiers navals en déshérence, des cheminées noircies d’usines
désormais fermées et de vieux immeubles lépreux. “Il y avait le
projet d’en faire un ponton pour la culture et les loisirs avec des
cafés, mais finalement rien n’a été fait, d’autant que les islamistes
qui tiennent la municipalité du quartier refusaient d’accorder les
licences pour l’alcool”, explique un étudiant de ce faubourg d’Eyup
avec ses immenses cimetières entourant la belle mosquée aux
éclatantes faïences construite autour de la tombe de ce compagnon de
Mahomet qui prophétisa la conquête de Constantinople. Il y a deux
ans, une grande marque de voitures occidentale utilisa le lieu avec
toute sa symbolique pour le lancement mondial d’un de ses modèles.
Une brève parenthèse. Le vieux pont se meurt inexorablement sans que
les pouvoirs publics osent encore lui donner le coup de grce.

Bistrots au ras de l’eau. “Ce n’était pas un pont comme les autres.
Il était le plus ancien, le plus central. On le sentait bouger. Il
s’ouvrait pour laisser passer les bateaux et alors la ville était
coupée en deux. Les autorités l’ouvraient aussi dans les moments de
tension pour bloquer les manifestations”, se souvient l’écrivain
Nedim Gursel qui vient de publier Au pays des poissons captifs (1) et
a écrit de nombreux textes sur Istanbul. Un nouveau pont large et
fonctionnel comme une autoroute a remplacé l’ancien pour relier
Karaköy et le vieux port de passagers à Eminonü et ses bazars. Les
bistrots au ras de l’eau ont disparu, tout comme les vieux
embarcadères de bois qui craquaient au rythme de la houle. Dans la
fumée des pots d’échappement, quelques pêcheurs encombrent les
étroits trottoirs avec leurs seaux où flottent de chétives prises.
“C’est par habitude, mais ces poissons ne sont même plus mangeables”,
ironise le vieil Ahmet, retraité des postes.

Construit au milieu du XIXe siècle sur les plans d’ingénieurs
français avec des poutrelles de fer à la place d’un ponton de
barques, ce pont flottant est rapidement devenu un mythe. Même si le
premier des deux grands ouvrages d’art qui enjambent le Bosphore,
reliant donc l’Europe et l’Asie, n’a été construit qu’à la fin des
années 70. Le pont de Galata, bien que tout entier sur la rive
européenne d’Istanbul, était le symbole d’une ville à la charnière
entre deux mondes. “La Corne d’Or divise Constantinople comme en deux
continents (…); d’un côté, la ville turque Stamboul chère à Pierre
Loti, et de l’autre, les quartiers levantins parasites : Galata, Pera
et le reste”, écrivait Claude Farrère au début du siècle dernier.
D’un côté, la silhouette des mosquées et leurs minarets se découpant
sur le ciel ; de l’autre, la Tour de Galata construite par les Génois
et les discrets clochers des églises grecques arméniennes ou
catholiques. “Sur le pont de Galata, on n’y danse pas mais on y voit
défiler tout Pera et tout Stamboul (…) Voici la foule tout d’abord
indistincte des porteurs de fez mais un étranger qui sait voir a tôt
fait de les ranger en catégories : Grecs au profil délié, Arméniens
aux yeux de velours, Juifs espagnols, Turcs au visage allongé,
Persans basanés au fez en astrakan noir”, notait en 1921 Henri
Gilson, alors consul de France, dans la Fin de Stamboul (2).

La photo symbole de la libération de la ville en 1923 montre les
troupes d’Atatürk défilant sur le pont. Avec la République et le
départ des “minoritaires” (Grecs, Arméniens, juifs, etc.), la très
cosmopolite Istanbul est devenue de plus en plus turque et musulmane.
Le pont de Galata était alors l’un des coeurs de la vie stambouliote.
Comme tout lieu mythique, il suscitait ses escrocs. Ainsi Sulun Osman
qui harponnait les riches et naïfs paysans de passage, leur proposant
de leur vendre le pont en leur jurant que c’était un plan en or car
tous ceux qui y passaient devaient soi-disant verser leur obole. Mais
l’exode rural dès la fin des années 60 a complètement bouleversé une
ville qui, en un peu plus de quarante ans, a décuplé sa population.

Saccage. “Le vieux pont était sur le point de couler mais une
rénovation ou son remplacement par un ouvrage du même genre était
possible. C’est le massacre du coeur d’une ville comme à Paris celui
des quais de la Seine avec les voies sur berge”, souligne Ali Sirmen,
écrivain et éditorialiste de renom de la gauche turque qui fut l’un
des rares intellectuels à se mobiliser contre ce saccage poursuivi
tout au long des années 80, transformant le centre, éventrant les
vieux quartiers pour tracer des autoroutes urbaines. Depuis une
dizaine d’années, les habitants du centre-ville ont commencé à
s’organiser dans des associations. Les rues piétonnes se multiplient
et la municipalité islamiste évoque une vaste réhabilitation du
quartier de Karaköy, entre le Bosphore et la Corne d’Or. Mais il est
trop tard et nul ne pourrait plus aujourd’hui comme Ohran Vehli dans
l’un de ses plus célèbres poèmes chanter son amour de la ville :
“J’écoute Istanbul les yeux fermés/ des bruits de marteaux montent
des docks/ dans le vent doux du printemps flottent des odeurs de
sueur/ je t’écoute Istanbul les yeux fermés.”

(1) Editions Bleu autour, 228 pp. 18 euros.

(2) Cité dans Istanbul réel, Istanbul rêvé, par l’Institut français
d’études anatoliennes, l’Esprit des péninsules, 21 euros.

(Demain, Christopher Street, à New York)

“HANRAPETUTYUN” PARTY MEMBER WITHDRAWS

YEREVAN, August 16 (Noyan Tapan). Khachik Simonian, the
“Hanrapetutyun” (“Republic”) Party member, who was nominated by the
civil initiative for the August 29 parliamentary elections, took a
decision to withdraw his candidacy.

According to Kh. Simonian’s August 16 statement provided to NT by the
“Hanrapetutyun” Party’s press cervice, after the outrageous 2003
elections, the April 2004 developments and subsequent reverberations
of the Armenian public and international community, Armenia’s
authorities did not draw any conclusions, nor did they make any
attempt to bring their actions in line with the spirit of the RA
Constitution and the country’s international commitments. According to
him, in electoral district No. 44, where his candidacy was nominated
“the same illegal mechanisms function, public opinion is influenced by
the total use of administrative resources and vote buying, political
struggle has given way to clan squabbles between the various groups of
the illegimate authorities. Expressing deep gratitude to thousands of
his supporters, Kh. Simonian at the same time noted that the
opposition will continue political struggle with the aim of fulfilling
the public hopes, restoring the constitutional order in the country
and forming legitimate authorities.

SportsLine.com wire reports
Aug. 15, 2004

Martirosyan batters Algerian for U.S. boxing’s second victory

ATHENS, Greece — Seven months ago, Vanes Martirosyan was America’s
14th-ranked amateur welterweight — not a typical starting point for
an Olympic boxer.

Martirosyan has turned out to be a whole lot better than almost
anybody expected. With a few more victories, the same might soon be
said about the entire U.S. boxing team.

Martirosyan erased any doubts about the legitimacy of his spot in
Athens, battering Algeria’s Benamar Meskine in a 45-20 victory in the
preliminaries Sunday to earn a second-round match with Cuba’s Lorenzo
Aragon.

“I finished like a champion,” said Martirosyan, an Armenian-born
18-year-old from Glendale, Calif. “I could have won another four
rounds, to tell you the truth. I felt so good out there.”

Martirosyan showed the power and flair of a contender, dictating the
fight’s pace with a stiff jab and opportunistic combinations. He also
counterpunched effectively while landing more shots to the head than
almost any competitor so far at the busy boxing venue, which hosts
more than 20 fights every day of the preliminaries.

Middleweight Andre Dirrell got the United States off to a good start
Saturday with a win in his preliminary bout. Two Americans received
first-round byes, and five more will fight in the next three days
before the second round begins Wednesday.

Tougher fights still loom for a team that’s thought to be among the
weakest in the United States’ superb Olympic boxing history, but the
boxers believe they can improve on their mediocre four-medal haul
four years ago in Sydney.

“We’re a great team, we’re in great shape and we’re going to bring a
lot of medals home,” Martirosyan said.

Martirosyan was one fight from elimination at the U.S. team trials in
February in Tunica, Miss., but the two top contenders were
disqualified when Andre Berto threw Juan McPherson to the canvas,
injuring McPherson’s neck. McPherson was medically disqualified, and
Berto was banned for his actions.

Though he caught a lucky break, Martirosyan made the most of it by
earning an Olympic spot in the ensuing qualifying tournaments. Berto,
from Winter Haven, Fla., made the Olympics anyway on Haiti’s team —
but Martirosyan beat Berto in a subsequent tourney.

“A lot of boxing fans and people in our organization were very well
aware of Vanes,” U.S. coach Basheer Abdullah said. “There were a lot
of predictions that he was going to make this team. … He was very,
very aggressive today. He dictated what was happening in the fight.”

Martirosyan hoped to meet Berto later in the draw, but Berto was
beaten 36-34 in the evening session by France’s Xavier Noel, a former
world champion. Berto, whose parents are Haitian, fought well and
nearly rallied from a nine-point deficit in the fourth round, but
Noel apparently hung on. The decision was loudly jeered by fans.

New York Daily News, NY
Aug 15 2004

Resource enhanced

$3M expansion for Holocaust center

By DONALD BERTRAND
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Eduardo Marti, president of Queensborough Community College, shows
off model of new Holocaust Resource Center and Archives, currently
housed in basement of library on Bayside campus.

For 20 years, the Holocaust Resource Center and Archives has been
housed in the basement of the library building at Queensborough
Community College in Bayside.
Now, thanks to a $3 million allocation in the state budget secured by
Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose), the center will be able to almost
double its size in a new location – and become a centerpiece of the
campus.

“What we are trying to do is take the Holocaust Resource Center from
the basement of the library and put it at the forefront of our
campus,” said Queensborough President Eduardo Marti.

“I am delighted that the state has approved the CUNY request to fund
the relocation and expansion.”

The $3 million will be used to renovate a portion of the
administration building that is now a mailroom and duplicating room,
along with a loading dock.

A glass-enclosed lobby will be built out from where the loading dock
is now located.

“It will be a very visible and striking facility,” said the college’s
president.

Marti, a Cuban who fled the island when he was 19, said he has had
personal experience with the evils of prejudice.

The new center, he declared, would be a “wonderful education vehicle
to teach about what unbridled prejudice can result in.”

“I believe that by bringing the Holocaust Resource Center to a
prominent location on campus, we will be able to utilize this
facility as a vivid example and laboratory where we can teach about
what can result when you have unbridled prejudice.”

Padavan said that “studying the Holocaust and other acts of genocide
around the world throughout history is vital to understanding and
preventing these types of brutalities in the future – and to stopping
them in the present.”

The senator noted that the Holocaust Center works with schools
throughout the state to develop curricula to study the Holocaust and
other acts of genocide, such as the killings in Armenia, Cambodia and
the Sudan. State education law requires curricula that include
instruction and study of the Holocaust, Padavan said.

Marti said, “We are extremely grateful to Sen. Padavan for his
leadership in championing this important project through the
legislature and to Assemblyman [Mark] Weprin (D-Bayside) and the
entire Queens delegation for supporting this request.”

The borough president’s office and Councilman David Weprin (D-Hollis)
also have provided funding, Marti said.

“For the 20 years of its existence, [the center] has been kept going
through the good offices of Dr. [William] Shulman, who is a retired
professor of our college, and a cadre of volunteers – most of them
survivors of the Holocaust,” said Marti.

The hope now, he added, is to use the enhanced prominence of the
center to be able to build an endowment so that the center can
operate in perpetuity.

“So that forever we will be able to serve the mission of educating
not only our own students but also high school students and even
elementary school students about the horrors of the Holocaust,” Marti
said.

DRAFT LAW “ON JUSTICE SCHOOL” PASSES INTERNATIONAL EXAMINATION TODAY

YEREVAN, August 13 (Noyan Tapan). The draft law necessary for the
establishment of the justice school in Armenia is subjected to
international examination today. RA Minister of Justice David
Harutiunian told journalists about it on August 13. He mentioned that
in case of the positive answer of the international examination, the
draft law is likely to be submitted to the RA National Assembly for
discussion till the end of this year. David Harutiunian didn’t exclude
that current judges will be also retrained in the school parallel with
the training of new judges.

Baku Today
Aug 13 2004

Azeri Soldier Captured by Armenian Forces Has Been Released

Today Anar Samadov, 21, a soldier of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces,
has been released from the Armenian captivity, the State Commission
on Work with Military Prisoners and Hostages told Turan on Friday.

Samadov, who was doing his military service in the «N» military unit
in Gapanli village of Terter District, was taken captive on August 2
after he lost his way and came closer to the positions of the
Armenian military units.

Anadolu Agency, Turkey
Aug 10 2004

Third Volume Of Armenian-french Relations In Ottoman Documents
Published

ANKARA – The Prime Ministry Directorate General of State Archives
published the third volume of the book entitled ”Armenian-French
Relations in Ottoman Documents”.

The book includes a number of documents proving collaboration of
Armenian people with France against Turks between 1920 and 1922.

Prime Ministry State Archives Director General Yusuf Sarinay
undertook project management of the book.

The book also includes a number of documents both in French and
Ottoman languages proving extreme maltreatment committed by Armenians
who were among French soldiers against civilians in the places
occupied by French soldiers.

Among the documents, there is an urgent telegraph about killing of
two Muslim woodcutters by Armenian soldiers in southern province of
Maras.

The book also gives place to several documents saying that Armenian
soldiers attacked Muslim civilians in southern provinces of Antep,
Urfa and Maras.