Author: Jabejian Elizabeth

Azerbaijani Defense Industry Ministry, Jordanian company reach a deal
to produce body armor

13 May 2010 [15:47] – Today.Az

On the sidelines of the SOFEX-2010 exhibition in Amman, Azerbaijan’s
Ministry of Defense Industry and NP Aerospace Jordan, affiliated
company of King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau (KADDB),
signed two contracts on a joint production.

Azerbaijan’s Minister of Defense Industry Yaver Jamalov and Managing
Director of NP Aerospace Jordan Nabil Issa signed the documents.
Jamalov said that according to the first contract, body armor will be
produced in Baku together with the Jordanian company. The second
contract provides for production of helmets.

`Jordan and Azerbaijan have perfect relations. Our cooperation is
developing, the contracts prove this,’ Yaver Jamalov said.

According to the Minister, talks continue on cooperation with the
military companies of Jordan in several directions, contracts will be
signed on other projects soon.

/APA/

URL:

GOOGLE TRANSLATE ALREADY IN ARMENIAN

Tert.am
14.05.10

Internet giant search engine Google has included in its translation
system Google Translate also the Armenian version under the caption
Armenian ALPHA.

This means that from now on a click of the mouse will enable you to
access the whole content of the website visited in Armenian.

The service also offers translations from Armenian into other
languages.

Google Translate has 56 other languages.

This is a revolutionary innovation for the Armenian cyberspace as all
the Armenian information in the Armenian websites becomes accessible
for the world in at least 56 languages.

On the other hand, any Armenian schoolchild, student and private
citizen will be able to use most of the internet websites in the
world even if they do not understand that particular language as
Google Translate will come to help.

This news service by Google can be reached at

TURKEY’S NEW VISIONARY
By Fatma Naib

Al-Jazeera
/middleeast/2010/05/201051216450683494.html
May 12 2010
Qatar

While leaders of the Middle East are caught between solving new
and old economic and political problems, and while the peoples of
the region are losing hope due to a lack of direction or solutions,
one country is quietly forging ahead with plans to become a regional
superpower. And one man is directing and implementing this drive.

Ahmet Davutoglu was a professor at Marmara University and the chairman
of the Department of International relations at Beykent University. He
was the chief adviser to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime
minister, before being appointed foreign minister in May 2009.

Davutoglu believes that Turkey has the makings of a regional superpower
and that its deep historical and geographical connections with Arabs,
Kurds, Persians, Central Asians and Caucasians are an advantage.

Located on the Mediterranean as well as the Black Sea, Turkey is
both in Asia and Europe, a member of Nato and the Organisation of the
Islamic Conference, Muslim yet secular and democratic, economically
and politically stable, and prospering.

In an increasingly volatile world, Davutoglu believes that Turkey has
the right, ability and confidence to play a major role according to
its own interests and not those of any alliance it is part of.

Father of the nation

Turkey is a nation of 77 million people who have, for most of the
last century, lived according to the founding principles of one man –
Kamal Ataturk – the so-called father of the Turks.

Secularism, nationalism, and Westernisation are all enshrined in a
constitution penned in 1923, and unquestioned by the vast majority
of the Turkish population.

But times are changing for Turkey, both at home and abroad.

With its unmatched geographical location, Turkey is on course to
regain some of its historical influence across the Middle East,
while remaining an important ally of the European Union and the US.

Increasingly, Turkish diplomats are being called upon to mediate in
seemingly intractable regional disputes, whether between Syria and
Israel, or Iran and the US.

But unity within its own borders remains a pressing issue, and
these complicated domestic problems are hindering Turkey’s progress,
including that elusive entry to the European Union.

Taking its place

But, with a new found confidence epitomised by Davutoglu, Turkey may
finally be ready to take its place as a genuine global power.

Ahmet Davutoglu, right, has sought to mediate the Iranian nuclear issue
[AFP]

Over the past few months, Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Ibrahim had unique access
to Davutoglu, the architect of Turkey’s foreign policy.

Although only in office since 2009, he has long been considered the
power behind the throne, having advised prime ministers and foreign
ministers for the past eight years.

During his first year as foreign minister, Davutoglu has sought to
build on this influence by promoting Turkey as a truly global power.

In spreading this message, he has made over 100 official foreign
visits, lifted visa restrictions on several neighbouring countries,
and even taken cautious steps towards a normalising of relations with
Armenia, following a century of enmity.

In doing so, he has utilised Turkey’s unmatched strategic location
for diplomatic gain.

"What is Turkey? Turkey from a traditional perspective has an Eastern
culture, part of the east but from the modern perspective, also we
are EU or Nato, part of Western tradition. Therefore the developments
in Turkey [are] like a litmus test," Davutoglu says.

"If we are successful in a dynamic manner and peaceful manner, it
won’t only be a good example for Turkey or our region, but it will
also be a good example and contribution for the global developments
in the future."

Turkish identity

National identity has always been Turkey’s pressing issue, and is
still guaranteed to provoke controversy.

Kamal Ataturk founded the republic on the ruins of the Ottoman
empire. Overnight, he abolished a 700-year-old system of government,
changed the alphabet and dress code, and looked one direction:
towards the West.

For him, to modernise was to westernise, and becoming an accepted part
of Europe was the ultimate goal. And all of this was to be imposed
on an overwhelmingly Muslim society.

For Ataturk, there was no other way. And, in the intervening decades,
to disagree with the ideology of Ataturk was to invite censure
or worse.

Today, however, many Turks are questioning the very cornerstones of
their society, and once again daring to ask: Who are we?

Davutoglu does not believe that being a Muslim clashes with being
European.

"We are proud of our religion and identity but at the same time we
are part of European culture and European history and we are proud
of that identity as well," he says.

In the last year alone, Turkish diplomats have claimed credit for
mediating between Israel and Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Sunnis
and Shias in Iraq, and even attempting to negotiate over the Iranian
nuclear issue.

"We don’t see crisis first, we first see vision. There is some foreign
policy approach from crisis to vision, you concentrate on crisis and
you try to deal with the crisis. Our policy is no, we focus on vision,
then from that vision we are trying to solve the crisis. And that
vision is good for all the region." Davutoglu said.

The EU question

Turkey’s geographic location makes it a key partner in any discussion
of the continent’s security. And yet, it is its very location at the
periphery of Europe that has made the EU reluctant to grant membership.

The EU still seems reluctant to accept Turkey as one of its own
[GALLO/GETTY]

Turkey signed an association agreement with the EU in 1963, from that
time until now they have been waiting.

Some of the delay was attributed to the political situation in Turkey
due to military interventions, which were deemed not fitting with
EU values.

In 1999 Turkey did obtain candidate status.

"Until 1999 we had some difficulties we know that, but after 1999 we
were very active to fulfil the criteria" Davutoglu said.

But the EU still seems reluctant to accept Turkey as one of its own.

"The EU tries to make this a case of Turkey’s preference to unite with
its neighbours rather than the EU, but this is not valid because we
implement these policies together.

"We didn’t ignore EU process when we were focusing on neighbouring
countries policy.

"What is our objective? Zero-problems with our neighbours. I know
it is a slogan, but slogans are symbols, symbols create a new mind
and the most important thing is the transformation of mentality,
changing the concepts in the minds of the people." he says.

Davutoglu believes that Turkish membership will be an asset to the
EU, because with Turkey European culture will become more diverse,
and thus, help it to compete on the global stage.

In that sense, Turkish Islam, too, would be an asset to overcome this
challenge, he says.

The Rageh Omaar Report: Turkey’s New Visionary can be seen from
Wednesday, May 12, at the following times GMT: 1900; Thursday: 0300,
1400; Friday: 0600; Saturday: 1900 and Sunday: 0300.

AZERI SIDE VIOLATES CEASEFIRE CONSTANTLY

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 12, 2010 – 15:26 AMT 10:26 GMT

The Azerbaijani side violates the ceasefire constantly, a platoon
commander in Mardakert said.

"After retaliatory measures of the NKR Defense Army, the fire stops,"
senior warrant officer Martirosyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

According to military unit commander Karen Arustamyan, "despite
frequent violations of the ceasefire, there are no losses from the
Karabakh side."

HAMASDEGH: JOURNEY WITH A SKULL
Hamasdegh

The Armenian Weekly
April 2010 Magazine
Tue, May 11 2010

Once, many, many years ago (these words sound like the start of a
fable…), in 1929, I went on a trip to become more familiar with our
people’s sadness. Those were the years that the deportees of 1915,
with heroic effort, enduring a thousand and one torments, had made it
to some foreign shore where they could keep their collective existence
and identity going.

Sign on the road to Der Zor (photo by Khatchig Mouradian) I saw the
hovels of Marseille, Aleppo, Lebanon. People reaching Jerusalem were
a bit luckier settling in the Armenian Monastery.

All of them, all, were destitute and sad with a dust-colored sadness.

If there was still something alive in them, it was their native spirit,
awake as their eyes and nerves.

On their faces lingered the gray wisdom of suffering, like the ancient
stones of our thousand-year-old monasteries.

Sadness always has its moments of introspection, and I wanted to bond
with our people’s grief, to make it part of my body and consciousness.

I wanted to go from Lebanon to Der Zor-that immense graveyard of
our martyrs…

The owner and driver of the car was a young Armenian man, thin, slight,
with a quiet melancholy in his features, especially in his Armenian
eyes. He had not only witnessed the horrors of Der Zor, he had lived
and been physically part of the daily turmoil and temper of the place.

His name was Manas. I also recall his vivid voice and sad smile. With
all that, Manas was audacious-he had covered all the roads we were
traveling on that day. There wasn’t a rock, a field of thorn-bushes,
a hill, a path that did not have its dreadful tale for Manas.

"Right there, near the bridge, the bandits assaulted skeletal
creatures, while on the slope of that hill, the corpses had become
the share of vultures and crawling beasts. In those days, monstrous
animals, never seen before, had appeared, no one knows from where…"

Manas showed me a spot, where his mother had collapsed, unable to
walk anymore.

"Strangely enough, I saw that at the last moments of her life,
my mother was calm, and seemingly content that she was dying;
she was particularly happy, that she had trusted me to a woman
with whom they had become sisters in adversity. She too, had lost
everything…children, husband. With great courage, she took me all
the way to Aleppo, and became a mother to me."

With similar stories, we continued on our dusty, rocky road to
the Euphrates River. On one of its banks was the city of Der Zor,
and on the other started and expanded the vast desert of Jezireh,
with a copper-colored, red hot sun and limitless sand, where, in a
very short while, 40,000 Armenians had succumbed en mass and melded
with the sands.

Manas kept telling how, in those days, the Turks of that alien desert
would not allow these 40,000 Armenians, huddled together in stark
terror, to reach Der Zor on the other bank of the Euphrates, to the
outskirts of habitations and shelter.

There were still decayed wooden planks sticking out of the banks of
the river. They were erected there to give shade in the scorching sun.

Some writings in pencil on those planks were yet to vanish: "I had
20 gold coins I acquired 20 loaves of bread." There were words of
curses and prayers, their significance still preserved on those
crumbling planks.

It was in the immensity of that desert, that I saw bleached bones and
shattered skeletons, ribs ripped from spinal columns, knee caps and
skulls, all of it half buried in the sand. The Euphrates, cresting and
flooding once in a while, had performed that interment under a cool,
bone-colored moon. That flooding had formed layers, and in between
those strata stuck out countless limbs and skulls, large and small
skulls. It was from one of these sandy crevices that I removed, with
both hands, a heavy, sand-filled skull, with awe and reverence, as
a celebrant priest would raise the chalice with both hands during Mass.

The shiny pallor of the skull had almost acquired the color of ivory in
the dry sand. Its sturdy array of teeth was powerful and expressive as
a curse, and the two cave-like eye cavities-where the eternal unknown
seemed to start-conjured the image of ruined Armenian monasteries,
with crumbling walls crusted with the ageless moss of tradition…

We became travel companions, the skull and I. Intimate friends sharing
stories of green fields and desert days, me and the skull. The story
of that journey is yet to be written.

If only I knew the name of that skull… In my agitated imagination,
names paraded in single file and became alive, growing tall with an
intense countenance. I could even hear their voices, powerful and
wise as silence.

Mahtesi Arutin? Perhaps from Erzerum, tall and stately, with bushy
eyebrows, heavy moustache, and clear eyes. He is wearing a coarse
woolen shalvar, a gold watch chain across his Lahore shawl belt.

Mahtesi Arutin was a merchant and deacon of his church. He was
expecting bales of merchandise to arrive via the Black Sea, when the
Turkish mob attacked his big store and large house on nightfall. They
looted and burned, then seized and delivered him and his spouse to
the caravan gathered at the cemetery. They abducted his two lovely
daughters in whom beauty bloomed like a flower. They had been so
pampered and nurtured in the warmth of oriental rugs and plush pillows.

Makar Varzhapet? That day, the blackboard of the advanced students’
class was covered with Anania Shirakatsi’s equations, while the
alert eyes of the students reflected a sadness; there were troubling
rumors: A caravan of tormented Armenians had been seen passing on the
highway skirting the town, a caravan of shivering dogs… "Tomorrow’s
assignment is Lazar Pharpetsi," had said Makar Varzhapet, restraining
the distress in his voice.

The next day, neither the teacher nor the students were back.

Ter Tatik? Incense lingered in his voice and breath. The goodness
of Holy Chrism was in his eyes as he raised his arms to the heavens
in prayer. It was Sunday and Mass was being celebrated. A heavy,
silver-threaded cape and a silk miter, around which were silver
embroidered renderings of the 12 Apostles. The angel-voiced children’s
choir of acolytes was singing.

People were slowly coming out of the church.

"Father! Father!" yelled the people in vain.

White-robed children of the acolyte choir scattered like doves. From
the upper road of the surrounding fields, Kurds and Turks were entering
the village armed with clubs and sabers.

The church was now empty just like that skull, while the priest
continued his celebration of Mass…and I heard the skull’s
incantations of the Holy Mass.

If only I knew the name of that skull…

The skull was there, on the table, sometimes in a dim candlelight. The
skull pondered, the skull lived. It seemed to breathe and to speak
in silent wisdom. There were still dreams in it, despite the enemy’s
wish to fill it with sand. And it waited, as all the martyrs of 1915
waited for the mighty trumpet of Haik, the heroic bowman, calling them
to gather their bones, to stand up, form ranks as mighty armies and
reclaim their land, their monasteries, schools, their green fields
and the rising smokes at the dawn of Navasard.

RUSSIA-TURKEY-ARMENIA MEETING MAY BE HELD IN SOCHI

news.az
May 12 2010
Azerbaijan

Sinan Ogan A Turkish political scientist has commented on the visit
of the Russian president to Turkey.

"The visit of President Medvedev to Ankara is a proof of high level
of relations between Russia and Turkey", 1news.az quotes Sinan Ogan,
head of the Turkish Center of International Relations and Strategic
Analysis Turksam as saying.

I would not call these relations strategic, like I wouldn’t call them
like this in the case of the Turkish-American relations, but it is
a fact that these relations have reached a high level.

"Turkey maintains strategic relations only with two
countries-Azerbaijan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Ankara can always rely on those countries and only good and high
level relations are possible with others. But at the same time Turkey
sometimes does not understand why Azerbaijan does not abolish visa
regime. I understand it well that the visa system between our countries
is formal but the declaration of its abolition on the official level
would have a different effect. I would ask our Azerbaijani brothers
to accelerate this process as this is important due to the abolition
of visa regime between Russia and Turjey", Ogan said

As for the influence of this meeting on the resolution of the
Karabakh conflict, Ogan said that the rapprochement between
Ankara and Moscow will be useful for Azerbaijan. "I am watching
the recent publications in Armenian mass media-they panic about the
Russian-Turkish rapprochement. Now most people in Russia understood
that the relations between the Russian and Turkish people were spoiled
because of Armenians. Armenians have been creating an image of Turkey
as an enemy state in Russia. But this period has passed and Turkey and
Russia got to know each other better. I do not think this meeting will
have any strong influence on the Karabakh conflict but according to
the information that I have, Moscow wants to take the initiative in
the process of the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement and the Karabakh
conflict settlement. The trilateral meeting between Russia, Turkey
and Armenia to discuss these problems may be held in Sochi next month".

"Also I would like to thank our Azerbaijani brothers for setting
Ataturk’s memorial in Baku. This fact proves our brotherhood and
friendship and you can be sure that Turkey will always be next to
Azerbaijan", he said.

RUSSIA TO USE ALL OPPORTUNITIES TO SETTLE KARABAKH CONFLICT

news.az
May 12 2010
Azerbaijan

Dmitry Medvedev President of Russia Dmitriy Medvedev is visiting
Turkey.

Russia and Turkey are interested in strengthening stability in the
Caucasus region and Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, president
of Russia Dmitriy Medvedev told a news conference in Ankara.

"On our part, we, I mean Russia, will promote this issue and use every
opportunity, authority and influence of Russia to resolve the conflict"
Russia-24 quotes the president as saying, Trend reports.

According to Medvedev, Russia will consult with Turkish partners on
these issues.

At a news conference in Ankara Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev
also said that a trilateral meeting with participation of the Foreign
Ministers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan on the resolution of the
Karabakh conflict will be held soon.

‘Russia has a special mission here. We are not a party in the conflict,
we are a mediator actively involved into the process. I will continue
working here. Our foreign ministers hold regular meetings and in the
nearest future such meetings will continue with participation of the
foreign ministers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan’, the Russian
president said.

He noted that ‘promising steps have been made recently for the
resolution of the Karabakh conflict’.

‘The sides meet and communicate and there is a real progress in a
number of moments, connected with settlement. But this does not mean
that all issues have been coordinated. Consultations continue. I have
repeatedly offered my mediation to my partners President Aliyev and
President Sargsyan’, the Russian president said.

‘We have repeatedly met in Russia. I hope this will further continue
even despite the moments that require clarification of positions’,
the Russian president said.

He noted that Russian also counts on the active position of other OSCE
Minsk Group participants on the resolution of the Karabakh conflict.

Along with Russia, the Minsk Group includes France and the United
States.

Meanwhile, Medvedev noted that ‘all main issues must be discussed
between the parties in the conflict’.

The conflict between the two countries of South Caucasus began in 1988
due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. 20 percent of
the territory of Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh and seven
surrounding districts are still under the occupation of the Armenian
Forces. In May 1994 the parties reached a cease-fire agreement and
ineffective peace talks are still held under the auspices of the OSCE
Minsk Group and chairmanship of Russia, France and the United States

Armenia has not yet fulfilled the four resolutions of the UN Security
Council about withdrawal from Nagorno Karabakh and occupied lands.

IDENTIFIED SUSPECT OSMAN HAYAL NOT DETAINED

BIAnet.org
/minorities/121914-identified-suspect-osman-hayal- not-detained
May 12 2010
Turkey

Two detained defendants of the murder case of Turkish-Armenian
journalist Dink were released in the latest hearing. Osman Hayal
was identified by a secret witness, though the court did not take
the suspect into detention. Former head of the Police Intelligence
Department will not be heard.

Semra PELEK [email protected] Istanbul – BÄ°A News Center12 May
2010, Wednesday HRANT DINK MURDER CASE: Secret Witness Incriminates
Three Suspects as The Killers of Dink

In the latest hearing of the trial concerned with the assassination
of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink the Istanbul 14th High
Criminal Court released two of the five detained defendants. Dink,
then chief editor of the Armenian Agos newspaper, was shot in front
of the office of the Armenian Agos newspaper on 19 January 2007.

The court decided to keep defendants Erhan Tuncel, Ogun Samast and
Yasin Hayal in detention, while Ersin Yolcu and Ahmet Ä°skender were
released from detention pending trial.

Request to hear former head of Intelligence Department dismissed In the
hearing on 10 May, a secret witness stated that suspect Osman Hayal,
brother of defendant Yasin Hayal, was at the scene of the crime as well
when Dink was shot. Despite this statement and a request of the Dink
family lawyers to detain Osman Hayal, the court decided to release him.

Furthermore, the court decided not to hear former head of the Police
Intelligence Department Sabri Uzun as it had been demanded by the
joint lawyers of the Dink family. The court dismissed the claim,
saying that Uzun’s statement was not going to bring new insights for
the cases file.

The joint attorneys of the Dink family had previously requested the
Public Prosecutor to file a lawsuit with the Istanbul Governor, Muammer
Guler, the former Istanbul Regional Head of the National Intelligence
Agency (MIT), Ozel Yılmaz, and the former Deputy Governor of Istanbul,
Ergun Gungör. The court decreed that the criminal complaints should
be filed by the lawyers instead.

Unexpected witness – JÄ°TEM member As far as the unexpected statement
of witness Erhan Ozen is concerned, the court decided to launch an
investigation. Ozen was brought to the hearing from the Amasya Prison
(northern Anatolia), where he is currently detained for another
criminal offence. He said, "I was taking money from the Istanbul
Gendarmerie Central Command and I was working for JÄ°TEM at the
time". The Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counterterrorism Centre
(JÄ°TEM) is an unofficial wing of the Turkish Gendarmerie. The court
decided to contact the Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Central Command
in order to confirm whether Ozen told the truth and whether he received
any payments.

Camera records will be investigated Moreover, the court decreed to send
the hard disc with the camera records from the Akbank branch to the
Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBÄ°TAK). The
disc supposedly contains footage of the area around the office of
Agos newspaper from the day of the murder and was confiscated by the
police right after the incident. The court addresses TUBÄ°TAK to find
out whether the footage was deleted and if yes with which program,
how and when. And in case the records were erased, the court wants
to know whether it is possible to restore the data. (SP/VK)

AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER: NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT POSES SERIOUS THREAT FOR EUROPEAN SECURITY
A. Huseynbala

Trend
May 11 2010
Azerbaijan

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a serious threat for security in both
the region and Europe, speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament said.

"The occupation of our lands by Armenia poses a serious obstacle
in the development of Azerbaijan", speaker of the Azerbaijani
Parliament Oktay Asadov said at a meeting with a group headed by
Azerbaijan-Switzerland friendship group head of the Swiss Parliament
Christine Egerszegi-Obrist.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.

The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. –
are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s resolutions
on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied
territories.

Asadov said that the German Bundestag and the Parliament of Italy
confirmed that Armenia is an aggressor.

"At the moment, the British Parliament, is preparing a similar
document. We thank Switzerland for its support for the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan in resolving of the conflict. I would like
the Swiss parliament to adopt a document too," speaker said.

He said that friendly relations between Switzerland and Azerbaijan
are constantly developing and the leaders of both countries play an
important role in it. "The negotiations conducted by the presidents
and chairmen of the parliaments, the agreements concluded between the
two countries give results. We hope that your current visit will also
give impetus to the development of relations between our countries,"
Asadov said.

Christine Egerszegi-Obrist said that Switzerland is concerned over
stalling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement.

"This conflict is a threat to security not only in the region, but
also in Europe. The problem must be resolved fairly and as quickly
as possible", she said.

Today, members of Azerbaijan-Switzerland Friendship Group have launched
the visit to Baku.

SERZH AVETIKYAN’S FILM PRETENDS TO ‘GOLDEN PALM-BRANCH’ OF CANNES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

ArmInfo
2010-05-10 16:34:00

ArmInfo. The film by Serzh Avetikyan "Chienne d’histoire" ("Barking
Island") pretends to the "Golden palm-branch" of Cannes International
Film Festival.

The film is set in 1910 in Constantinople. The streets are flooded
with pie-dogs, and the new government decides to move them out of
the town, to an uninhabited island. The Cannes Film Festival will be
held on May 12-23. Besides the 15-minute film "Chienne d’histoire",
another 8 films from Israel, Brazil, Australia, Sweden, Latvia,
Argentine, Cuba and Chile pretend to the "Golden palm-branch" in
"The best short feature" nomination.

To note, Serzh Avetikyan represents France at the Festival.