Author: Karagyozian Lena

IRAN BOOSTS MILK EXPORT TO ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN AND GERMANY

Information-Analytic Agency NEWS.am
Aug 6 2009
Armenia

Since early 2005 export volume of Iranian milk jumped almost 7 times,
official sources report.

In 2005 milk export totaled approximately U.S. $18.6mln, however in
2008 – $124.4mln. In 2008, sour milk product (Mast) was exported at
$41.3mln, whereas in 2005 – $1.3mln. Among exported dairy products:
cheese, dairy butter, melted cheese, condensed milk, cream, and Mast.

Iranian milk products are exported to Azerbaijan, Germany, Austria,
Jordan, Armenia, Afghanistan, UAE, Indonesia, England, Bahrain,
Pakistan, Tajikistan, Syria, Dania, Romania, Iraq, Saudi Arabia,
Filipinas, Kyrgyzstan, and Oman.

RUSSIAN TV SHOW POKES FUN AT ARMENIANS; UNION OF ARMENIANS IN RUSSIA PROTESTS

2009/08 /07 | 12:40

Culture

Russia’s "Channel One" recently launched its own version of the British
comedy "The Kumars at 42â~@³. While the English lambasts the Indian
community, the Russian version has decided to poke fun at Armenians,
highlighting their flamboyant life style and pretensions.

In response, the Union of Armenians in Russia has sent a protest
letter to "Channel One" describing the show as a faulty caricature of
Armenians and demands that the program be taken off the air. Here’s
the article that appears in today’s "The Moscow Times".

On Sunday, Channel One launched its own version of the British comedy
show "The Kumars at 42." The original show has jokes about an Indian
family, while the Russian version chose Armenians as its local amusing
ethnic group. And the Armenians aren’t very happy.

The concept of the British show is that a would-be television star
can’t get a job, so he decides to film his own chat show at home. Real
famous people step through his front door and are accosted by his
embarrassing relatives, who are actors performing scripted and
improvised jokes.

The show on Channel One is called "Rubik Almighty." The ad for the show
explains that Rubik is a wealthy Armenian who likes to "buy and sell
everything" and has decided to pay for his own show on Channel One.

Amazingly, television critic Irina Petrovskaya told Ekho Moskvy that
she initially thought that this was for real.

Rubik lives in a huge, tastelessly decorated house with his blonde
Russian girlfriend, his middle-aged sister, his sex-mad grandfather
and his geeky teenage nephew Gamlet, or Hamlet, a popular boy’s name
in Armenia.

The Union of Armenians in Russia on Wednesday published a letter of
protest to the director of Channel One, calling the Armenian family
"caricatured."

"The show was announced as a comedy, but what we saw provoked not
laughter but a natural storm of indignation among Armenian youth in
Russia," the letter said.

Armenians are traditionally viewed as the funniest people in the
Soviet bloc, along with Jewish people. While the idea that an Indian
chat show host can’t get his own show in Britain has a satirical edge,
it’s hard to argue that there’s any discrimination against Armenians
on Russian television — as long as they’re being funny.

Garik Martirosyan appears on current-affairs comedy show
"ProjectorParisHilton"; Mikhail Galustyan is the co-star of the sketch
show "Nasha Russia"; Tigran Keosayan hosts a late-night discussion
show; Yevgeny Petrosyan is the long-running star of "Crooked Mirror,"
an old-fashioned variety show; and the "Comedy Club" stand-up show
is owned by Armenians.

The star of "Rubik Almighty," Ruben Dzhaginyan, is well-known in
Armenia as a former member of its KVN student comedy team and the
head of a big ad agency.

The pilot show was flashy but not very funny. The guests were
Dmitry Dibrov, a Channel One host whose grin occasionally slipped
off his frozen face, and Anna Semenovich, a figure skater turned pop
singer. She looked frightened as the jokes focused on her ample bosom.

The best jokes were about Dibrov’s frequent trips to the registry
office –â~@¯he recently married two girls, aged 23 and 19 — and a
question to vocally challenged sexpot Semenovich: "Is it true that
the only way to get into show business is via ice skates?"

Part of the problem is that Russian television doesn’t really
have the celebrity chat show format that "The Kumars at 42â~@³ was
parodying. Reactions to the show were baffled. "What on earth was
it?" wrote Chocolita on LiveJournal.

Armenians complained that the show was offensive to their nation.

"I consider ‘Rubik Almighty’ a personal insult," wrote Slishkomtiho,
an Armenian blogger. "Either take [Dzhaginyan] off the air or force
him to speak without an accent," Juber wrote on the Channel One forum.

Rubik spoke with an exaggerated accent, which was presumably fake. All
the Armenian stars on television speak Russian without any accent.

What’s more, Rubik is a collection of all the stereotypes about
Armenians: He flashes the cash, likes blondes, keeps things in the
family, never stops doing business and is irritatingly successful.

Although if I could pick my national stereotypes, I wouldn’t mind
those ones.

HERITAGE DOES NOT PRECLUDE POSSIBILITY OF PRE-TERM PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN ARMENIA

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
04.08.2009 18:37 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Black PR, recently conducted by RA authorities
towards Heritage Chairman Raffi Hovhannesyan, allows me to suppose
pre-term parliamentary elections could be held in autumn," Heritage
Party Press Secretary Hovsep Khurshudyan stated in Yerevan. According
to him, the fact that campaign started now and is being continued after
numerous disclaimers of Heritage and its Leader Raffi Hovhannesyan
suggests the idea of oncoming parliamentary elections. He expressed a
regret that authorities’ informational attacks are circulated through
television, but disclaimers are being published in printed media only.

According to Heritage Press Secretary, from now on Heritage position
will assume more independent and centrist character, as gone are the
times when a single candidate should be supported. When questioned by
reporters if strengthening of tension in RA domestic policy should
be expected in autumn, Heritage MP Zaruhi Postanjyan responded that
she expects no crucial turns in RA political sphere. On July 24, RA
Republican Party Chairman Galust Sahakyan stated that in 1994, at OSCE
Ministers’ Committee sitting, RA Foreign Minister Raffi Hovhannesyan
signed a document confirming NKR as a part of Azerbaijan territory.

BAKU HAILS MOSCOW ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH

United Press International UPI
/Baku-hails-Moscow-on-Nagorno-Karabakh/UPI-5635124 9320162/
Aug 3 2009

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 3 (UPI) — The Russian effort to mediate
a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and
Azerbaijan is moving forward, Baku says.

War broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh
in the early 1990s, and the regional fallout from that row remains
tense despite a 1994 cease-fire.

Moscow hosted bilateral talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan in
July in an effort to find a political solution to the simmering
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Azeri Defense Minister Safar Abiyev said those efforts on the part
of Moscow were making progress, RIA Novosti reports.

"The efforts being taken by Russia to settle the conflict deserve
respect and are encouraging," he said following a meeting with Russian
officials in Baku.

He warned, however, that conflict may be inevitable if political
negotiations fail.

Azerbaijan is spending some $2 billion on its military, which eclipses
the entire federal budget for Armenia. Meanwhile, Armenia is asking for
self-determination over the region, while Azerbaijan demands Armenian
troops leave and allow Nagorno-Karabakh to remain Azeri territory.

A measure offered in 2007 by U.S., French and Russian leaders
calls on Azerbaijan to assume control over territories surrounding
Nagorno-Karabakh, demands the rights of return for displaced persons
and proposes an international security guarantee that could include
a peacekeeping operation.

AHMADINEJAD PRESIDENCY APPROVED

Panorama.am
12:10 03/08/2009

The second term presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been formally
approved on Monday after a disputed election that leading reformists
say was rigged to ensure the incumbent’s victory.

The official ceremony was held and Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei) approved Mr. Ahmadinejad’s presidency, Arabic media reports.

Khamenei has endorsed the June 12 election result and demanded an
end to protests during which at least 30 people were killed.

Ahmadinejad will be sworn in by parliament on Wednesday. He then
has two weeks to submit his cabinet list to the mostly conservative
parliament, which may object if he names only members of his inner
circle.

SILVA HARUTUNYAN WILL BE FORGIVEN

LRAGIR.AM
12:47:38 – 01/07/2009

The Iranian government will grant forgiveness to the Armenian
journalist Silva Harutunyan, who was arrested in connection with
the Iranian events and for whom the international journalistic
organizations voiced their concern. In connection with Silva
Harutunyan’s destiny, the Armenian reporters asked a question to the
ambassador of Iran to Armenia Seid Ali Saghighyan.

"As to Ms. Harutunyan, she is my compatriot too. To tell the
truth, I am not well aware of the court process. I think that the
Iranian government has to answer. But, I hope that, according to
the applications, which her relatives presented, she will be soon
forgiven", stated the Iranian ambassador.

"CASE OF SEVEN" AT APPEALS COURT

A1+
06:55 pm | July 31, 2009 | Politics

Today the prisoners charged with the "Case of Seven" expressed
their appeals/complaints at different halls of the Appeals Court at
different hours.

The advocates of Sasun Mikayelyan, Myasnik Malkhasyan, Alexander
Arzumanyan, Suren Sirunyan and Hakob Hakobyan were demanding from
the judges to reverse the judgments of the first instance courts and
reach the verdict of "not guilty".

Hovik Arsenyan, advocate of MP Myasnik Malkhasyan who is charged with
organizing mass disturbances and was released by amnesty, said that
there was no evidence in the criminal case to show that he was guilty.

"These trials were politically-oriented from the start," said Myasnik
Malkhasyan, adding that he would not like to take responsibility for
things that he had not done. According to him, he was first arrested
for using drugs and then that was denied.

Another advocate Vaghinak Gevorgyan also defended MP Sasun Mikayelyan,
who was sentenced to 8 years in prison by the first instance court
of the Kotayk region.

In the beginning of the trial, Hovik Arsenyan presented a challenge
petition to prosecutor Aram Amirzadyan, mentioning that he also helped
make sure that the other witness, Tatul Karapetyan, did not testify
in court and claim his testimony during the preliminary inquiry.

The prosecutor considered the petition groundless and the trio of
judges, including Armen Danielyan, Mher Arghamanyan and Melik Sargsyan,
rejected the petition after coming out of the consultations room.

Then advocate Vaghinak Gevorgyan presented a challenge petition to
judges Mher Arghamanyan and Armen Danielyan and explained that the
reason for the petition was that the two judges had examined many
cases by Part 1, Article 225 of the Criminal Code in 2008 and 2009
and acknowledged him guilty, meaning that the two judges were biased
and that it will be expressed in this case as well.

The prosecutor considered the petition groundless and the trio of
judges rejected it too.

Sasun Mikayelyan was acknowledged builty based on Part 2, Article
235 and Part 1, Article 225 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison.

The judges must reach verdicts for the cases of Alexander Arzumanyan,
Suren Sirunyan and Hakob Hakobyan by the end of the working day. They
were acknowledged guilty by Part 1, Article 225 and were released
by amnesty.

There were many people gathered in front of the courtroom today,
including opposition activists with photos of former political
prisoneres and the demand to declare them not guilty.

OPEN MUSIC FEST IN ARMENIA STARTS ON AN UPBEAT NOTE
Vincent Lima

-open-music-fest-in-armenia-starts-on-an-upbeat-no te
Friday July 31, 2009

Yerevan – Yerevan has an iconic opera house at its heart, but Aram
Gharabekian likes to take his National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia
outside.

In years past, the orchestra’s concerts at the first-century temple
of Garni and the seventh-century Zvartnots monument were quite the
hit. Now, he is going all-out (literally), spearheading a seven-week
Open Music Festival, which started out Thursday night, July 30.

The charming venue is an open-air movie theater hidden behind the
Moscow Cinema in central Yerevan.

Thanks to the generosity of Hovig Kurkjian, the amphitheater has
been equipped with a state-of-the-art sound system. Not everyone
in Armenia understands that top-notch equipment is nothing without
trained and skilled technicians to operate it. But, to their credit,
the organizers of the Open Music Fest appreciate that simple fact. The
sound system is being operated by sound consultant and engineer Guido
Kacher of Germany’s STAGETEC. The quality shows.

The program consists of 23 distinct concerts of Armenian, classical,
and world music. On August 7 it’s "Komitas 140"; three days later
its "From Vienna with Love." Jazz from Time Report will be featured
on August 18, while on September 12, clarinetist Michel Lethiec of
France will join the NCOA for "Gershwin & Friends."

The closing gala on Armenia’s Independence Day, September 21, will
feature Federico Mondelci from Italy on the saxophone and mezzo-soprano
Anna Maria Chiuri, also from Italy.

Opening concert

The opening concert started with fanfare performed by the Vahagn Dhol
Ensemble, directed by Araz Ordinian. The drummers are talented. Their
act often involves some theatrics with the dhols. That was not possible
at this venue, where space is at a premium.

The ensemble returned at the end to help generate a rousing finale.

The NCOA performed a joyful and playful medley titled "Khachaturiana,"
after which it was joined by mezzo soprano Anna Mailyan, who smilingly
performed three popular songs by Komitas and Altunian. The orchestra
then performed "Badinerie" by Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) and the
Presto from Mozart’s Symphony No. 24.

Aramo then joined the orchestra to perform an aria by J.S. Bach. In
the style of Bobby McFerrin, he used his voice as an instrument. The
words were purposely indistinct, but the sound was rich.

Time for some toys

Next on stage was a group of well-known artists to perform Haydn’s
Toy Symphony for toy trumpet, drum, cuckoo, nightingale, rattle, and
triangle. Actors Harutiun Movsisian and Raphael Kontanjyan, soprano
Araxia Davtian, and jazzist Martin Vardazarian had a lot of fun,
tuning their toy instruments and laughing with the audience.

After Khachaturian and Altunian, the orchestra paid tribute
to two prominent living composers, Tigran Mansurian and Edward
Mirzoian. Mansurian took a bow after they performed the Ragtime from
his ballet, The Snow Maiden. And Mirzoian took a bow after the debut
of a new choral piece he had written. A heavy and difficult piece
based on a classical Armenian text, it was performed by the wonderful
Hover Ensemble.

The 12-year-old Narek Kazazian dazzled the audience with a kanon
performance. He presented "Perpetuo Mobile" by Khachatur Avetisian
(1926-1996).

Then, Mario Stefano Pietrodarchi, straight from Italy, took the stage
with his bandoneon and accordion. In an uplifting performance of
Astor Piazzolla’s work, he was joined by the chamber orchestra and
earned a huge ovation.

As it was close to 11 p.m., it was time for the children to come to
the stage. The Armenian Little Singers always bring joy to audiences
with their upbeat performances, and this evening was no exception. The
44-member group started out with something in English, "In the Mood"
by Joe Garland. Their artistic director and principal conductor,
Tigran Hekekian, shared the stage with Mr. Gharabekian, as the evening
headed for the grand finale.

The Vahagn Dhol Ensemble was back. The audience of perhaps 800,
conducted by Mr. Gharabekian, joined in with rhythmic clapping, as
the children, the drummers, and the orchestra performed Strauss’s
"Radetzky March."

After enjoying a fun-filled and technically flawless concert in the
moonlight in the heart of Yerevan – with the mayor of the Armenian
capital in one of the front rows – it seemed entirely fitting to
wrap up the evening with a rousing performance of "Yerevan-Erebuni"
(music by Edgar Oganessian, words by Paruir Sevak).

It was a great start to a promising festival.

AZERBAIJANI LEFT-WING PARTIES URGE ARMENIAN COUNTERPARTS TO JOINTLY DEBATE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

Today.Az
cs/54251.html
July 30 2009
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan’s left-wing parties have expressed their readiness to
discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with their Armenian counterparts.

The Socialist Party of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan Communist Party
and the Communist Party united on the Marxism-Leninism platform say
it is necessary to hold a meeting with Armenia’s left-wing parties
to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at the party level.

"Such meetings would also create a confidential way among political
parties and lead to unbiased decisions in the future. We believe
that such meetings will take place soon and we are ready to hold this
meeting in a neutral territory acceptable for both sides," said the
Azerbaijani left-win parties’ statement, sent to Armenian counterparts.

Azerbaijan’s left parties hope their Armenian counterparts will pay
a necessary attention to the statement and demonstrate an unbiased
approach to this issue for peace and stability in the Caucasus region.

AZERBAIJAN GREEN PARTY IS FOR PEACE TALKS WITH ARMENIA

Azerbaijan Business Center
July 28 2009

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Azerbaijan Green Party (AYP), known with
non-standard thinking has come forward for ‘appeasement’ of the
aggressor.

At today’s media conference in Baku AYP chair Mais Gulaliyev said he
was very glad with progress in negotiations about peaceful settlement
of Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno Garabagh conflict.

"I’m against military actions in Garabagh. I’m sure Azerbaijan is able
to return its legal lands in a way of peace talks," Gulaliyev said.

The conflict has been in active for the last 20 years and peace
negotiations under the aegis of the OSCE for 15 years. Armenia has
occupied 20% of Azerbaijani territory. Cease-fire between the conflict
states has been operating since May 1994.