Author: Karakhanian Suren

ic Wales, UK
April 23 2005

Armenian concert to thank Wales Apr 23 2005

Karen Price, Western Mail

WHEN Wales became one of the first nations in the world to recognise
the Armenian genocide, one man wanted to say thanks.

Arnaud Amat did not even know where Cardiff was when the National
Assembly made the decision just over two years ago.

But he sought the city out, came over on an exchange as a charity
worker and has now organised the first ever concert of Armenian music
on Welsh soil, which takes place tonight.

More than a million people died in a series of massacres carried out
by Turkish members of the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923. The
Turkish government denies the killings constituted genocide but has
come under increasing pressure over the last few years to recognise
the crime.

In December 2002, a cross-party group of AMs got together to declare
the genocide “one of the sad chapters in the annals of contemporary
history”.

Cardiff Council then became the first British city to recognise the
genocide, incorporating it into its Holocaust Memorial Day
commemorations in January.

“The Welsh Assembly members’ meeting came about when Europe was still
not recognising the genocide as it should,” said Mr Amat, who is
French but of Armenia origin. “I wanted to see Cardiff and pay
tribute to the people because of that.”

Mr Amat is now working in Cardiff for a year with the young people’s
charity ProMo-Cymru and has organised for Keram, a band playing
traditional Armenian music, to perform in the city.

The concert takes place in the Reardon Smith Theatre at the National
Museum and Gallery in Cardiff tonight at 8pm.

Pan Armenian News

ARMENIANS OF LOS ANGELES TO HOLD PROTEST ACTION AT TURKISH EMBASSY

22.04.2005 06:54

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On the occasion of the Armenian Genocide 90-th anniversary
the Armenians of Los Angeles are to hold mass manifestation in front of the
Turkish Consulate, Yerkir online reports. Numerous event dedicated to the
tragic events of 1915 were held in California during this month. As a token
of solidarity with the Armenian organizations System of a Down rock group
will give a charity concert. A meeting with the son of famous writer William
Saroyan, who will present his father’s recollections about the Genocide,
will take place in Alex Theater.

Ankara Reacts to Polish Accepting Genocide Allegations
By Foreign News Desk

Published: Friday 22, 2005
zaman.com

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has met with Polish Foreign Minister
Adam Daniel Rotfeld to convey Turkey’s reaction to the Polish decision
to recognize Armenian genocide allegations on Tuesday.

Gul met with Rotfel yesterday at a break after the NATO-Russia
Council meeting in Vilnius in Litvania. The Turkish Minister expressed
disappointment and regret over the Polish decision to recognize the
alleged Armenian genocide in 1915.

On the other side Rotfeld responded, “I’ve never forgotten and will
forget Turkey’s interest, closeness, and aid to the Polish public,”
and gave information about the process of the decision.

The Foreign Ministry has also declared condemnation of the Polish
decision and has refused to accept it. The Ministry said in a
statement that it is not responsible to define events during the WW
I which caused great sorrow for Turks and Armenians, as “genocide”
in a one-sided approach.

The statement says that national parliaments are not the place to
decide historical disputes and they should should not allow any
intiatives that feed antogonism.

Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Polish leader Lech Walesa issued a
statement yesterday saying that Turkey should not be accepted into the
European Union (EU) before accepting the Armenian genocide allegations.

Oshkosh Northwestern, WI
April 21 2005

Professor’s show going ‘off’ huge

Kalinoski’s ‘Beast on the Moon’ opening off-Broadway
By Alex Hummel
of The Northwestern

It’s now lights “off” for a University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh professor
and playwright.

Richard Kalinoski’s award-winning, globally-acclaimed play “Beast
on the Moon,” will officially open Wednesday off-Broadway at the
Century Center for Performing Arts in New York City, just steps from
Union Square.

Previews for the play about an Armenian couple in Milwaukee grappling
with the early 20th century Turkish genocide of their people began
April 12.

Previews are a traditional opportunity for theater companies to warm
up a show, work out the kinks and build buzz.

Already, the audiences and build-up for “Beast on the Moon” have been
huge, Kalinoski said.

“We’ve been getting standing ovations,” Kalinoski said Wednesday. “I
just talked to the assistant director 10 minutes ago, and he told me
Tuesday night we were at 70 percent (full in the audience), which is
big for a preview in New York.”

He said the cast and crew were expecting The New York Times and
The Wall Street Journal theater critics to take their seats during
previews this weekend.

It’s all part and parcel of the nerve-racking world of New York
theater. Kalinoski said the New York staging has given him a crash
course in the financial mechanics of theater: Dealing with ill actors,
footing costly lighting and audio equipment bills and waiting for
those crucial reviews to run.

“I’m literally living now every day with a pit in my stomach,” he said.

“Beast on the Moon” tells the story of one Armenian family’s
adjustment in America while coming to grips with the 1915 and 1916
Turkish genocide that killed about 1.5 million of their people. This
year marks the 90th anniversary of the World War I atrocities, which
the Turkish government has not formally recognized.

The play also is staged on the heels of the acclaimed film “Hotel
Rwanda” about survivors of the Rwandan genocide and runs in the midst
of genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan – two modern-day horrors
echoing those almost a century ago.

“It’s always kind of a crucible for humanity, and this play reminds
us of that,” said Kalinoski, a Racine native.

“Beast on the Moon” has been performed in 17 countries. Earlier
this year, Kalinoski attended a staging at the prestigious Moscow
Art Theater. Last week, he spoke at the Detroit Armenian Holocaust
Commemorative.

“My goal has always been to be able to write and be accepted as a
playwright on a national level, and that means to me – it may not mean
to other playwrights – but it means to have my work taken seriously,
considered seriously, and produced in some serious way,” Kalinoski
said. “And it has taken me more than 35 years to get to that place
where it’s at least considered now.”

Meanwhile, Kalinoski isn’t shirking his UWO teaching schedule. He is
currently leading a class of playwrights. He turned down three recent
invites to Armenia in respect to his classroom commitments.

“I still have a responsibility to that,” Kalinoski said.

Azeri opposition MPs accuse EU of “double standards”

Lider TV, Baku
20 Apr 05

[Presenter] Strange as it may seem to Marie [Anne] Isler Beguin,
head of the EU parliamentary delegation, every Azerbaijani citizen
is concerned about the Nagornyy Karabakh problem. The European
MPs have been criticized by opposition MPs as well. The opposition
MPs reiterated that the most important issue for Azerbaijan is the
resolution of the Nagornyy Karabakh problem.

[Correspondent] The parliament’s opposition faction shares a
common position. They expressed their dissatisfaction with the EU
demonstrating a similar attitude towards Azerbaijan and Armenia.

[MP Camil Hasanli from the reformist wing of the opposition People’s
Front of Azerbaijan Party] If the aggressor is not named, this
negatively affects ordinary citizens. Double standards like this are
becoming a serious stumbling block to Azerbaijan’s integration into
the West.

[Passage omitted: Azerbaijani MPs accuse the EU of failing to recognize
Armenia as an aggressor]

After this, Ms Beguin launched an attack with questions. She asked
if the Azerbaijani opposition had a clear platform on the Karabakh
settlement.

And the answers were also specific. The entire world knows that
Armenia has occupied Azerbaijani territories using Russian weapons.
But the EU has not yet expressed its position regarding the aggressor,
the Azerbaijani MPs said.

[Passage omitted: minor details]

The final statement came from the Compatriot Party leader, Mais
Safarli. If the situation does not change, we will have to start a
war. But if we are compelled to liberate our territories in a military
way, we will not keep a single Armenian in Nagornyy Karabakh, Safarli
replied when Beguin asked if the opposition wanted a war.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH ACCORDING TO SERGE SARGSYAN

A1plus

| 17:47:08 | 19-04-2005 | Politics |

Press in Armenia is free, Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan stated when
responding to «A1+» reporter’s question referring to the recent
statement by Robert Kocharian, who said that we have a strong country.

In answer to the question «The international reports have many times
noted that press in Armenia is not free. Don’t you think that a strong
state can afford free press and while there is a closed TV Company in
the country, it cannot be considered strong?» Serge Sargsyan said,
«There were tenders announced. You could win but you didn’t. If you
had won, other companies could say they had been closed.»

–Boundary_(ID_O5voZNDPjg6PgPFpkCoUdw)–

Russian border guard chief in Armenia to discuss fighting cross-border crime

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
18 Apr 05

[Presenter] The first deputy director of the Russian Federal Security
Service [FSB] and chief of the Border Guard Service, Col-Gen Vladimir
Pronichev, arrived in Yerevan today. He will discuss in Yerevan issues
of joint defence of the borders.

The purpose of the visit is to familiarized himself with the
conditions of the Russian frontier troops stationed in Armenia. A
number of bilateral documents and agreements referring in part to the
financing of the Russian troops are to be signed within the framework
of the visit.

The Russian general noted that the security of the borders is ensured
by joint efforts taking account of the threats existing in this region.

Given that the border service is employing professional methods,
Pronichev said that it is necessary to discuss the possibility of
using productively the forces deployed in Armenia. Pronichev said that
the character of the threats has changed and it is very difficult to
fight cross-border crime by tactical methods.

[Vladimir Pronichev, captioned, at airport, in Russian with Armenian
voice-over] We should see how our relations are developing and what
we should do in the future. The situation has changed and it is
very difficult to fight cross-border crime by tactical methods. It
is necessary to employ special methods. The border security will be
ensured by newly-accepted professional methods.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE LIVE

AZG Armenian Daily #069, 19/04/2005

Armenian Genocide

Hamlet Gasparian, press secretary of RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs
informed that the State Commission on Organizing Arrangements for
the 90th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide took a decision of
live broadcast of “Ultimate Crime, Ultimate Challenge” international
conference on April 20-21. Materials of the conference are available
on

The conference will host historians from 20 countries and delegations
from 15 countries.

By Marietta Makarian

Iran, Armenia study promotion of cooperation in health field

Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Iran
April 18 2005

Moscow, April 17, IRNA
Iran-Armenia-Health

Iran’s Deputy Health Minister Mohammad Nouri and Armenian Minister of
Health Norair Davidyan exchanged views Monday on mutual cooperation
in the fields of health and treatment.

At the meeting, Nouri underlined Iran’s medical and treatment
potentials and suggested mutual cooperation in scientific, training,
medicine and medical equipment fields.

For his part, the Armenian minister of health welcomed the suggestion
made by the Iranian official and underlined the importance of the
agreement on medical cooperation already signed by the two countries.

He stressed that his country is ready to implement the agreement for
bilateral cooperation.

Mohammad Nouri and his accompanying delegation is scheduled to inspect
some medical centers in Armenia.

The Republic of Armenia is situated in south-west Transcaucasia.

It borders with Iran to the south. The capital is Yerevan.

Baku Today, Azerbaijan
April 16 2005

OSCE MG co-chairs issue new statement on ceasefire breaches

Baku Today 16/04/2005 09:52

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs issued a statement on Friday over the
ceasefire breaches on the Armenia-Azerbaijan frontline.

The co-chairs Yuri Merzlyakov of Russia, Steven Mann of the United
States and Bernard Fassier of France are concerned over the
persistent ceasefire violations, casualties on both sides, calls for
war and the increasing hatred between the two countries’ residents,
the document reads.

“At a time the Minsk Group is close to the initial steps in achieving
an agreement between the conflicting sides, the co-chairs call on
Armenia and Azerbaijan to observe the ceasefire on the frontline,
according to the commitments they assumed, and refrain from any
public statements that may lead to exacerbating the tensions, as well
as to prepare the peoples of both countries for an agreement that may
be reached through negotiations and would require mutual
compromises,” the statment read according to Assa Irada.

The co-chairs also said that resumption of hostilities would hamper a
long-term settlement of the Karabakh conflict and lead to
considerable human casualties, destruction, an inflow of refugees,
and economic crisis.