DO YOU TRUST RESULTS OF PUBLIC POLLS IN THE PRE-ELECTION PERIOD?
Lragir.am
19-09-2007 12:23:03
We asked this question to our readers over the past week. Results are:
82.3 percent do not trust, 13.4 percent trust partly, and only 4.3
percent trust the results of polls in the pre-election period.
WHO WILL HEAD YOUNG BUT ENERGETIC PARTY?
KarabakhOpen
19-09-2007 14:29:17
After appointment as prime minister Arayik Harutiunyan let several
positions go which cannot remain vacant for a long time. In particular,
Arayik Harutiunyan said to resign from parliament. In other words,
voting should be held soon in the constituency from where he had been
elected to parliament.
The second position is the leadership of the Azat Hayrenik Party.
Apparently, the party will have to choose a new leader soon.
The party was set up on the eve of the parliamentary election of
2005 and had four co-leaders in the beginning. Perhaps in order
to emphasize its diversity, the party elected Arayik Harutiunyan,
businessman, Arpat Avanesyan and Arthur Tovmasyan, professors at
Artsakh State University, Rudik Hyusnunts involved in spiritual
activities. All the four were elected to parliament, in addition,
Rudik Hyusnunts became deputy speaker of parliament, Arpat Avanesyan
became chair of the commission on social affairs. Arayik Harutiunyan
became chair of the committee of finance and budget, Arthur Tovmasyan
became the leader of the Hayrenik faction.
The past two years were marked with perturbations, namely last year
the party elected Arayik Harutiunyan as sole leader who also became
the leader of the faction, and resigned from chairmanship of the
committee. Benik Bakhshiyan (Democratic faction) was elected chair
of the committee of finance and budget, and Gagik Petrosyan from Azat
Hayrenik became chair of the committee of industry.
Hence, the Azat Hayrenik is going to elect leaders of the party and
the faction. Judging by backstage conversations, Arthur Tovmasyan
may become the leader of the party.
In the long run, the active political season in Karabakh is over. The
parties will hardly become engaged in intensive political activities in
the upcoming two or three years, for the next parliamentary election
is in 2010. The party may have a rest, especially after such hard
work. It is not so easy to get 12 seats in a parliament with 33
members, have officials in almost all the influential agencies, and
support the president so that he trusts the post of prime minister
to the leader of such a young but energetic party within three years.
The take-off of the party and its leader was so sudden and evident
that it made some analysts think who will be at the wheel of the
country in the upcoming few years.
MINIMUM MONTHLY WAGE IS 25 THOUSAND DRAMS
Lragir.am
19-09-2007 17:47:19
Today the minister of employment and social security Aghvan Hovsepyan
said the average family benefit in 2008 will total 20 thousand drams,
and each family will get a distinguished approach. According to the
ministry’s estimate, next year 16.5 thousand will get benefits.
In 2008 the average retirement benefit will rise by 17 percent and will
total 21,850 drams. The government has foreseen to boost the minimum
monthly wage from 20 thousand to 25 thousand from January 1, 2008.
The government will also boost the basic salary of civil servants. It
will total 40 thousand drams, Aghvan Vardanyan said.
ISRAELI SOLDIERS PROSECUTE THE DIRECTOR OF "JENIN JENIN" MOVIE
by Saed Bannoura
IMEMC News& Agencies saed at imemc dot org
Monday September 17, 2007 23:12
Mohammad Bakry, an Arab- Palestinian resident living within the
boundaries of Israel, is facing threats of boycott and a law suit
for his movie "Jenin Jenin" which documents aspects of the Israeli
invasion to Jenin refugee camp in 2002.
The Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV reported on its website that Bakry stated
that he does not fear those threats and that his documentary aims at
"exposing the crimes of the occupation against the Palestinian people".
In an interview with aljazeera.net, Bakry said that five soldiers filed
lawsuits against him for his documentary on the Israeli offensive which
was carried as part of the so-called "Defensive Shield Operation",
in the occupied West Bank in 2002.
The Israeli Court in Petah Tikva will start legal proceedings of
the suit on Tuesday against Bakry who faces charges of smearing the
reputation of the soldiers who claim that they carried the offensive
but did not commit war crimes.
The soldiers are demanding the Barky should be convicted of incitement
and are demanding nearly 650 US dollars in compensation.
They claimed that "the crimes Barky is talking about did not happen",
and that he is "discrediting" them.
The documentary contains testimonies of Jenin residents who witnessed
the invasion, and the Israeli military siege over the camp which also
included cutting food, water and electricity supplies.
The Israeli army shelled the camp by tanks and aircrafts and bulldozed
the houses of the overcrowded Jenin refugee camp.
At least 55 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed, dozens of
injured and dozens of houses were leveled. 23 Israeli soldiers were
killed in the offensive and dozens of injuries were reported.
It is worth mentioning that the Israeli Authorities barred the
releasing of the documentary for two years, but Bakry filed a law
suit and managed to receive a permit to release the movie in the
country and abroad.
Bakry stated that the documentary did not incite, or smear anybody,
and that it only presented facts and carried the dreams and ambitions
of the Palestinians who were displaced in 1948 and became refugees.
Barky accused the five soldiers of serving Israeli intelligence
agencies as he has been perused and threatened to be prosecuted since
the documentary was released three years ago.
He stated that he did not commit any mistake, and called on the
Israeli government to apologize to the Palestinian people.
He also stated that if he was a Jewish director he wouldn’t have
faced those threats and complaints, and added that he does not fear
these threats.
"Even if they convict me, I will not recognize there justice system",
he added, "Israel does not have the right to prosecute me, justice
does not rule in Israel".
He also said that starting next month he will start screening another
documentary about the life in the Palestinian territories and the
internal Palestinians clashes.
Barky added that movie theaters in Europe are still screening his
movie about the massacres against the Armenian people in 1915.
Israeli government continues to pursue Arab-Israeli filmmaker.
Monday September 17, 2007 13:51 by Nisreen Qumsieh – IMEMC News
nisreen at imemc dot org The first Israeli court trial against the
Arab-Israeli filmmaker Mohammad Bakry is to be held on Tuesday.
The director of the film "Jenin-Jenin," a documentary reporting on
the devastating Israeli invasion of the Jenin refugee camp in 2002,
has been the subject of intense Israeli scrutiny since the distribution
of the movie.
The director stands accused of "discrediting" five Israeli soldiers
who participated in the invasion and subsequently initiated court
proceeding against him.
The same soldiers also launched a court case against two cinemas in
Tel Aviv and Jerusalem that screened the documentary.
The soldiers involved are seeking 2.5 million NIS in compensation,
arguing that the documentary is biased and fails to live up to the
standards of an objective report.
ARMENIAN JUDOIST QUALIFIES FOR BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES
ARMENPRESS
Sep 17, 2007
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS: Armenian judoist. Armen Nazarian,
has won the right to represent his country at 2008 Beijing Olympic
Games.
Armen Nazarian, 66 kg, is two-times Europe champion under 23. He came
fifth at world championship in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro, nevertheless
that was enough to qualify for the Beijing Games.
Armen Nazarian has become the third Armenian athlete so far to have
qualified for the Games after a shooter Norayr Bakhtamyan and another
judoist Hovhaness Davtian.
This is a multipart message in MIME format.
Armenian National Committee of Australia
259 Penshurst Street, Willoughby NSW 2068
PO Box 768, Willoughby NSW 2068
T: (02) 9419 8264 | F: (02) 9411 8898
E: <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] | W: <;
SACS History Evening
The History faculty will be hosting an historical evening at 7pm on
Wednesday 19 September in the Chapter House of St Andrew’s Cathedral. The
function will consist of a presentation (illustrated by a digital
presentation) by SACS’ own Dr Panayiotis Diamadis on the topic of Forgotten
Saviours: Australian Humanitarian Efforts in the Near East 1915-1932,
accompanied by exhibition of rare books and archival material relating to
the response to the humanitarian crisis in the Near East during and
following World War I.
In particular, the presentation will focus on the leading role played by the
Anglican Church in Australia in the concerted effort to raise monetary and
material support for the Christian populations of the Near East rendered
destitute by governmental persecution. On 12 December 1918, the Sydney Lord
Mayor’s Armenian Relief Fund was formed "to alleviate the sufferings of what
is left of the Armenian nation after the Turks have been forced to cease
their persecutions". The committee formed included many prominent
personalities from around Sydney and Australia, mostly Anglicans. Amongst
them were the Honourable William Brooks MLC, the Right Reverend Bishop Pain
DD, the Venerable Archdeacon D’Arcy Irvine and Archdeacon William Leslie
Langley, longtime parish priest of All Saints’ Anglican Church, Woollahra,
in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Entry is free and bookings are essential. For more details, please email Dr
Diamadis at [email protected].
Dr Diamadis, History Teacher
The Armenian National Committee of Australia is the peak public affairs body
of the Armenian-Australian community. ANC Australia advances the concerns of
the Armenian-Australian community.
ARMENIAN AIRLINE TO BUY 2 SUKHOI JETS
RosBusinessConsulting
RBC, 13.09.2007, Moscow 17:55:41.
Russia
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft and the Armenian airline Armavia plan to sign
a contract on Friday to supply two Sukhoi Superjet 100 airplanes with
an option agreement for another two aircraft, the airline told RBC.
Serial production of the regional Superjet 100s, which are set to
eventually replace the currently operating Tu -134 planes, is scheduled
to start on January 1, 2008, with 60 aircraft to be produced that
year. The price of each jet, depending on its modification, will
average $29.5m.
UWO PLAYWRIGHT, PROFESSOR WINS TWO AWARDS
By Sarah Owen of The Northwestern, [email protected].
Oshkosh Northwestern, WI
Posted September 13, 2007
Internationally known playwright Richard Kalinoski’s work has the
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh professor in the national spotlight.
Kalinoski’s play "A Crooked Man," which first opened at Frederic March
Theatre in February, earned him a $1,000 Playwrights First Award from
the National Arts Club of New York, and the 2007 Armenian Dramatic
Arts Alliance’s Frances Paul Lyons/Almas Paul award, for $10,000.
For the latter, Kalinoski was flown to Los Angeles for a gala on
Aug. 19, where the top three finalists were invited to find out whose
work would take first place.
"I was especially pleased, because the panel of judges was quite
distinguished; it included an Academy Award-winning screenwriter,
Steve Zaillian, who wrote the screenplay for ‘Schindler’s List,’"
Kalinoski said.
"Just to have my play considered sort of at that level was both an
honor and also useful in terms of my work."
No stranger to accolades, Kalinoski’s work has earned a shower of
awards – from Angouni and Garland awards for "Beast on the Moon"
to a Reva Shriner Award for "Between Men and Cattle."
On top of his two national prizes, Kalinoski was also recently
commissioned by the Provision Theatre in Chicago to write his next
play, after his "Beast on the Moon" did a successful run there in 2006.
"They pay me to write any play I want to, which is fairly rare in
theatre, actually, because theatre companies often can’t afford to
do that," Kalinoski said.
With his deadline for a first draft looming in January, the playwright
has spent much of summer at work interviewing sources and materializing
a direction for a play he says will work around a female soldier
returning from Iraq.
"The good thing about a commission is, not only do they pay you to
write the play, they’ve basically committed to producing it," he said.
NEW SERVICES PACKAGE OF INFORMATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES’ AUDIT AND CONSULTING
By Aghavni Harutyunian
AZG Armenian Daily
13/09/2007
Grant Thornton International’s Armenian branch Grant Thornton Amio
that unites international audit and consulting independent companies
presented its new package of services of International Technologies’
Management on September 10 at a presentation in "Armenia-Mariott"
hotel.
Grant Thornton Amio attaches great importance to the role of
Informational technologies and investment of international standards
in the development of Armenian economy", mentioned the representatives
of the company.
The company has done several works in Armenia in the frameworks of the
Program of Informational Technologies’ Audit and Consulting Services
Enforcement and Development.
They have established relations with international standards defining
organizations in the sphere of informational technologies. Methods
and working standards were refined. The company has got corresponding
qualification and international licenses.
Besides, they have created a group for the development of informational
technologies’ audit and consulting in Armenia with the help of
Ministries of Trade and Economic Development, Finance and Economy, also
the Central Bank of Armenia, Union of Banks, Union of Informational
Technologies Institutions, Association of Producers and Businessmen,
Microsoft RA and Foundation of Incubator Enterprises.
WAYS OF ELIMINATION OF HAZARDOUS FOODSTUFF TO BE APPROVED IN ARMENIA WITHIN NEXT 2 MONTHS
ArmInfo
2007-09-12 13:13:00
The ways of elimination of the hazardous foodstuff will be approved in
Armenia within the next 2 months, Head of the "Protection of Consumers"
public organization Abgar Yegoyan told ArmInfo.
He said that the hazardous foodstuffs will be eliminated in future,
according to the country’s ecological legislation, on account of their
realizer. To recall, the order of utilization and (or) elimination of
the low- grade and hazardous foodstuff has been in force in Armenia
since July 12, 2007.