Author: Nargizian David

OnMilwaukee.com, Milwaukee
July 27 2005

Armenian Fest: July 30-31
By OMC Staff Writers

Where: St. John the Baptist Armenian Church, 7825 W. Layton Ave.
Hours: noon-6 p.m.
Admission: free

Highlights: This festival has some of the most scrumptious food of
any festival and the community vibe will make you feel right at home.
The cuisine is part-Greek, part-Middle Eastern, so expect lots of
spinach, spices, chick peas and the like. But there are franks and
beer, too, if you’re not terribly adventurous. In addition to food,
Armenian Fest offers a cultural booth selling books and artifacts
relating to Armenia, a nation that already existed at the time of the
Mesopotamians and has outlasted many of its larger, more powerful
neighbors.

What’s new this year: Live Middle Eastern music on both days with
Racine’s Kai Kaiserian Band on Saturday and Chicago’s John Paklian
Band on Sunday.

Cost of a beer: $2 a cup!

Festival guy says: This relatively undiscovered summer treasure
offers great, low-key family fun and won’t tax your wallet.

For more information: (262) 679-9670.

Azeri demo demands freedom to Karabakh, fair polls

ANS TV, Baku
24 Jul 05

The Movement for Azerbaijan is staging an authorized rally outside the
Qalaba cinema.

The rally participants chanted that there can be no Azerbaijan without
Karabakh, Azerbaijan is indivisible and demanded free elections.

The Yasamal district branch of the [opposition] People’s Front of
Azerbaijan Party has joined the rally. This is the final rally from a
series of demonstrations staged in foreign countries to mark the
anniversary of Agdam’s occupation [in 1993], the Movement for
Azerbaijan has said.

The police are ensuring security in the rally sanctioned by the Baku
executive authorities. No incident has been registered at the rally so
far.

[Video showed the rally]

Baku Today, Azerbaijan
July 25 2005

Greece Makes `Counter-Offensive’ Move

Baku Today / AssA-Irada 25/07/2005 11:16

Major Greek telecommunications company Intracom has decided to
cooperate with Armenia’s Divacell cellular communication provider
operating in the occupied Nagorno Karabakh region, in an apparent
move to counter Azerbaijan’s recent plans to establish cooperation
with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

The Greek company intends to invest 28 million euros in Divacell,
Turkish media reported. Interacom intends to open its offices in
Yerevan by September and in Nagorno Karabakh by October, it said.

Turkey’s influential Milliyet newspaper, in its story entitled
`Greece takes counter-steps against Azerbaijan’, said that the Greek
part of Cyprus has launched a counter-offensive, following
Azerbaijan’s plans to open direct flights to TRNC. Official Nicosia
has raised the issue at a committee of the European Union.

The Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan has said it will look into the
issue.

Interfax
July 24 2005

PM denies any ties of suspected assassin detained in Georgia with
Armenia

TBILISI. July 24 (Interfax) – Armenian Prime Minister Andronik
Markarian has categorically denied that Vladimir Arutyunian suspected
of making an attempt on the life of U.S. President George W. Bush in
Tbilisi on May 10 has anything to do with Armenia or Armenians.

“Detained Vladimir Arutyunian is a national of Georgia and has no
ties with Armenia or Armenians. And the assumptions made by some
media are absolutely incomprehensible and inappropriate,” he told
reporters on Sunday at the beginning of his two day official visit to
Georgia.

Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli accompanying his Armenian
counterpart told reporters that Arutyunian’s case “is absolutely
clear and the investigation will be completed very soon.” [AM GG
EUROPE EEU EMRG POL CRIM] ml

ARMAVIA INCREASES ITS SHARE IN ARMENIA’S AVIATION MARKET FROM 38% TO 50%

YEREVAN, JULY 22. ARMINFO. The national air carrier of Armenia Armavia
has increased its share in the country’s aviation market from 28%
to 50%, says the company’s commercial director Artur Zakaryan.

If in the first half year of 2004 Armavia carried 164,300 of 434,600
passengers travelling via Zvartnots Airport this year the share is
172,000 of 352,600. Armavia is presently facing serious competition
and one of its key tasks is to retain its positions on the market.
Zakaryan says that all the company’s recent problems were due to
transition: transfer of the company’s technical administration from
Russian cities to Armenia, optimization of the ticket sales network
and so on.

Zakaryan says that recently Armavia started flying from Yerevan to
Voronezh and Tashkent bring the number of its directions to 29.
Besides the company has increased the frequency of its flight to
Europe. Given tough competition in the European direction Armavia
is going to follow the policy of commercial aggression. The company
has already reduced its ticket prices for Europe by 20% and also to
certain extent to Moscow. But this costs the company a pretty penny
as the fuel price at Zvartnost has rose from $443 to 750. So Armavia
is considering more flexible reduction mechanisms.

Armavia is also planning to seriously enlarge its sales network in
the US and by July 30 to sign a contract with Lufthansa for the use
of its sales network.

Zakaryan says that Mika Armenia Trading has got all the rights and
liabilities concerning the leasing of Armavia’s four Airbus-A-320s.
Besides Armavia is exploiting Yak-2 and IL-86. In Sept the leasing
of one A-320 is expiring. In next winter the company will work with
three A-320 but by next summer it will lease one more A-320 again.
The maintenance is carried out according to the scheme agreed on with
Lufthansa Technics via Siberia company (Russia) – minor problems are
resolved in Armenia, medium ones in Russia (Novosibirks) and serious
ones in Europe. But in case of a more acceptable proposal the company
will change the scheme.

Zakaryan says that the company fulfills all of its obligations to
the state and tightly cooperates with Zvartnots Airport. There are
certain tasks in the airport which I hope will be resolved as soon
as a new terminal is launched in 2007, says Zakaryan.

The new projects for example the US direction are long-term and
safety-related. The US sets very high airport operation requirements
in both technical and security terms. Not all depends on Armavia
here. The growing demand is for the moment being covered by the
optimized work of the available planes.

To remind, in early June Mika Armenia Trading bought 68% of Armavia’s
shares from Siberia and now controls all 100% o the company. In 2004
Armavia made 5,375 flights carrying 430,900 passengers – 42% more
than in 2003. In 2004 the company’s turnover totalled almost $90 mln.

FIRST-YEAR SCHOOLCHILDREN AND TEMPORARY WORKERS TO RECEIVE BENEFITS

Azg/arm
22 July 05

30 thousand first-year schoolchildren included in the list of family
benefits will receive 20 thousand AMD starting from September 2005.
Ara Petrosian, RA labor and social security deputy minister, told
about this decree of RA Government yesterday. He said that RA state
budget envisaged 20 billion AMD for family benefits, 10 billion
of which will be allocated for the first semester. He added that
about 9,5 billion AMD were spent, while about 500 million AMD were
saved. A part of these sources will be allocated for the first year
schoolchildren from socially insecure families.

RA government also adopted the bill “On Social Security in Case
of Temporary Unemployment.” Artem Asatrian, head of the relevant
department at RA Social Security Ministry, touched upon this
document. He said that there will be 5 forms of benefits, i.e. in
case of illness, prosthesis, resort treatment, pregnancy and
childbirth. Benefits will also be allocated when a document given
for temporary unemployment will be submitted.

By Ara Martirosian

Prize Fighters

Movies

An early look at the Oscar field

Entertainment Weekly
Wednesday, July 20, 2005

We analyze the odds for ”All the King’s Men,” ”Broken Flowers,”
”Jarhead,” and more by Dave Karger.

Though Oscar night is still eight months away (March 5, 2006, to be
exact), studio awards strategists are already preparing their plans of
attack. They’d better get busy: Since the first half of the year didn’t
yield much in the way of true contenders, almost all Best Picture
nominees should come from the final five months of the year. As usual,
one or two films may appear out of nowhere (nobody was talking about
Million Dollar Baby or Sideways last July), but here, in alphabetical
order, are the likeliest candidates at this early date.

ALL THE KING’S MEN
Could be a contender… if the political drama directed by Steven
Zaillian (a past Oscar winner for his Schindler’s List screenplay)
elicits topflight performances from Academy faves Sean Penn, Kate
Winslet, and Jude Law. Unless… a remake of a Best Picture winner seems
like too obvious an Oscar ploy. (Dec. 16)

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Could be a contender… since Annie Proulx’s unorthodox gay-cowboy love
story has landed in the careful hands of director Ang Lee (Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon). Unless… hardcore fans of the short story
complain that the romance between Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal is
too tame. (Dec. 9)

BROKEN FLOWERS
Could be a contender… since the droll-and-droller combination of
director Jim Jarmusch and star Bill Murray can get a jump on Oscar
campaigning, thanks to an early rollout (hey, it worked for Murray in
Lost in Translation, a September release). Unless… voters find it too
strange and small. (Aug. 5)

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ONE CANNOT GET ALL BY GIVING NOTHING: NKR PRESIDENT

YEREVAN, JULY 19. ARMINFO. To settle the Karabakh conflict the Azeri
leadership will have to show political will and ability to take risk,
NKR President Arkady Ghoukassyan says in an interview to Armenia’s
Public TV Company.

He says that peaceful settlement is a risk – first of all for political
leadership. “I am not sure that the Azeri political leadership is
ready for a risk,” says Ghoukassyan noting that there is wish but
wish is nothing without will. “They cannot get all by giving nothing.”

The Azeri authorities have given their people big promises and now they
should give them up as they are unreal, says Ghoukassyan noting that
the Azeri media have become less aggressive recently. This means that
the Azeri authorities have begun to work with their people. Formerly
they cultivated hostility against Armenians – one thing Armenians
have never done. “We are much more restrained,” says Ghoukassyan.

Karabakh leader meets senior members of new parliament

Arminfo, Yerevan
18 Jul 05

Stepanakert, 18 July: The president of the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic
[NKR], Arkadiy Gukasyan, received members of the presidium of the
National Assembly led by the speaker of the parliament, Ashot Gulyan.

Noting high professionalism of the newly-elected MPs, the head of the
Karabakh state expressed the hope that the parliament would fully meet
expectations of Karabakh society, an Arminfo special correspondent
in Stepanakert has said quoting the press service of the NKR president.

At the request of the participants in the meeting, Arkadiy Gukasyan
focused on foreign political, economic and social issues facing
the republic.

For his part, the speaker of the National Assembly, Ashot Gulyan,
assured Arkadiy Gukasyan that the MPs would continue to strengthen
ties with the electorate established during the election campaign.

ARMENIAN MONUMENTS THREATENED IN GEORGIA, RUSSIA

ArmenPress
July 18 2005

AKHALKALAKI, JULY 18, ARMENPRESS: Residents of an an-Armenian populated
Akhalkalaki in southern Georgia rampaged a local Georgian school and
attacked Georgian students from the local branch of Tbilisi State
University on Sunday after learning that students “had cleaned up a
territory around and inside a church in a remote Samsa village.”

Armenians say what Georgians call “cleaning up” is a systematic drive
to appropriate Armenian cultural monuments in the southern Georgia by
erasing Armenian-language inscriptions and other signs, testifying
to their being Armenian. A local source was quoted by Regnum news
agency as saying that Armenians were offended deeply by the news and
rose to defend the church from being seized by Georgians.

Local police has started an investigation under a penal code article
on ‘religious intolerance.” In a related development a monument in
a southern Russian town of Budenovsk erected in commemoration of its
Armenian founders was desecrated for the second time in less than six
weeks. Yerkramas weekly, published by the local Armenian community,
reported the monument had been first vandalized in 2005 February. The
newspaper says lampposts circling the monument, the lanterns and
a cross-stone were damaged this time and a dead cat was put under
its arch.