ARMENIAN-GREEK COOPERATION ENHANCED
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| 14:22:50 | 10-10-2005 | Official |
Today the newly appointed Greek Ambassador extraordinary and
plenipotentiary to Armenia Mrs. Panayota Mavromikhali has handed her
credentials to the RA President Robert Kocharyan.
Congratulating the Ambassador on being appointed Robert Kocharyan
mentioned the importance of the development of the two-party relations
between the countries, as well as to the cooperation in the margins
of NATO and EU.
Le Figaro, France
08 octobre 2005
Charles Aznavour : «Je ne connais pas l’ennui»
Propos recueillis par Jean-Luc Wachthausen
CHANSON Il sort un nouvel album, Insolitement vôtre, dix-neuf
chansons écrites pour sa comédie musicale Lautrec descendue par la
presse anglaise en 2000, mais qu’il compte bien remonter au Canada,
l’an prochain. En attendant Paris.
TEXTE-ARTICLE:
LE FIGARO. Pourquoi avez-vous intitulé cet album Insolitement vôtre ?
Charles AZNAVOUR. Parce que c’est le genre d’album insolite que je
n’ai jamais fait. Je n’ai jamais été un joyeux luron dans mes
disques. C’était le contraire même. Et pourtant, vous aimez la vie et
vous le proclamez en chantant dès l’ouverture «Vive la vie». Oh oui !
Et croyez-moi, à l’ge que j’ai, vu l’alternative, je l’aime deux
fois plus. Au départ, ces chansons avaient été écrites pour la
scène… En effet, elles étaient conçues pour ma comédie musicale sur
Toulouse-Lautrec présentée il y a cinq ans au Shaftesbury Theater de
Londres. Mais je publie aussi cet album parce que les chansons
peuvent être parfaitement interprétées en dehors de la scène. Le
spectacle s’est fait descendre, non ? Ça a merveilleusement marché un
peu partout, à Plymouth, en Hongrie ou en Allemagne, sauf à Londres.
On s’est fait descendre, même si dans la salle, c’était un triomphe
tous les soirs. La faute à la critique qui n’a pas aimé ? Je ne
dirais pas qu’elle n’a pas aimé, elle a démoli ! Ce n’est pas pareil.
Mais elle a également démoli Notre-Dame de Paris ; elle a démoli la
pièce jouée par Alain Delon, Variations énigmatiques ; elle a démoli
un Napoléon qui venait du Canada. Ils ont démoli cette année-là tout
ce qu’il y avait de français. Du coup, Lautrec est resté peu de temps
à l’affiche… Un mois et demi.
Pourquoi ne l’avez-vous pas joué à Paris ? Mes producteurs n’avaient
pas envie. Ils étaient américains et m’ont dit : «Ça n’a pas marché.
On s’en va et on fait autre chose.» A ses débuts à Londres, Les
Misérables avaient aussi été démolis, mais le producteur Cameron
MacIntoch avait les moyens de continuer. Vous comptez bien tout de
même le présenter un jour ? Oui, si mes producteurs québécois le
souhaitent. Pour le moment, nous commençons bientôt une tournée au
Canada. Le coup d’envoi sera donné l’an prochain à la Place des Arts
de Montréal. Ave cet album, vous en profitez pour accueillir pas mal
d’invités. Qu’est-ce qui vous a séduit dans cette formule ?
L’échange, la complicité. J’ai choisi Isabelle Boulay qui a une voix
sublime, Hélène Segara et Serge Lama. Les duos ont été réalisés comme
ça, spontanément. Il y a aussi ma fille Katia Aznavour, Annie Cordy
et Lio. Pourquoi cette dernière ? Je ne la connais pas, mais il
s’agit d’une fille qui, je crois, a un potentiel inconnu, inexploité
et qui ne peut pas toujours chanter Des brunes et des prunes.
Pourquoi mettre Lautrec en musique ? Le personnage et l’époque
m’inspiraient. A l’origine, les producteurs sont venus me voir en me
disant : «Nous voulons monter Moulin-Rouge, et nous avons pensé à
vous.» Je ne voulais pas. Les pourparlers ont duré un an et demi. Je
leur ai proposé de faire Lautrec. Et pour les convaincre, je leur ai
dit que Lautrec, c’était Piaf et Chaplin réunis. Et à partir de là,
vous avez composé paroles et musiques. Les paroles d’abord, toujours.
Surtout dans un sujet comme celui-là. Le texte est plus important que
la musique. Toutefois, l’avantage qu’il y a dans ce genre de musique,
c’est qu’il faut trouver des mélodies et des thèmes. C’est tout. Il
ne faut pas inventer autre chose. C’est-à-dire qu’il faut revenir aux
maîtres du genre et d’abord, bien sûr, à Offenbach… Quand avez-vous
commencé à travailler sur ce spectacle ? En 1997. J’ai mis quatre ans
à le concevoir. J’ai beaucoup écrit, puis j’ai corrigé. Par exemple,
dans mon précédent album, j’avais écrit certaines choses comme Être
quelqu’un de différent ou J’ai des amis des deux côtés. On se sert de
vingt-trois ou vingt-quatre chansons. J’en ai écrit soixante. C’est
ça le métier ! Quelle est votre conception d’une vraie comédie
musicale ? Un spectacle qui bouge avec un vrai orchestre, des
trouvailles pour les décors, les costumes, des comédiens, des
chanteurs, des danseurs. A part çà, vous continuez vos tours de chant
? Oui. Là, je vais à Moscou chanter deux jours. J’ai déjà trois
récitals en octobre ; en novembre, six ou sept, et je dois tourner en
Belgique et en Hollande avec un orchestre symphonique polonais. Tout
le monde croyait qu’après le Palais des congrès en 2004, vous
quittiez la scène. Vrai ou faux ? Je n’ai jamais fait mes adieux,
c’est-à-dire que l’on s’est trompé sur le terme «dernière tournée».
Ce n’était pas du tout ma dernière tournée. Je parle un français
normal, on comprend un autre français, c’est peut-être qu’il me reste
un accent arménien, sûrement ! (rires). En fait, vous continuez, mais
à votre rythme. Oui, mais le rythme, je l’ai abandonné. En plus, je
refuse la plupart des films. A la télévision, on travaille plus vite.
Après Le Père Goriot, Il est question que je fasse Le Petit Homme
d’Arkhangelsk. C’est un Simenon. Etre un acteur littéraire n’est pas
mal pour un illettré ! (rires). Qu’est-ce qui compte le plus pour
vous aujourd’hui ? Ma famille. Les seules angoisses que j’ai dans ma
vie, c’est en pensant à ma famille. Continuez-vous d’écrire tous les
jours ? Tous les jours. Le mois prochain, sort un très bel album de
photos avec des commentaires dans lesquels je parle de Pierre Roche,
de Marcel Marceau… Vous arrive-t-il de vous ennuyer ? Je ne connais
pas l’ennui. Vous n’investissez pas dans les objets rares ou les
belles antiquités ? Je l’ai fait longtemps, mais je ne le fais plus.
Depuis peu, je me détache totalement de ces choses-là. Pas du bien
matériel, ce n’est pas vrai. Je veux dire par là acheter une nouvelle
toile, une statuette, un livre rare, non, c’est le contraire, je vais
tout vendre ! Parce que j’ai remarqué que les enfants n’aiment pas la
même chose que nous. Je ne dis pas qu’ils ont mauvais goût, mais ils
n’ont pas le mien. J’aime mieux leur donner du bien-être que de leur
laisser des choses. En plus, qui aura quoi ? J’ai trop vu de familles
qui se déchiraient pour une cuillère en argent. Quand vous
reverra-t-on à Paris ? Je n’en sais rien. J’ai demandé à mon agent,
Levon Sayan, de me donner cinq jours par mois de travail dans des
salles de 1 200 à 1 400 places.
Los Angeles Times
October 8, 2005 Saturday
Home Edition
George J. Mason, 74; Founder of Armenian Newspaper, Financier
Jon Thurber, Times Staff Writer
George J. Mason, who founded the California Courier, the first
English-language Armenian newspaper in the state, and had a
significant career in finance as a senior managing director of the
Los Angeles office of Bear, Stearns & Co., has died. He was 74.
Mason died Oct. 5, according to a statement from MGM Mirage, where
Mason was a longtime board member. He was being treated for cancer at
the time of his death.
Terry Lanni, chief executive officer of MGM Mirage, which owns the
Bellagio and Mandalay Bay casinos in Las Vegas, called Mason “an
incredibly influential figure in the gaming and finance industries.”
Born in Los Angeles, Mason earned his bachelor’s degree in Slavic
studies from USC. He went on to earn a master’s degree in political
science from Columbia University.
Mason served in the Air Force in the early 1950s. In 1958, he founded
the California Courier in Fresno and served as editor until 1970.
“I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that George’s California
Courier was and will be remembered as a journal of Armenian life in
California,” Vartan Oskanian, Armenia’s minister of foreign affairs,
said in a statement released by MGM Mirage.
“George left a legacy for the Armenian community in the written
word,” said Raffi Hamparian, a member of the board of directors of
the Armenian National Committee of America.
“He is a tribute to the Armenian experience in America that largely
emerged from nothing to become a vibrant and active community.”
After leaving the paper, Mason entered the world of finance. He
worked for Kirk Kerkorian’s Tracinda Investment Co. for several years
in the 1970s before joining Bear, Stearns & Co. in Los Angeles in
1973. According to the announcement from MGM Mirage, Mason was a
senior managing director at Bear, Stearns & Co. from 1973 until his
death.
Mason is survived by his wife of 52 years, Sally; their six
daughters, Cassandra Goehner, Melanie Goodman, Teresa Mason, George
Ann Mason, Diana Chakalian and Mary Mason; and his sister, Shirley
Rakoobian.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. today at St. James
Armenian Church, 4950 W. Slauson Ave. in Los Angeles. A reception
will follow at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel, 101 Wilshire Blvd. in
Santa Monica.
Instead of flowers, the family suggests that any donations be made in
Mason’s name to: Nevada Cancer Institute, Continued Research in the
Field of Bladder Cancer, 10000 W. Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas, NV
89135.
Armenian National Committee – Professional Network
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.3500 Fax: 818.246.7353
[email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
Friday, October 7, 2005
Contact: Lerna Kayserian
Tel: (818) 500-3500
ANC Professional Network Dinner Dance Draws over 600 Young
Professionals
GLENDALE, CA- The Armenian National Committee – Professional Network
(ANC-PN) hosted their 2nd Annual Dinner Dance on Saturday, October 1,
2005 at the Homenetmen Glendale `Ararat’ Chapter’s
Baghdasarian-Shahinian Banquet Hall. The sold out event featured an
opportunity for attendees to meet and network with other young
professionals. The incomparable Harout Pamboukjian kept the audience
energized into the late hours of the night with his electric brand of
Armenian pop music.
`We are very proud of the ANC-PN for energizing the young Armenian
professionals of southern California with such a successful event,’
said Armen Martin, Armenian National Committee of America-Western
Region (ANCA-WR) Board Member. `We view the ANC-PN as the bridge
which will get the next generation of Armenian American leaders
involved in the betterment of our community, and successful events
such as the dinner dance demonstrate that their message is being
heard.’
Proceeds from the event will be used to support the ANCA’s effort to
pass the Armenian Genocide resolution forward in the House of
Representatives. Attendees of the dinner dance were encouraged to
sign petitions urging Speaker Hastert to bring up the Armenian
Genocide resolution to the floor of the House of Representatives. Last
month, the House International Relations Committee overwhelmingly
approved legislation properly recognizing the Genocide. During the
course of a three-hour meeting, 21 Representatives on this 50-member
panel spoke in favor of H.Res.316 and H.Con.Res.195, which were
adopted by bipartisan majorities of 40 to 7 and 35 to 11,
respectively.
`We are excited about honoring our commitments with the proceeds from
the event. We had a capacity crowd. Anytime we can bring so many young
Armenian American professionals together, it could be considered
nothing but a success,’ said Boghos Patatian, ANC-PN Executive
Committee member.
`The dinner dance surpassed my expectations. It was remarkable that we
even drew young professionals from San Diego’, said Lena Benneian. `I
am honored to be a new member of the ANC-PN Executive Committee and
look forward to many more successful events.’
Individuals interested in learning more about the ANC-PN are
encouraged to visit the organization’s website at
The mission of the ANC-PN is to develop the next generation of
Armenian American leaders. Our vision is to encourage the emergence of
an educated and politically active community of Armenian American
professionals who participate at the local, state and federal
decision-making levels to advance the Armenian Cause. The ANC-PN seeks
to accomplish its mission by offering educational and leadership
development programs and services, and social activities that promote
the growth of participants as effective professionals and strong
leaders.
Editor’s Note: Photos attached.
RA PRESIDENT RECEIVED ITALIAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN TRADE
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| 15:56:42 | 06-10-2005 | Official |
Today RA President Robert Kocharian received the Italian delegation
headed by Minister of Foreign Trade Adolfo Urso.
Positively assessing the development rate of the Armenian-Italian
cooperation, Robert Kocharian noted that the political dialogue
has activated and the commodity turnover between the two states
is increasing.
In his turn Mr. Urso informed that chambers of commerce are well
developed in Italy and he has already discussed the possibility of
conveying the Italian experience to Armenia.
The parties also considered possible ways to encourage small and
middle business.
VICE SPEAKER OF ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SUGGESTS WORKING OUT AN ARMENIAN-AZERBAIJANI RESOLUTION ON NK
ArmInfo News Agency
Oct 5 2005
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5. ARMINFO. ‘The report of OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly Special Representative for Nagorny Karabakh Goran Lenmarker
at the recent OSCE PA Summit in Washington was brave and meeting the
realities. It arouse the interest of Armenian and Azerbaijan public,’
Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Vahan Hovhannissyan said during
his meeting with Goran Lenmarker. To note, Mr. Goran Lenmarker is on
a visit to Armenia.
The press-service of the Armenian Parliament reports Vahan
Hovhannissyan as saying that due to the propaganda of the report by
the Armenian party, the report had a wide response in Armenia. All
the political forces in Armenia are aware of the necessity for
mutual compromises for peace settlement of the conflict. Meanwhile,
one can hardly find a political force in Azerbaijan that would be
ready for equal compromises, the vice speaker said. If such force
is found in Azerbaijan due to the efforts of OSCE, it may have a
positive result, Hovhannissyan said. He appreciated the direct talks
between the Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations in Brussels on the
initiative of Goran Lenmarket as well as the recent meeting of the
two delegations and the OSCE Minsk Group co- chairmen in Washington.
The vice speaker proposed forming a working group of the Armenian and
Azerbaijani representatives and the delegates of OSCE PA to work out a
joint resolution. Hovhannissyan proposed the two delegations to hold
a joint discussion of the possibility of the joint resolution on the
eve of OSCE PA Summit in Vienna. It can be the first step suggested
by “the new neighbors of the EU.” Goran Lenmarker supported Vahan
Hovhannissyan’s initiative. Regarding the relations of Turkey-EU,
G.Lenmarker thinks the talks of Ankara and Brussels will be useful
for Armenia as well. Meanwhile, the blockade of Armenia’s borders
contradicts to the ideology of the European Union, Goran Lenmarker
said.
PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
HIS HOLINESS ARAM I MEETS WITH THE CARDINAL OF TORONTO
His Holiness Aram I held a meeting with the Cardinal of Toronto, His
Eminence Aloysius Mattew on October 3.
The two spiritual leaders first met alone and then they were joined by
Prelate of Canada Archbishop Khajag Hagopian, Prelate of the Eastern Prelacy
of United States Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Pastor of St. Mary church of
Toronto V Rev Fr Meghrig Parikian, Communications Officer of the
Catholicosate of Cilicia V Rev Fr Krikor Chiftjian and Staff Bearer Rev Fr
Housig Mardirosian.
Discussions revolved around issues related to cooperation between the
Catholicosate of Cilicia and the Vatican, ecumenical relations and the
problems the churches in Canada face.
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.
AZERI, ARMENIAN REPRESENTATIVES TO MEET IN STRASBOURG
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Oct 5 2005
Baku, October 4, AssA-Irada
Representatives of Azerbaijan and Armenia are due to meet in Strasbourg
on Wednesday to discuss ways of settling the long-standing Upper
Garabagh conflict.
The meeting of the two delegations will be attended by the chairman
of the PACE subcommittee on Upper Garabagh, former PACE president
Lord Russel Johnston.
Azerbaijan will be represented at the discussions by the head of
the Azerbaijani delegation at PACE Samad Seyidov and its member
Asim Mollazada.*
TURKEY AND EUROPE AGREE TO TALKS ON JOINING
By Craig S. Smith
New York Times
Oct 3 2005
LUXEMBOURG, Oct. 3 – Turkey and the European Union agreed late today to
formally begin talks on Turkey’s historic bid to join the organization,
setting into motion a process that will likely take a decade or more
but could end with the union extending its borders eastward into Asia
to embrace the predominantly Muslim country.
Turkey has worked for more than four decades to join the evolving
union, restructuring its legal system and economy to meet European
standards even as Europe added demands and refused to start formal
negotiations. The agreement to open the talks was a victory for the
country’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has staked his
political credibility on getting the talks under way.
“We reached an agreement and, God’s willing, we are heading to
Luxembourg,” said Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul as he headed to the
airport in Ankara.
But the talks come at a difficult time for Europe, which is mired in
an identity crisis and whose consensus-based, decision-making process
is already bogged down by last year’s addition of 10 new members.
Many Europeans oppose Turkey’s membership, arguing that while the
country has a toehold in Europe, it is not European at its core. They
worry that because Turkey would be the largest country in the union by
the time it joined, it would skew the already complex European agenda.
The ceremony opening the membership negotiations was delayed until
late this evening as European member states haggled over an Austrian
demand that the talks include an alternative to full membership that
would ultimately give the union a diplomatically palatable option to
inviting Turkey to join.
The last-minute diplomacy kept the Turkish foreign minister, Abdullah
Gul, waiting in Ankara and frayed nerves on both sides. “Either it
will show political maturity and become a global power or it will end
up a Christian club,” Mr. Erdogan said of the European Union on Sunday.
In fact, it is just that question that is haunting Europe. The European
project, begun as a means to ensure peace among historic enemies,
has faltered since the end of the Cold War, which helped define
it. In the 15 years since German reunification, the union has grown
but weakened as it absorbed much of formerly Communist central Europe.
The deep differences within the union, particularly between incoming
and traditional members, broke into the open over the American-led
invasion of Iraq, which many of the new members supported but the
older members did not. The debate over Iraq was about a philosophic
view of the use of power as much as it was about Iraq. Many of the
older European Union member states, harkening back to their World
War II wounds, are wary of using military force to settle disputes.
“Building a consensus is difficult if you don’t have common values,”
said Constanze Stelzenmulle, of the German Marshall Fund in Berlin.
“There has been a loss of focus, a loss of the sense of commonality,
a loss of common interests in Europe.”
Many people worry that adding a country with such a vastly different
cultural and economic heritage such as Turkey to the mix will only
soften that focus further.
Meanwhile, economic malaise in much of Europe has made people wary
of the heralded “ever closer union” that for many simply means lost
jobs. Those fears helped defeat referendums on a proposed European
constitution in France and the Netherlands earlier this year,
stalling the union’s momentum and leading many opinion-makers to
openly question what it was that Europe wanted to become. Turkey’s
membership naturally became a focus of that debate.
Part of the problem is that the generation of leaders that had an
emotional attachment to the European project as a unifying ideal is
now mostly gone, replaced by politicians who regard the union more as
a practical arrangement to promote national interests. European-wide
restructuring of postwar welfare systems and questions about the role
that Europe should play in the world have taken a backseat to more
local issues of political survival and short-term economic goals.
The union hasn’t even be able to agree on a budget for the 2007 to
2013 period, which should have been set months ago.
“At the moment the solution to that crisis isn’t even on the horizon,”
said Marco Incerti, a research fellow at the Center for European
Policy Studies in Brussels.
The crisis has been made worse by faltering leadership in Germany
and France, the traditional engines of the European Union, which
are now consumed by domestic politics. Germany is distracted by
efforts to forge a coalition government there, while France has
lost steam since the May defeat of the constitutional referendum,
leaving President Jacques Chirac largely sidelined while his would-be
successors dominate the political stage.
“For the longest time you could rely on a couple of countries who were
more strongly invested than others getting together and laying out
a solution and getting the others on board,” Ms. Stelzenmuller said.
The lack of leadership has allowed smaller countries like Austria to
dominate the agenda, political analysts say, and has led even Turkey
to question the union’s viability in its current form.
“Everyone is aware of the identity crisis within the E.U.,” said Eser
Karakas, a political scientist at Bahcesehir University in Istanbul.
“The frustration caused by Austria in these past few days proves that
it is time to reform the European Union structure.”
He argued that Turkey should start focusing on what role it can play
in reshaping the union.
Turkey became an associate member of what was then the European
Economic Community in 1963 and formally applied for full membership
on April 1987. It was only officially recognized as a candidate in
December 1999, and it wasn’t until last December that the union agreed
to set a date for membership negotiations to begin.
As part of its campaign to meet European standards, Turkey has
abolished the death penalty, improved its human rights record and
allowed broader use of the Kurdish language among its large Kurdish
minority. But the country is still criticized for refusing to explore
the killing of Armenians in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire
and has refused to recognize the Greek-dominated Republic of Cyprus,
which became a European Union. member last year.
Supporters of Turkey’s membership argue that extending the union’s
single market to include Turkey’s vast Asian hinterland beyond the
Bosphorus Strait will help more than hurt the rest of Europe. They
also argue that bringing Turkey into the European club will help
spread democracy into the Middle East and increase regional security.
Critics, though, question whether that is true, pointing out that
Turkey, which has close ties to Israel, is still remembered in much
of the Arab world as a former colonizer under the Ottoman Empire.
They say that the union would have difficulty absorbing such a large,
poor country and complain that Turkey’s membership will open the
doors for a potentially huge wave of Muslim immigrants.
By the time it could be expected to join, the country’s current
population of 70 million people would likely have grown to outnumber
that of Germany, now the largest European state. Under current rules,
its population would also give it the most seats in the European
Parliament.
A1+
| 19:11:19 | 29-09-2005 | Politics |
RA FM SHOWS RESTRAINT
Today Armenian Foreign Minister was answering journalists’ questions
referring to the Karabakh settlement negotiations without enthusiasm.
The RA FM restricted himself to short answers like `yes’, `no’, `I don’t
think so’, `the agreements underwent no changes’. The last remark referred
to Azerbaijan’s permanent attempts to submit the issue to the UN General
Assembly.
As for the outcomes of the Vienna meeting of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs,
Vartan Oskanian said that `no official information has been furnished yet.’
To note, once the Armenian FM told journalists that he never tells lies but
sometimes does not tell the truth.