PRESIDENT KOCHARIAN MET WITH MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

ArmenPress
May 25 2004

YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS: President Kocharian met today with
the minister of education and science Sergo Yeritsian. According to
president press services, the minister presented the reforms in the
education field. Issues on needed legislative improvements and the
preparation for examination at higher educational establishments.

AZERI STATE BROADCAST CHIEF THREATENS TO SUSPEND BBC FROM NATIONAL RADIO

Trend news agency, Baku
25 May 04

Baku, 25 May: The broadcasts of the world-famous BBC on the Azerbaijani
state radio channel (national first programme) may be suspended,
the chairman of the Azerbaijani state television and radio company,
Nizami Xudiyev, told the Milli Maclis today, Trend reports.

He said the company had sent an official warning to the BBC. The
message condemns a BBC reporter’s recent visit to Nagornyy Karabakh
and the preparation of a series of reports from there without notifying
Baku officials. The document describes this as unacceptable and against
Azerbaijani legislation. Xudiyev added that if such circumstances
are repeated, the BBC broadcasts on the state radio channel Araz will
be suspended.

BBC programmes are broadcast on Araz two hours a day (one hour in
Azeri and 30 minutes each in Russian and English). According to an
international agreement on broadcasts, to which Azerbaijan is party,
the broadcasts of a radio station cannot be suspended without official
notification.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
May 26 2004

INVESTING BY US COMPANIES IN NAGORNY KARABAKH CONTRADICTS LAWS OF
AZERBAIJAN
[May 26, 2004, 12:11:45]

As correspondent of AzerTAj informs, at session of Milli Majlis on 25
May, the deputies have protested against investing by some companies
of the United States in various spheres on the occupied territories
of Azerbaijan, in particular, in Nagorny Karabakh. In their opinion,
establishment by some companies of the United States, being the
co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, cooperation with separatist
forces in Nagorny Karabakh, an uncontrollable zone, contradicts the
interests of Azerbaijan.

The deputies have suggested bringing the question for discussion in
Milli Majlis, making in this occasion warning to the US ambassador in
our country.

Chairman of Milli Majlis Murtuz Alaskarov has told, that similar
actions of the American companies do not express position of the
state of US. However, despite of it, it is necessary to consider the
said question seriously.

The head of parliament has stated that would address the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs with the request to clear the given question and to
inform the ambassador of the United States in our country, that
similar actions contradict the laws of Azerbaijan.

ARMENIAN DEFECTORS ASK AZERI HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST FOR HELP

ANS TV, Baku
7 May 04

Roman Teryan and Artur Apresyan, who fled Armenia and arrived in
Azerbaijan as a sign of protest against (Armenian President) Robert
Kocharyan’s regime and are currently being held at the remand centre
of the Azerbaijani Ministry of National Security, have officially
appealed to Arzu Abdullayeva, chairwoman of the Azerbaijani National
Committee of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly, to help them move to
a third country.

Abdullayeva told ANS that she had received the appeal. She asked the
National Security Ministry to answer numerous questions and receive
those Armenians. On Monday (10 May), she will ask the UN office in
Baku and other international organizations for help.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

KARABAKH ABLE TO FIGHT OFF AZERI ATTACK – SEPARATIST MINISTER

Ayastani Anrapetutyun, Yerevan,
8 May 04

Text of David Mikaelyan’s report by Armenian newspaper Ayastani
Anrapetutyun on 8 May headlined “‘If the army and society are united,
they are invincible,’ Seyran Oganyan says”

This is an interview with the defence minister of the Nagornyy Karabakh
Republic, Seyran Oganyan.

(Ayastani Anrapetutyun correspondent) Mr Minister, the Azerbaijani
press often touches on the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border
and says that the Azerbaijanis are holding commanding positions and
making progress in those sectors of the border that are controlled
by the Artsakh (Karabakh) defence forces. Are these rumours true? And
what is the situation today?

(Seyran Oganyan) Since the 1994 armistice, i.e. over the past
10 years, no serious change of positions has taken place on the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border. First of all, I mean the contact line
with the enemy. I should say that our forces always control the
situation, and any attempt to violate the border is foiled. Until
1996 there were frequent active exchanges of fire on the border.
Sometimes there were even incursions by sabotage and reconnaissance
groups. In 1996-2000, these incursions almost ended while positional
exchanges of fire continued. In recent years there has been certain
activity by sabotage groups. But they have always been defeated. The
rumours disseminated by the Azerbaijani mass media that the enemy
(Azerbaijan) has infiltrated our territory in some cases and that as a
result of their “progress”, they have taken the commanding positions
are an absolute lie. Naturally, this propaganda aims to carry out
psychological attacks and terrorize the peaceful population, to cause
a feeling of fear, hopelessness and panic among the people. But this
is doomed to failure.

(Correspondent) To what decree is a resumption of hostilities possible?

(Oganyan) On the whole, the war can resume at any time. For this
reason, we should always be ready and on alert. But I do not think
that today Azerbaijan is ready to start the hostilities, especially as
we manage to maintain the correlation of forces. The process of army
build-up, in particular, the fulfilment of strategic programmes (the
strengthening of defence structures, positions, the renewal of modern
military equipment, measures directed at raising the fighting spirit of
soldiers, etc.) give us an opportunity to take realities into account
and at the same time, to analyse and assess the situation soberly. I
repeat once again that the fighting efficiency of the army is on such
a level that not only can we defend ourselves, we can also carry out a
counter-strike at the enemy. In recent years we have carried out great
work in the sphere of strengthening the link between the army and the
people. And if the army and society are united, they are invincible.

(Correspondent) Representatives of the so-called “Karabakh Liberation
Organization” in Baku have been more active of late. They call for
“a peace march” to Shushi (Susa) on 9 May. Do you think that such
statements are serious?

(Oganyan) As is known, we are at war at the moment and war has its
own rules. We have a state border and they should have a visa for
crossing it. It is difficult to guess how they will manage to get
this right. If they have bellicose purposes, they will naturally get
a relevant response from our side.

(Correspondent) It is no secret that regular supplies play a decisive
role in the army. How do you settle the commanders’ problems and
renew the staff of officers?

(Oganyan) An army cannot be organized in one day and all problems
cannot be settled immediately. It is no secret that the staff of
officers is reinforced by people of different professions. Most of
them had participated in the war and had gained experience. But within
the framework of the personnel policy, we have been sending our boys
for higher education in military institutions of Armenia and other
countries since 1995. This process is continuing today and according
to an agreement, the staff of officers and commanders is reinforced
by relevant personnel. The state is taking care of improving social
conditions for its officers and their families.

(Correspondent) Mr Minister, what did the 10 years of the armistice
give us?

(Oganyan) First, I should emphasize that the armistice was a result of
the efforts of the whole Armenian nation. It gave us an opportunity to
switch to a peaceful life after long-lasting suffering, to seriously
deal with army build-up, to restore the economy, to gradually
strengthen the army, and to ensure the security of our country and
people. Unfortunately, it is impossible to restore spiritual values
and human losses. One should not forget that we are in a so-called
relative war. And the situation “neither peace nor war” compels us
to be on alert all the time.

KARABAKH IMPORTANT FACTOR IN CAUCASUS – MINISTER

Ayastani Anrapetutyun, Yerevan
8 May 04

Text of Galust Nanyan’s report by Armenian newspaper Ayastani
Anrapetutyun on 8 May headlined “The NKR is an important factor in
the region”

This is an interview with the foreign minister of the Nagornyy Karabakh
Republic (NKR), Ashot Gulyan. The Bishkek agreement on the armistice
signed on 12 May 1994 will mark its 10th anniversary soon. It does
not contain any term, it only says that the armistice should last
until the signing of a peace agreement.

According to NKR Foreign Minister Ashot Gulyan, when the armistice
agreement was signed, the NKR was given the opportunity to start
peaceful life. “It is natural that the Karabakh party’s participation
in the signing of the armistice agreement, as well as in other
discussions, was one the most painful problems for Azerbaijan,”
Gulyan said.

Irrespective of everything, the most important thing is that they
reached such an agreement and it is still in force. According to
Gulyan, if the NKR as a party is responsible for maintaining the
armistice, so the NKR should logically be a full participant in the
Karabakh conflict settlement.

When several months ago the former foreign minister of Azerbaijan,
Vilayat Quliyev, said that Azerbaijan is ready to negotiate directly
with the NKR if Armenia walks out of this process, Ashot Gulyan says
that it was not serious readiness. This was simply a regular political
step on the part of Azerbaijan and aimed to find out what response
it will get.

“The NKR president, as well as numerous members of the NKR Foreign
Ministry, have repeatedly said that the Karabakh party is ready to
negotiate with Azerbaijan in any format without any pre-conditions,”
Gulyan said.

He also said that in the 10 years they managed to make quite serious
progress in the issue of creating and establishing an independent
state.

Gulyan said that thanks to these efforts, the NKR has really become
an important factor in the region. If earlier the NKR was seen in the
region only as a military and political factor, which had military
potential, today “I think that the level of the NKR’s economic and
public development allows us to say that Nagornyy Karabakh is really
an important factor in the region in all spheres,” Gulyan said.

As for the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border and the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict in this context, Gulyan said that only Armenia and
Turkey can settle these relations. “I have the impression that the
Turkish government is hostage to the pre-conditions put forward by
Azerbaijan from time to time,” Gulyan said.

Dar Al-Hayat, Saudi Arabia
May 26 2004

The Weeping Speech
Mohamad Rumaihi Al-Hayat

>>From the 15th to the 17th of May 2004, an important intellectual
seminar was held in Kuwait, prepared and called for by the committee
of the foreign affairs in the Kuwaiti Parliament. The seminar was
entitled: The Region and the Future. “Region” means here the Middle
East, and one is free to imagine whether it is the greater one or the
smaller one! A huge number of politicians, academics and concerned
people attended the seminar; among them were current or former
officials and Arab, Iranian and Western journalists. The media
published a lot of material about this important seminar.

There is a lot one can comment in this important seminar: the
speeches of the Arab League former Secretary General, Ismat Abdul
Majid, the current Iraqi minister of foreign affairs, Hoshyar Zibari,
Mr. Richard Jones, the Vice-Governor in Iraq, Mr. Mahmoud Abbas’
opinions about the Palestinian issue and the viewpoints of Iranian
and Iraqi academics.

However, I want to comment on the statements of the Syrian Dr. Sami
Khaimi, who was said to be a member in the Syrian delegation to the
European partnership negotiations.

If Mr. Sami delivered his comments in his name or that of the
negotiating delegation; no one would have been so surprised or
annoyed. But the truth is that he entitled it: How Do Syrians Read
the Americans’ Position! Hence, he talked in the name of all Syrians.
The speech belonged more to the past than to the present, not to
mention the future that was the required subject of discussion.

In his speech, Mr. Sami asked questions and answered them. He said,
for instance, “They say the (Arab) region is full of money and it
finances terror.” His answer was that Syria suffered from terror
first and that it doesn’t have money. He added: “they say changing
the region into a democracy is necessary to limit terror,” and
answered: “the U.S. doesn’t apply this principle to the other
countries!”

Then, he continued and said: “shifting quickly to democracy in a
country that suffers economically (he probably meant a country that
is economically retarded) would lead to loosing social security!”
What a justification! Mr. Sami forgot that the majority of the
audience knows about India, Bangladesh, Turkey and other countries,
whose economies are still weak but yet they are democratic!

He added; “they say that there is an urgent need to change the Arab
mind” and Mr. Sami admits that the Arab mind (is overwhelmed by the
glory of the past). He pointed out that Syria “welcomed the
Armenians, Turkish and Bosnians” and said, “There are seven Syrian
popes who ruled Rome.” He forgot that he is once again talking about
the past without realizing at the contradictions.

Mr. Sami said: “Syria is accused of supporting terror through
Hezbollah, Hamas and Jihad.” He answered that these organizations do
not constitute a threat to American national security and that their
bureaus in Damascus are mere formalities!

Mr. Sami wondered then why is the image of the Arab people and
Syrians bad in the West? He answered that some people say that it is
due to the nature of the regime in Syria! Then he asked: “did the
Communists suffer from the ugliness of Pinochet’s image, did the
Spanish image change under Franco or did the Serbian one under
Milosevic?” What a comparison!

Mr. Sami stated that they said that Syria doesn’t deploy efforts to
prohibit sneaking through its borders with Iraq. He answered that “it
is very difficult to close long borders and we wish the U.S. good
luck to succeed in doing so!”

He added: “we are accused that our school curricula teach children
religious and national fanaticism.” He answered: “Not in Syria,
although efforts should be deployed gradually in order to reduce the
praising of the Arabs.” He added: “be sure that a child learning
something wrong in the U.S. is even more dangerous on the world
security than a thousand of Arab children!”

He then finished the speech by saying: “I am saddened because I think
that the U.S. with all its greatness, values and military force,
deserves better than those men” (in the current administration). Note
that he is talking about “the U.S. positive values!”

It is not required for anyone to praise the U.S. and it is not
required to go beyond what he thinks is wrong. Mr. Sami’s speech was
not a good one. It was contradictory and constituted a negative image
about Syria’s position.

The speaker could have been more convincing only if he quoted some
ideas from the U.S. General Clark’s book, Victory In Modern Wars and
listened to his advice about the extent to which media has an impact
on convincing people.

Any observer can now interpret Syria’s position that is standing at a
turning point in its history.

Many people want to see Syria in a better place under the prevailing
circumstances in the region for several reasons, one of them being
that the allowed choices might not be better than those available
right now. Many people are still betting on the young Syrian
leadership, however, the official awareness is still far away of
understanding the rules of the game that had changed.

Hence, the objective of this article is to wish for Syria’s discourse
and performance to change because it is no longer convincing.

Beast on the Moon, Hit Play About Armenian Survivors, To Make NYC Debut in 2005
By Kenneth Jones

Playbill.com, NY
May 25 2004

Beast on the Moon, the well-reviewed regional and international play
about an Armenian couple forging a romance in America while being
haunted by the 1915 genocide that rocked their country, will get its
Off Broadway debut in spring 2005.

American playwright Richard Kalinoski’s play debuted in 1995 at
the Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of
Louisville. The intimate four-actor show later blossomed in American
regional theatres, from Los Angeles to Boston, and has since appeared
in 15 different countries winning over 30 awards (including five
Moliere Awards in Paris and five Ace Awards in Buenos Aires, taking
the award for Best Play in both cities).

Larry Moss, who directed The Syringa Tree to North American success,
will direct Beast on the Moon in New York City. Casting is ongoing.

Playwright Kalinoski is a college professor at the University of
Wisconsin, Osh Kosh, where he teaches in the Theatre Arts department.

David Grillo, an actor who appeared in a 1999 Boston production of
the play, is to be lead producer for the commercial Off-Broadway
stand. Roy Gabay will serve as general manager.

The title, Beast on the Moon, refers to an ominous lunar eclipse.

“So much appeals to me about Beast that it is hard to find a
place to begin,” producer Grillo told Playbill On Line. “It is
an extraordinarily challenging drama with a surprising number of
well-earned laughs. The play takes its audiences through an emotional
cataclysm and delivers them, at its finish, to joyful redemption.
I don’t like plays that ask me to jump through emotional hoops and
then leave me beaten up by the side of the road. Beast is redemptive.
The journey is hard, but one for which the audience is enormously
grateful. Also very important for me right now is that Beast on the
Moon is a play about Muslim/Christian relations that stresses healing.”

Beast on the Moon is a four-actor romance about two survivors –
Aram and Seta, a young man and his mail order bride – who settle
in Milwaukee between the World Wars (spanning 12 years) and seek to
start a family in the wake of the genocide of their past. They end
up taking an orphan under their wing. A narrator provides context.

The play received the 1996 Osborn Award from the American Theatre
Critics Association, recognizing an emerging playwright.

Rehearsals begin in January 2005 toward previews in February and a
March opening. A theatre has not been announced.

Producer Grillo has two degrees from the University of California at
Berkeley, in Economics and Dramatic Arts, plus a masters in fine arts
in acting from the Yale School of Drama.

In 2003, Grillo acquired the rights to produce the play in New York,
after 10 months of negotiations. This is the first time the
playwright has granted the New York rights.

Substance beats style in ‘Figaro’
By Rob Lowman, Entertainment Editor

Redlands Daily Facts, CA
May 26 2004

THE LIST OF timeless artworks may not be growing these days, but
no matter. We already have enough to engage us. Or so listening to
Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro’ suggested on Saturday night.

The occasion was opening night of a new Los Angeles Opera production
of the work. Directed by Ian Judge and designed by Tim Goodchild, it
takes the place of Peter Hall’s version, which was both well-liked and
straightforward, albeit a bit unspontaneous after several revivals. But
the exchange has not worked in our favor.

No, playwright Beaumarchais’ savvy barber-cum-valet and his bride-to-be
don’t now work for modern American plutocrats (see Peter Sellars),
nor do they reside in a pile reminiscent of Poe’s House of Usher
(see Jonathan Miller).

There is, though, something decidedly Eurotrashy about Goodchild’s
outsized palace rooms, with their super-rich colors and anachronistic
modern-day accouterments, like telephones and glossy magazines. And
one can’t ignore Deirdre Clancy’s bizarrely matched costumes, each
seemingly plucked from a different theatrical road company. Why, you
may ask, are the count’s soldiers dressed like chauffeurs, circa 1920?

More serious are the lapses Judge makes regarding 18th-century
manners. Seeing Figaro kiss the hand of his master’s wife, to say
nothing of watching the page Cherubino smooch with her, subverts what
Mozart and his librettist Lorenzo da Ponte intended. Without class
boundaries, Figaro and his cohorts risk nothing — and sacrifice is
central to this opera.

Still, one goes to “Figaro’ primarily for the music, not the visuals,
or even always the morals. And musically this production is strong.
Though no one in the cast is famous, several singers no doubt will
be. Topping the list is Figaro himself as personified by Uruguayan
bass-baritone Erwin Schrott.

Schrott won great acclaim here last season as a sexily resonant Don
Giovanni. And it’s no surprise that the company signed him to this
role. To be convincing, Figaro must be clever and charming. It’s no
bad thing if he’s a lady-killer, too. And Schrott certainly is that.
He swaggers across the stage with enviable self-confidence. How
nice that he has a voice to match — deep and robust, but with a
captivating, bright edge.

This vigorous Figaro is paired with a Susanna of commensurate gifts,
soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, a Canadian born to Armenian parents in
Beirut. Though making her L.A. Opera debut with this role, Bayrakdarian
already has appeared at two company galas and won Placido Domingo’s
Operalia competition in 2000. Pretty and vivacious, she looks like an
ideal Susanna; more important, she sings like one, with a glimmering,
even tone. Her wise and cheeky performance proved a joy from beginning
to end, but never more so than in her final aria, when she was also
ineffably touching.

Susanna’s noble counterpart, the Countess, is sung by Bulgarian soprano
Darina Takova. If Bayrakdarian sounds like topaz, then Takova’s voice
is amber. In the Countess’ two great arias — “Porgi amor,’ about
love lost, and “Dove sono,’ about its possible reclamation — Takova
sang ardently, though she got more expressive as the opera progressed.

American bass David Pittsinger’s Count Almaviva, no slouch himself
in the testosterone department, rounds out the central quartet. His
gripping account of the great vengeance aria “Vedro mentr’io sospiro’
seethed with wounded pride, and he made a convincing foil for Figaro
at every turn.

With two beloved arias, the trouser role of Cherubino has always
been plum for mezzo-sopranos, and Boston native Sandra Piques Eddy
assumes it enthusiastically, singing well and offering a particularly
convincing portrait of a young man on hormonal red alert. No less
fine were Anna Steiger as a robustly scheming Marcellina and company
regulars Michael Gallup, as blustering but somehow amiable Dr.
Bartolo, and Greg Fedderly, as an unctuous, stuttering Don Basilio.

In the pit, Stefan Anton Reck, in his company debut, made a fine
first impression, leading Mozart’s effervescent score with ample
enthusiasm and enough sensitivity to avoid overpowering the singers,
which his broad gestures certainly suggested he might do.!end!

Lagging schools share cash
Grants for before- and after-school programs
By Lisa M. Sodders, Staff Writer

Los Angeles Daily News
May 26 2004

Forty-seven low-performing schools in Los Angeles Unified —
including just four in the San Fernando Valley — will share $27
million in federal grants awarded to California schools for before-
and after-school programs, officials said Tuesday.

The federal grants were awarded by the State Department of Education
under the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, which
seeks to establish or expand community learning centers for students
at low-achieving or high-poverty schools.

“I’m thrilled,” said Joanna Kunes, principal at Madison Middle School
in North Hollywood, one of the schools selected for the grant. “This
is so welcome in this climate of budget-reductions. It couldn’t come
at a better time.”

The other three Valley schools were: Haddon, Sharp Avenue and Bertrand
elementary schools.

LAUSD will receive about $6.2 million from the grant, said John
Liechty, associate superintendent for the LAUSD’s Beyond the Bell
branch, which handles after-school enrichment programs.

Madison, a 2,200-student school, is 70 percent Hispanic and 20 percent
Armenian, and has a 300-student health and medical careers magnet
program, Kunes said. About half of the students are English-language
learners and about 93 percent qualify for free and reduced lunches.

Kunes has not been told how much Madison will receive, but she said
the grant money will be used to support a variety of mentoring and
enrichment programs, including computer labs and art classes.

The money will also go toward tutoring to help students meet the
state’s math, science and reading requirements, the education
department said in a statement.

Most of the schools that received the grants are considered Program
Improvement Schools under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, said
Kevin Brown, manager of the after-school partnership office in the
California Department of Education.

Program Improvement Schools are those that have not met their student
achievement goals for the past two consecutive years.

“Local law enforcement and the FBI strongly support after-school
programs because they help to reduce dropout rates and time spent in
unhealthy behaviors such as drug use and gang activity,” U.S. Sen.
Barbara Boxer (D-California), author of the federal law providing
funding for after-school programs, said in the statement released by
the education department.