Sunday 27 May 2012

Armenian News - AT


Armenian School and Church in Homs were shelled by the rebels
 15:33, 19 May, 2012
 
YEREVAN, MAY 19, ARMENPRESS: Armenian community in Syria also suffered
from the latest events taking place in the country. The rebels did not
cease their riots and  lately have  captured  Armenian `'Isahakyan''
school.
 
Nazaret Elmadjyan , representative of Armenian community informed
Armenpress that the school belongs to Armenian Apostolic Church in
Homs, which in its turn is under the support of   the Primacy of
Armenian Apostolic Church in Damascus.
 
Armenian school located in Hamida district, is mostly inhabited by
Arab Christians. After the events the fighters fled to Hamida and
currently Armenian `' Isahakyan'' school and church after the burglary
serve a kind of hospital, hotel for the rebels.
 
Until now, Syrian Army has not intruded there; the fighters are still
in residential areas.
 
 
THREE EARTHQUAKES RECORDED IN ARMENIA
PanARMENIAN.Net 
May 21, 2012 - 13:37 AMT
 
PanARMENIAN.Net - On May 21, 8.20 am local time, a 2.5 magnitude
earthquake was recorded, the National Seismic Defense Service of
Armenia reports.
 
The quake epicenter was 5 km north to Armenian village of Ashotsk
(Shirak province).
 
At 8.45 am local time, another earthquake of 2.7 magnitude was
registered, epicenter located 7 km north-east to Ashotsk village.
 
On the same day, 3.07 am local time, a 3.2 magnitude quake again hit
Shirak province, epicenter being 20 km north-east to Gyumri city.
 
All three earthquakes struck at about 5km depth.
 
 
Four survivors of Yerevan square blast undergo surgeries
tert.am
17:49 - 19.05.12
 
German Professor Adrian Daigler, who is in Armenia upon President
Serzh Sargsyan's invitation, has already begun the plastic surgeries
of the individuals who suffered different degrees of burns in the wake
of the Republic Square incident earlier this month.
 
Speaking to Tert.am, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health,
Shushan Hunanyan, said four survivors have been already operated on.
 
The German specialist performed two of the surgeries on Friday and the
other two - earlier today.
 
Asked whether the patients might need further treatment in Germany,
Hunanyan said the issue  has yet to be considered. According to her 41
survivors are in hospital as of today.
 

IWPR Report
SEARCH FOR CULPRITS FOLLOWS ARMENIAN RALLY BLAST
Hydrogen-filled balloons injure over 100, raise allegations of negligence.
By Naira Melkumyan

Angry Yerevan residents are demanding to know who is to blame for a gas
explosion that injured dozens at a campaign rally on the eve of Armenia’s
parliamentary election.

Initial police investigations suggest the May 4 blast was caused by a cigarette
igniting balloons in the middle of the crowd attending a campaign rally and
concert staged by the governing Republican Party.
The balloons should have been filled with the inert gas helium, but organisers
appear to have used highly flammable – but cheaper – hydrogen.

Around 154 people, including children, were injured by the sheet of flame that
swept over crowd. The rally nevertheless continued, and President Serzh
Sargsyan, head of the Republican Party, carried on and gave a his speech.

“The Republican Party as the rally organisers are responsible not just for the
balloon explosion, but also for the fact people were forced to wait on the square
until Serzh Sargsyan’s speech ended. You can’t justify this by citing the need
to avoid panic. If the aim was to avoid panic, then Sargsyan would not have
made a speech after such an event,” said Tsovinar Nazaryan, an activist from
the Army in Reality civil group.

Although a police investigation is ongoing, Nazaryan said it would be difficult
to find who exactly was to blame.

“It’s a shame that in our country it is hard to separate institutions and say who
specifically is at fault. But all the same I think the Republican Party is guilty,”
she said.

According to figures released on May 10, some 70 people were still undergoing
treatment in hospitals, with ten still in intensive care.
Most of the victims were students and members of the Republican Party’s youth
wing who were closest to the stage. They included people who were holding the
balloons when they exploded, and were then burned by plastic that caught fire.
Nylon waistcoats bearing the Republican Party logo also caught fire.

Eyewitnesses described how the flames burst outwards so quickly they did not
have time to react.

“I fell to the ground after the explosion. My face, hand and back were burned,
and I was taken to hospital in a police car. The people who filled these balloons
with explosive gas are to blame for not thinking of the possible consequences.
I am really angry with these people,”
said Andranik Mirzoyan, 20. “Nothing can compensate for the pain and stress
which we and our parents have gone through.”

Prosecutors opened a criminal case under a law relating to the safe use and
storage of explosive materials.

Rival parties took the opportunity to attack the Republican Party for failing to
halt the concert, although it did not harm the party’s electoral performance, since
it emerged from the May 6 polls in first place with 44 per cent of the vote.

“The concert continued for two hours after the explosion. I am shocked that at
such a critical moment, the government behaved so inadequately. It’s not just
that there shouldn’t have been a concert.
In such circumstances it was intolerable to have a single speech,”
Vardan Oskanyan, head of the rival Prosperous Armenia party, which came
second with 30 per cent, said.

The Republican Party replied that it would have been irresponsible to halt the
concert abruptly.

“I would say it would have been a crime. If the concert was stopped suddenly,
then panic could have started. Apart from this, people had started to leave the
square in large numbers, and this could have led to traffic jams so that
ambulances wouldn’t have been able to reach the square rapidly,” said Hovik
Abrahamyan, head of the party’s campaign team.

After making his speech, the president and Health Minister Harutyun Kushkyan
visited the injured in hospital.

“Thanks be to God, we avoided the worst consequences. At the moment, all
the injured are receiving the treatment they need, with good results. If necessary,
we will summon the best foreign specialists to Armenia,” Sargsyan said in a
statement.

His party promised to give all assistance to the injured, and provide compensation
as required.

“The injured are our children, our brothers and sisters. I know some of them
personally since most of them are members of the youth wing of the party. We will
do everything to help them get well again,” said Eduard Sharmazanov, spokesman
for the Republican Party and deputy speaker of parliament.

Naira Melkumyan is a freelance journalist in Armenia.


IWPR Report
ARMENIAN ALARM AT SPATE OF BORDER SHOOTINGS
Border villagers say life feels like the war never ended.
By Gayane Mkrtchyan, Sara Khojoyan

A series of shooting incidents on Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan and around
Nagorny Karabakh has heightened fears among local civilians, even though they
are well used to the sound of gunfire.

The border village of Dovegh in Armenia’s northeastern Tavush region came
under sustained fire for 90 minutes on April 25. Two days later, three Armenian
solders were killed when their car was hit by shots fired over the border as it was
travelling between the villages of Aygepar and Movses.

While sporadic gunfire is a constant danger to Tavush residents, they say it has
been particularly intense in the last two months.

Samvel Soghoyan, the mayor of Chinari, a village right on the border with
Azerbaijan said the 1,200 or so residents were effectively living under wartime
conditions.

“The village is constantly being shot at. From 1992 until now, we have not had a
ceasefire. They [Azerbaijanis] use heavy-calibre machine guns, which present a
danger to any house. Most of the agricultural land is right on the border, so people
don’t farm it,” he said.

In nearby Nerkin Karmiraghbyur, villagers have similar complaints.

“All the roofs of the house are full of [bullet-] holes,” Hakob Israelyan. “The residents
live in permanent fear. It’s been quiet for several nights now, but ahead of the
20th anniversary of the liberation of Shushi [town in Karabakh], there was sustained
fire from a heavy machine gun, and almost all the children had to be sent to
neighbouring villages.”

Around Nagorny Karabakh, numerous shootings were reported. According to local
Armenian forces, 650 separate violations of the ceasefire were committed by
Azerbaijani forces between April 29 and May 12, amounting to 2,400 shooting
incidents.

War in the early 1990s left an Armenian administration in control of Nagorny
Karabakh, which declared independence from Azerbaijan. It has not won
international
recognition, and Azerbaijan continues to claim sovereignty. Although the conflict
ended in a ceasefire in 1994, no peace deal was signed, and negotiations on
conflict settlement and on Karabakh’s future status have made little progress.

Armenian and Azerbaijani troops face each other along the border between the
two states, as well as along the “line of control” that separates them around
Karabakh.

Exchanges of fire over the front lines are fairly frequent, and each side tends to
accuse the other of provoking violence by shooting first.

“The Armenians strictly adhere to the ceasefire arrangements, and only respond
when the opposing side breach it,” Armenia defence ministry Mushegh Aghekyan
spokesman said with reference to recent events.

Political and defence analysts in Armenia suggested the upsurge in incidents
might be a deliberate attempt by Azerbaijan to disrupt campaigning for their country’s
May 6 parliamentary election, and also the May 9 celebrations for the anniversary of
the Armenian capture of Shushi, a town in Karabakh, in 1992.

On April 27, the day the three soldiers were killed in Tavush, Armenian president
Serzh Sargsyan was out campaigning for his Republican Party ahead of the election.

He assured voters that Armenia would retaliate for the killings.

“Let no one think they can exploit the political process going on in our country and
assume we are too busy with elections. We have a strong army and we will take the
steps that are required,” he said.

Defence Minister Seyran Ohanyan stressed, however, that Armenia favoured
negotiations, not a resumption of conflict.

“They [Azerbaijanis] have shown yet again that the principles under which we
reached the [truce] agreement, specifically including the principle of non-use of
force, have been violated many times. But these actions will not benefit them in
any way, since our view is that relationships are [framed] only through the
negotiating process,” he said.

Armenian defence expert Artsrun Hovhannisyan focused on the human cost
of the rising number of cross-border shooting incidents.

“In recent years, the reporting of ceasefire violations regime has become more
open and transparent, and this often upsets people. The Azerbaijani side is
aware of this. People are scared when they hear about the increased frequency
of shooting incidents,” he said. “To reassure them, I should say that the shots
fired from the Azerbaijani side are ineffective; they achieve nothing. We can
react to ceasefire violations ten times more or less than we do now, but the key
thing is that there shouldn’t be casualties – and that an impulsive reaction could
restart the war.”

In Tavush region, many villagers have become resigned to outbreaks of shooting,
even though the risks are real enough.

“They were shooting when my son was a year old, and now he’s 21 and they’re
still shooting,” Lena Andreasyan from the village of Movses said. “It makes no
difference – we aren’t leaving the village, as it’s our home. There was some very
heavy gunfire three days ago, but when our lads started firing in response, they
soon quietened down.

“The shots do damage house windows and doors. It’s rare to see a house that
doesn’t have bullet holes.”

Gayane Mkrtchyan and Sara Khojoyan are reporters for ArmeniaNow.com.


The Arts Desk
May 19 2012
Globe to Globe: King John
Armenia's version of Shakespeare's European war play hits every note 
- and more
by Tom Birchenough
 
You might have wondered if, when Armenia was offered King John as part
of the Globe to Globe season, they felt they'd drawn the short straw.
Not a bit of it. Shakespeare's early history play, the action of which
pre-dates those for which he is better known by a century, may be
rarely performed (though there's one from the RSC at Stratford
currently that looks highly contemporised), but here, in what I
suspect is a judiciously trimmed version, it brings out so much that
genuinely crosses international lines, speaking Shakespeare's story
with the local accent of the producing nation.
 
And Armenia and the Caucasus in general provide such fertile ground
for pondering the same kinds of historical realities that Shakespeare
did. In very recent memory there have been cities, effectively
besieged like Angiers, at the mercy of larger, warring powers. No big
stretch of the imagination to liken Shakespeare's bickering monarchs
to various post-Soviet rulers - the concept of the hereditary
presidency being monarchy in all but name. Memories of the cruelty 
ofwar remain in very many landscapes. Losses have indeed been 
suffered.
 
But Tigran Gasparyan's production from Yerevan's Gabriel Sundukyan
National Academic Theatre doesn't labour these points. Shakespeare has
been a key part of its repertoire since its foundation in 1922, and
apparently the bard was a way for the nation (and not only Armenia) to
explore ideas of freedom under Soviet rule. Interesting, that. The
action comes with an approximate costume definition that mixes loosely
Napoleonic war outfits, with a touch of Mad Max, and ruffs where
required. There's still a single sword involved, but all the battle
scenes are done with suitcases.
 
Yes, suitcases and trunks, plus the odd hold-all. I couldn't find a
designer credit anywhere, so can only assume it is director Gasparyan,
and it works brilliantly. Characters enter one by one at the
beginning, each with their baggage (in the literal and metaphorical
sense), which can be built into an ever-morphing range of visual
effects. It becomes the throne in various different constructions, or
the castle walls from which Artur jumps to his death (the outstanding
Gnel Ulikhanyan, who's jumping from roughly 8ft, not something most
actors have to do). And yes, two sides go to war with suitcases.
 
When you haven't seen a production in its original staging it's hard
to guess how it's been adapted for Globe presentation, but it works
here outstandingly. The balcony becomes both the walls of Angiers, and
the negotiation scenes between John's party and the European lot. You
have to keep your eyes skinned, as there are plenty of lurking
characters behind the side columns.
 
 

The Guardian

King John – review

Shakespeare's Globe, London

 

The Latin for apricot, says the very informative Armenian gentleman sitting beside me, is prunus armenicus (Aremnian plum). He's telling me this because the Globe has been filled with the sound of the duduk, an instrument traditionally made from the wood of an apricot tree, as the Sundukyan Theatre's production of King John gets off to an exuberant start.
It may have been written by Shakespeare as a tragedy, but tonight's performance, directed by Tigran Gasparyan, tends to focus more on comedy. The play opens as characters laugh and joke noisily, while musicians play Armenian folk. Actors enter carrying large old-fashioned trunks (and one or two wheely suitcases) – an apt recognition, perhaps, of the large proportion of tonight's audience, who have at some point made the journey from Armeniato settle in the UK. At different points in the play these trunks are thrown around the stage, used as thrones, battlefield barricades, a hiding place for the King, and even as the characters' emotional baggage.
King John himself is portrayed as a boisterous, larger-than-life and at times clown-like figure by Armen Marutyan, who often pulls a leather crown from his pocket, tossing it into the air before placing it firmly on to his head to assert his right to the throne. Tigran Nersisyan's Bastard cuts a dashing, charismatic figure, and is by far the most earnest of the cast (though even he can't resist joking with the audience from time to time), while Arthur, the young French prince who has to plead for his life, is introduced as a lackadaisical drunk. The snide cardinal Pandolph is yet another figure of fun, whose stiff movements and camp manner have the audience chuckling from his first appearance.
It is the female characters, though, who provide show-stealing performances. Nelly Kheranyan is superb as the wizened, bald, stick-wielding hag Queen Eleanor, whose spider-like movements around the stage seem to genuinely terrify her fellow cast members. She and Constance, played by Alla Vardanyan, have to be physically restrained by the men, as they face off in defence of their sons in a scene which veers towards slapstick, with the King bending over to slap his own bottom at Constance, and Louis catapulted into a forward somersault as he tries to hold his mother back. Even the clarinet player gets in on the act, providing humorous sound effects.
Lady Blanche (Liana Arestakyan), designated a floozie from the off with her bright red tights, delivers what you could say was the climax of the show when, devastated at the thought of her new husband Louis going off to war, she attempts to shag him into submission. This performance, once it comes to a head, even earns her a standing ovation from the cast (whether those audience members with very young children felt quite the same way is another question).
The second half sees some enjoyable comic interaction between Hubert, the simple fool, and King John. Skipping a few bits of the story from acts four and five, John's sudden death is witnessed only by Hubert, who immediately takes the king's leather coat and crown for himself – a fitting ending to a performance which saw the comedy in tragedy at every turn.


Gold mine to operate in Armenia's Syunik Region
news.am
May 19, 2012 | 12:36

YEREVAN. - Public discussions with respect to the work plan of
Armenia's Bardzradir (Mazra) Gold Mine will be held on May 29 in Tsav
village of Syunik Region, the Nature Protection Ministry informs.

The Mine's study is conducted by the Opuland Trading Solutions Company.

The Bardzradir (Mazra) Gold Mine is located in the southern parts of
Syunik, 55 kilometers southwest of Kapan City, and at the southern
slopes of the Meghri Mountain Range.

Explorations at the area had begun in 1971 and they continue to this day.

The ore's relatively simple material composition and the sufficient
gold content bespeak the possibility of receiving very high
technological indicators.

It is assumed that the Mine contains 2.8 tons of gold and 4 tons of
silver reservoirs.

 
Javan Newspaper, Iran
May 17 2012
Baku's Military Suicide?!
Commentary by Sajjad Tayeri
[translated from Persian]
 
The increase in Azerbaijan's military power itself cannot be
considered an important threat against Iran, because Iran's military
and defense might is greater than that of Azerbaijan.
 
Meanwhile, the controversial presence of trans-regional forces in
Azerbaijan and military cooperation with this country is what has
created a complex situation in terms of the balance of power in the
region, especially for the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is
especially the case given the age-old hostilities of the United States
and Israel with Iran. Therefore, the presence of their military forces
in Azerbaijan can be considered a direct threat against Iran's
national security, because on the one hand, through their presence in
Azerbaijan the United States and Israel intend to complete the circle
of blockade around the Islamic Republic of Iran, and on the other
hand, they seek to obtain the necessary space to conduct possible
military operations against Iran and prevent Iran from partaking in
regional security arrangements.
 
Based on this, the pursuit of West-oriented ideas by Baku, the
expansion of relations with the United States, its drawing nearer to
Israel, and its willingness to join NATO are considered among the
policies that would not only push the region of the Caucuses toward
militarization, but would actually threaten Iran's national security.
Thus, the Islamic Republic of Iran has always viewed Azerbaijan's
cooperation with Israel, the United States, and NATO with sensitivity.
 
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defense recently reported the
review and talks for signing a military cooperation agreement with 27
countries in the world. So far, this country has signed military
cooperation agreements with 29 countries and is currently talking to
officials from another 27 countries about signing such agreement.
According to the report by Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry, this
country's military personnel has participated in more than 300
training courses, including language and combat training techniques;
each year about 1,500 individuals from the three armed forces staff
are sent to friendly countries to participate in courses.
 
Azerbaijan's decision to sign military cooperation agreements with 
27countries was announced while the news released about this 
country's 1.6 billion dollar agreement with Israel to buy weapons 
has been the cause of concern for Baku's neighbors. The weapons 
agreement signed between Azerbaijan and Israel contains nearly 
more than half of the total defense cost of Azerbaijan in the year 2011. 
According to estimates, Azerbaijan's total defense cost in 2012 is equivalent 
To 1.6bn dollars. This amount is equivalent to half of the trade
transaction between Israel and Azerbaijan, which was equivalent to
more than 5.2bn dollars in 2011. After the signing of the military and
technical contract cooperation agreement in February 2012, Israel
became Azerbaijan's most important trade partner, and Baku became
Israel's most important trade partner among the countries in the
climate of the former Soviet Union.
 
Some analysts consider this contract as Azerbaijan's entry card to
"the Western coalition," however, it seems that this agreement has
several obvious results:
 
1. By signing this contract and becoming closer to Israel, Azerbaijan
has entered itself into anti-Iran coalitions more than before. It must
not be forgotten that in the existing speculations about Israel's
possible attack on Iran, only the two countries of Azerbaijan and
Afghanistan (group of coalition forces in Afghanistan) are able to
launch air operations against Iran. Therefore, the increased level of
military relations between Azerbaijan and Israel could lead to greater
tension in relations between Tehran and Baku.
 
2. The signing of this contract will not go unchallenged by Armenia
and the Armenian side will possibly also sign a similar agreement with
Russia or another county in the near future; especially since the
unmanned aerial vehicles that Azerbaijan has received from Israel will
be able to cross Armenia's anti-aircraft system.
 
Overall, many experts consider the launch of Israel (and probably
United States) attacks on Iran to be related to the start of
Azerbaijan's war operation against Armenia to liberate
Nagorno-Karabakh. Because in this case, the members of Azerbaijan's
military who are assigned to serve Israel will be able to support
Israel's strikes on Iran through the Armenian-Azeri front. On the
other hand, it seems that there are many individuals within the
governing board in Azerbaijan who consider any role of Baku in a
military action against Iran as Azerbaijan's suicide, because they
know that Azerbaijan would easily become the target of Iran's cross
attacks.
 
 
23 colourful minutes of Yerevan by Russian Kanal RIK.
..with some beautiful shots of familiar sights and sounds for many
of you


Sylvie Keshishian
 
 

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