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...now Armenia does have to become more democratic because there's no other choice, there's no other choice but to become better. However the quality of people here is pretty low, that's due to being fenced in w/ no "open air" as I think about it. Armenia isn't a country where everyone can come and go easily. If we had more foreigners living here people would behave differently.
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I am George Soros and I approve of this message
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that link doesn't work.Comment
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it does. try again...
Shouldn't we be grateful to Mr Soros for offering us his unsollicited assistance in shaping up Armenia's future?The Open Society Institute, a private operating and grantmaking foundation, aims to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform. On a local level, OSI implements a range of initiatives to support the rule of law, education, public health, and independent media. At the same time, OSI works to build alliances across borders and continents on issues such as combating corruption and rights abuses.
OSI was created in 1993 by investor and philanthropist George Soros to support his foundations in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Those foundations were established, starting in 1984, to help countries make the transition from communism. OSI has expanded the activities of the Soros foundations network to other areas of the world where the transition to democracy is of particular concern. The Soros foundations network encompasses more than 60 countries, including the United States.
The Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation – Armenia (OSIAFA) was established in 1997 to assist democratic transformations and promote the values of an open society, the one characterized by rule of law, democratically elected government, respect for minorities and their rights, vigorous civil society. Towards this end, the OSIAFA has been supporting numerous projects and activities in the field of civil society, law, education, mass media, information, including publishing, electronic communication, support for libraries, public health, women’s rights, arts and culture. Like all other Soros foundation throughout the world, the OSIAFA seeks to collaborate and partner with other international organizations, local NGOs and governmental structures in implementation of its projects in order to ensure the efficiency and consistence of its operations.
In consistence with its mandate for long-term and sustainable impact, the OSIAFA strives to build up institutional capacities of local organizations. The mechanism of institutional grants introduced by the Foundation in 1999 helped a number of carefully selected Armenian NGOs to become long-term implementing partners of the Foundation and assume leadership roles in promoting democratic ideals and practices.
In general, the concept of strong institutions, grassroot organizations, communities and individuals capable of taking charge of continuity and sustainability of projects and initiatives runs through all aspects of grantmaking by the Foundation. Open society consisting of numerous such organizations and communities that are able to initiate public dialogue, exchange ideas and find solutions to burning issues thus perpetuating democratic progress is the ultimate goal of the Foundation.
Over the years of functioning in the country the OSIAF Armenia has been collaborating with various international organizations and donor agencies in those program areas that welcome diversity of experience, exchange of ideas and alternate efforts, as well as enlisted support of governmental structures that has added scalability and sustainability to its endeavors. With the accession of Armenia to the Council of Europe and all the implications proceeding from that in terms of legal, economic and social reforms in the country, the OSIAFA has got ever great role to play in helping the society and the government in the process of building a truly open society and strong democratic state that is capable of facing the challenges and meeting the standards of contemporary global community of states.Comment
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CapitalsmComment
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oh no!
{Down w/ the oligarchs! How is our Parliament supposed to do anything good for our country if they only think about themselves.}
Culture, or “Café Culture”?: Construction of billiards bar would damage NCOA performances, maestro says
By Gayane Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Members of the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia, other classical musicians, advocates of culture, and residents of the neighborhood near the Komitas Chamber Music Hall are angry about the construction of yet another café in Yerevan’s city center and concerned with the general disregard it represents towards the arts in Armenia.
The maestro conducted a protest outside the performance hall Tuesday
If their fears are realized, as soon as this winter the sound of one of Armenia’s most beloved ambassadors of culture, the NCOA, might have to fight for the attention of concert audiences over the noise of a billiards hall, or, worse, be muffled by the invasion of recorded Euro-pop music.
When the orchestra returned from annual holiday in September, they found that the garden around the Komitas Hall – intended as a buffer against outside noise – had been encroached upon by construction. Trees have been cut down, and cultivated soil that was meant as natural sound-proofing has been replaced by concrete for the café’s foundation.
A month ago NCOA arts director and Principal Conductor Aram Gharabekian met with President Robert Kocharyan to express his concerns. According to Gharabekian, the President showed interest in the matter and even sent representatives to survey the construction.
Since then, however, construction continues at a rapid pace. One laborer on the site told ArmeniaNow that work crews begin at 7 a.m. and work until dark, in their efforts to have the café open by December.
On Tuesday Gharabekian led more than 60 protestors who gathered outside the hall united under the slogan “End the Cultural Genocide”.
Today (October 21) another public meeting was held, during which former Mayor of Yerevan Suren Abrahamyan said that the very fact that the cafe is being constructed is evidence that it has the President's approval.
“Classical music and open-air billiards, a beer house and café, how consonant they are!” said the angered maestro, mockingly. “We (Yerevan) have only two halls for classical music – the Chamber Music Hall and the Aram Khachatryan Concert Hall – there are no other alternatives.”
Alternatives for café attendance has become – almost literally – thicker than the trees they’ve replaced in central Yerevan parks, including the one in which the music hall is located. (As of this spring, the City Center held 427 cafes -- one cafe for every 304 residents of the center.)
In fact, noise from the nearby “9th Wave” café has already been a hindrance to Chamber Hall performances, prompting a complaint to the President’s Office from NCOA last April which remains unsatisfied.
“Last year when the Chilingarian Quartet of England was performing here, the musicians said mockingly during the break: ‘It feels like we’re playing in a marketplace’. It is a disgrace for us, for our nation,” says Gharabekian.
According to the Urban Planning Department of the Yerevan Municipality, the territory around the Music Hall – which historically had been public park – was allocated for commercial development in 1998. Earlier this year, community authorities granted building rights to Floren-Lend Ltd. According to on-site laborers, the company is owned by an Armenian businessman who lives in Moscow.
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Gharabekian said he has met with a representative of the company, but was dissatisfied with any conclusions.
It is known that many of the properties in the area have “shadow” ownership, while in fact they are owned by oligarchs and high-level officials, including Government ministers and Members of Parliament. Asked who he suspects to be the “real” owner of the property, Gharabekian told ArmeniaNow:
“I don’t care if the Pope owns it; it’s still wrong.”
Permission to build the café is wrong, too, says art director of the Komitas String Quartet, Eduard Tadevosyan, because of the message it sends to other members of the arts and culture community.
“. . . We shall go away, and let the owners of the cafes enjoy themselves while devouring parks and places of cultural,” said Tadevosyan.
Similarly distressed is chamber singer Anna Mayilyan, who often performs in the hall.
“While other countries make their culture bloom, Armenia has decided to exterminate it,” she said. “It is high time Armenians sober up and think not so much about their bellies and more about the spirit.”
ArmeniaNow made attempts through the Municipality and though the Kentron dristict offices to speak with a Floren-Lend representative. No one in either office could say who is the owner of the company.
The architectural design of the Chamber Music Hall is such that the concert hall itself does not have a foyer that would minimize noise entering the music hall. Furthermore, a large portion of the building is glass; and its walls are not thick enough to absorb outside noise.
“The park was initially designed by the architect to provide noise insulation,” says Gharabekian. “Beginning from 2002 the peace of the concert hall was hindered because of the ‘9th Wave’ café. If this one is also erected we can just close up the music hall.”
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So what should we do?Comment
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Culture & Democracy
Unesco Adopts New Plan Against Cultural Invasion
By ALAN RIDING
Published: October 21, 2005
PARIS, Oct. 20 - Given the choice of defending Hollywood's interests or joining an international consensus, the United States stood almost alone at Unesco Thursday in opposing a new convention on cultural diversity designed to combat the homogenizing effect of cultural globalization.
The convention, the result of two years' heated and occasionally bitter negotiations, was adopted at Unesco's Paris headquarters by 148 votes in favor, with the United States and Israel voting against and just four countries - Australia, Nicaragua, Honduras and Liberia - abstaining.
Even though the convention fell short of the hopes of its original sponsors, Canada and France, its adoption by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or Unesco, was hailed as an important step toward protecting threatened cultures, particularly in developing countries.
However, the Bush administration argued that it could be interpreted as authorizing governments to undermine the rights of minorities and to control both culture and the free trade in ideas and information. Under the convention, governments will be permitted to use subsidies and quotas to promote their culture and, implicitly, to limit the access of Hollywood movies to their markets.
Speaking after Thursday's vote, Louise Oliver, the United States ambassador to Unesco, said that the United States was the world's most culturally diverse country, but that it feared the convention "could undermine, rather than promote, cultural diversity." She added, "This instrument remains too flawed, too open to misinterpretation and too prone to abuse for us to support."
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Democracy: The God That FailedOriginally posted by axelI guess everyone agrees this is a transition period.
But I am not much of a believer in "democracy". obviously, there is no ideal political system. Still I hold democracy to be one of the worst. In history, its advent almost always coincides with the decadence of nations.
One of its major flaws being clientelism in which it almost certainly degenerates, leading to short-sightedness in decision-making among other things. And there are others.
in democracy, public opinion rules. the question is then what determines public opinion?
here's what Solzhenitsyn has to say about the press in the "democratic" west (this is an excerpt from his famous Harvard address which is definitely a must read):
it appears that what fashions public opinion is in fact a small fraction of the population, interest groups, lobbies which at best have at heart the interest of the nation, most likely not, for this fraction is almost always composed of people having nothing in common with the nation they have settled in, no emotional bound whatsoever or else hatred and a hysterical resolve of destroying culture and tradition, cosmopolites, as they are sometimes referred to.
this in fact contradicts the actual principle of democracy which is a mere utopia, the actual system known as such being far from it, still deriving its legitimacy from the myth.
"Democracy" in the ex-soviet republics seems to be more of trojan horse for "western" influence than anything else. the new charter that is imposed upon armenia by the EU (a mere puppet of america, itself...) by its reinforcement of parliament will likely further accentuate political impotency.Achkerov kute.Comment
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Another mouse cut and paste - another Mouse cry against the evils of government - however again here he is advocating Monarchy over Democracy. Do I even need to begin to list the various severe problems with this? And does he forget that the King owned all the land - and we - the peasents had nothing. And speaking of land - I surmise from Mouse's affliction with this particular political school of thought (that is fine as an intellectual exercise - but little more) - that he values property rights above all other...well...again must we ceede such to the king? And likewise is he aware for all the exclamations of taxation as theft there exists equal voices who believe that (private) property is theft? These are philosophical arguments for which a case can be made for each...however we can equal debate the existance of god and have just as likely a chance of reaching consensus. So OK - Baaaaad government...lets just have an anarchy party!! whooowee! Well as much as I too philosophically apreciate these sentiments (yes I do - and have considered myself a [philosophical] anarchist since before Mouse was even born - and before it was at all "hip" with the neo-right) - but in fact - there is no reality to these arguments in the present state of affairs of humanity - and those who advocate such really do so under a cover of "don't tax my riches" - so that I can become infinitly rich - and after all who really cares about the masses anyway. This is where they are comming from - and so that they can feel smug that they have an apealing political philosophy to justify their greed...Comment
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The NCOA is absolutely breathtaking, and Maestro Gharabekian is talented, and most importantly, ambitious, original, and innovative.
For the love of Armenia, don't miss this man off too.
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