Armenian International Magazine (AIM) July 1999, Volume 10, Number 7, pp 37 & 39

Crisis Without Borders
The Media in the Middle East

By Hratch Tchilingirian

In the old days, when things looked bleak in the Diasporan communities of the West, everyone looked to the Middle East for hope. There, Armenians spoke, read, wrote Armenian. There, the future of the language and the culture was guaranteed.

Armenian International Magazine (AIM) Volume 10, Number 6, June 1999, p. 67

The Navy Band

Hratch Tchilingirian

Armenian Navy Band, subtitled Bzdik Zinvor (Small Soldier) is Arto Tunçboyaciyan’s newest CD production (Svota Music 1999).

Armenian International Magazine (AIM) June 1999, Volume 10, Number 6, pp 46-48

Master of Grand Theater
Gerard Avedissian in the Cultural Landscape of Lebanon

By Hratch Tchilingirian

Playwright, actor, director and producer Gerard Avedissian, 55, is one of the most sought-after artists in the Middle East. A regular guest on the Lebanese television talk show circuit and the cultural scene, Avedissian is the master of the grand theater. “People expect something big and something well done,” he says, when they see his name associated with a theatrical production. In 1997, when he wrote, directed and co-produced “Ghadat Al-Camilla”—a musical play inspired by Alexandre Dumas Jr’s The Lady of the Camellias—some 55,000 people saw the production in one season.

Armenian International Magazine (AIM) April 1999, Vol. 10, No. 4, p 58-59

AN ARAB HISTORIAN AND HIS CAUSE
Saleh Zahredeen Takes on the Armenian Genocide

By Hratch Tchilingirian

"The truth shall be told even while hanging on the gallows," confidently affirms Saleh Zahreedin, 48, Lebanese Druze historian and author of a dozen books and pamphlets in Arabic on the Armenians and the Genocide.

Armenian International Magazine (AIM) April 1999, Vol. 10, No. 4, p 34

From Activism to Diplomacy
Karabakh finds a place in the geostrategic architecture of the Caucasus

By HRATCH TCHILINGIRIAN

In the last decade, the Karabakh leadership has effectively transitioned from the political activism of the late 1980s and armed conflict in the early 1990s to serious diplomacy-with a combat-ready, disciplined army to back its political and geostrategic interests. Today, having acquired the constituent elements of statehood, Karabakh functions as a de-facto independent state.

Armenian International Magazine (AIM) April 1999, Vol. 10, No. 4, p 56-57

The Armenian [Diplomatic] Mission in Egypt
Ambassador Edward Nalbandian goes to Paris with acclamation

By Hratch Tchilingirian

Unlike countries with decades-old (even centuries-old) state apparatus and experience in diplomatic relations, the "first generation" diplomats of virtually all newly independent countries carry enormous responsibilities and challenges. In addition to representing political and economic interests of their respective countries, diplomats of new states bear the responsibility of creating new diplomatic infrastructures in their host countries with virtually no (or at best very little) state budgets. From finding, acquiring and maintaining decent embassy buildings to obtaining cars, computers, faxes and staff, the first few years for a "new diplomat" are most challenging.

Armenian International Magazine (AIM) February 1999, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 18-19

NOBODY'S LISTENING
Who is Responsible for Maintaining Armenia's Telephone System?

By HRATCH TCHILINGIRIAN

"Everything is being done to do nothing," said Makich Demirian, Chairman of the Merchants Guild of Armenia, regarding the recent and growing dissatisfaction with ArmenTel, Armenia's sole telecommunications company. An exasperated population in Armenia is caught between company executives looking out for corporate interests, a government trying to figure out which official made what deal with whom, and a political opposition garnering momentum on a critical economic issue prior to the May parliamentary elections. 

Armenian International Magazine (AIM) January 1999, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 20-21

A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS
Armenia moves to reinforce the UN Genocide Convention

By HRATCH TCHILINGIRIAN

"Genocide shaped the founding of the United Nations" said UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in a message on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The legally-binding Genocide Convention was adopted in 1948 and entered into force in 1951.