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03/15/2005
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1) AYF Calls on EU Member States to Recognize Armenian Genocide
2) Armenia Ready for De-Mining Mission in Lebanon
3) March for Humanity Reaches Final Preparation Stage
4) Kasparov Quits Chess to Challenge Putin
5) Saakashvili Pledges Jobs for Akhalkalak Armenians after Russian Base
Pullout
1) AYF Calls on EU Member States to Recognize Armenian Genocide
YEREVAN (Yerkir)–Members of the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) held a
demonstration Tuesday in Yerevan outside the European Union office to call on
EU countries to recognize the Armenian genocide and prevent Turkey’s accession
to the Union until it acknowledges the mass killing of Armenians as genocide.
An appeal to EU member states was presented to the representatives of the
office, stressing that the problem is not only about recognition, but also
recovery of historical rights.
The statement continues, `The aim of the first genocide of the 20th century,
which took place in front of the whole world, was to destroy a nation which
was
one of the founders of the world civilization. The world was silent. But there
were people who criticized the indifference of Great States towards the
Armenian Genocide. Despite this, the Great States went on ignoring the
Armenian
Genocide until the second genocide of the 20th century took place.’
It concludes by urging all EU member states `to convict the Genocide of
Armenians so as to prevent the danger of crime against mankind. Let’s not
permit Turkey to enter EU with bloody hands.’
2) Armenian Ready for De-Mining Mission in Lebanon
YEREVAN (Armenpress)–Armenian sappers are prepared to leave for Lebanon on a
de-mining mission in case Defense Minister Serge Sargsian issues such
instructions, confirmed deputy defense minister Arthur Aghabekian.
The request for an Armenian de-mining platoon was voiced Monday by Lebanon’s
ambassador to Armenia during a meeting with the Defense Minister Serge.
Aghabekian said the Armenian defense ministry is able to carry out de-mining
work in Lebanon, as it has a well-trained contingent of sappers thanks to a
modern de-mining center established with the assistance of the US government.
He said the center has all necessary equipment, including sniffing dogs.
Several Armenian sappers are currently in Iraq joining multi-national
occupational forces.
3) March for Humanity Reaches Final Preparation Stage
LOS ANGELES–Less than three weeks from the start of an unprecedented display
of solidarity for the 1.5 million forgotten victims of the Armenian genocide,
the organizing committee of March For Humanity reported Monday that it has
completed the planning and organizing phase of the 215 mile walk.
More than 40 Californians, 17 of which will walk the full 19 days, have
registered as marchers, prior to the beginning of the main recruitment
efforts.
“People of all age groups and many different ethnicities have shown interest
in marching the 215 mile course. This coupled with the outpour of moral and
financial support from dozens of communities including Central California, the
Bay Area, Washington DC, New York, and Boston gives us the confidence that the
March For Humanity will become the march of all justice loving people,” said
Vicken Sosikian, director of March For Humanity.
“The marchers’ heartfelt sacrifices show that even after 90 years of deceit,
denial, and distortion, the Turkish government must come to terms with its
history and finally take genuine responsibility for the 1.5 million victims of
the Armenian Genocide.”
The march, set to begin on April 2 in Fresno, will reach Sacramento on April
21, where marchers, human rights activists, and Armenian American community
members will gather for a rally organized to thank the California State
Legislature and 36 other states’ legislatures for officially recognizing the
Genocide. The “Rally For Humanity” will also promote public involvement in
securing justice not only for the Armenian genocide, but also for all
unpunished crimes against humanity.
“The interest generated about March For Humanity, on the internet alone, has
already surpassed our pre-march expectations,” said Serouj Aprahamian,
coordinator of March For Humanity. “Thousands have visited
, the official site of the march. Hundreds have
completed action alerts and websites, blogs, message boards, and discussion
groups from as far as Europe, the Middle East, and Armenia have been buzzing
with talk about the March For Humanity.
Aprahamian, a full distance marcher, says that the Armenian people living in
the Turkish Ottoman Empire suffered unspeakable and unimaginable horrors and
that this is the least the youth can do to show its solidarity.
For more information about the March for Humanity, visit
or call (818) 507-1933.
4) Kasparov Quits Chess to Challenge Putin
MOSCOW (news.telegraph)–Garry Kasparov, the world’s leading chess player, is
to give up competitive chess and devote his time to Russian politics in an
attempt to bring down the increasingly despotic regime of President Vladimir
Putin.
The man many consider to be the best chess player ever seen is giving up the
international circuit after winning the prestigious Linares tournament in
Spain.
Kasparov is already chairman of the opposition body Committee 2008, a
group of
liberals fighting to halt Russia’s slide to autocracy and to ensure that Putin
resigns when his second term in office ends in three years.
The committee was set up amid growing fears that Putin and his allies,
many of
them placemen from the old KGB, will be reluctant to relinquish office and may
try to manipulate the constitution to hang on to power.
Since the committee was formed a little over a year ago, Kasparov has become
one of the most outspoken critics of the Putin regime on the international
circuit, lambasting its decision to clamp down on the media and its
stranglehold over the courts and parliament.
At a late-night news conference on Thursday, Kasparov finally took the plunge
and declared he was leaving competitive chess for good. He said, “Before this
tournament I made a conscious decision that Linares 2005 will be my last
professional [tournament], and today I played my last professional game.”
He said his final games were “very difficult for me to play under such
pressure, because I knew it was the end of the career which I could be proud
of”.
In comments published on the website of the Russian weekly journal
Yezhednevny Zhurnal, he said: “In chess I have done all I could and even more.
Now I intend to use my intellect and strategic thinking in Russian politics.
I will do all I can to oppose Putin’s dictatorship. It is very hard to play
for
a country with undemocratic authorities. I will be tackling this problem with
those who hold Russia dear and care about it.”
Kasparov, 41, has dominated international chess tournaments since
becoming
world champion at the age of 22.
He said professional chess no longer held any challenges, but he would
continue to play knock-outs and speed chess for fun.
Born Garrik Vainshtein in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 1963 to a Jewish father
and
an Armenian mother, Kasparov began studying at the Soviet Union’s most
prestigious chess school at age 10. After the death of his father, Kasparov
adopted his mother’s surname. At 12, Kasparov became the youngest player to
win
the Soviet junior championship, and became a grandmaster on his 17th birthday.
In 1985, after a 48-game marathon against the champion Anatoly Karpov
ended inconclusively when Karpov’s health failed, he won a rematch to become
the youngest ever world champion.
But Kasparov is often remembered for a rare defeat–against the computer
Deep Blue, a moment many thought marked machine’s superiority over man. Six
years later he drew 3-3 against Deep Junior, which calculated three million
moves per second.
Shay Bushinsky, one of Deep Junior’s two programmers, said Kasparov was
“the closest thing to a computer that I know as a man. Sometimes I think he
has
silicon running in his veins.
“Kasparov has the most incredible look-ahead and memory capabilities I
have ever seen.”
But such skills may not serve him well in the cut and thrust of politics.
Andrei Piontkowsky, a political analyst with the Strategic Studies
Centre,
said: “I have great respect for Kasparov but I do not believe he has a big
future as a politician.
“The qualities that helped him become the world’s greatest chess player
will only hamper his political career.
“He is a fighter, he has defined his stance on the Putin regime and that
is a good thing.
“But considering the state of the democratic opposition a leader
should be
a great communicator and capable of compromises.
“Garry couldn’t even unify international chess, which is split into two
federations.”
5) Saakashvili Pledges Jobs for Akhalkalak Armenians after Russian Base
Pullout
TBILISI (Armenpress)–Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili assured local
residents of Akhalkalak, who are currently employed at the Russian military
bases stationed there, that they will not be unemployed after Russian troops
pull out from Georgia.
`After the pullout of the Russian military bases from Georgia, we will help
all the employees, including local residents of Akhalkalak, get jobs in the
Georgian armed forces. Not a single high-skilled person will remain
unemployed,’ Saakashvili said while visiting the 11th Battalion of the Defense
Ministry deployed in a town of Telavi in eastern Georgia on March 14.
He also reiterated that no troops of any foreign country will be deployed in
Georgia after Russia closes down its bases. Around 4,000 local residents of
Akhalkalak, which is predominantly populated by ethnic Armenians, rallied on
March 13 to protest the withdrawal of the Russian military base stationed
there. Rally organizers said they are seeking to protect the local Armenian
population of Javakhk, and are guided by security concerns and joblessness, as
many locals are employed by the base.
Armenian member of the Georgian parliamentarian Van Bayburdian said he
believes the dissatisfaction of the Akhalkalak inhabitants is not of a
political, but rather a social nature.
According to Baiburtian, “the well-being of about one thousand Akhalkalak
residents depends upon the Russian military base activity, and they fear job
loss.”
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