KOTRA STAFFER WAS MISS IRAQ FOR A DAY

Chosun Ilbo, South Korea
April 18 2006

The recently crowned Miss Iraq, Tamar Goregian is interviewed on ABC
television on April 11./AP-Yonhap

The recently crowned Miss Iraq, Tamar Goregian, has returned the crown
after receiving death threats from Islamic extremists. Goregian is a
former employee of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).

According to KOTRA’s Baghdad trade office, Goregian, who is of Armenian
descent, worked as a part time employee and was in charge of arranging
negotiations when a KOTRA market opening team was in the country. “I
do feel proud that we had Iraq’s most beautiful woman working for us,”
trade office chief Seo Kang-suk said,

AP reported on April 13 that the winner of the competition was “very
troubled” by the death threats from Islamic extremists.

According to the report, the pageant to pick Iraq’s representative
for the Miss Universe contest in Los Angles in July was held on April
9 in a club in Baghdad. Four days later, Goregian returned the crown.

It passed to the runner-up, who also refused citing the same fears,
as did the third runner-up. Now the crown has finally settled on the
hardy scalp of originally fourth-ranked Silva Sahagian.

To avoid the extremists, Sahagian is hiding at an undisclosed location.

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