Author: Chakhmakhchian Vatche

A1 Plus | 20:19:48 | 28-06-2004 | Politics |

BORIS NAVASARDYAN: A1+ ISSUE MUST NOT BE REMOVED FROM PACE RESOLUTIONS

President Kocharyan has come up with a proposal to sent the PACE monitoring
group to Armenia to convince PACE that the situation in media field here is
not so bad, the opposition activists are not being bared from airing their
views on TV channels and the fact of stripping A1+ TV Company from
broadcasting license doesn’t mean restriction of freedom of speech. He’s
done it in a hope that the issue will be removed from the PACE resolutions.

On Monday, Chair of Yerevan Press Club Boris Navasardyan, commenting on
that, said there was convincing evidence that the 2002 and 2003 tenders for
broadcasting frequencies had been held with the law serious violation. The
A1+’s issue must not be removed from the resolutions. Even in the event the
things are put right in media field, the A1+ TV Company’s issue must remain
in the resolutions. In his opinion, these two issues are completely separate
and must not be lumped together.

“As a rule, monitoring held amid political tension produces is more
effective. Different organisations having conducted monitoring during the
2003 elections on Armenia noticed biased stance shown by leading media
outlets in covering them.

It laid grounds for saying Armenian faced serious problems related to
freedom of speech. Air availability for the opposition is one of freedom of
speech criteria. But there are other criteria. It is very important how
media outlets cover social and political developments”, Navasardyan said.

He thinks, measuring duration of air-time or space in newspapers given to
the opposition activists is only one part of monitoring.

Methodology of monitoring in calm political situation should be completely
different: it should show the media whole activity at the certain period of
time, Navasardyan said.

Armenian president “obstacle” to democracy – opposition leader

Turan news agency, Baku
25 Jun 04

Strasbourg, 25 June: MP Shavarsh Kocharyan, leader of the National
Democratic Party of Armenia, has commented in an interview with Turan
news agency on Armenian President Robert Kocharyan’s speech at the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe [PACE].

Asked what he thought about the president’s assessments of the
domestic situation in the country, Kocharyan said that the president
was very “vague” about them. Particularly, it is wrong to present the
tension that has developed as an attempt to import a revolution. “In
fact, the situation deteriorated a result of ballot-rigging in
2003. Even if the revolution in Georgia had not taken place, something
would have happened in Armenia,” Shavarsh Kocharyan said.

The Armenian opposition declared last September why it was intending
to achieve its aims and was based on the Constitutional Court’s
decision to conduct a referendum of confidence in the president within
a year. When the parliamentary majority refused to discuss the
referendum, the opposition had no choice but to appeal to the people,
Shavarsh Kocharyan said. “Therefore, the roots of the conflict are
different from those mentioned by Robert Kocharyan, simply it is of no
benefit to him to talk about the real reasons,” the MP said.

In addition, some points in the president’s speech “do not serve good
relations between Armenia and Georgia”, he said.

Asked if Armenia has fulfilled its commitments to PACE, the MP said
that they have been fulfilled “as a formality”. It means that
everything is alright on paper, but in fact, the adopted laws and
conventions are not being observed. Moreover, the authorities
continue to violate these documents. “These violations are pretty
frequent in the country and therefore, Armenia is not actually keeping
its commitments,” Shavarsh Kocharyan said.

Asked if he agrees with the opinion that the Armenian opposition has
lost, he said that there cannot be a clear answer. This is a defeat
for those who wanted to “checkmate in two moves”. But for those who
want to draw Armenia closer to European values and democracy this is
the beginning of a long way, and we might be late in achieving the
desired results. “In any case, Robert Kocharyan and his entourage are
obstacles in this way,” he said.

* Harrison stays focused on Abelyan, not record books
* Boxing: Harrison faces easy fight before brutal talks
* Harrison Too Hot For Abelyan
* Harrison Retains Title In Three
* World Championship Boxing: Harrison V Abelyan, Braehead Top Man Watt
* Harrison retains WBO title
* Harrison retains title
* Three and easy for Harrison
* Harrison blows away challenger

***************************************************************************
Harrison stays focused on Abelyan, not record books
STEPHEN HALLIDAY

The Scotsman – United Kingdom
Jun 19, 2004

HISTORY beckons Scott Harrison at the Braehead Arena tonight. The priority
for Scotland’s WBO featherweight champion, however, is simply to ensure his
ambition to become his country’s most successful boxer of all time does not become
a thing of the past.

There is undoubted danger in Harrison’s mandatory defence of his title
against William Abelyan. Promoters Sports Network, who have packaged the fight as
‘Risky Business’, have made no secret of the fact they would have preferred to
avoid the American southpaw as they attempt to steer Harrison towards more
lucrative and career-defining contests.

With no rematch clause in the contract, the Cambuslang man simply cannot
afford to suffer another loss in the manner of his shock points defeat to Manuel
Medina last July which he was able to emphatically avenge four months later.

Since then, Harrison has stopped Colombian Walter Estrada, a late replacement
for Abelyan who called off injured from the originally-scheduled meeting in
March, to score his fourth victory in five world-title fights. If he can
overcome his Armenian-born challenger tonight, Harrison will join Jim Watt in the
record books for the most successful world championship contests by a Scottish
boxer.

Watt, who lifted the WBC lightweight title with a 12th-round stoppage of
Alfredo Pitalua in April 1979 and defended the belt four times before losing to
the brilliant Nicaraguan Alexis Arguello in June 1981, will be ringside tonight
in his role as Sky Sports’ most cogent boxing analyst.

He is willing his compatriot to succeed, unfazed by the apparent resentment
towards him from both the champion and his father and trainer Peter Harrison in
the wake of Watt’s criticism of the performance last time out against
Estrada.

Despite Harrison becoming the first man to stop the tricky Colombian
southpaw, an achievement this correspondent believes did not earn him enough credit,
Watt felt there were dangerous flaws in the 26-year-old’s display which could
be exploited by a better opponent.

“I know the Harrison family aren’t too happy with me,” says Watt, “but my
honest view was that it was a bad performance against Estrada. Although Scott was
never in danger of losing, he got hit with far too many silly punches in the
first three rounds.

“I’m sorry if Scott and his dad are upset at what I said, but my job is to
call it as I see it. I can’t sit at ringside and ignore the evidence of my own
eyes just because Scott is Scottish. No-one has given him more praise than I
have since he started boxing on Sky and no-one wants him to keep winning more
than I do.”

To keep winning tonight, Harrison must solve the puzzle that is 25-year-old
Abelyan, the North American champion who has lost just four of his 28 fights
since turning professional six years ago. He is unbeaten since suffering a
first-round loss to Victor Polo in January 2000, when he cited a stomach bug as the
reason.

Nonetheless, as Polo later lost to Julio Pablo Chacon, the Argentine
dethroned by Harrison when he became champion in October 2002, it would appear to be
an encouraging form line for the Scot.

However, in reeling off 13 consecutive wins since the Polo defeat, including
an impressive points success over former WBC champion Guty Espadas, Abelyan
has earned his world-title shot and a reputation as someone capable of making
the best fighters look bad.

Jim Brady, the acerbic American correspondent of Boxing News, said after
Abelyan’s points win over veteran former WBA super-bantamweight champion Jesus
Salud in April 2002 that he “moved so much, they should have had a lap counter in
the ring”.

It is an indication of Abelyan’s elusive style, one which Brady claims is
“death at the box office”. When he knocked out Orlando Soto in Las Vegas to win
the North American title four months later, Brady was moved to observe “he has
a style only a mother could love, but then she probably doesn’t have to pay to
get in”.

Harrison, who weighed in four ounces inside the nine stone limit yesterday,
two ounces heavier than Abelyan, has no doubts his challenger will be unable to
avoid him for 12 rounds.

“He’s awkward, he jumps in and out,” said Harrison, “but I’m in perfect shape
and I will get to him. He doesn’t like to get hit to the body and there are
other weaknesses we have noticed. I just want to get this guy out of the way,
then move on to unify the belts.”

Watt, while anticipating a difficult night for Harrison, is confident he will
be joined in the record books by his fellow Glaswegian by the end of the
night. “Abelyan’s a good fighter, can adopt different styles and will try and mess
Scott about,” said Watt. “Scott has all the physical advantages, though and
as long as he controls the pace of the fight, I see him winning well on
points.”

I believe Harrison, as intensely motivated as he has ever been, will force a
stoppage somewhere around the tenth round.

* Willie Limond weighed in four ounces inside the super-featherweight limit
for his clash with French champion Youssef Djibaba for the vacant European
Union title. Live coverage of both fights from Braehead begins at 8pm on Sky
Sports 2.

* Audley Harrison defends his WBF heavyweight title tonight against Poland’s
Tomasz Bonin at Alexandra Palace in the last fight of his contract with the
BBC.

***************************************************************************
Boxing: Harrison faces easy fight before brutal talks
By JOHN RAWLING

The Guardian – United Kingdom
Jun 19, 2004

Audley Harrison is expected to record the 17th win of his undefeated
professional career against Poland’s Tomasz Bonin at the Alexandra Palace tonight,
then resume negotiations with the promoter Frank Warren over a challenge against
the British and Commonwealth champion Matt Skelton.

Harrison hopes for an equal split in the profits, and has said: “I want to
win the British title. Matt Skelton is a York Hall [Bethnal Green] fighter, but
Audley Harrison brings more to the table than that. I am asking for 50-50,
which I think is fair and reasonable.”

In a letter to Warren, Harrison suggested a joint operation between his own
A-Force promotions and Warren’s Sports Network, but Warren angrily rejected the
offer last night.

“With respect, who the hell does Audley Harrison think he is?” he said. “He
has just been dropped by the BBC and he has no television deal with Sky or any
other company.

“I have the TV contract and Matt Skelton is the champion. Sky have no
interest in signing Harrison so if he wants the fight he can take it on Matt
Skelton’s terms. I am in the business of looking after him, not Harrison.”

Harrison, 32, has a huge height and reach advantage over Bonin, 26. The
Pole’s record, undefeated in 26 fights, seems impressive, but closer inspection
shows his opponents have been dismal and Harrison should retain the
little-regarded WBF title with few problems.

An altogether more meaningful contest at the Braehead Arena in Renfrew pits
the WBO featherweight champion Scott Harrison against his mandatory challenger,
William Abelyan, a US-based Armenian. The size and strength of Harrison, the
Scottish title-holder, could be decisive.

The world light-welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu has been stripped of his
WBA belt after saying he would fight Sharmba Mitchell for the IBF belt in
November instead of the WBA challenger Vivien Harris. Harris could now face
Britain’s Ricky Hatton with the WBA title at stake.

***************************************************************************
HARRISON TOO HOT FOR ABELYAN

SkySports, UK
June 19, 2004

Scott Harrison retained his WBO featherweight title with a ruthless
third round stoppage of Armenian William Abelyan at the Braehead
Arena in Glasgow.

The Scotsman, backed by around 5,000 partisan fans, was relentless
from the first bell and pursued the WBO number one -ranked challenger
all around the ring.

The first couple of rounds allowed Harrison to find his range against
the Armenian who never showed the confidence inside the ring that he
had displayed in the pre-fight hype.

In the third round Harrison stunned the challenger with a ferocious
right hand and from then on there was no way back for Abelyan who
dropped to the canvas.

The Cambuslang fighter had the challenger down on the floor twice
more before the referee stepped in to save him from further
punishment.

The 22nd win from 25 contests was arguably the most impressive
display of the 26-year-old’s career and sets him up for a big-money
fight against one of the leading men in the division.

***************************************************************************
HARRISON RETAINS TITLE IN THREE

sportinglife.com, UK
June 19, 2004

Scott Harrison retained his WBO world featherweight title in
impressive style with a third-round stoppage over American-based
Armenian William Abelyan at Braehead Arena.

The Scotsman, backed by around 5,000 partisan fans, came out with all
guns blazing right from the first bell and devastated the challenger
with a stunning display of powerful and aggressive boxing.

After he had dropped Abelyan for the third time in the third round
with some terrific rights and lefts the referee had no option but to
step in and prevent Abelyan from taking any further punishment.

It was a terrific victory for the Cambuslang fighter who silenced the
challenger after being criticised heavily by him during the normal
pre-fight hype.

The signs that Harrison was in the mood to do a job on the challenger
came right from the first bell as he emerged from his stool and
connected with a couple of good left hooks and a right uppercut which
had Abelyan already struggling.

The challenger composed himself by the end of the first round but the
second bell again saw Harrison come out aggressively.

A flurry of punches midway through the round almost had Abelyan in
trouble against the ropes but to his credit the Armenian again worked
himself out of trouble and began to throw the occasional left hook.

But the third round was just a devastating display of boxing by the
Scotsman. A right hand from Harrison had Abelyan on the floor and
having to take a standing count of eight.

Harrison followed up with a concentrated attack which again had
Abelyan down on the canvas.

The Armenian was somehow allowed to get up for a third time and have
a go but when Harrison continued his savage attack the referee could
only step in and save Abelyan from further punishment.

It was a terrific way to end the fight for Harrison who again put on
a terrific display for his loyal fans who cheered him from the
rafters as he held his belt aloft.

The challenger looked stunned as he sat on his stool before making an
ignominious exit from the ring.

***************************************************************************
World Championship Boxing: Harrison V Abelyan, Braehead Top Man Watt
by EWING GRAHAME

The Mirror
June 19, 2004, Saturday

CREDIT: Scott Harrison has come in for praise from Scottish legend
Jim Watt

VICTORY for Scott Harrison tonight will see him equal boxing legend
Jim Watt’s record of five successful world title fights, a feat which
has stood unchallenged for 24 years.

Watt, who succeeded Hall of Famer Roberto Duran as the WBC
lightweight champion, retired after his first unsuccessful defence, a
points loss to the great Alexis Arguello, and is currently Sky TV’s
top ringside analyst.

He’ll be at the Braehead Arena tonight to see if the Cambuslang man
can see off William Abelyan and take his place alongside him in the
history books.

Watt was at the receiving end from Team Harrison after criticising
the WBO featherweight champion for a below-par start to his last bout
against Walter Estrada but he insists he won’t be pulling any punches
tonight if Scott falls below the standards he’s set for himself.

“He must be doing something right to have got to this stage,” said
the 55-year-old. “Sadly for Scott there have been so many changes in
boxing since my time. Back then five defences would have established
you as the world’s No.1, whereas now you’re just one of four.

“He has proved he’s one of the best in one of the toughest divisions
around and, assuming he gets past Abelyan, his promoters should be
looking for the real big fights for him.

“This is a business as well as a sport but it was interesting to hear
Scott and Abelyan talk the other day. All Abelyan spoke about was
money, while Scott talked about the glory involved in being champion
and I believe he’s genuinely interested in that as well and that
could tip the scales in his favour here.

“Don’t forget that this is a proper world title, the one Naz held
(Prince Naseem Hamed made 15 successful defences). This is a good
match-up because Abelyan is good, but Scott doesn’t duck anyone.

“Abelyan can do different things. He’ll adapt to Scott’s style and
try to mess him about.”

However, assuming Harrison hasn’t been distracted by his disrupted
build-up to this particular bout – originally scheduled for May 29,
it was postponed when the Scot suffered an arm injury in training and
he then spent two days in court before being found not guilty on an
assault charge – he should prove too much for the Armenian.

While Abelyan has moved up to reach this division, Harrison is
already speaking about exiting it and heading to super-featherweight
or lightweight.

“Abelyan could make super- bantamweight,” Watt pointed out, “while
Scott will probably be around 10 stones (light-welterweight) on the
night of the fight. Much will depend on whether Scott dictates the
tempo of the bout because if he does I can’t see Abelyan lasting if
the pace is as intense as Scott has been known to make it.”

Watt, as you might expect, remains unfazed and unapologetic about the
furore his negative comments on Harrison’s performance against
Estrada caused in the Scot’s camp.

As far as he’s concerned, his role nowadays is as commentator, not
cheerleader, and he mounted a stout rebuttal of Harrison’s
complaints.

“For me it was a bad Harrison performance against Estrada, it’s as
simple as that,” he said. “I know the Harrison family weren’t happy
with what I said but no-one has given Scott more praise than I have
over the years.

“When I’m at ringside I say what I see and, for my money, Scott was
in a lot of trouble for the first three rounds against Estrada. Don’t
get me wrong – he was never in danger of losing but he took a lot of
punches he shouldn’t have.

“I wouldn’t be doing my job properly if I didn’t make those
observations. Anyway, if Scott was to sit down with me and watch
videos of his last six fights then I’m sure he’d agree that his
display against Estrada was his worst.

“I want him to do well, though, like everyone else.”

HEAD TO HEAD

Harrison record in World bouts

OCT 19, 2002 v Juan Pablo Chacon

(W points)

MAR 22, 2003 v Wayne McCullough (W points)

JULY 12, 2003 v Manuel Medina (L points)

NOV 29, 03 v Medina (W, rd 11)

MAR 6, 04 v Walter Estrada (W tko)

JUNE 19, 04 v William Abelyan (?)Watt record in World bouts

APRIL 17, 1979 v Alfredo Pitalua (W, rsf rd 12)

NOV 3, 1979 v Roberto Vasquez (W, rsf rd 9)

MARCH 14, 1980 v Charlie Nash (W, rsf rd 4)

JUNE 7, 1980 v Howard Davis (W, pts)

NOV 1, 1980 v Sean O’Grady (W, rsf rd 12)FIGHT ODDS: Harrison 4-9,
Abelyan 13-4, Draw 20-1TV TIMES Sky Sports 2 (8pm)

***************************************************************************
Harrison retains WBO title

Ireland Online, Ireland
June 19 2004

Scott Harrison retained his WBO world featherweight title with an
impressive third round win over William Abelyan at Braehead Arena.

The Scotsman, backed by around 5,000 partisan fans, was relentless
from the first bell and pursued the challenger all around the ring.

The first couple of rounds allowed Harrison to find his range against
the Armenian who never showed the confidence inside the ring that he
had displayed in the pre-fight hype.

In the third round Harrison stunned the challenger with a ferocious
right hand and from then on there was no way back for Abelyan who
dropped to the canvas.

Harrison had the challenger down on the floor twice more before the
referee stepped in to save him from further punishment.

***************************************************************************
Harrison retains title

BBC Sport, UK
June 20 2004

Harrison had little trouble beating Abelyan on Saturday
Scott Harrison successfully defended his WBO world featherweight
title with a third-round stoppage over American-based Armenian
William Abelyan.
The Scotsman came out with all guns blazing from the first bell at
Braehead Arena in Glasgow.

After dropping Abelyan for the third time in the third round, the
referee stepped in to prevent his challenger from taking any further
punishment.

It was the Cambuslang fighter’s sixth defence of his title.

A euphoric Harrison hailed the win as his greatest performance.

It just came off for me on the night

Scott Harrison
“It was the best I’ve boxed so far,” said Harrison.

“After I caught him with the right hand the first time, it was just a
matter of time before it was stopped.

“Scotland aren’t doing too well in sport at the moment so I’m going
to try and go as far as I can and put on a show for them time and
again.”

Harrison, who had refused to predict a knockout or stoppage during
the pre-fight hype, admitted he was unconcerned about how he retained
his title.

He said: “I knew it wasn’t going to go 12 rounds but you didn’t know
if it was going to go three rounds or 12 rounds or whatever.

“Sometimes it takes time but in this fight he went early but that’s
boxing for you. It just came off for me on the night.”

***************************************************************************
Three and easy for Harrison

Sunday Herald, UK
June 20 2004

Stewart Fisher watches as the fired-up Scot dispatches challenger
with minimum of fuss

THIS was one early stoppage about which the crowd could have no
complaints. Scott Harrison’s mandatory second defence of his second
spell as WBO featherweight champion had been billed “Risky Business”,
in recognition of the fact his opponent, William Abelyan, arrived in
Glasgow as the organisation’s No 1 challenger, but the only risk at
Braehead Arena last night was the one to Abelyan’s health had this
contest been allowed to go any further.
Harrison, who only two weeks ago was fretting over allegations of
assaulting a man in a toilet cubicle of the Tower Bar in East
Kilbride, made good on his promise to take that aggression with him
into the ring. A flurry of vicious right-hand shots saw his
American/Armenian opponent subjected to two standing eight counts –
although WBO organisation rules make no provision for a standing
eight count – before the Brooklyn-based referee intervened to stop
the contest with just 1min 45secs of the third round having
transpired.

There was a fitting symmetry in the fact that on the night when
Harrison equalled Jim Watt’s record of six appearances in world title
bouts, and five victories, he should also finally put to rest
criticism which has followed him ever since his sluggish performance
against last-minute call-up Walter Estrada in March, the first
occasion when this twice delayed bout had been set to take place.

His opponent seemed to have a significant disadvantage in terms of
both height and build, and played to the Scot’s strengths with a
willingness to come out and fight, but this was surely the finest
stoppage of Harrison’s career. “I think this is the best of them
all,” the 26-year-old from Cambuslang said afterwards.

“Once I had caught him with that right hand it was just a matter of
time. I don’t really know if that is the best punch I have ever
thrown but it certainly felt good. Everything that has happened in
the last week has just made me more determined. I knew that if I
defended my title in brilliant fashion there was nothing that the
press could say about me.”

Harrison’s preparations for the fight had certainly been nothing if
not eventful. A new diet which allows him to take frosted cereal for
breakfast and sweets after training under the supervision of muscle
specialist Dr Niall Ferguson, of Glasgow University, had been
adopted, but he still boasted a fat content of 5.2%, as he weighed in
just two ounces more than the challenger. That was impressive enough,
given the fact that he had required to shuffle his workouts either
side of courtroom appearances. Having been subsequently found not
guilty, Harrison entered the ring in a state of righteous
indignation.

Abelyan, meanwhile, who left Yerevan at the age of eight to make a
new life in the US, came into the fight with 23 wins from his 28
bouts, and a hope that Harrison would have as much difficulties
against his southpaw stance as he had in the opening rounds of his
clash with Estrada. He had also been working with Manuel Medina, the
Mexican who stripped Harrison of his title and then lost it again,
but hadn’t fought for 14 months – as he cautiously preserved his
status as No 1 challenger.

Harrison took the early initiative – only once getting caught off
guard by a right hand from his opponent, and the second round also
belonged to Harrison. The third, on the other hand, is likely to give
Abelyan nightmares for a while now. A combination of jabs put Abelyan
on the canvas early on, before a thunderous right hook which made the
challenger’s knees turn to jelly made the outcome a formality.
Abelyan was game enough to insist on getting back into the action,
but in retrospect it was a mistake. By that point, the fight had
become a mismatch.

Earlier on in the night, Willie Limond’s gradual, painstaking return
from being stopped by Alex Arthur for the British superfeatherweight
title last July was put to an examination by French champion Youssef
Djibaba. For the first seven rounds of the contest for the vacant EU
belt, the man from Marseille spoiled the 25-year-old Glasgow
fighter’s momentum enough to suggest that only the second defeat on
his record was not a complete impossibility, but the eighth round saw
Limond in an altogether better light, as a couple of clubbing right
hands had the Frenchman in real trouble.

Although a cut above Limond’s left eye had developed by the time of
the final bell, he coasted the rest of the way to win a comfortable,
unanimous points decision.

The highlight on the rest of the undercard was another energetic
workout from Edinburgh light-welterweight Gary Young. The 21-year-old
duly reached double figures on his unbeaten record, with a clear-cut
points decision over Sutton-in-Ashfield’s David Kirk. Barry
“Braveheart” Hughes, of Glasgow, stopped Nottingham’s Nigel Senior in
the third round of a lightweight contest, and it took only two rounds
for Glasgow welterweight Colin McNeil to knock Andre Ivanov – who,
despite the name, is another Nottingham fighter – through the ropes.
There was no such joy for Scott Flynn, who in his first professional
fight, was dumped on the canvas three times and suffered a punctured
eardrum after a battering from Pontypridd bantamweight Henry Janes.

Great Scott
Harrison ‘best in Britain’ after emphatic third-round knockout

SCOTT Harrison retained his WBO World Featherweight title at
Glasgow’s Braehead Arena in emphatic fashion last night and in the
process wrote his name into the history books alongside the legendary
Jim Watt.
The 26-year-old stopped challenger William Abelyan in the third round
to equal Watt’s record of five successful world title fights.
Harrison put the American-based Armenian on the canvas twice in the
round, before the referee stepped in to end the onslaught.

“I believe I’m the best featherweight in the world right now, it is
just about proving it. That was all about controlled aggression,”
said the Cambuslang fighter after retaining his belt in front of his
adoring fans.

“I’m looking for a unification fight, I’m ready for anyone. I want
another title at this weight and then I’ll move up a weight and claim
another world title.”

Frank Maloney immediately declared his fighter was not only the best
boxer in Scotland, but now No 1 in Britain. “He has gone to the top
of the pile. Tonight Scott made a statement to the rest of the
world,” said the manager who will now size up the options to make
Harrison’s dream come true.

“I think a fight between Scott and Injin Chi would be great and the
fans would love it,” said Maloney, pointing to a possible match-up
with the WBC champion.

Wherever Harrison’s career takes him now, he will travel with the
confidence of coming through one of the most difficult periods of his
career and producing his best performance at the end of it.

It is less than a fortnight since the Cambuslang-based boxer was in
court facing assault charges which could have ended his career. When
he was found not guilty of assaulting his fiancee’s former boyfriend
he immediately promised to channel his frustrations and energies into
last night’s mandatory defence.

And Abelyan was no mug. Even the normally bullish Maloney had
conceded before the fight that the dangerous southpaw was an opponent
he would rather Harrison had avoided.

But last night any worries were soon laid to rest. Harrison started
brightly against the WBO’s No 1 contender, his greater strength
evident as he caught the smaller man several times in the opening
exchanges. But Abelyan responded in the second round, outboxing the
champ-ion with fast, neat jabs which suggested the contest might
extend deep into the scheduled 12 rounds.

However Harrison was having none of that and the third round
demonstrated the power which has already made a two-times world
champion at the nine-stone weight limit. With one minute 45 seconds
on the clock, and Abelyan having already crumpled to the canvas twice
under the weight of the Scot’s punches, the referee stepped in to
spark wild scenes of celebration.

“I worked long and hard on my straight right in training and it came
off tonight,” said the man with the broadest smile of all, the WBO
belt still safely in his possession.

***************************************************************************
Harrison blows away challenger
BY MARTIN HANNAN, AT BRAEHEAD

The Scotsman, UK
June 20 2004

WITH a quite awesome performance which the fighter himself confirmed
as his best ever, Scott Harrison last night retained his WBO
featherweight championship of the world by stopping dangerous
opponent William Abelyan in the third round.

Harrison entered the ring with an intensity in his eyes that showed
he was desperate to exorcise the demons of the past few months in
which the fight has twice been postponed and the champion himself
faced an assault charge of which he was cleared only ten days ago.

How Abelyan paid for all that frustration as he crumpled under a
withering attack from a boxer who moved on to a different level last
night. Make no mistake, this victory sends out a message to the
boxing world that Scotland’s world champion deserves to be ranked
among the finest fighters in the world.

He took on the No.1 contender in a mandatory defence and reduced him
to a shambling wreck inside seven minutes, 45 seconds of controlled
boxing.

Abelyan did threaten briefly in the second, and his southpaw stance
did appear awkward but when the first right hook of Harrison handed
flush on the challenger’s chin early in the third, it was not a
question of if but when the fight would be over.

Braehead Arena was not sold out last night, and coupled with
Harrison’s own magnificent performance, his promoter, Frank Warren,
and manager, Frank Maloney, now have no excuse but to give the
Glasgow boxing crowd the mega fight they and Harrison so clearly
deserve. It is likely to be against the WBC title holder, Injin Chi,
of Korea, the conqueror of Michael Brodie.

The fight began after the usual preliminaries which involved a
rousing chorus of Flower of Scotland, and as referee Samuel Veruet of
Brooklyn in New York gave his traditional lecture to the boxers, it
was already clear that Harrison was in a mood to take no prisoners.
He promptly proved that with a low blow which landed on Abelyan’s
belt after just a few seconds of the fight. The Armenian-born North
American champion gave one back, but it was Harrison who did all the
early scoring, with his range-finding senses in operation from the
off. The challenger is renowned as a skilful boxer but for some
reason he came to Glasgow intent on having a war with Harrison but
that simply played into the champion’s hands. Harrison admitted
afterwards that he was worried he might have to chase Abelyan all
night, but the contest did not turn out like that.

Harrison clearly won the first, but the second was much closer, and
you do not fight as many Mexicans as Abelyan has without learning
something, so it was no surprise that he caught Harrison with a
couple of rights.

Towards the end of the round, however, Harrison caught Abelyan with a
body shot, and the challenger, to his credit, responded with some
scoring punches.

Harrison made an explosive start to the third round. He cut down the
ring, which Abelyan had largely controlled in the second, and let go
a right hook that caught Abelyan square, and a further left-right
combination put the stunned American on the floor. The challenger did
well to rise quickly but took a full standing count of eight from the
referee.

Abelyan calls himself William the Conqueror but frankly at this point
he resembled King Canute trying to turn back the tide as Harrison
poured on the pressure. The challenger bravely tried to resist but
Harrison was in total command and let fly a series of hooks to head
and body which sent Abelyan back against the ropes. Harrison leapt
forward and a pinpoint straight left to the side of the jaw sent the
challenger hurtling face down on to the canvas.

There was no doubting his bravery as Abelyan rose to his feet but as
Harrison continued to inflict serious punishment referee Veruet took
a close look into Abelyan’s eyes before calling off the action.

An ecstatic crowd acclaimed the champion, and the statistics showed
that he had landed 48 punches, 38 of them to the head of Abelyan. It
was a remarkable amount of punishment to hand out in such a short
space of time and justified manager Maloney’s claim afterwards that
Harrison is the best fighter in Britain at the moment, better even
than Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe. “That was the best so far,” said
Harrison. “Once I caught him with the right hand it was just a matter
of time. I just couldn’t wait to go into the ring tonight, I was
choking to get in there and do a job. I was just pleased to do it for
the fans to have supported me.”

Earlier in the evening, Glasgow’s Willie Limond captured the vacant
European Union super featherweight championship with a controlled
performance against the awkward Frenchman, Yousef Djibaba. It was a
case of a slugger versus boxer, and Limond always had too much skill
for a fighter who was brave, fit, but very uncultured.

The two-times featherweight champion of France was cut in the second
round by Limond’s accurate jabs and as early as the fourth there was
an air of desperation about the Frenchman’s headlong rushes. They
were meat and drink to Limond who did nearly all the scoring from the
early rounds onwards and though Limond was often dragged down to
Djibaba’s level, he suddenly found a different gear in the eighth and
really rattled his opponent. In the penultimate round, Djibaba threw
caution to the wind and did bloody Limond’s nose but the Scot
survived the inaccurate bombs to pick off his opponent with accurate
jabs until the end of the tenth and final round.

All three judges scored the fight heavily in Limond’s favour.

Limond will surely now fight for the full European or even British
title, and also getting near the title stakes is Edinburgh’s Gary
Young, who convincingly out-pointed Englishman David Kirk in their
light welterweight contest. There were victories over English
opposition too for Glasgow lightweight Barry Hughes and welterweight
Collin McNeil.

It was a night when Scottish boxing was done proud above all by
Harrison. There is simply no limit now to what the man from
Cambuslang can achieve in the ring.

***************************************************************************
This compilation was contributed to by:
Katia Peltekian
Mihran Keheyian

Soloist has warm feelings for Siberia
By Richard Dyer, Globe Staff | June 18, 2004

Boston Globe, MA
June 18 2004

Tonight is Armenian Night at the Boston Pops, and conductor Bruce
Hangen’s program is called “Classic Pops” — it includes the
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. Hangen will present an unusual soloist,
Mikhail Simonyan, now 18.

Born to Russian and Armenian parents in Novosibirsk, Simonyan began
to play the violin at 5. (Evidently that’s one of the things children
in Novosibirsk enjoy doing: Two of today’s leading soloists on the
instrument, Maxim Vengerov and Vadim Repin, as well as Ilya
Konovalov, concertmaster of the Israel Philharmonic, grew up in the
Siberian city.)

At 13, Simonyan became a sensation in Russia and in New York in the
demanding First Concerto by the Polish composer Karol Szymanowski. An
American sponsor brought him to Philadelphia to study at the Curtis
Institute of Music; more recently, successful businessmen based in
Novosibirsk have supported him — a usual situation in a country
whose cultural infrastructure has collapsed. Simonyan has already
played with the National Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony, and the
Kirov Orchestra under Valery Gergiev.

Inspired by Gergiev’s example, Simonyan plans to return to Russia as
his home base for his international activity and contribute to the
musical life of his native land — unlike many of his contemporaries
and predecessors, who prefer easier living in the West.

Grand tour: The Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras will tour
Estonia and Latvia and play in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday
through July 4 under the direction of music director Federico
Cortese. The organization’s season-ending concert tomorrow in Sanders
Theatre is also a send-off concert for the tour and will include some
of the same repertoire, including Osvaldo Golijov’s “Night of the
Flying Horses” and Brahms’s Third Symphony.

Prize winners: Conductor Gil Rose and the Boston Modern Orchestra
Project won an award for adventurous programming from the American
Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers at the recent national
conference of the American Symphony Orchestra League. BMOP and Rose
won first place in the category of orchestras with annual operating
expenses between $420,000 and $1.625 million, chiefly for last year’s
“Opera Unlimited” festival, produced in collaboration with the former
Boston Academy of Music (now Opera Boston).

Robert Mealy, Baroque violinist and orchestra leader, has received
this year’s Thomas Binkley Award from the professional service
organization in the field, Early Music America, during the group’s
annual convention in California. The award recognizes distinguished
achievement in performance and scholarship by the director of a
university or college early-music ensemble. Mealy was cofounder of
the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra in 1995 and serves as director
of the Yale Collegium Players. He has been active as a performer with
many ensembles (including the King’s Noyse, Sequentia, the Boston
Camerata, and Les Arts Florissants) and in many festivals, including
the Boston Early Music Festival. He is the Christopher Hogwood Fellow
at the Handel and Haydn Society and is one of the most elegant
writers on the subject of early music.

Violist David Kim, who will be a senior at the New England
Conservatory in the fall, has won the second prize of $5,000 in the
annual Irving M. Klein International String Competition in San
Francisco. Kim played the Bartok Viola Concerto and music by Bach and
Brahms.

Schumann season: Emmanuel Music will perform what is apparently the
Boston premiere of Schumann’s opera “Genoveva” next season, as well
as Handel’s oratorio “Israel in Egypt,” both under the direction of
founding conductor Craig Smith. The oratorio is Nov. 13, the opera
April 2. Several generations of Emmanuel singers will participate,
including James Maddalena, Frank Kelley, Sarah Pelletier, Krista
River, and Aaron Engebreth.

Emmanuel also will launch a five-year series of the complete piano,
vocal, and chamber music of Schumann. The first season consists of
seven concerts featuring the Lydian Quartet, Triple Helix, and
violinist Danielle Maddon; pianists Randall Hodgkinson, Judith
Gordon, Leslie Amper, and Smith; and Emmanuel singers including Jayne
West, Jane Bryden, Mark McSweeney, and Donald Wilkinson. The regular
series of Sunday morning Bach cantata performances runs Sept. 26
through May 15. Smith leads most cantatas, but other conductors
include John Harbison, John Ehrlich, Michael Beattie, Leonard
Matczynski, Scott Metcalfe, Benjamin Zander, and James Oleson.

For more information visit

Georgia wins $1 bln aid pledge for reforms
By Patrick Lannin

Reuters
06/16/04 13:17 ET

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Georgia won pledges of aid on Wednesday worth
around $1 billion over the next two years to help with economic
reforms and fight poverty, months after a new leadership was voted
into power after a bloodless revolution.

The pledges from the United States, World Bank, European Commission,
the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, or EBRD,
as well as individual European states at an international donors’
conference were double what was expected by Georgia.

“Even the most optimistic expectations were far exceeded by the
overall sum of the pledges,” Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania told a
news conference.

“This is indeed a very important sign for Georgia that the processes,
the reforms, which are under way in our country are recognized and
supported by our partners.”

He told the donors’ conference that the government aimed to fight
poverty, overhaul the legal system, boost development outside the
capital, Tbilisi, and attract foreign investment.

President Mikhail Saakashvili was voted into power in January after
the popular revolt against veteran leader Eduard Shevardnadze.

He and his government have already started some reforms. One of the key
goals is to stamp out rampant corruption in Georgia, once prosperous,
but plunged into widespread poverty since the 1991 collapse of
Soviet rule.

“This assistance will allow us to build Georgia as a sustainable
democracy, a country which will become, through this assistance, much
less dependent on international assistance in the following years,”
Zhvania added at the news conference.

The World Bank said it backed the changes already launched. “We are
convinced that it is not just words, but that the actions that have
already been launched convince us there will be follow through,”
said Bank Deputy President Shigeo Katsu.

BETTER ECONOMIC GROWTH

The European Union has been steadily strengthening relations
with Georgia, seen as a key route for Caspian Sea oil to the west.
Along with Caucasus neighbors Armenia and Azerbaijan, it was included
this week in the EU’s program for boosting relations with a ring of
neighbors from Morocco to Russia.

Zhvania told Reuters that his government was also expecting the
domestic economy to pick up in the years ahead and grow by double
digits, although inflation would stay relatively subdued.

European External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten said the
government had to make good on its commitment to reform.

“The stakes are high and the challenges ahead formidable,” he told
the conference.

Zhvania said reforms would include improving infrastructure like
energy plants and roads and institutional change like cutting the
size of government and the police.

Other priorities were to spread development outside Tbilisi,
particularly to the west of the country.

The reintegration of the former rebel region of Adzhara would also
boost the rest of the country, he said. The government reasserted
control over the area in May.

ARKA News Agency
June 9 2004

Programs of German Bank KFW in Armenia are among most successful ones

RA Foreign Minister presented condolences on account of death of
ex-president of USA Ronald Reagan

By end of June package of electoral and constitutional reforms in RA
to be send to expertise of CE

PACE Monitoring Commission Co-Reporters to arrive in RA on 11 June

Delegation of RA France-Armenia friendship parliamentary group leaves
for France

EU welcomes initiative of construction alternative gas main in
Armenia

By the RA President’s decree Aram Harutyunyan is appointed a new RA
Minister of Urban Planning

*********************************************************************

PROGRAMS OF GERMAN BANK KfW IN ARMENIA ARE AMONG MOST SUCCESSFUL ONES

YEREVAN, June 9. /ARKA/. Programs of German Bank Kreditanstalt fur
Wiederaufbau in Armenia are among most successful ones, RA President
Robert Kocharian stated at the meeting with the member of KfW
Directors Council Ingrid Matheus-Mayer. Kocharian noted the
importance of cooperation in the sphere of energy and in banking
sector. According to Mayer, “bilateral cooperation on different
levels has good bases”. She said that the bank pays attention to
development of small and medium business in Armenia. In this view,
according to her, activity of German-Armenian Fund is very importance
and its productivity is very high, because the return of credits
makes almost 100%.
Talking about future programs Mayer said that partnership in the
sphere of energy will be continued. L.D. –0–

*********************************************************************

RA FOREIGN MINISTER PRESENTED CONDOLENCES ON ACCOUNT OF DEATH OF
EX-PRESIDENT OF USA RONALD REAGAN

YEREVAN, June 9. /ARKA/. RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian
presented condolences on account of death of ex-president of USA
Ronald Reagan. The Minister visited today the Embassy of the U.S. to
Armenia. L.D. –0–

*********************************************************************

BY END OF JUNE PACKAGE OF ELECTORAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS IN RA
TO BE SEND TO EXPERTISE OF CE

YEREVAN, June 9. /ARKA/. By the end of June package of electoral and
constitutional reforms in RA to be send to expertise of CE, as Tigran
Torosyan, Head of Temporary Parliamentary Commission on
Eurointegration, Vice Speaker of RA Parliament presenting the report
on the Commission’s activity. He said that the report concerns on
implementation of commitments related to two resolutions of PACE
issued in January and April 2004. In his words, the January
resolution offered RA to change 15 draft laws concerning deepening of
democracy and local self-governing, reforming of judiciary and legal
system. He considered as a negative thing non-participation of the
Armenian opposition in adopting of laws and decrees. “During this
time, the Parliamentary majority several times proposed to the
opposition, including prior to 12 April dialogue and cooperation”, he
remarked. Torosyan reminded that the parliamentary majority offered
to the opposition to create an action plan for working out two
packages – constitutional and electoral reforms and their adoption by
consensus. “It is unclear how the opposition could miss such
invitation, as this was an exceptional offer”, he believed. T.M. –0–

*********************************************************************

PACE MONITORING COMMISSION CO-REPORTERS TO ARRIVE IN RA ON 11 JUNE

YEREVAN, June 9. /ARKA/. PACE Monitoring Commission Co-Reporters
Jerzy Jaskernia and Rene Andre to arrive in RA on 11 June, as Tigran
Torosyan, Head of Armenian Delegation of PACE, Vice Speaker of RA
Parliament. He mentioned that the visit to allow to collect the facts
for a more detailed report.
As earlier reported by Jerzy Jaskernia in Yerevan, the Reporters
plans meeting with the representatives of the opposition, NGOs and
the Constitutional Court. “For us it is extremely important to
present a comprehensive report on Armenia”, he mentioned. T.M. –0–

*********************************************************************

DELEGATION OF RA FRANCE-ARMENIA FRIENDSHIP PARLIAMENTARY GROUP LEAVES
FOR FRANCE

YEREVAN, June 9. /ARKA/. Delegation of RA France-Armenia Friendship
Parliamentary Group headed by MP Mher Shahgeldyan left for France. As
RA Foreign Ministry Information and Press Department told ARKA,
during the visit Armenian MPs to discuss with their French colleagues
the issues related to deepening of Armenian-French
inter-parliamentary cooperation. Also, the Armenian delegation plans
visiting Marseille, Lyon, Roman, Alforville, Grenoble, Avignon,
Valence and other cities where they to meet the leaders of local
governments and MPs.
As it is mentioned in the press release, on 13 June, the day when
there will be held elections to the European Parliament, eth Armenian
MPs to follow the course of voting in one of the constituencies of
France. T.M. –0–

*********************************************************************

EU WELCOMES INITIATIVE OF CONSTRUCTION ALTERNATIVE GAS MAIN IN
ARMENIA

YEREVAN, June 9. /ARKA/. EU welcomes the initiative of construction
of an alternative gas main in Armenia, as Karen Chshmarityan, RA
Trade and Economic Development Minister presenting the results of the
4th session of Armenian-EU Cooperation Committee held on 4 June in
Brussels. He mentioned that the construction of the gas main was
regarded in the context of closing Armenian Nuclear Power Plant as
additional gas supply.
He stressed that the EU’s financial participation in the project in
the project was not discussed so far, however the EU welcomes the
initiative as providing appearing of an alternative source of gas
supply for RA “This would allow to have more flexible economy and to
use alternative resources”, he considers.
The agreement on construction of Iran-Armenia gas-main was signed
during the visit of RA President Robert Kocharian in Iran on December
25-27, 2001. The intergovernmental agreement on Iran—Armenian gas
main was signed in 1995. The first stage of the construction
envisages construction of 100 kilometres gas-main on Iranian
territory and 41 kilometres at the territory of Armenia, which will
allow Armenia to receive 1.5 million cubic meters of gas daily. The
pipeline will make it possible to supply gas from Turkmenistan to
Armenia, through Iran. The construction of the gas main Iran-Armenia
will enable to import into Armenia 350-400 mln cubic m. of gas
annually.
The deadline for the completion of the gas main is expected on 1
January 2007. T.M. –0–

*********************************************************************

BY THE RA PRESIDENT’S DECREE ARAM HARUTYUNYAN IS APPOINTED A NEW RA
MINISTER OF URBAN PLANNING

YEREVAN, June 9. /ARKA/. By the RA President’s decree RA NA Deputy,
the representative of Orinats Yerkir party Aram Harutyunyan is
appointed as a new RA Minister of Urban Planning, according to RA
President’s Press Service Department.
Aram Harutyunyan was born on July 20, 1967 in Armenia. In 1992 he
graduated from Yerevan Architectural – Building University. From 1984
to 1999 he occupied different positions, including high ones. In 1999
he was elected as a Deputy of RA Parliament by majority system. He
was a member of standing committee on social, health and
environmental issues. In May 2003 he was re-elected as a Deputy. He
was a member of a standing committee on financial-credit, budget and
economic issues.
The RA ex-Minister of Urban Planning Aram Aramyan declared of his
resignation on April 9 and motivated his decision by speculations and
artificial fuss about the incident connected with his son. The
application for resignation was signed to avoid compromising the
party and the Government, according to him. A.H. –0—

*********************************************************************

Armenian National Committee of America
888 17th St., NW, Suite 904
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2004
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

ANCA PRESSES STATE DEPARTMENT ON CONTINUED EXCLUSION OF
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE FROM OFFICIAL WEBSITE ON ARMENIAN HISTORY

— State Department Website’s History of Armenia Fails
to Make any Mention of the Systematic Destruction and
Exile of the Armenian Population between 1915 and 1923

WASHINGTON, DC – In a detailed letter sent today to Secretary of
State Colin Powell, Armenian National Committee Of America (ANCA)
Chairman Ken Hachikian pressed the State Department to end its
practice of excluding any mention of the Armenian Genocide from the
history section of its official website on Armenia.

The State Department website features Background Notes on one
hundred ninety-eight nations. Each entry includes a brief
historical review. The historical section for Armenia makes no
mention of Ottoman Turkey’s systematic destruction of over one and
a half million Armenians, or the “demographic disaster” described
by the Library of Congress as having “shifted the center of the
Armenian population from the heartland of historical Armenia.” The
ANCA issued an action alert on this issue in January of this year.

Hachikian’s letter was written in response to a State Department
letter, dated May 6th, sent to Joe Dagdigian, Chairman of the
Merrimack Valley ANC chapter. Dagdigian had earlier written a
letter, dated April 20th, documenting a series of serious
shortcomings in the State Department website on the history of
Armenia. Dagdigian noted, in part, that:

The historical survey of Armenia omits any reference
to the Armenian Genocide committed by Ottoman Turkey
beginning in 1915. To recount nearly 3,000 years of
Armenian history without the inclusion of this
cataclysmic and relatively recent event in the history
of the Armenian people is inexcusable. Rather than
contributing to an understanding of the region, it
obscures the region’s history and fails to provide the
background necessary for understanding current
Armenian and regional issues.

In response to Dagdigian’s letter, John Fox, the Director of the
Office of Caucasus and Central Asian Affairs, noted that:

Country background notes on the State Department’s
web-site were designed to provide interested readers
with concise and up-to-date information regarding key
economic and political issues in the country, as well
as travel conditions and commercial opportunities.
Country background notes also provide a very brief
introduction to the country’s history. Typically,
each background page will collapse over 2,000 years of
history into 3-4 concise paragraphs. Consequently,
even episodes of great historical importance are often
not treated in our background notes.

Hachikian, responding to this letter from John Fox, wrote a sharply
critical letter to Secretary Powell spelling out the historical
inaccuracy, the basic inconsistency, and the moral bankruptcy of
the State Department’s position of excluding the Armenian Genocide
from its history of Armenia. In this letter, Hachikian wrote that:

Rather than acknowledging and taking steps to correct
this obvious error – or even indicating a willingness
to review this flawed document, the State Department’s
letter, signed by John Fox of the Office of Caucasus
and Central Asian Affairs, instead, sought to reduce
this issue of profound historical and contemporary
significance to a simple consideration of space.

The Hachikian letter then provides an in-depth review of the
assertions made in the State Department letter, concluding that,
“we find it plainly disingenuous, if not outright dishonest, to
imply that the exclusion of the Armenian Genocide is based on space
considerations.” Hachikian added, that, “it is clear that this
historically inaccurate refusal to even acknowledge the
premeditated extermination between 1915 and 1923 of fully two
thirds of all Armenians by Ottoman Turkey and the exile of a nation
from its historic homeland of more than three thousand years,
represents another very sad chapter in the State Department’s
complicity in the Turkish government’s ongoing immoral campaign to
deny the Armenian Genocide.”

Hachikian closed his letter by sharing with Secretary Powell, “how
truly regrettable I find it to have to engage in word-counts to
illustrate the ridiculous and reprehensible lengths to which the
State Department goes to help the government of Turkey to deny the
undeniable – the crime of genocide committed against the Armenian
nation. In the interest of basic morality, historical accuracy,
and the State Department’s credibility, on behalf of the American-
Armenian community, I ask you to immediately correct this obvious
and insulting ‘error.'”

Armenian Americans can express their concern about the Armenia
Background Notes by visiting the following link on the ANCA website.

The full text of the ANCA letter to Secretary Powell is provided below.

#####

Text of ANCA letter to the State Department – June 4, 2003

June 4, 2004

The Hon. Colin Powell
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C St NW 7th Floor
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Powell:

I am writing to share with you our grave concerns regarding the
State Department’s response (see attached) to the letter that our
Merrimack Valley Armenian National Committee Chairman, Joe
Dagdigian, sent on April 20th to Under Secretary Margaret Tutwiler,
regarding the Country Profile of Armenia on the State Department’s
website.

I refer specifically to the point raised by Mr. Dagdigian that the
State Department’s “historical survey of Armenia omits any
reference to the Armenian Genocide committed by Ottoman Turkey
beginning in 1915. To recount nearly 3,000 years of Armenian
history without the inclusion of this cataclysmic and relatively
recent event in the history of the Armenian people is inexcusable.
Rather than contributing to an understanding of the region, it
obscures the region’s history and fails to provide the background
necessary for understanding current Armenian and regional issues.”

Rather than acknowledging and taking steps to correct this obvious
error – or even indicating a willingness to review this flawed
document, the State Department’s letter, signed by John Fox, the
Director of the Office of Caucasus and Central Asian Affairs,
instead, sought to reduce this issue of profound historical and
contemporary significance to a simple consideration of space. In
his response, Mr. Fox specifically noted that, because “typically,
each background page will collapse over 2,000 years of history into
3-4 concise paragraphs. . . even episodes of great historical
importance are often not treated in our background notes.”

Although we are deeply troubled – morally, historically, and on
humanitarian grounds – by the Department’s willingness to dismiss
the Armenian Genocide in this fashion, we, nonetheless, took a
serious look at the defenses offered in Mr. Fox’s letter. First,
we surveyed the lengths of each of the one hundred ninety-eight
Background Notes on the Department’s website (see attached list).
Next, we examined the entries for nations that are universally
understood to have suffered genocidal crimes. And, finally, we
reviewed each entry against the standard that “even episodes of
great historical importance” are often not included in Background
Notes due to space considerations. Based on this review, we
discovered the following:

1) Space considerations:

At three hundred three words, the history section in the Armenia
Background Notes is among the shortest of all the one hundred
ninety-eight nations on the State Department’s Background Notes
website. While we appreciate that word length does not necessarily
correlate to the merits of a particular historical overview, we
observe, in light of Mr. Fox’s comments about space limitations,
that fully one hundred sixty-eight entries are larger than
Armenia’s, many being substantially larger. For example, the entry
on Honduras is five times larger, while the one for Bangladesh is
ten times the size of Armenia’s entry; fifty-seven countries are
over one thousand words.

Given that the length of the Armenian Background Notes history
section is less than half the average word-count of eight hundred
sixty-two words, we find it plainly disingenuous, if not outright
dishonest, to imply that the exclusion of the Armenian Genocide is
based on space considerations.

2) Other instances of genocide

Unlike in the Armenian case, the Department of State does properly
address the issue of genocidal campaigns in the Background Notes of
three other nations, namely Cambodia, Israel, and Rwanda, whose
people experienced genocide in the 20th Century. The relevant
portions of these Background Notes are provided below:

Cambodia: “The regime controlled every aspect of life
and reduced everyone to the level of abject obedience
through terror. Torture centers were established, and
detailed records were kept of the thousands murdered
there. Public executions of those considered
unreliable or with links to the previous government
were common. Few succeeded in escaping the military
patrols and fleeing the country. Solid estimates of
the numbers who died between 1975 and 1979 are not
available, but it is likely that hundreds of thousands
were brutally executed by the regime. Hundreds of
thousands more died of starvation and disease–both
under the Khmer Rouge and during the Vietnamese
invasion in 1978. Estimates of the dead range from 1.7
million to 3 million, out of a 1975 population
estimated at 7.3 million.”

Israel: “Mounting British efforts to restrict this
immigration were countered by international support
for Jewish national aspirations following the near-
extermination of European Jewry by the Nazis during
World War II.”

Rwanda: “The killing swiftly spread from Kigali to
all corners of the country; between April 6 and the
beginning of July, a genocide of unprecedented
swiftness left up to 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus
dead at the hands of organized bands of militia­
Interahamwe. Even ordinary citizens were called on to
kill their neighbors by local officials and
government-sponsored radio. The president’s MRND
Party was implicated in organizing many aspects of the
genocide.”

3) Exclusion of “episodes of great historical importance”

In Mr. Fox’s letter, he notes that “even episodes of great
historical importance” are not included in Background Notes due to
space considerations. This apparent effort to excuse the absence
of any mention of the Armenian Genocide prompted us to review other
entries in order to determine if this standard was applied
uniformly. While the Department could not find the space, even in
a sentence or two, to deal with a central event in modern Armenian
history, it did manage to include the following entries for other
countries:

Papua New Guinea: “Early garden crops–many of which
are indigenous–included sugarcane, Pacific bananas,
yams, and taros, while sago and pandanus were two
commonly exploited native forest crops. Today’s
staples – sweet potatoes and pigs – are later
arrivals, but shellfish and fish have long been
mainstays of coastal dwellers’ diets.”

Lithuania: “…the Roman historian Tacitus referred
to the Lithuanians as excellent farmers.”

Mali: “Malians express great pride in their
ancestry.”

Based on this review of the Department’s response, it is clear that
the exclusion of the Armenian Genocide from the Background Notes
entry for Armenia is not, as Mr. Fox implied in his letter, based
on space considerations. Rather, it is clear that this
historically inaccurate refusal to even acknowledge the
premeditated extermination between 1915 and 1923 of fully two
thirds of all Armenians by Ottoman Turkey and the exile of a nation
from its historic homeland of more than three thousand years,
represents another very sad chapter in the State Department’s
complicity in the Turkish government’s ongoing immoral campaign to
deny the Armenian Genocide.

By any historical standard, the Armenian Genocide represents an
important chapter in world history and a major milestone in the
life of the Armenian nation. The Library of Congress Country Study
of Armenia, which estimates the number of Armenians killed in the
Armenian Genocide at up to two million, describes the Genocide as
“a demographic disaster that shifted the center of the Armenian
population from the heartland of historical Armenia.” The
exclusion of the Armenian Genocide from any history of Armenia,
however brief, is morally and historically inexcusable.

I will close by sharing with you how truly regrettable I find it to
have to engage in word-counts to illustrate the ridiculous and
reprehensible lengths to which the State Department goes to help
the government of Turkey to deny the undeniable – the crime of
genocide committed against the Armenian nation. In the interest of
basic morality, historical accuracy, and the State Department’s
credibility, on behalf of the American-Armenian community, I ask
you to immediately correct this obvious and insulting “error.”

I would be pleased to meet with you personally to discuss this
matter in greater detail.

Sincerely yours,

[signed]
Kenneth V. Hachikian
Chairman

VENTURING INVESTMENT FUND TO BE CREATED

ArmenPress
June 4 2004

YEREVAN, JUNE 4, ARMENPRESS: The Union of Armenian Banks is planning
to found this year a venturing investment fund that is expected
to give an opportunity for financing discoveries and inventions
of applied importance. Mikael Hovsepian, the leading expert of the
Union, told Armenpress that the fund will be dealing with collection,
classification, analyzing and estimating the innovations to offer them
to business people by packages, who in case of agreeing to provide
funds, will also obtain ownership rights.

He said the idea of offering inventions by packages is aimed at
reducing the risk the businessmen may face. He added that this will
be the first such fund in Armenia and is supposed to boost economy
development and increase the quality of Armenian goods exported to
other countries.

He said a range of tax privileges will be foreseen for those
businessmen who will agree to fund these new ideas. Hovsepian said
the fund will be established before September.

Armenia’s chief diplomat says progress possible on Nagorno-Karabakh

Associated Press Worldstream
June 3, 2004 Thursday

YEREVAN, Armenia — Armenia’s chief diplomat on Thursday said that
negotiations over settling the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute may yield
progress in the near future.

Armenia and Azerbaijan are at odds over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave,
which Armenian forces seized from Azerbaijan in the early 1990s. A 1994
cease-fire has largely held, but no final settlement has been reached.

Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said Thursday that “certain
progress” may be achieved on the issue within the next two months,
without elaborating further.

Negotiations are being conducted by a small group of diplomats from
both sides, under the auspices of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, who tend to refrain from making the details
of the talks public.

RIGHTS CHAMPION SAYS NO POLITICAL PRISONERS IN ARMENIA

Ayots Ashkar, Yerevan
3 Jun 04

An interview with the director of the Human Rights Centre, Levon
Nersisyan.

(Levon Nersisyan) The point is that there is no classical
definition of the term of political prisoner that may be applied
in all cases. Moreover, more than once I took part in Ago Group
(of the Council of Europe Cabinet of Ministers) meetings, and every
time the question arises: who can be considered to be a political
prisoner? Leaders of some of our organizations and me have quite
contradictory views concerning this problem. They (the leaders) think
that political prisoners are Jehovah’s Witnesses who refuse to serve
in the army and are called to justice.

I do not agree with this view. Why? Because there is the law. It is
quite a different problem that it could be good or bad. A group of
human rights champions think, proceeding from international norms
and moral, cultural and other kind of norms, that this or that law
violates human rights. In this case, struggle to improve that law
should be a priority in their activities. But in any case one should
not break the law.

(Passage omitted: Nersisyan on terms used by Amnesty International)

On the whole, a person who is arrested for his or her political
beliefs, the beliefs which did not lead to a violation of the law,
should be considered to be a political prisoner. Though there is
no classical definition of the term of political prisoner that is
universally accepted.

(Correspondent) Nevertheless, are there political prisoners in Armenia?

(Nersisyan) No, I do not think there are. First, today no-one in
Armenia has been sentenced under the “political article”. There is no
clause in the legislation of the country which makes one answerable
for his or her political convictions.

Second, I do not think there are really “political convictions”
in Armenia. There are kinship, clan, corporate and other kind of
convictions, but not political ones. To be convinced of this, it
is enough to look at the “political field” of our country. Tell me
please, according to what “political convictions” do our political
forces differ from one another? What are their programmes? I am afraid
that the only difference is that part of the forces are in power,
and the second part want to find themselves there.

It means that the fight is for satisfaction of their own interests.
Unfortunately, here I do not see policy and “political convictions”.

And second, many political leaders are members of the nomenklatura
which used to enjoy power and some material values stemming from it
and which has now been deprived of this. That is, I would call them
“protestants” whose protest stems from certain conditions. This could
be personal hatred of somebody, but this is not policy.

(Passage omitted: minor details)