Author: Dabaghian Diana

Pan Armenian News

GRENADE DESTINED FOR BUSH PRODUCED IN ARMENIA, AZERI AMBASSADOR TO GEORGIA
ASSURES

13.05.2005 07:10

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The grenade that was found in Tbilisi when US President
George Bush was delivering a speech was produced in Armenia, Azerbaijani
Ambassador to Georgia Ramiz Hasanov stated. In his words, yesterday US
Ambassador to Georgia Richard Miles invited the representatives of foreign
diplomatic missions in Tbilisi to inform them of the outcomes of the visit.
However first the floor was given to FBI officer, who said that on May 10 at
about 1.30 p.m. at 30-meter distance from the stage a grenade of Armenian
production was found. One man was arrested. The incident is presently being
investigated by the FBI specialists; afterwards the case will be conveyed to
the Georgian court.

L.A.’s Armenian Idols
By Lorraine Ali

Newsweek
May 2, 2005 U.S. Edition

Meet System of a Down, hard rock’s unlikely poster boys.

The biggest coup in rock since Nirvana crept past Poison on the
charts more than a decade ago is probably the mainstream success of
System of a Down. Their name is weird; their lead vocalist, Serj
Tankian, sings like Freddie Mercury channeling Slayer, and their
music is nearly impossible to classify. (You might call it
prog-rock-metal-politico-pop with an operatic twist.) And it’s
flat-out impossible to imagine MTV’s spring breakers grinding to
songs about the Armenian genocide.

But System’s 2001 CD “Toxicity” turned out to be well timed: it
dropped just as rock fans were growing tired of bands such as Limp
Bizkit doing it “all for the nookie,” and it sold more than 3 million
copies. Suddenly, this unlikely band of Armenian Angelenos had become
the new face of hard rock. Now their pair of new albums, “Mezmerize”
(which will be out in two weeks) and “Hypnotize” (which will appear
sometime in the fall), are two of the most anticipated releases of
2005.

“I have to say that it still kind of freaks me out,” says Daron
Malakian, System of a Down’s main songwriter and guitarist. “We were
never like any of the other bands out there, and we still aren’t, but
here we are. Our new album is already on billboards all over L.A. and
New York. I still have no idea how this happened.”

Neither do we, but here’s how it started. Malakian grew up in
Hollywood, next door to Latino and Armenian immigrants and across the
street from a crack motel. “I used to ride my bike past the pimps and
prostitutes every day,” he says. Malakian’s parents, who’d emigrated
from Iraq, listened to Armenian music at home–his father had been a
choreographer for a traditional dance troupe before coming to the
United States–while their son soaked in the heavy metal and new wave
of ’80s radio. He taught himself how to play, and by high school had
started a band with singer Tankian. They eventually brought in John
Dolmayan on drums and bassist Shavo Odadjian, and signed with Rick
Rubin’s American Recordings label in 1997.

On the new “Mezmerize,” the anti-Iraq-war single “Cigaro” finds
Tankian and Malakian trading vocals like dueling opera divas, while
an instrumental on the follow-up “Hypnotize” sounds like a jam
session by a Mideastern wedding band, cheesy synthesizer and all. If
this all sounds off-putting, it’s not: it makes you wish more rock
bands would take such brave and impressive risks. “Maybe some people
would think it’s a strange blend,” says Malakian. “But it’s just
everything that’s out there in the world, filtered through us.” As
for the meaning of their name? Don’t bother asking–even the band
can’t quite explain. Chalk it up as one more thing about System
you’ll never understand.

GRAPHIC: PHOTO: Totally down: Tankian, Dolmayan, Malakian, Odadjian;
PHOTO: Playlist: System faves, close relatives.; PHOTO: 1. B.Y.O.B.,
System of a Down; PHOTO: 2. Shimmy, System of a Down; PHOTO: 3.
Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen; PHOTO: 4. Holiday in Cambodia, Dead
Kennedys; PHOTO: 5. Handsome and Gretel, Babes in Toyland; PHOTO: 6.
Fear of a Black Planet, Public Enemy; PHOTO: 7. Helter Skelter,
Beatles; PHOTO: 8. Feel Good Hit of the Summer, Queens of the Stone
Age; PHOTO: 9. Kashmir, Led Zeppelin

CNN
CNN WOLF BLITZER REPORTS

Insurgents Set Off Numerous Bombs in Iraq; Remembering the Armenians
Killed by Ottomans; Thirty Years After the Fall of Saigon

Aired April 29, 2005 – 17:00 ET

WOODRUFF: This week, Armenians around the world mark the 90
anniversary of a nightmare. They and many others call it genocide,
but some powerful governments do not. Please note, the following
story contains some pictures that may be disturbing to some viewers.

CNN’s Brian Todd looks at this long ago event that continues to stir
deep emotion and deep controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We shudder at images from
Darfur, Sudan. Wince at memories of Rwanda. Look at grainy pictures
of the Holocaust and say, never again. Almost forgotten is a brutal
campaign nearly a century ago that historians say may not have been a
model for those genocides, but certainly provided a rationale.

CHARLES KING, AUTHOR “THE BLACK SEA: A HISTORY”: The fact that a
state could, in fact, carry this out under the eyes of the
international community and get away with it became, in fact, a
hallmark of what the 20th century, the tragic 20th century really was
all about.

TODD: Adolf Hitler himself was reported to have made a reference to
it in 1939 as he prepared to invade Poland. Quoted as saying “Who
after all speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”

April, 1915, the Ottoman Empire, covering the general area of what is
now Turkey, is battling on two front in World War I, and is
disintegrating in the process. Armenians, long part of that empire,
are restless for independence and get encouragement from Russia. The
Ottoman Turks, fearful of a Russian invasion on their eastern front,
see the Russian/Armenian alliance as a huge threat and target the
Armenian population inside their borders.

HARUT SASSOUNIAN, EDITOR, “THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE”: They embarked on
an extermination plan by deporting the entire population closer to a
little under 2 million Armenians in the empire into the deserts and
by killing and starvation and disease.

TODD: Between 1915 and 1923 Armenian leaders are rounded up in cities
and executed. Villagers are uprooted en masse, driven south towards
the deserts of what are now Syria and Iraq. Many shot or butchered
outright by Turkish forces, but most die in forced marches. The
numbers to this day still hotly in dispute. Armenians say 1.5 million
were killed. The Turkish government says not more than 300,000
perished, and the Armenians shouldn’t count themselves as the only
victims.

FARUK LOGOGLU, TURKISH AMBASSADOR TO U.S: These few years, both sides
suffered — lost an incredible number of people to war, to famine, to
harsh climate.

TODD: Objective historians say the Armenian death toll is likely
between 600,000 and a million.

(on camera): The fight is not only over numbers, but words. One word
in particular. Neither the Turkish Government nor any American
president, except Ronald Reagan, has ever called this event genocide.

Harut Sassounian is the grandson of survivors.

SASSOUNIAN: It’s described as a deep wound and in the psyche of every
Armenian that is not healing, is not going away. Because it’s like an
open wound as long as the denial is there.

TODD: The U.S. Government says between 60,000 and 146,000 people have
died in Darfur, Sudan over the past two years. And former Secretary
of State Colin Powell called that a genocide. Historian Charles King
believes what happened to the Armenians was genocide by any
definition but…

KING: Labeling it a genocide among politicians has a very severe
political ramifications, particularly in terms of the U.S.
relationship with Turkey, an important strategic partner in southeast
Europe and the wider Middle East.

TODD: As Armenians mark the 90th anniversary of their darkest days,
many say all they want is acknowledgement. The Turks say they’re
willing to set up a commission to examine the historical record. Two
countries with a closed border and no formal relations inching
closer. A super power caught in the middle — all haunted by a
distant tragedy that we somehow never managed to learn from.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Thank you, Brian. By the way, the Turkish government says
close to a million Turks died in that region during World War I. As
for current relations, Turkish officials tell CNN, although the
border is closed, there are daily flights between Turkey and Armenia.
And tens of thousands of Armenians, they say currently live and work
inside Turkey.

Al-Jazeerah.info, GA
April 30 2005

Turkey Sees `Political Ties’ With Armenia

Agencies, Arab News

ANKARA, 30 April 2005 – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was
reported yesterday as saying Turkey was ready to build `political
relations’ with neighboring Armenia despite their disagreements over
history and territory. Turkey broke off diplomatic ties with the
ex-Soviet republic in 1993 over Armenia’s occupation of territory
inside Azerbaijan, a regional Turkic-speaking ally of Ankara.

Ankara also angrily rejects Yerevan’s claims that 1.5 million
Armenians suffered genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks during
World War I. Turkey says the Armenians were victims of a war which
claimed even more Muslim Turkish lives.

But Erdogan, worried the genocide issue could harm Turkey’s plans to
start European Union entry talks in October, recently urged Armenia
to help set up a commission of historians from many countries to
establish what really happened.

Erdogan renewed that invitation in an interview with Milliyet
newspaper, adding: `On the one hand, political relations could be
established. On the other hand, work (on the archives) could
continue. There is no Chinese Wall between us.’

Armenian President Robert Kocharyan said this week he was ready to
accept Erdogan’s proposal for a joint commission to probe the
genocide claims but he also said it was necessary to improve broader
relations first. Erdogan did not mention the possibility of restoring
full diplomatic relations, but his comments were the clearest sign
yet that Turkey wants to mend fences with Armenia.

Some EU politicians, notably in France, home to Western Europe’s
largest Armenian population, have said Turkey should recognize the
alleged genocide of Armenians before being allowed to start accession
negotiations with the wealthy bloc. But German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder, who is due to pay an official visit to Turkey next week,
ruled out any linkage between the start of EU entry talks and the
Armenian question.

`This (recognition of genocide) cannot be a precondition. This is
about bilateral relations. It’s for the historians to decide (what
happened),’ Schroeder told Turkey’s NTV commercial television in an
interview broadcast yesterday. He also praised Erdogan’s offer to
open up Turkey’s archives on the period and his call for an
international commission. `It’s very important for a nation to look
at its history with an attitude of self-criticism,’ Schroeder added.

He said an expected vote in the German Parliament in the coming weeks
on a resolution concerning the alleged genocide should not upset
relations between Ankara and Berlin. Turkey has in the past
threatened countries that do recognize the massacres as a genocide
with diplomatic sanctions.

Erdogan also accused the European Union of fanning nationalism in
Turkey by interfering in the issue of its minority Kurds, the
newspaper said. Turkey has eased restrictions on Kurdish language and
culture as part of its drive to join the EU, but some politicians and
top generals fear Kurdish separatists are trying to use the more
liberal climate to extract more concessions.

An unsuccessful attempt by youths last month to burn a Turkish flag
during a pro-Kurdish demonstration triggered protest rallies and
marches by angry Turks across the country.

Civil Georgia, Georgia
April 30 2005

Joint Commission to Study Armenian-Georgian Church Row

Armenian and Georgian sides have agreed to set up a joint
commission to study historic background of those churches in Georgia,
which are disputed by the Georgian Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic
Churches.

An agreement was reached during the meeting of visiting Armenian
Parliamentary Chairman Artur Bagdasarian with Patriarch of the
Georgian Orthodox Church Ilia II in Tbilisi on April 29.

Armenian Apostolic Church claims ownership over 9 churches in
Georgia, which are currently under the Georgian Orthodox Church’s
control. Moreover, the Armenian side accused the Georgian Orthodox
Church of `appropriation of the Armenian spiritual heritage’ by
replacing Armenian tombstones with faked ones with the Georgian
script on them in the yards of the Armenian churches.

The Georgian Orthodox Church also puts similar claims forward. `We
have complains as well, for example, in respect of the Georgian
churches located in Javakheti [region in southern Georgia, which is
predominately populated by the ethnic Armenians],’ Zurab
Tskhovrebadze, an official representative of the Georgian Orthodox
Church, told Civil Georgia on April 30. He added that the joint
commission will consider all of these disputed issues.

According to the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Armenian service,
this issue was pushed forwards by the Armenian authorities during the
visit of Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli in Yerevan in March.
But Nogaideli said after talks with the Armenian officials that the
sides agreed to let the two churches try to solve the problems before
deciding whether they should intervene.

Salt Lake Tribune, UT
April 29 2005

Dyer: Hitler cannot be allowed to fade into the past
Gwynne Dyer

Adolf Hitler has now been dead slightly longer than he was alive, and
he is about to stop being real. So long as the generation whose lives
he terrorized is still with us, he remains a live issue, but the 60th
anniversary of his death on April 30 is the last big one that will be
celebrated by those who survived his evil and knew his victims. By
the time the 75th anniversary comes around, they will almost all be
gone. And then Hitler will slip away into history.
It’s a process that is almost impossible to avert, because basic
human psychology is at work here. Once enough time has passed that
all the people involved in a given set of events would be dead by now
anyway, we stop treating them as real people whose triumphs and
tragedies matter, and only the loving attention of a filmmaker,
dramatist or a novelist can bring them to life again for us even
briefly.
Federico Fellini made the point once and for all in his 1969 film
“Satyricon,” a story set in the ancient Mediterranean world that
really makes its characters emerge from the classical myths and live.
For about a hundred minutes you really care about them, in a strange
way. The last shot shows the hero emerging from the labyrinth into
the fresh air and the sunlight – and then, with no warning, in the
middle of a sentence, the frame freezes and morphs into a time-worn
fresco of the same scene. Fade to black.
It’s shocking because Fellini makes you understand the true
nature of your relationship with the past. Its people have been dust
for hundreds or thousands of years, and for all that we try to give
them the respect and the weight that we give to living and recently
dead people, the fact is that we can’t. The point when historical
characters, good or bad, make the transition from flesh-and-blood
heroes and villains to mere frescoes on a wall is the point where
living people no longer remember them with love or hate. With Hitler,
we are nearing that point.
You don’t think that could happen? Consider the way we now treat
the “Corsican ogre,” Napoleon Bonaparte. He has become a veritable
industry for military historians, and is revered by half the
population of France because he ruled the country at the height of
its power and led the French to several dozen great military
victories before his boundless ambition finally plunged them into
total defeat. Nobody seems particularly perturbed by the fact that
his wars caused the deaths of about 4 million people.
That is a far smaller number than the 30 million or so deaths
that Hitler was responsible for, but Europe’s population was a great
deal smaller in Napoleon’s heyday. Europeans
actually stood about the same chance of dying as a result of
Napoleon’s actions at the height of his power in 1808 as they did
from Hitler’s actions in 1943 – and Napoleon has been forgiven by
history. So if all of those who died in Hitler’s war are soon to
enter the same weightless category of the long-dead, what is to keep
history from forgiving him, too?
There is one profound difference between Napoleon and Hitler.
Both were tyrants and conquerors, but only Hitler committed a
deliberate genocide. Most of the people who fought and died in the
war didn’t even know about the Nazi death camps at the time, but in
retrospect it is the Holocaust, the 6 million Jews who died not in
the war but in the camps, that has come to define our attitudes
toward Hitler, and has transformed him into an icon of absolute evil.

So he should remain, but history is mostly about forgetting,
and not very much survives the winnowing of the generations. Jews are
right to want this piece of history not to be forgotten, and the rest
of us need it too, because remembering the astonishing amount of pain
and loss that a man like Hitler could cause by manipulating hatreds
is an essential part of our defences against a recurrence. But the
bitter truth is that from now on it will be increasingly uphill work.

I would not raise this question at Passover if the anniversary of
Hitler’s suicide did not make it the one right time to do so. I also
understand why most Jews have zealously defended the unique status of
the calamity that befell their people and resisted any link with
other, smaller but not utterly dissimilar tragedies that have
befallen other peoples: the Armenian massacres, the Cambodian
genocide, Rwanda and the rest.
We cannot afford to let Hitler fade into the past because we
need him to remind us of our duty to the present and the future. If
the memory of the Holocaust is to stay alive – not just for Jews but
for the whole world – it may be time to start rethinking how to
present it to 21st-century audiences for whom the Second World War
and the Second Punic War seem equally lost in the unremembered past.
Was it only about the Jews, or should we see it as a warning to us
all?
—
Gwynne Dyer is a London-based independent journalist whose
articles are published in 45 countries.

A1plus

| 15:55:54 | 29-04-2005 | Official |

OSCE RELEASES ANNUAL REPORT ON 2004 ACTIVITIES

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the world’s
largest regional security arrangement, released its Annual Report 2004
today.

The 150-page publication details the activities of the Organization and its
co-operation with other international organizations.

“The year 2004 was a challenging one for the Organization,” OSCE Secretary
General Jan Kubis writes in his foreword. “It began with the repeat
presidential election in Georgia and ended with the re-run of the second
round of the Ukrainian presidential election. Both events were observed by
the OSCE, demonstrating again the Organization’s importance as an election
monitoring instrument.”

However, the Secretary General, whose second three-year term ends in June,
added that the year also raised some fundamental questions concerning the
future of the Organization, and brought to light differences of opinion
among participating States on some key issues. “The OSCE is at a turning
point,” he added.

EUROPE AT 1100GMT

AP Worldstream
Apr 29, 2005

EDITORS: The following is a digest of Europe’s top general news,
financial, sports and enterprise offerings at 1100GMT.

TOP STORIES:

PUTIN IN MIDEAST: Putin offers equipment, training for Palestinian
security forces, Abbas welcomes summit proposal

RAMALLAH, West Bank _ Russian President Vladimir Putin offers
equipment and training to the Palestinian Authority to help their
security forces maintain order. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas
welcomes Putin’s proposal to hold an international Mideast peace
conference in Moscow later this year.
BC-ME-GEN–MIDEAST-PUTIN. Developing. By Mohammed Daraghmeh. AP
Photos.

TURKEY-COURTING ISRAEL: Erdogan to visit Israel to improve relations _
and Turkey’s image overseas

ISTANBUL, Turkey _ Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses
his Israeli counterpart of “terrorism,” comparing Israel’s crackdown
on Palestinians to the Spanish Inquisition. But on Sunday, Erdogan,
whose party has its roots in Turkey’s Islamic movement, heads to the
Jewish state, a trip that is aimed not just at repairing relations but
also at boosting Turkey’s sagging image in the United States and in
Europe. BC-EU-GEN-TURKEY-COURTING ISRAEL. By 1530GMT. By Louis
Meixler.

BRITISH ELECTION: Independents and eccentrics enliven dull election

LONDON _ The big moan in Britain is that the election campaign is
dull, dull, dull. Don’t tell that to prospective parliamentarians
Captain Beany, Lord Biro and Howling Lord Hope. Some of the smaller
parties in the race hope to draw attention to single issues, from
legalizing marijuana to the war in Iraq. Others are just plain
eccentric: the Church of the Militant Elvis Party, the New Millennium
Bean Party, the Vote for Yourself Rainbow Dream Ticket.
BC-EU-POL–BRITAIN-ELECTION OUTSIDERS. Moved. By Jill Lawless. AP
Photos.

WITH:

_BC-EU-POL–BRITAIN-ELECTION. LONDON _ Prime Minister Tony Blair
remains comfortably ahead of his political rivals in an opinion poll,
despite the row over the Iraq war dominating the election campaign in
recent days. Moved. By Ed Johnson.

_BC-EU-POL–BRITAIN-ELECTION-GREEN ISSUES. LONDON _ A stunt briefly
thrusts Greenpeace to near the forefront of Britain’s election
campaign but, otherwise, Green issues have hardly
registered. Moved. By Michael McDonough. AP Photos.

ALSO:

LONDON _ An Iranian diplomat suggests an agreement over Tehran’s
nuclear program is within reach, as he prepares to meet with European
negotiators in London. BC-EU-GEN–BRITAIN-IRAN. Developing; Talks
scheduled for Friday evening. Update expected by around 2200GMT. By
Ed Johnson.

ISTANBUL, Turkey _ Top officials from Iraq’s neighbors meet in
Istanbul to welcome the long-awaited formation of a government in
Baghdad, hoping to give the emerging democratic process a boost
despite regional fears of instability in the
country. BC-EU-GEN–IRAQ-NEIGHBORS. Developing. By Saran El Deeb.

PARIS _ France’s beleaguered government, already under siege over a
referendum on the future of Europe, has a new fight on its hands _
this time over its decision to make the leisure-loving French work one
of their annual holidays to generate funds for health
care. BC-EU-GEN–FRANCE-HOLIDAY LOST. By 1500GMT. By Jamey Keaten.

GENEVA _ The diplomat leading consultations on who should be the next
head of the World Trade Organization is to report on how the three
remaining hopefuls are doing _ likely encouraging the trailing
candidate to withdraw. BC-EU-FIN-ECO–WTO-LEADERSHIP RACE. Developing
from 1700GMT start of meeting.

GENEVA _ The U.N. health agency says 18 new cases of polio have been
found in Yemen, sparking fears of an epidemic in the Middle East
country with a low immunization rate among
children. BC-UN-GEN–UN-YEMEN-POLIO. Developing. By Bradley
S. Klapper.

WARSAW, Poland _ Pope Benedict XVI made a tiny slip in Polish when he
thanked Poles “with” their kindness instead of “for.” No matter: the
German pontiff has quickly found understanding in the homeland of John
Paul II. BC-EU-GEN–POLAND-THE GERMAN POPE. Moved. By Monika
Scislowska. AP Photos.

ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia _ Four alleged militants and a policeman are
killed in a shootout in a predominantly Muslim region of southern
Russia. BC-EU-GEN–RUSSIA-MILITANTS. Moved. By Sergei Venyavsky.

RIGA, Latvia _ Latvia’s President Vaira Vike-Freiberga lashes out at
“whining” Riga residents who complain about security measures imposed
on them ahead of U.S. President George W. Bush’s visit next
week. BC-EU-GEN–LATVIA-BUSH SECURITY. By 1300GMT. By Timothy Jacobs.

VIENNA, Austria _ Prosecutors say they will review comments made by a
lawmaker who argued in a TV interview that the existence of Nazi gas
chambers ought to be investigated. BC-EU-GEN–AUSTRIA-GAS
CHAMBERS. Moved. By Susanna Loof.

ANKARA, Turkey _ Turkey’s prime minister says his country could
establish political relations with Armenia if the two sides agree to
jointly research the killings of Armenians during World War I, deaths
the Armenians call genocide, a report says. BC-EU-GEN–TURKEY-ARMENIA
RELATIONS. Moved.

ANKARA, Turkey _ Trial begins for a Turkish-Armenian journalist
charged with insulting Turks in remarks at a human rights conference
three years ago. BC-EU-GEN–TURKEY-ARMENIA. Moved. By Selcan
Hacaoglu.

BUSINESS & FINANCE:

BRUSSELS, Belgium _ The European Union launches a 60-day investigation
into surging Chinese textile sales, a move that could see it
reimposing quotas on imports of T-shirts, pullovers, pantyhose and
other products. BC-EU-FIN–EU-CHINA-TEXTILES. Upcoming. By Paul Ames.

PARIS _ Carlos Ghosn, the savvy business executive who turned around
once-ailing Japanese car maker Nissan, takes the helm of French
controlling shareholder
Renault. BC-EU-FIN–FRANCE-RENAULT-GHOSN. Upcoming. By Laurence
Frost. AP Photos.

MOSCOW _ The Russian government is considering paying cash to increase
its stake and take a controlling interest in the natural gas monopoly
Gazprom, dumping plans to merge it with state-owned oil company
Rosneft, the news agency Interfax
reports. BC-EU-FIN-ECO–RUSSIA-GAZPROM. Moved. By Alex Nicholson.

FRANKFURT, Germany _ Drug maker and chemical company Bayer AG says its
net profit rose by 55.6 percent in the first quarter as sales lifted
at its chemicals and plastics
units. BC-EU-FIN-EARNS–GERMANY-BAYER. Moved. By Matt Moore.

VIENNA, Austria _ NYMEX crude futures tick upward after investors,
inspired by near-US$50 prices, begin buying more heavily. After
slipping for nearly a week, prices seem to have reached the bottom in
a market that will likely turn bullish again in the next few weeks,
analysts suggest. BC-EU-FIN–OIL PRICES. Moved. By George Jahn.

LONDON _ Pearson PLC, the publisher of the Financial Times newspaper,
says trading in the first quarter of 2005 was in line with
expectations as the U.S. textbook market rebounded and newspaper
advertising revenue began showing signs of
improvement. BC-EU-FIN-COM–BRITAIN-PEARSON. Moved. By Jane Wardell.

FEATURES:

RESPECTABLE ROYALS: Holland’s Beatrix shows some royal houses remain
relevant in modern age

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands _ With her popularity near all-time highs after
25 years on the throne, the Netherlands’ Queen Beatrix is doing
something right as a modern monarch, and it must be more than cutting
ribbons and wearing colorful hats. While Britain’s Windsors and
Monaco’s Grimaldis seem to careen from crisis to crisis, other lesser
known royal houses like those in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands
manage to maintain a lofty distance from scandal while enjoying the
love and respect of their people. BC-EU-GEN–NETHERLANDS-RESPECTABLE
ROYALS. By 1300GMT. By Toby Sterling. AP Photos.

EU ANNIVERSARY: One year after joining EU, newcomers split on whether
lives have improved

ZAHORSKA VES, Slovakia _ Day in and out, Frantisek Danihel steers his
ferry back and forth over the slow-moving Morava River, linking what
were two separate worlds only a year ago _ the European Union and its
aspiring members. On a formal level, the barriers dissolved on May 1,
2004, when Slovaks and nine other mostly former communist nations
joined what they had long viewed as an exclusive Western club. Yet
opinions are mixed among EU newcomers about how much they have gained
from membership and what’s in store for the future. BC-EU-FEA-GEN–EU
ONE YEAR LATER. Moved. By Andrea Dudikova. AP Photos.

SECRET ARMENIANS: Woman’s discovery of grandmother’s roots leads to
taboo-breaking book

ISTANBUL, Turkey _ Before her death, Fethiye Cetin’s Muslim
grandmother let her in on a dark family secret: the old woman was born
an Armenian Christian who was stolen by a Turkish cavalry soldier who
went on to raise her. The revelation stunned Cetin, who like most
Turks knew little about the slaughter of Armenians during the Ottoman
Empire, a chapter of history so troubling it is barely taught in
schools or even discussed. Hoping to help shatter those taboos, Cetin
wrote a book that tells of her efforts to reconcile her Turkish
identity with the tragic past. BC-EU-FEA-GEN–TURKEY-SECRET
ARMENIANS. Moved. By Suzan Fraser. AP Photos.

SPORTS:

LONDON _ The Premier League title is all but Chelsea’s. The battles
now are to avoid the drop. With three matches remaining and two points
between them all, Crystal Palace, West Bromwich Albion, Norwich and
Southampton are all in danger of being relegated to the Football
League. BC-EU-SPT-SOC–ENGLISH PREVIEW. By 1400GMT. By Krystyna
Rudzki.

Agency WPS
What the Papers Say. Part B (Russia)
April 27, 2005, Wednesday

MOVING OUT

SOURCE: Izvestia, April 27, 2005, p. 1 EV

by Dmitri Litovkin, Natalia Ratiani

“We have reached an agreement that withdrawal of Russian military
bases will take place gradually, and may be launched by the end of
this year,” said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday after talks
with Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zourabichvili. The start of
2008 has been set as the deadline for withdrawal. Simultaneously, a
joint counter-terrorism center will be set up; it will use the
infrastructure of a Russian base.

Russia has declared its intention two days after presidents of
Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova and Azerbaijan called OSCE member nations
to apply its utmost effort so that Russia fulfilled its commitments
on withdrawal of troops and arms from Georgia and Moldova in
Chisinau.

Not all problems linked to the withdrawal have been settled. However,
Lavrov’s statement means that Russian military bases in Georgia must
move into withdrawal mode. The military hardware, other assets, and
personnel are allowed to be there for withdrawal; nothing new can be
brought in, and no personnel rotations will be possible either.

For instance, the new commander of the Russian Group of Forces in the
Caucasus was forced to be in command of the grouping from Armenia
after an entry visa to Georgia wasn’t issued in his name. According
to experts, the majority of Russian military hardware from Armenia
will be relocated to Armenia.

Withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia was among the most
urgent problems in Moscow-Tbilisi relations. Washington took an
active part in the problem insisting that Russia must carry out its
commitments under the Istanbul Agreement of 1999 as soon as possible.
However, Washington has “forgotten” for some reason that Moscow had
executed those commitments ahead of schedule – by withdrawing the
heavy military hardware from the territory of Georgia by January 31,
2000. Russia shut down its Vaziani and Gudauta bases by July 1, 2001,
which OSCE inspectors could be observing. As for the 12th Military
Base stationed in Batumi and the 62nd Military Base of Akhalkalaki,
under the Istanbul Agreement Georgia and Russia should have agreed
the withdrawal terms reciprocally. They’ve almost reached an
agreement, very symbolically: by the May 9 celebrations, which the US
president will attend and before the summit of CIS presidents in
Moscow.

Until recently, Russia linked the problem of the withdrawal to the
payment issues (according to Sergei Ivanov’s calculations, something
about $500 million required to set up new bases in Russia) and quite
long withdrawal terms: either seven or three years, but only starting
from 2008. Georgia objected to the amount of pay and the long period
of withdrawal. Moscow was uncompromising in its standing. “No
situation will be reiterated with withdrawal of the Soviet Army from
Germany, when divisions with the military hardware, ammunition,
soldiers, officers and their families were thrown out into a clear
field,” Ivanov promised. Zourabichvili confirmed in Moscow on Monday
that Georgia is ready to finance withdrawal of the military hardware
and the personnel, but until its own border. The very same day Prime
Minister Zurab Noghaideli of Georgia confirmed that jointly with
Russia Georgia “is ready to seek potential sources of funding for
withdrawal of the bases.” The USA, the EU and possibly the OSCE could
be used as such.

In the event that talks on the bases failed, Tbilisi had worked out a
plan under which the Russian bases should be declared illegal. The
Georgian security structures intended to set up tight control over
the Batumi and Akhalkalaki bases (some 2,500 servicemen) and prohibit
the Russian military to travel the republic. Georgia also intended to
ban the Russian military from conducting war games on its territory.
But a miracle has happened – Moscow has surrendered, quietly and
without a fight.

Translated by Andrei Ryabochkin

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| 18:33:21 | 26-04-2005 | Politics |

BULGARIAN CITES CONDEMNED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

The city councils of Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna have adopted a resolution
condemning the Armenian Genocide and held a minute of silence to commemorate
the victims.

According to a report of the press center of the State Commission on the
organization of events dedicated to the Armenian Genocide 90-th anniversary,
a concert dedicated to the date will take place in the `Sofia’ concert hall
of the Bulgarian capital city.

The event will be sponsored by Bulgarian Vice President, General Angel
Marin.