Author: Felekian Ara

ARMENIAN CHURCH TO BE CONSTRUCTED IN CAPITAL OF REPUBLIC OF KOMI

YEREVAN, August 3 (Noyan Tapan). According to the Information System
of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Catholicos of All Armenians
Karekin II received President of the Republic of Komi of Russia
Vladimir Torlopov and a delegation headed by him in his residence in
Etchmiadzin on August 3. The Catholicos of All Armenians touched upon
the centuries-old friendship of the Armenian and Russian peoples, the
mission of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the life of our people and
the warm relations between the Armenian Apostolic and Russian Orthodox
Churches. During the meeting Torlopov spoke with admiration about the
Armenians living in Komi, according to him, they are worthy citizens
and contribute to the prosperity of the Republic of Komi. The
President of the Republic of Komi told Karekin II that an Armenian
church will be constructed in the capital of the Republic of Komi
soon.

ITAR-TASS, Russia
Aug 2 2004

Armenia invites French soccer coach

YEREVAN, August 2 (Itar-Tass) — Bernard Casoni, former defender of
the French national soccer team, has been invited to Armenia to coach
the Armenian national team.

A resolution on the appointment of the new French coach has been
approved in principle, but an official announcement has not been made
yet and was expected later this week, Itar-Tass was told by Araik
Manukyan, press secretary of the French soccer Federation.

The 42 -year-old Bernard Casoni is expected to sign a contract for a
term of one year.

The Armenian national soccer team will play a first game against
Macedonia in the framework of the 2006 world soccer-qualifying
tournament on August 18.

Earlier, Casoni had coached the French “Olympic” and “Cannes’ and a
soccer team from Tunis.

The Daily Star, Lebanon
July 29 2004

Muslim Democrats hopeful but wary

By Ashraf Fahim
Special to The Daily Star

NEW YORK: Maya Berry remembers a time when, as an Arab-American
delegate to the 1992 Democratic convention, she held aloft a placard
that read – “Palestinian Self-Determination” – and was trailed by
security guards bearing walkie-talkies for her troubles. That
incident came at a time when Arab-Americans were struggling to get
onto the political map.

“To be frank, I felt fairly unwelcome,” recalls Berry, a Michigan
delegate to this week’s Democratic convention in Boston,
Massachusetts. “And now it’s like night and day. The Democratic Party
organizes around ethnic constituencies and we’ve become part of that
coalition.”

With issues like Iraq and civil liberties at the heart of the
Democrats’ critique of the Bush administration, and even a formal
recognition of the right of Palestinians to a state in the party
platform, Berry and the over 70 other Arab and Muslim delegates (out
of 4,300-plus) at the convention feel slightly more at home than in
the past.

“Our issues are the national issues when it comes to the presidential
race for the first time ever,” says Berry. “Now everybody’s talking
about Iraq, everybody’s talking about the Patriot Act, everybody’s
talking about the Palestinian-Israeli problem.”

Indeed, numerous speakers at the convention have attacked President
Bush’s Iraq policy, and in his Monday night speech former President
Carter criticized Bush for failing to attempt “to secure a
comprehensive peace for Israel with hope and justice for the
Palestinians.”

Illinois Senatorial candidate Barack Obama also got a rousing
response during his Tuesday night keynote address when he said: “If
there’s an Arab-American family being rounded up without benefit of
an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties.”

But the enthusiasm Berry and other Arab and Muslim delegates feel for
their party’s leader, John Kerry, who will today be confirmed as the
Democrats’ candidate for the Presidency, is tempered by what many see
as his continuation of the Bush administration’s confrontational
approach toward several Arab and Muslim countries.

Even the party’s support for a Palestinian state has come at an
extortionate price. Kerry has spoken out in favor of Israel’s
separation wall, while the party platform calls Jerusalem Israel’s
undivided capital, accepts Israel’s right to annex illegal
settlements and rejects a Palestinian right of return.

Kerry and his running mate, John Edwards, have likewise supported
sanctions on Syria, taken a hawkish line on Iran’s nuclear program
and vowed a reckoning with Saudi Arabia for its alleged support of
terrorism.

The anti-Saudi rhetoric has disappointed Berry. “In politics
sometimes you do what you think will work in focus groups,” she says.
“And the average American is unhappy with gas prices, so it’s really
easy to beat up on the Saudis. Frankly, I think it’s beneath someone
like John Kerry.”

Arab and Muslim-American delegates have refused to despair over those
foreign policy positions, however, placing faith in Kerry’s promise
to rebuild America’s ties with the rest of the world, while
channeling their enthusiasm into his domestic agenda.

“In the end we’re picking the party that, I think, is pro-minority.
The party has stood for civil rights and that is my basic concern,”
says Zafar Tahir, a Muslim-American delegate from Bush’s home state
of Texas. “Foreign policy is very important, but I think a mistake we
have made in the past is that we have allowed foreign policy issues
to overtake our immediate concerns.”

As momentum builds toward the November election, polls suggest most
Arab and Muslim voters – many of whom live in “battleground” states
like Florida and Michigan, where the tight presidential race is
expected to be decided – are inclined toward the same pragmatism
shown by their delegates in Boston. Recent surveys by the
Arab-American Institute (AAI) and the Council on American-Islamic
Relations put support for Kerry above 50 percent among those
overlapping constituencies.

However both polls also indicate a far higher percentage of undecided
voters than the national average, and strong support for independent
candidate Ralph Nader.

With few voters on the fence nationally, the Kerry campaign has
focused on energizing its traditional constituencies. On touchstone
issues like Israel-Palestine, this has meant deferring to Jewish
Americans, who Bush has courted with his pro-Israel stance. But
Kerry’s deference to right-wing Jewish opinion is a strategy
independent pollster John Zogby believes is not only “ham-fisted and
gratuitous,” but unnecessary.

“All of my evidence suggests that Kerry is going to get 75 percent of
the Jewish vote regardless,” he says. And were he to express balance
on Israel-Palestine and speak more forcefully on Iraq and civil
liberties, “he would energize a group of Arab and Muslim-Americans
who can help him win in several key battleground states.”

As the Kerry-Edwards campaign’s director of ethnic outreach, George
Kivork is tasked with ensuring the Arab-American vote is pro-Kerry
rather than anti-Bush. And Kivork, an Armenian-American who was born
in Syria, does his best to talk up Kerry’s position on
Israel-Palestine.

“John Kerry has made a commitment that under his administration the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not going to be an afterthought,” he
says, recalling Kerry’s pledge to dispatch a high-profile
representative to the region. “Bush wants to make this a wedge
issue,” he cautions, “but Arab-Americans are not single issue voters.
They have the same concerns as other Americans.

“At the end of the day Arab-Americans are heard in this campaign,”
says Kivork. “They have an opportunity to be at the table. … That’s
something that they don’t have with the Bush-Cheney campaign.”

The Kerry-Edwards campaign may be listening, but first-time Florida
delegate Neal Abid is not certain his community is being heard.
“They’ve said they’ll work with us, and they’ve always had an open
mind to listen,” says Abid, who remains an avid Kerry supporter. “But
so far, if you want the truth, we don’t feel that they’ve changed
their positions or really taken us into consideration.”

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)
July 27 2004

INCREDIBLE ESCAPE

By cutting the cell bars with iron shears, Armenian swindler Emili
Parapoziam escaped from the Istanbul Security Directorate where he
was being kept for deportation. During the count in the detention
room which is monitored 24 hours a day with surveillance cameras,
officials knew about escape of Parapoziam who cut the bars with iron
shears and jumped down an area three meters beneath and later exited
the building like a visitor. There were five Chechens in the same
room who have links to al-Qaeda. Police investigate how he managed to
escape and the iron shears was brought in.

Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates
July 20 2004

Turkey’s EU entry still long way off: France
(Reuters)

PARIS – Turkey is making progress towards European Union membership
but its entry is still a long way off, France said before talks on
Tuesday between Turkey’s prime minister and French President Jacques
Chirac.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan held a breakfast meeting with French
business leaders ahead of lunch with Chirac at the Elysee Palace
where they were set to discuss Turkey’s EU drive.

`We have to be truthful — Turkey is not going to enter the European
Union tomorrow,’ French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier told Europe 1
radio.

`The road is still long, but it is on this path and has been making
progress for some time.’

EU leaders will decide in December whether to open entry talks with
Ankara. France is seen as the only large EU member state still with
reservations about admitting Turkey.

Erdogan briefed French officials on Monday about Turkey’s drive to
bring its laws into line with EU rules. French Prime Minister
Jean-Pierre Raffarin said afterwards an EU Commission report this
October on Turkey’s readiness would be key.

Barnier said even if the Commission gave the green light for entry
talks, full Turkish membership was not imminent: ‘Afterwards, there
will be a certain delay (before entry).’

France’s political class is deeply divided over admitting its NATO
ally to the European Union, with critics citing Turkey’s poverty and
human rights record as barriers.

Chirac, who told a NATO summit in Istanbul in June that Turkey’s EU
drive was `irreversible’, faces opposition on Turkish entry from
within his governing conservatives.

Alain Juppe, a close Chirac ally and former head of the conservative
UMP party, has said the entry of a Muslim nation of 70 million would
distort the 25-nation European Union.

The opposition Socialists support Turkish membership in principle,
but party chief Francois Hollande has linked the start of entry talks
to Ankara’s recognition of the 1915 killing of Armenians by Ottoman
forces as genocide.

France is home to a significant Armenian population. Pro-Armenian
groups were to demonstrate in Paris later on Tuesday against
Erdogan’s three-day visit.

TRADE AND REFORM

Erdogan, who is accompanied by a trade delegation, met top French
employers’ association, MEDEF, on Tuesday morning.

During his visit he is expected to discuss the possible purchase of
jets from Airbus EADS.PA for the national carrier Turkish Airlines
THYAO.IS.

The state-run airline, which is slated for privatisation, has said it
is talking to both European-based Airbus and to US rival Boeing Co.
BA.N amid a boom in Turkish air travel.

Turkey’s ruling centre-right AKP party, which has its roots in
political Islam, has introduced a flurry of liberal political and
economic reforms ahead of December’s decision.

A top Turkish diplomat told CNN Turk television only two major pieces
of EU-linked legislation still awaited parliament’s approval — a
revised penal code bringing criminal law closer to EU norms and a law
easing limits on freedom of association.

The diplomat, Murat Sungar, said he hoped parliament would approve
them at a special session in September.

Turkish financial markets are closely watching the run-up to
December, fearful that a ‘no’ could trigger a fresh economic crisis,
unseat the government and perhaps reverse some reforms.

Britain, Germany, Italy and Greece have pledged strong support for
Turkey’s EU bid. Diplomats expect negotiations to start in 2005 but
say full membership is a decade away.

The Statesman, India
July 20 2004

Putin Criticised As 15th Journalist Killed

The Times, London
MOSCOW, July 20. – The voice at the end of the telephone line was
muffled but menacing. `You should be careful what you write,’ the man
said, without giving his name. `Something could happen to you as you
walk on the street.’ Then the line went dead. The threat, made to The
Times several weeks ago, was most likely a hoax from one of the
desperate, disillusioned or mentally disturbed individuals often
calling foreign reporters’ offices here.
But it seems suddenly chilling after the gangland-style killing of
Paul Khlebnikov, editor of Forbes magazine’s Russian edition, on 9
July and the murder of Pail Peloyan, an Armenian reporter, at the
weekend.
It also emerged last week that a reporter in St Petersburg, Mr Maxim
Maximov, had been missing since 1 July. The three cases have not only
sent a chill through a press corps, but have also exposed the dark
side of President Putin’s Russia and raised questions about its
future direction.
The UN ranks Russia the world’s 57th-best country to live in, but an
international media watchdog rates it as one of the ten worst places
to be a journalist – alongside Iraq, Cuba, Zimbabwe and the West
Bank.
The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists says that Khlebnikov –
an American citizen – was the fifteenth journalist to be killed in
connection with his work in Russia since Mr Putin took power. Many
human rights groups and reporters accuse Mr Putin of indirectly
encouraging such attacks through his own crackdown on the independent
media.
Mr Putin made clear his personal disdain for reporters at a news
conference in 2002, when he suggested that a French reporter
questioning the Chechnya war should come to Moscow to be circumcised
`so you’ll have nothing growing back afterwards’.

ArmenPress
July 19 2004

KARABAGH CEC TO USE MOBILE VOTING FACILITY

STEPANAKERT, JULY 16, ARMENPRESS: Ahead of August 8 elections to
local self-government bodies of Nagorno Karabagh local authorities
have taken a decision to use a mobile voting facility for physically
disabled and those who cannot come to the polling station for other
valid reasons. Under the decision at least two members of the polling
station commission and one observer should administer mobile voting
jointly within the geographical territory covered by a polling
station.
The decision to use mobile voting facility was announced July 15
by Sergey Davtian, the chairman of Karabagh Central Election
Commission (CEC), who warned the CEC members against campaigning in
favor of a candidate and expressed hope that the polls will be
conducted in a transparent atmosphere.
Armenpress correspondent in Nagorno Karabagh also reported, citing
a report by local prosecutors that the number of crimes decreased by
54 in the first six months of the year making 281 against 335 of last
year’s same time span. But according to the report, concurrently the
number of grave crimes rose. The prosecutors also succeeded in
bringing to the net some 100 people engaged in business and collected
2.5 million drams in penalties.

RosBusinessConsulting Database
July 13, 2004 Tuesday

Russia and Armenia to prepare cooperation accord

Russia and Armenia will complete preparations for signing a
government agreement in the gas sphere, Russian Prime Minister
Mikhail Fradkov declared after negotiations with his Armenian
counterpart Andranik Markarian. According to the head of the Russian
government, relations between the two countries in the gas sphere are
developing dynamically. Fradkov also noted that the sides had
considered the efficiency of activities of the joint venture
ArmRosgazprom in Armenia.

Moreover, the construction of a fifth energy generating unit of the
Razdan power plant was negotiated at the meeting. Fradkov also
mentioned that issue concerning supplies of Russian nuclear fuel to
the Armenian nuclear power plant had been settled.

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
July 9, 2004
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

ARMENIAN AND GREEK AMERICANS EXPRESS DISAPPOINTMENT OVER PRESIDENT
BUSH’S PRESSURE ON THE EUROPEAN UNION TO ACCEPT TURKEY

— ANCA and AHI Send Letter to the White House
Following the President’s Istanbul Speech
Praising Turkey’s Treatment of Minorities

WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
and the American Hellenic Institute (AHI) expressed their profound
disappointment over recent remarks by President Bush praising
Turkey’s treatment of minorities and calling for that nation’s
acceptance in the European Union.

During his official visit to Istanbul, Turkey to participate in the
NATO summit, President Bush repeatedly called for the European
Union to support Turkey’s candidacy for membership, noting that,
“Turkey is a strong, secular democracy, a majority Muslim society,
and a close ally of free nations.” He went on to note that “with
150 years of democratic and social reform, stands as a model to
others, and as Europe’s bridge to the wider world.”

ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian and AHI President Gene Rossides, in a
July 8th letter to the President, pointed out that, “the reality is
that Turkey is neither secular nor democratic and, if anything,
represents a negative role model for the states of the region.
Over the past one hundred and fifty years, successive Turkish
governments have been characterized by their violence toward their
own citizens, their disdain for democracy, and their aggression
against neighboring states . . . Significantly, during this period,
Turkey has dealt with its minority populations by committing
genocide against Armenians, massacring and driving Pontians and
other Greeks from its shores, denying the existence of its Kurdish
citizens, and restricting the rights of Christians to worship
freely.”

Responding to calls by President Bush for European leaders to
endorse Turkish membership in the European Union, Rossides and
Hachikian stated that “Turkey’s candidacy for this European
institution does not enjoy the backing of our nation’s citizens,
who recognize that the Turkish government falls far short of
meeting even the most basic standards of democracy and human rights
that we embrace as Americans. Nor does Turkey’s application have
the support of Europeans – including European Greeks and Armenians
– who clearly reject Turkey’s candidacy.”

ANCA and AHI concerns about continued U.S. calls for Turkish
membership in the European Union are shared by ANCA affiliates
across Europe, who have actively worked with activists in their
respective countries urging European leaders to bar Turkey’s
membership due to a range of issues, including significant human
rights violations and Turkey’s failure to recognize the Armenian
Genocide. In 1987, the European Parliament adopted a resolution
calling on Turkey to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and to
establish political dialogue with representatives of the Armenian
people as a precondition for European Union membership.

In addition to the joint letter to President Bush, ANCA
representatives attended an American Hellenic Institute sponsored
forum on Capitol Hill this week regarding Turkey’s illegal
occupation of Cyprus. The event was titled “Cyprus: 30 Years Later
– An Assessment of the Annan Plan and Where Do We Go From Here.”
Guest speakers at the forum included noted author and television
commentator Christopher Hitchens, Congressional Hellenic Caucus Co-
Chairman Michael Bilirakis (R-FL), Congressional Armenian Caucus
Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) as well as Representatives Brad
Sherman (D-CA), and Rob Andrews (D-NJ). ANCA Government Affairs
Director Abraham Niziblian and Capital Gateway Program Director
Arsineh Khachikian led a delegation of ANCA “Leo Sarkisian”
Internship participants to the luncheon, which was attended by
several dozen Congressional staff members and a broad range of
Greek and Cypriot American activists.

The full text of the ANCA/AHI letter to the President follows.

#####

July 8, 2004

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We are writing to express the profound disappointment of our
nation’s Greek and Armenian American communities over your remarks
of June 29th forcefully advocating for Turkey’s membership in the
European Union.

Turkey’s candidacy for this European institution does not enjoy the
backing of our nation’s citizens, who recognize that the Turkish
government falls far short of meeting even the most basic standards
of democracy and human rights that we embrace as Americans. Nor
does Turkey’s application have the support of Europeans – including
European Greeks and Armenians – who clearly reject Turkey’s
candidacy. Beyond the specific problems with Turkey’s eligibility,
we also want to share with you our reservations about the propriety
of a U.S. President seeking to direct the internal decision-making
of our European allies regarding the conduct of their diplomacy and
multilateral affairs. Turkey’s membership is, ultimately, a
European decision.

In your remarks, you argued that, “Turkey is a strong, secular
democracy, a majority Muslim society, and a close ally of free
nations.” You added that Turkey “with 150 years of democratic and
social reform, stands as a model to others, and as Europe’s bridge
to the wider world.” The reality is that Turkey is neither secular
nor democratic and, if anything, represents a negative role model
for the states of the region. Over the past one hundred and fifty
years, successive Turkish governments have been characterized by
their violence toward their own citizens, their disdain for
democracy, and their aggression against neighboring states.
Turkey’s aggression against and occupation of 37% of Cyprus is now
in its 30th year.

Significantly, during this period, Turkey has dealt with its
minority populations by committing genocide against Armenians,
massacring and driving Pontians and other Greeks from its shores,
denying the existence of its Kurdish citizens, and restricting the
rights of Christians to worship freely. Last April, the Turkish
Education Minister Huseyin Celik issued a decree requiring that all
Turkey’ school children – Greeks and Armenians included – be taught
to deny the Armenian Genocide. As recently as this February, the
State Department’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
documented that, “torture, beatings, and other abuses by security
forces remained widespread” in Turkey.

Extending uncritical support to an unrepentant and unreformed
Turkish government only encourages and enables Turkey’s continued
refusal to respect international norms for responsible membership
in the family of nations. Rather than turning a blind eye to
Turkey’s serious failings, U.S. interests and American values would
be better served by bringing to bear the full pressure of our
government to ensure that Turkey meets basic standards for domestic
and international behavior.

Thank you for your consideration of our concerns. As we have noted
to you in the past, we stand ready to meet with you to discuss
these and other matters of concern to our communities.

Sincerely,

Gene Rossides
President
American Hellenic Institute

Kenneth V. Hachikian
Chairman
Armenian National Committee of America

Marlborough Enterprise, MA
July 11 2004

Casey: Take the time to say you care
By Helen Marie Casey / Local Columnist
Sunday, July 11, 2004

Perhaps we are all like the character in the novel who laments, “I am
obsessed by the fear that there will not be time enough.” We sit by
our barbeque or under a tree and, try as we may to relax totally into
the moment at hand, we are more often than not owned by the clock or
the calendar. We are indentured.

We are antsy when we are without projects or work and we fidget
when we have no idea of what the day will hold. What we really want
to do is be in control of our time and of the future itself. What we
want is impossible. We are like the little boy who attempted to empty
the ocean bucket by bucket: our ambition outstrips our capacity. We
cannot number the days we have nor can we know what will empty itself
into our life. And this gives rise to our fundamental terrors:
disaster can as easily knock us down as not. Our imagination runs
riot with the possibilities.

We do our best to safeguard everyone dear to us but the
reminders of how little control we have are everywhere. Nightly
newscasters tell us about the toddlers who fall out of windows or off
third-story porches. News stories of the serial killer who buried his
victims in his yard stretch across the ocean right into our front
room. Wartime atrocities have become our daily fare.

Little wonder that we take fright at the smallest provocation
and see danger where there is, in fact, nothing visible. Little
wonder that we are learning to be wary. Little wonder that we are
withdrawing into ourselves when what this tired old world wants is a
little more embracing and a little less handwringing.

There are always individuals who find ways to transcend the
horrors that life presents and even to rescue meaning from its hiding
places. Fortunately for the rest of us, these individuals are often
artists and they fill the empty spaces that surround us with
language, paintings, sculptures, dance, and music.

Poet and teacher Gregory Djanikian writes of the Armenian
genocide, about which one might think nothing good could be made.
Yet, the poet uses memory, storytelling, and simple, familiar images
to remind us that so long as there is memory and language, the
destroyers do not hold the ultimate victory.

The poet-conjurer begins one of his mesmerizing poems this way:
“I can tell you it was a village/fertile and full of grain,/that the
moon grew full above it/before it darkened./I can tell you that the
figs/were abundant, their tiny seeds/were like small gems, hard/and
round in the mouth.”

As the poet continues to describe the village, the women, and
the men — all disappeared — he makes them reappear. He makes the
village idyllic and his love for his people palpable. He makes it
possible for his readers to recall that while there is much humans
cannot control, there is also much that we can control. We can refuse
to be mastered by fear or threats. We can refuse to give up on the
fundamental values and principles that define us. We can refuse to
allow anyone to write the horrors out of history lest forgetting them
— or being ignorant of them — we come to repeat them.

A little past the midpoint of his poem, Gregory Djanikian speaks
of the men of his village: “I can tell you that the men/deep in the
fields of wheat/would lie down soon/and disappear into its many
roots.”

These summer days we may be restless about any number of things
but about a few things we should have singular clarity. We need each
other is the first thing and the second is that we ought to say so
now and again. If we don’t say so, it’s always possible there won’t
be time enough.