Author: Felekian Ara

The Express, UK
June 24, 2004

MY SON THE SERIAL STALKER

by ANNA PUKAS

EXCLUSIVE: Richard Jan was the loving first child of a surgeon born
into a middle-class home.

Now he is facing life in prison after a seven-year reign of terror.

Here, speaking for the first time, his mother reveals her heartache

IT WAS a cry for help. Her elder son was withdrawn and moody.

Her younger son was virtually estranged. Her miserable marriage made
for constant tension at home. Depressed, exhausted and at the end of
her tether, Peggy Jan called social services.

The conversation she had in October 1996 with a social worker at St
Bernard’s Hospital in Ealing, West London, set off a chain of events
which was to shatter the Jan family. Almost eight years later,
Richard Jan is in a top security prison, labelled Britain’s worst
stalker after being convicted two weeks ago on two counts of arson
with intent to endanger life and one count of causing a public
nuisance.

The arson involved setting alight a social worker’s car and the home
of an Ealing councillor. The public nuisance charge is a blanket term
for what amounted to a seven-year campaign of harassment. While Jan
denied arson, he admitted sending hundreds of letters and making
hundreds of phone calls to 200 victims.

Jan will be sentenced next month, pending a psychiatric report, but
the judge has hinted at a life term. “If I could have known what
would come from that telephone call, I would never have opened my
mouth, ” says Peggy Jan. “I was simply asking for help – not only for
Richard but for the whole family because I felt we could not go on as
we were. Instead, Ealing social services have destroyed us.”

While she accepts Richard has done wrong – as he does – what angers
Peggy is that the eight-week trial made no attempt to examine what
could have driven him to such extreme behaviour.

Instead, reports have portrayed him as a violent social misfit with
no friends.

“That is a lie, ” she says. “Richard could be short-tempered. He
could hurt verbally but he has never raised his hand to me or anyone.
I know he must pay the price for what he did but nobody has given any
thought to what started this, to how it could easily have been
avoided and to how we, his innocent family, have suffered.”

RICHARD’S best friend, Dr Peter Stanley, who rented him a room at his
home in Streatham, South London, says Richard was anything but a
loner.

“He is very sociable and when we went out in a group, he was the life
and soul. He had friends and he certainly had girlfriends too.”

So how did a well-educated man with no criminal record turn into the
worst stalker in Britain?

Richard, a biochemist, became depressed after being made redundant.
Since he refused to see a doctor, Peggy hoped social services could
help. “I hoped someone would come and talk with us as a family, to
advise us, ” she says.

Instead, on October 9, 1996, she answered the door to find a social
worker, two doctors and two police officers. Standing some distance
away were three or four more policemen and an ambulance was parked in
the street. “They said they had come to see Richard and everyone
walked straight in, ” Peggy recalls. “I asked why the police were
there and they said something about being concerned about possible
violence. It was 10am and Richard was asleep. His room was a boxroom
but they all squeezed into it. Imagine being woken up from a deep
sleep to find a group of strangers round the bed.”

While the visitors talked to Richard in one room, his parents were
barricaded in another. “When I tried to open the door to see what was
going on, I couldn’t because a police officer was holding the handle,
” says Peggy.

After 20 minutes or so, the social worker came to tell Peggy and her
husband that the two doctors had assessed Richard as having a
personality disorder and he had been taken away for their safety.
Later that day, Richard returned, saying he had been bound over after
being brought before Ealing magistrates for breaching the peace.

Learning of his mother’s telephone call, Richard blamed his parents
for the day’s events. He left and it was six-a-half years before
Peggy saw her son again.

But what had driven Peggy, a loving, attentive mother, to such
exasperation that she felt only outsiders could help? To explain
that, we must go back to the earliest days of Richard Jan’s
childhood.

The Jans are Armenians from Iran. Peggy arrived in London in 1958
aged 20 to train as a nurse.

Seven years later, while visiting her family in Tehran, she was
introduced to Dr Jean Jean, a halfFrench, half-Armenian eye surgeon
20 years her senior. They married in 1965. At 48, Dr Jean had enough
years of service at his hospital to retire with a pension.

Sixteen months after the wedding, the couple moved to London where
Peggy gave birth to Richard, in July 1966. Another son, Frederick,
followed two years later.

But the marriage soured almost immediately. Jean had expected to
secure a post as a consultant or senior registrar at a London
hospital. When none was forthcoming, he refused to take lower
positions and became bitter. “My husband was very selfish and very
proud, ” says Peggy, 68.

APART from a six-month stint at Moorfields and another at the West
Middlesex Hospital in Isleworth, Jean never worked again until his
death in 1998. Peggy worked as a clerk at the Law Society after her
husband forbade her from resuming her nursing career. “We rowed a lot
and my husband put me down all the time. Children suffer when there
is no happiness in the home.”

Richard attended the fee-paying Ealing College and went to Queen Mary
College, London, graduating in biochemistry in 1987. He got a job at
Queen Charlotte’s Hospital, but when his department merged with
Hammersmith Hospital in 1992, he was made redundant. “He was so
unhappy, but he refused to go to the doctor, ” says Peggy. “His
father didn’t care and he had fallen out with his brother, Fred. I
was so depressed about everything that I thought, ‘I have to get some
help from somewhere for all of us.'” Peggy acknowledges she made one
mistake: she exaggerated Richard’s symptoms. “The first time I rang,
the social worker was impatient with me and said they wouldn’t come
if it was not serious.

So when she asked if Richard was threatening us, I said ‘yes’ because
I wanted someone to come and help us out of this fog.”

After Richard walked out, Peggy had to rely on Peter Stanley for news
of her son. But Richard’s problems really began after he lodged
formal complaints against Ealing social services and the West Ealing
Mental Health Trust. “He started off doing it properly. He got a
solicitor to write formal letters but he felt they were fobbing him
off and not taking him seriously, ” says Dr Stanley, 50. The more
frustrated Richard felt, the more extreme his behaviour became. He
even served fours month in prison for breaking an injunction
forbidding him from contacting anyone but the director at the Health
Trust.

His trial heard how Richard used the Internet and private detectives
to track down social workers, lawyers, medical professionals and
councillors. He made 134 harassment calls to John Cudmore, the leader
of Ealing council, and more than 4,000 in total. On November 30,
2001, Councillor Liz Brookes, who was responsible for social
services, awoke to the sound of petrol being poured through her
letterbox, then set alight.

The social worker who had first come to his home in 1996 had her car
torched and was attacked twice by a “hooded figure” wielding a brick
and a baseball bat.

Richard was arrested in February 2003. After her husband’s death,
Peggy moved to California. On a visit to London in April 2003, she
learned her son was on remand.

Her first sight of him in many years was in the visiting room of
Wandsworth jail.

The prospect of a long jail term has made Richard suicidal, she says.

“He is a very different person now. He knows he did wrong and took
things too far. All he wanted was to be treated with respect. If
Ealing had apologised, none of this would have happened. He accepts
he must be punished and so do I.

But life imprisonment is not justice. I have no one to help me but I
will not rest until I get justice for my son.”

Ealing council issued the following statement: “This has been an
extremely difficult and unusual case for the council. After our
initial contact with Mr Jan, council staff attempted to deal with his
concerns. We responded to Mr Jan’s complaints and arranged to meet
him to discuss and explain our actions. When this failed to resolve
the issues, the local community health council arranged to provide
advocacy and mediation for him. As a last resort, the council was
given no other option other than to take out an injunction against Mr
Jan, as his persistent harassment of our staff reached a point where
we were seriously concerned for their wellbeing. The council is
pleased this case has reached a conclusion.”

Peggy Jan is a widow, estranged from one son, and separated by the
law from the other.

She has lost everything and has known so much misfortune that all she
can do is fight for her son.

Yesterday, she was on her way to Iran to sell family land to raise
money for her crusade.

Agency WPS
What the Papers Say. Part A (Russia)
June 23, 2004, Wednesday

NEO-NAZI GROUPS SUSPECTED OF MURDERING ETHNIC RELATIONS EXPERT

SOURCE: Izvestia, June 23, 2004, p. 5

by Sergei Nekhamkin, Elena Rotkevich

The St. Petersburg Prosecutor’s Office considers that Professor
Nikolai Girenko’s professional activities are likely to have been the
motive for his murder. Girenko frequently appeared as an expert
witness in trials involving charges of inciting ethnic or racial
hatred.

Nikolai Mikhailovich Girenko was killed on the morning of Saturday,
June 19 in his own apartment by a bullet fired through his door from
a sawn-off shotgun. His murder is being investigated by the St.
Petersburg Prosecutor’s Office major crimes directorate. St.
Petersburg Deputy Prosecutor Alexander Zhukov told the media on June
21 that one of the theories for the murder motive involves Girenko’s
professional activities. However, according to Zhukov, investigators
do not rule out the possibility of a random killing either.

Valentina Uzunova, a close colleague of Nikolai Girenko, does not
believe it could have been a random killing. According to Uzunova,
scholars in the group headed by Girenko, working on expert analyses
of nationalist extremist publications, constantly received threats.

One current trial in which Professor Girenko was involved as an
expert witness concerns the toughest nationalist group in St.
Petersburg: Schulz-88. The Schulz case began in spring 2003. While
investigating an assault on an Armenian citizen, detectives
identified a skinhead gang with about 30 members. After Girenko
presented his expert conclusions, it became clear that the gang was
more than a bunch of city hooligans: these were hard-line racists and
neo-nazis. Group leader Dmitri Bobrov (alias “Schulz,” with the “88”
in the gang’s name symbolizing the eighth letter in the alphabet and
standing for “Heil Hitler”) maintained strict discipline in his
organization; physical and “theoretical” exercises were carried out,
with youths being trained to “beat up blacks” and practising
large-scale pogroms. The group published a magazine called “Wrath of
Perun” with instructions for young skinheads.

The group of experts headed by Girenko did an evaluation of the
“Wrath of Perun” magazine. Bobrov and his colleague Alexei
Vostroknutov found themselves in pre-trial detention (four other
Schulz-88 members had to sign an undertaking not to leave the area).
The Schulz-88 investigation continued in May. Group members are
charged with inciting ethnic and racial hatred, and issuing public
calls for the overthrow of the constitutional order. The
investigation into the case is still under way.

Shortly before his death, Girenko started preparing to act as an
expert witness in another trial, involving the Russian National Unity
movement.

Translated by Gregory Malyutin

Azeri, Iranian chief clerics discuss Karabakh, mutual ties

Azadliq, Baku
23 Jun 04

“I hope your visit will give an impetus to the further strengthening
of Azerbaijani-Iranian relations,” the head of the Azerbaijani
Spiritual Board of the Muslims of the Caucasus, Allahsukur Pasazada,
said at a meeting with Ayatollah Golpayegani, head of the executive
staff of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene’i.

Saying that religion brings the Azerbaijani and Iranian peoples
closer, Pasazada expressed the hope that it will also enable the two
states to further strengthen political relations. Pasazada talked
about the Nagornyy Karabakh problem and called on official Tehran to
help Azerbaijan generously in this issue. Pasazada touched on the
religious situation and stressed religious tolerance in Azerbaijan. He
said that various religions and faiths were being practised
simultaneously in the country, and spiritual leaders state that their
main aim is to maintain religious stability in the region.

Ayatollah Golpayegani reiterated recent serious progress in
Iranian-Azerbaijani relations and expressed his confidence that these
relations will develop in the future as well. As far as the Karabakh
problem is concerned, Golpayegani said that Armenia had been described
as an aggressor by the Organization of the Islamic Conference which
unites both Iran and Azerbaijan.

[Passage omitted: the guests were given presents]

SOCIAL SECURITY CARDS

Azat Artsakh – Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (NKR)
18 June 2004

For the aim of introducing the system of social security cards and
according to the corresponding articles of the NKR law “On Social
Security Cards” the NKR government made a decision on considering the
NKR Ministry of Social Security as the government-authorized body to
issue social security cards. The authorized bodies implementing works
are the department of health and social security of the Stepanakert
City Hall and the regional services of social security. We talked
to the head of the department of health and social security of the
Stepanakert City Hall Ofelia Grigorian about questions concerning the
system of social security cards. – Mrs. Grigorian, What is a social
card? What is the meaning of introducing the system of social cards? –
The system of social security is in the stage of reforms. For effective
use of resources, improvement of the social sphere certain mechanisms
are required. The system of social security cards is a mechanism. As
a result we expect to simplify the form of application for benefits,
pensions or aid, direct these to only poor families, without paperwork
verify the data in the applications for social benefits and aid,
register the years of service, salaries, social payments of workers,
maintain the size of the life pension according to the social payments,
control the payment of social payments of the employers, which will
enable regular increase of pensions, effective collection of taxes,
increase budget assets by revealing shade economy. The introduction
of cards starts from the interests of conscientious and law-abiding
citizens of our republic. Besides, the social card is a document for
foreign citizens having the right to live and living in NKR, persons
not having citizenship, and persons with the status of refugee. The
meaning of introduction of social card system is the use of the
number of the card, which is unique and unchangeable. In individual
database the number of the social card will be used as a means of
identification of the person due to which the procedure of processing
data and exchange of information by the order maintained by legislation
will be regulated and improved. – Why did the necessity of creating or
introducing the system of social cards occur? – The existing methods
of using the information of the databases of the state governmental
bodies in NKR today do not enable to pass necessary information
efficiently, and the exchange of information through references
causes abuse, on the one hand, and increases the circulation of
non-trustworthy information, on the other hand. The above mentioned
circumstances essentially reduce the effectiveness of work of state
governmental bodies, the addressed implementation of programs, hinder
the adequate implementation of the rights of citizens. The solution
of the above-mentioned problems and other problems related to them
supposes making certain steps by the government in a number of spheres
of life, and in this context a step to be made is introduction of
the modern information technologies, i.e. computerized information
system and the use of an unchangeable, unique and common means
of person identification. – In what cases will the social cards
or their numbers be used? – According to the corresponding law,
they will be used when processing the personal data of the citizens
including payment of salaries, pension provided by governmental and
non-governmental social security programs, benefits, compensation,
and payment of taxes, levies, obligatory social insurance, other
obligatory payments, as well as processing paper databases of the
organizations under the state and municipal governmental bodies.
After the enforcement of the law during the implementation of the
rights and duties of the citizens the number of the social card will
be used in corresponding documents, as well as databases. Those
persons who will not have a social card their documents will not
be considered valid if the number of the social card is not marked
there. – Can the social card be used as a personal identification
document? – The social card is not a personal identification document
and cannot be used as such. On the social card the number of the card,
the name, family name and fatherâ^À^Ùs name of the citizen, the
day, month and year of issuing the card as well as the serial number
of the personal identification document on the basis of which the
social card is issued are marked. – Are there countries where similar
systems are used? – In all the countries with more or less developed
social security systems, such as Austria, Belgium, Germany, Denmark,
Ireland, Spain, Cyprus, Greece, Great Britain, Switzerland, France,
etc, similar systems operate. There are not few countries where the
system has recently been or is being introduced presently. This system
is mainly used in two spheres, social and tax. – How can we receive
the card? – The social card is issued in two ways, through individual
and collective applications. Collective applications are presented
by the offices, enterprises to the departments of social service,
and the individual applications are filled in at the departments.
In 60 days after the application the authorized persons of the office
or enterprise and the citizen personally receive the card presenting
the personal identification document to the department where the
application was presented. For receiving the social card the citizen
does not make any payments.

LAURA GRIGORIAN. 18-06-2004

SkySports, UK
June 17 2004

HARRISON SIMPLY HAS TO WIN – MCGUIGAN
Harrison hits back at Abelyan

Scott Harrison v William Abelyan
WBO featherweight title
Saturday Fight Night Live
Sky Sports 2, 8pm

On Saturday night Scott Harrison defends his WBO featherweight title
against William Abelyan in the white-hot atmosphere of Glasgow’s
Braehead Arena.

Scott often gets overlooked when we talk about our world champions,
so this is a chance for him to shine against what looks like a very
tough opponent.

We do not know too much about Abelyan, but he is a southpaw and from
what I gather, he’s ostensibly a boxer.

He was born in Armenia but grew up in California and appears to be
a consummate professional who will often train three times a day.

He comes to Glasgow having won 13 fights in a row since being knocked
out in the first round by Victor Polo back in January 2000, but reports
say he was ill that day, which would explain how he was floored by
a body punch so early on.

Abelyan: southpaw

I gather he has enlisted the help of Manuel Medina – who Harrison
lost to, and then beat of course – to help plan his fight strategy.
As long as Medina is not sparring with him, because his style is
nothing like Harrison’s, that is a smart move and should prepare him
for what to expect from the marauding Scot.

Harrison only knows one way to fight and that is to walk forward and
swarm all over his opponent.

He has been accused of being a little one-dimensional unless he gets
some top-quality sparring – and I fear he hasn’t – his style is never
going to change. He likes to shut himself away and train up to three
times a day, but running up mountains in Fort William is not going
to improve his boxing ability.

Harrison’s style may well suit a clever counter-puncher, who can
draw him on and then pick him off, and Abelyan’s record (28 fights,
23 wins and 12 KO’s) suggest he could be that type of fighter.

But he will not be prepared for the absolute frenzy that will greet him
when he walks out at the Braehead. Scott might not be as high-profile
as our other top fighters, and he may not be as comfortable with
the media, but he does have a great fan base behind him north of
the border.

Harrison: marauding

Believe me, Abelyan will have heard nothing like it and the Braehead
crowd will have a big part to play.

Scott may have to be prepared to lose the first few rounds, but he
needs to walk Abelyan down and get him into a war of attrition. He
may not be the most devastating puncher, but he is powerful and has
to make the Armenian-born challenger fight at his pace.

It is a question of imposing his will on Abelyan and eventually
slowing him down. That might take some time and it might not be pretty,
but Scott simply cannot afford to lose.

He is good enough to beat the likes Injin Chi, Manny Pacquiao and
Juan Manuel Márquez at the moment, but that could change in time.
Right now he needs to win – even if it means winning ugly.

Cyprus Press and Information Office – Turkish Cypriot Press Review
June 9 2004

Degrading statements by the Ambassador of Sweden to Turkey for the
Cypriots and their President who are under the yoke of the brutal
Turkish occupation for 30-years. Reference to Russia and the Arab
countries

Turkish Daily News (08.06.04) publishes an article, which according
to the editor´s note, is a contribution to the paper by the
Ambassador of Sweden, Mr Henrik Liljegren.

The article, under the title “Waiting for the NATO summit” is
insulting for the President and the people of Cyprus who were forced
by the Turkish troops to abandon their homes and properties and are
deprived of all their fundamental human rights by 40,000 heavily
equipped Turkish troops which keep northern Cyprus under their
control.

The article, is as follows:

“President George W. Bush looked noticeably relieved the other day as
he commented on the establishment of an interim government in Iraq at
a press conference. Here was a man who seemed to say to himself, ”
OK, we created a big mess in Iraq, but, by God, now we are getting
out of it and others will have to deal with it.”

“A free Iraq will be a game changer, an agent of change,” said Bush.
These words revealed what the administration probably considered to
be the most important motive for attacking Iraq. The neo-conservative
hawks, who dominated the foreign policy agenda in Washington after
9/11, believed that a successful war against Iraq would create a
“shock and awe” effect in the whole region. It would make the rogue
states stop supporting terrorists and prepare the ground for the
democratization of the authoritarian Arab regimes. “It would change
the game,” as the president said.

Instead, the war and occupation has led to intensified terrorism both
inside and outside of Iraq. In addition, relations between the United
States and its allies have been severely strained and
anti-Americanism has risen to previously unimaginable heights all
over the world. The credibility of U.S. intelligence services has
been badly damaged; with the conflict between the Israelis and the
Palestinians becoming more violent than ever.

This is the bad news; but the good news is that there are signs that
many people in the greater Middle East have recently seen the need
for democratic reform. Moreover, it seems that some regimes have
concluded that it is dangerous to tolerate or aid terrorists or to
attempt to build or sell nuclear weapons. More importantly, Iraq
could, in spite of everything, eventually turn out to be a more
stable place once the transition to a sovereign Iraqi government has
been completed. At least one should not totally exclude such a
scenario in the long-term; the game may change and developments
become more benign than anybody can foresee today.

Right now the best news is that the Bush administration is adjusting
to the realities on the ground in a pragmatic spirit. As Winston
Churchill once said, “The Americans always do the right thing after
they have exhausted all the alternatives.”

The Clinton administration learned the lesson in the Balkans that it
had to be prepared to back up diplomacy with military action. The
Bush administration has learnt the lesson in Iraq that military
action must be backed up by diplomacy. It is now trying to repair
relations with its allies and to involve the United Nations in the
future of Iraq. I think we can safely assume that the United States
will not start a preventive war against another country in the near
future. Last but not least, it seems that the U.S. intelligence
community will undergo a much-needed overhaul.

How the readjusted foreign policy of the Bush administration will
play out in the context of NATO will be interesting to observe at the
NATO summit in Istanbul on June 28-29. Turkey not only has to take
the responsibility for the nightmarish organizational and security
problems of the summit, it must also act diplomatically in advance of
the summit in the hope that NATO comes up with policies for the
region that are beneficial, rather than detrimental, to the security
of Turkey.

In connection with a conference arranged by the Istanbul Policy
Center in the summer of 2002, we were told by a participant, a short
time after 9/11, that planning had begun to move about a third of
U.S. forces in Europe to the Black Sea region and beyond, and that
the Pentagon regarded this area as the “new central front” in the
fight against terrorism. The planning included establishing “forward
operating sites” in what were termed “vulnerable battle ground
states” in Central Asia. It also foresaw helping these states
strengthen their own security against terrorists.

While the United States recently began to consult with its NATO
allies about this plan, the plan was gradually revealed to the
public. Michael R. Gordon, in The New York Times on June 4, wrote of
“the most significant rearrangement of American military around the
world since the beginning of the cold war.” The same article says
that Secretary of State Colin Powell thought it “unlikely that the
Turks would agree to allow the United States to operate freely from
Turkish bases.”

My guess is that Turkey is already discreetly taking creative
diplomatic action in the relevant capitals. The role and intentions
of Russia might be a matter of concern to some at the summit.
President Vladimir Putin, in his recent state of the nation speech,
talked of Russia’s “vital interests.” His new and smooth foreign
minister, Lavrov, in an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal
explained that for Russia “the territory of the former USSR is a
sphere of vital interests, prompted by its entire history.” Lavrov
added, “By vital interests we do not mean some kind of right to bring
pressure on our neighbors.”

But if history is any guide, that is exactly what it does mean. As
for the Russian military, it still thinks in terms of the Cold War,
regrets the expansion of NATO and would like to resurrect Russia as a
superpower as soon as possible. When speaking to his domestic
audience, Putin has to take the attitude of the nationalistic forces
within the military and the Duma into account.

One thing is clear: Just like in the good old days of the Cold War,
the United States and Russia are competing for geopolitical
influence, this time in countries in the neighborhood of Russia and,
in some cases, Turkey. Nowadays this competition is tempered by the
fact that the United States and Russia have an overriding common
interest in cooperating with each other in the fight against
terrorism.

Since the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
conference in Istanbul, both NATO and the OSCE have expressed concern
that Russia has failed to fulfill its 1999 commitments to withdraw
forces from Georgia and Moldova. Russian diplomacy would now like
NATO to ratify the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty
without demands to fulfill its Istanbul commitments.

By saying that he will not attend the NATO summit, Putin presumably
wants to put pressure on the West to accept Russia’s demands. Turkey
has tried to contribute to stability to the west and south of its
borders, and by its diplomacy regarding Cyprus, and has consequently
received many favorable comments in the international media.

The same cannot be said for the Greek Cypriots. In one of his weekly
electronic letters, Carl Bildt, the former prime minister of Sweden,
writes that Greek nationalistic forces carry the main responsibility
for the failure to solve the issue. Bildt talks of “the almost
hateful rhetoric of the Greek-Orthodox Church and the blatantly
cynical way that the Greek Cypriot president Papadopoulos played on
prejudice and fear in order to stop the peace plan. Bildt continues:
“That he belonged to the Greek support troops for Milosevic is hardly
surprising. The methods of agitation are recognizable.” I really hope
that the other leaders of the European Union will distance themselves
from Papadopoulos and treat him with the icy coldness that he
deserves.” Bildt predicts that various measures will be taken to
“ease the restrictions against the Turkish Cypriot part of the
island.”

To the extent that Bildt’s views are representative of views within
the EU, Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots should in principle benefit
from the general goodwill that their support for the Annan plan has
generated. Eventually it might lead to some level of recognition of
the Turkish Cypriot state. Outside the EU the only important state
that supports the Greek Cypriots seems to be Russia.

Since the EU does not wish to import border disputes when admitting
new members, it has also encouraged Turkish diplomatic activity
regarding Turkish relations with Armenia. In this context the 2003
Regular Report of the EU Commission mentions grassroots civil society
initiatives with a view to promoting closer cooperation between
Turkey and Armenia.

The other day I was invited to attend a meeting of a select group of
prominent Turkish and Armenian media representatives. Under the
chairmanship of the managing editor of the Turkish Daily News, Yusuf
Kanli, the group discussed how the media in their respective
countries could deal with the sensitive subjects that prevent
reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia, and did so in a
dispassionate and objective manner.

“We are not out to solve any of the outstanding issues, but to
prepare the ground for the dealing of them by politicians, if and
when they choose to do so. We are simply trying to ‘clarify’ the
respective terminologies and help create a better understanding,”
said Mr Kanli, who also explained that the meeting was a follow-up to
a series of meetings sponsored by the American University in
Washington since May 2001.

Such initiatives are important as confidence-building measures could
inspire the Turkish and Armenian governments to make progress in
their diplomatic relations. However, they also require tact and
discretion since Russia casts a long shadow over Armenia, and, it is
not obvious that Russia finds friendship between Armenia and Turkey
desirable. The group that Mr Kanli has brought together is making a
laudable effort in a way that is in the best interests of their
respective nations. Who knows, maybe the NATO summit can bring new
momentum to these efforts by meetings at both the levels of
government and civil society.

The NATO summit will, in fact, bring more clarity to many important
issues of global security that are now shrouded in uncertainty.
Hopefully the run-up to the summit will be an occasion for
exceptionally creative diplomacy. It is sorely needed.”

EU seeks date for N-plant closure
By Kieran Cooke, in Yerevan, Armenia

BBC News
June 2 2004

The plant was closed and then reopened

The EU is freezing 100m euros of aid to Armenia because of the
country’s refusal to set a date to close an old Russian-built nuclear
power station.

The Metsamor plant, which is sited some 40km west of the Armenian
capital Yerevan, is built on top of one of the world’s most active
seismic zones.

The station was closed after one major quake in 1988, but reopened in
1995.

“This plant is a danger to the whole Caucasus region,” says Alexis
Loeber, head of the EU’s delegation in Armenia.

“Our position of principle is that nuclear power plants should not be
built in highly active seismic zones.”

Protective shell

Metsamor is a pressurised water reactor that was first commissioned
in the mid 1970s.

It is about 80km from what is believed to have been the epicentre of
the 1988 earthquake, which killed 25,000 people.

The European Union, as part of its general policy seeking the closure
of elderly nuclear plants constructed in territories of the former
Soviet Union, agreed to give the grant aid ($122m; £66m) to Armenia
for finding alternative energy sources and for helping with
decommissioning costs at the plant.

In return, the government in Yerevan would commit to a definite date
for the plant’s closure.

“We cannot force Armenia to close the plant,” says the EU’s Mr
Loeber. “Originally it was agreed the plant should cease operations
this year – now Brussels is asking the government to give a definite
date as to when it proposes to close it.

“We feel that should definitely be well in advance of the end of
Metsamor’s design lifecycle in 2016.”

The Metsamor plant has no secondary containment facilities, a safety
requirement of all modern reactors.

Power needs

Another concern is that due to border and railway closures with
surrounding territories, nuclear material to feed the plant is flown
into Armenia from Russia.

“It is the same as flying around a potential nuclear bomb,” says Mr
Loeber. “It’s an extremely hazardous exercise.”

Earthquakes happen here and there is danger. On the other hand, we
do not have any other options for work

Gohar Bezprozvannkh, former Metsamor worker
Armenian and EU officials are due to meet in Brussels this Friday to
discuss Metsamor’s future. The EU has warned that if no progress is
made on the issue, its grant aid offer might be withdrawn altogether.

At present, however, there is no indication that the Armenian
government has any intention of closing Metsamor.

Areg Galstyan, the country’s deputy minister of power, says $50m (40
million euros; £27m) has been spent on upgrading safety at Metsamor.

“It was a big mistake to shut the plant in 1988,” says Mr Galstyan.
“It created an energy crisis and the people and economy suffered.

“It would be impossible for the government to cause the same problem
again by shutting off the plant.”

The deputy minister also insists that all necessary safety measures
are taken with flying in fuel to feed the reactor, though he says
exact details of the operation are kept secret “to avoid alarming the
people”.

Gas option

Alvaro Antonyan, president of Armenia’s National Survey for Seismic
Protection, says Russian scientists had built the power station on a
special raft to resist earthquakes.

Dr Antonyan says the 1988 earthquake – a magnitude 6.7 event – had
not damaged the reactor.

The Metsamor plant supplies about 35% of Armenia’s total energy
output.

The debate centres on the energy needs of the country
Electricity industry specialists say that due to the expansion and
updating of existing thermal and hydro-energy plants, the country has
become an electricity exporter in recent years.

A major new power source will come on stream in 2006 when a pipeline
supplying gas from neighbouring Iran is due to be completed.

In a country where jobs are scarce and per capita annual incomes are
less than $600 (490 euros; £326), people have mixed feelings about
the Metsamor issue.

“I fear for my two children because I do not think the plant is
safe,” says Gohar Bezprozvannkh, who worked at the plant for two
years.

“Earthquakes happen here and there is danger. On the other hand, we
do not have any other options for work.”

Martiroian Harazat, now retired, had worked at the plant since it
opened. “If they shut down the reactor we will die of hunger. People
have to eat. There’s no alternative place to work.”

Europe’s verbiage

Kavkaz Center, Turkey
May 31 2004

Former students of Communist party schools in the USSR used to tell
me how during classes teachers would make students polish the right
answers to provocative questions by «mudslingers and falsifiers of
the Soviet reality». Thus, this is the kind of answer that was
supposed to be given to the question «Why in the West there is a
multiparty system, but in USSR only one political party is allowed?»:

«In 1917 our people recognized the Communist Party as the only
people’s party and the vanguard that meets the expectations of the
Soviet people… etc». Then the teachers would offer to quote Lenin,
something like, «Doctrine of Marx is all-powerful because it is
true!»

There are less and less masters of speech of days bygone remaining.
But in Europe there is one man who is still a real master of verbal
lechery, even though he did not graduate from a Soviet party school.
His name is Alvaro Gil-Robles and he works as «Council of Europe’s
Commissioner for Human Rights».

The times are gone, when Chechen refugees would apply their ears to
radios and tell each other the news about another session, meeting,
assembly or conference of international officials, who are allegedly
concerned about violations of human rights in Chechnya.

Alvaro Gil-Robles has been an old participant in all these European
get-togethers. This character with habits of an Armenian shoemaker
from the shop that used to be located between a rifle-range and the
main building of Chechen-Ingushetian State University in prewar
Grozny (now Jokhar, capital of Chechnya) has been playing the role of
a good cop all of this time.

The picture cleared up after his first visits to Russia, when he
preferred to be receiving the reports about things happening in
Chechnya not at the scene of the events, but from the mouth of
Sultygov or Rogozin instead. So, his next visit to Moscow would have
remained unnoticed by those who really need their rights defended,
had it not been for the enthusiasm of Russian foreign minister
Lavrov, who said after the meeting with the EU commissioner:

«We are stating that the Chechen subject is gradually being removed
from the European agenda».

This really is the news, but only for those who have still been
thinking that the Chechen subject was on the European agenda in the
first place. Sure, it was there… just to make it look nice. Civilized
Europe, you know. It requires a status. But this subject is standing
still, just like it has been. And no one is going to get it moving…
so far.

But the European commissioner is still called the «Human Rights
Commissioner», and the status implies being civilized, and this is
why he could not share Russian minister’s optimism so readily. So, in
response he came up with something like an objection to such
optimism, worthy of a graduate of Higher School of Communist Party of
the Soviet Union”:

«PACE members may have legitimate concerns about the situation with
human rights in Chechnya».

Sure, it would be inadmissible for the Russian side to deprive PACE
members of the right to have ‘legitimate concerns’ about the
situation in Chechnya. So, that’s what Russia was encroaching on.
Chechens were naive enough to wait that the four years of concern
would sometime develop into some semblance of an outrage over the
slaughter of 250 thousand European people, — there was nothing more
to be counting on. But it all turned out to be much more complicated,
and Europe has been fighting with Russia all of this time just for
the right to have a ‘legitimate concern’ (!).

Only Doctors Without Borders (MSF) can compete with Robles by the
degree of hypocrisy. Not too long ago they mentioned some pragmatism
(!), because of which they would not press charges against the
Russian side for kidnapping their employee, while they had all direct
evidence on hand. But at the same time they cut the assistance to
Chechen refugees and demanded that the FSB releases their colleague.

All right, let’s leave these shows for theatrical critics to delve
in.

Today you have to be a complete idiot to believe in the fairytale
about evil Putin and good Europeans who cannot find the way to deal
with him. Putin is a puppet, who will not take a single step without
a permission from puppeteers. Only for mentioning the Chechen subject
(anything more is out of the question), Russia is conceding, losing
and has already lost so many positions that even an army outnumbering
the Chechen Army hundreds of times could not have been able to seize
from it.

Even if Putin defeated the Chechens in the war, which Moscow is still
paying the price for, it would still have been a plain defeat for
Moscow. But Putin is not getting even that kind of victory on a tiny
piece of Chechen land. After paying such a high price and after
getting a license for genocide from Europe, Putin is still going mad
from being unable to make his plans come true. And this is exactly
why his face changes like he was just taken out of an outhouse, when
Chechnya is being mentioned.

This is what Russian writer Lev Gunin wrote about the problem of
nations under genocide:

«This is the way this world was made: so that the criticism of one
monster stained with blood of innocent victims reaches the people,
you have to appeal to a similar monster, who would be happy to
overthrow the first one».

But for the Chechen nation or for any other Muslim nation there is no
UN with its human rights activists, or even some kind of a monster,
whom Chechens could ask for help if they wanted to. The difference
between the situation described by Gunin and today’s realities is
that the very process of globalization promotes mergers of all sorts
of monsters into one monster.

The best way out of this situation is not to be counting on any
protectors, however strong they would seem in this world. The best
protection for the Muslims is the protection from the Most High. Only
complete assurance in this protection and accordingly, perseverance
in compliance with His orders gives Muslims the power to resist, and
it gives them the spirit, the courage and the faith in victory.

Aset Ismailova,

for Kavkaz-Center

MOSNEWS, Russia
May 28 2004

A Plot Against Russia?

by Yevgeny Kiselyov,
Editor-in-Chief
Moskovskie Novosti weekly

This week’s notorious and sometimes tragic events include the
President’s address, Russian citizens dying in Iraq, cases against
new “werewolves in uniform” – this time with traffic police batons
as well, new battles around Yukos, Stepashin once again shaking his
fist at Abramovich, Abramovich doing some more fancy shopping –
a new Boeing-767 and Brazilian soccer player Roberto Carlos, and
another piece of news that most media cautiously ignored.

Russia is gradually ceasing to be a democratic state. This painful
conclusion was reached by Freedom House, a major international human
rights organization, founded by Eleanor Roosevelt. The conclusion is
contained in Nations in Transit – their report on democratic progress
in former Soviet bloc countries, including independent states formed
after the disbandment of the USSR. The report’s authors believe
that the current Russian policies “have sought to centralize power,
leaving little room for a vibrant civil society, independent media,
or political opposition.” The document says that, “while Russia has
emphasized the importance it places on maintaining strong ties to
the West, it is headed in an increasingly authoritarian direction.”

The study of democracy in post-Soviet states was based on six key
areas.

Number one – elections. Experts had to answer the following questions:
How free and honest are the elections in each country? Is there a
multi-party system? What is the measure of participation available
to common citizens?

Are minority rights protected in the course of the elections?

Are there obstacles to freely replacing authority figures according
to election results? How independent are citizens’ votes from the
influence of various groups – the military, big business, etc.?

Key area two – civil society.

Are there many non-government organizations in the country, what
is their organizational potential and financial state? Is the legal
framework underlying their activity sufficient? What is the political
atmosphere around them?

What’s going on with education? How independent is it from
political fluctuations and propaganda? Is the influence of extremist
organizations felt in the society? How tolerant is the society to
difference of opinion?

Next stop – independent media.

Is the freedom of the press secure? What are the legal guarantees?
Are journalists involved in independent investigations protected? Are
there cases when libel laws and laws on providing false information
are used to punish criticizing journalists? Do people have unrestricted
Internet access?

The fourth criteria Freedom House experts used to rule on the state
of democracy in the post-Soviet space concerned the constitutional,
legislative, and judicial framework.

Are all citizens equal before law? Is criminal law being reformed?
How are convicts and suspects treated? How are judges appointed? Are
they independent?

The fifth category of questions concerned governance. Is it transparent
to society? Is there an institute for parliamentary studies? How
decentralized is the government? Are federal employees free from
excessive political influence?

The results of the study turned out to be very, very unpleasant for
our country. The experts came to the conclusion that the situation
in each of these five areas in Russia has deteriorated over the past
year. Only one area was not found to have taken a turn for worse,
you’re going to laugh but that area is corruption. It’s been as bad
as it gets for a while now.

Poland and Slovenia are doing best at enhancing democracy – these two
countries are tied for first place in a list of 29 countries of the
former Soviet bloc. Russia is 21st, classified among countries with a
half-formed authoritarian regime. Even Armenia, Moldova, and Ukraine
have outpaced Russia. Only Kosovo and other CIS allies are lower.
Things are worst in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

That hurts.

Forget about it, some will say. Sure, Russophobes are to blame for
all our problems. We’ve known that for a while.

Putin explained it all in his address as well – turns out, all
the talk of authoritarianism is the result of a global competitive
struggle. See, not everyone in the world wants Russia to be strong,
so they’re using political and media pressure against us. What we’re
really doing is strengthening the state.

Now it’s all clear. And yet before agreeing with the President in
the most loyal of all fashions, I advise that everyone carefully read
the questions above and try to answer them. Just be honest.

California Courier Online, May 27, 2004

1 – Commentary
TARC Moderator’s Anti-Armenian
Article in Wall Street Journal

By Harut Sassounian
California Courier Publisher
**************************************************************************
2 – Library of Congress Area Specialist
Dr. Levon Avdoyan Speaks at AUA
3 – YWCA Honors
Women of Heart
4 – Armenian Bobsled Team to Participate
In Fresno Armenian Summer Games
5 – FAPC Hosts Memorial Day
Picnic, May 31 in Fresno
6 – Ararat Nursing Facility Earns
Deficiency-Free State Surveys
7 – NY Life Settlement Improperly
Handled, Attorney Appeals to Judge
************************************************************************
1 – Commentary
TARC Moderator’s Anti-Armenian
Article in Wall Street Journal

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier

David Phillips, the moderator of the Turkish Armenian Reconciliation
Commission (TARC), and a senior fellow and deputy director of the Center
for Preventive Action at the Council on Foreign Relations, finally exposed
his true colors by writing a blatantly anti-Armenian commentary in the
April 14 issue of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
His column is replete with factual errors, falsehoods and erroneous
judgments. Normally, no major American newspaper would publish such trash
without at least checking the accuracy of the dates and events mentioned,
independently of the author’s opinions. The editors of the Wall Street
Journal, however, being more pro-Turkish than those of most Turkish
newspapers, probably jumped at the opportunity to publish this
anti-Armenian diatribe without giving a second thought to verifying any of
the writer’s false statements. This is regrettable, but not surprising, as
the WSJ has taken anti-Armenian positions on practically all issues for
many years.
Two groups should be blamed for pandering to Phillips to such an extent
that he now feels he can preach to Armenians in a condescending tone: 1)
Armenian members of TARC; and 2) Armenian government officials who nurtured
a close relationship with him for several years. Unknowingly, these friends
of Phillips harbored a rabid anti-Armenian in their midst. It is noteworthy
that in the past six weeks not one Armenian from these two groups has said
a single critical word about the insulting article written by Phillips.
Could it be that they are too embarrassed to admit that they were
associated with him?
Let us start with the outright falsehoods written by Phillips: “Armenia has
been in crisis ever since Mr. Kocharian forced former President
Ter-Petrossian from power in 1996.” Incredibly, there are three factual
errors in this one sentence: 1) Pres. Ter Petrossian left office in 1997,
not 1996; 2) He was not ousted by Kocharian; and 3) Rather than being in
crisis since 1996 or 1997, Armenia in fact has had many crises ever since
its independence in 1991. On the contrary, in some respects, conditions of
life have somewhat improved in recent years.
The second group of errors is found in the following two sentences written
by Phillips: “Tens of thousands were killed [during the Karabagh war] and
almost a million Azerbaijanis were driven from their homes in a spasm of
bloody fratricide. The bloodletting stopped when international mediators
brokered an uneasy cease fire in 1993.” Here are the errors: 1) The figure
of one million Azerbaijani refugees is exaggerated. Phillips is simply
repeating Azeri propaganda; 2) He does not say one word about the several
hundred thousand Armenians expelled from Azerbaijan; 3) Phillips uses the
generic term “international mediators” in order not to give credit to the
Russians who actually brokered the truce; and 4) the cease fire was in
1994, not 1993!
It is amazing that such a self-proclaimed “expert” on Armenia does not even
know the correct name of one of the oldest Armenian political parties. He
mistakenly refers to “the Armenian Revolutionary Federation” as “the
Armenian National Federation.” He describes the group “as an extremist
party that opposes all contact with Turks until Ankara provides an official
apology for the Armenian genocide, pays compensation to its victims and
hands over territories constituting ‘Greater Armenia.’ ” First of all,
these are the proper demands of all Armenians, not those of one group.”
Secondly, rather than dreaming of a “Greater Armenia,” Armenians simply
want the return of the lands usurped from them. Thirdly, Phillips does not
seem to know that contrary to his false assertion, the ARF did meet with
the Foreign Minister of Turkey back in the 1970’s, without any
pre-conditions. Phillips is just bitter that the ARF refused to join his
anti-Armenian “Reconciliation Commission.”
These are just a few of the falsehoods written by Phillips. If he makes so
many mistakes in such a short article, we shudder to think of the plethora
of errors that we would find in the book that he is rumored to be writing
on Turkish-Armenian relations.
Let us now turn to his anti-Armenian judgments. By couching himself in the
cloak of an advocate of democracy in Armenia, Phillips hysterically
suggests that in order “to avoid a bloody conflict, an internationally
supervised referendum should be held to determine whether a majority want
to recall President Robert Kocharian.” The last thing Armenia needs is one
more controversial election that would surely end in violence – which is
probably why Phillips is advocating it in the first place. He refers to
Pres. Kocharian’s administration as “corrupt and inept.” Would Phillips
write and would the Wall Street Journal publish a similar description of
the Aliyev administration, knowing full well that the officials in
Azerbaijan are much more “corrupt and inept” than those in Armenia? He also
misrepresents the size of the population of Armenia as being “about two
million.”
Phillips repeats the shameful and wholly unsubstantiated charge of
“collusion between Mr. Kocharian and the killers” of high-ranking officials
in Parliament in 1999. He also repeats the accusation that Mr. Kocharian is
running “a mafia state.” He uses the excuse of the electoral violations in
2003 to castigate the President for “refusing to step down.”
Rather than condemning the repeated threats made by Pres. Ilham Aliyev to
“liberate Karabagh by force,” Phillips shamelessly blames Pres. Kocharian
for something he has not done. “Mr. Kocharian may respond to the Azeri
president’s rhetoric with threats of his own,” Phillips writes. “By
maintaining Armenia in a state of constant conflict, Mr. Kocharian has
successfully used the insecurity of Armenians and manipulated their fear to
his political advantage.” He then insults all Armenians by making the
shameful accusation that they are “wallow[ing] in victimization” because of
the Genocide.
Exposing his close links to the leaders of Turkey, Phillips discloses a
private conversation he has had with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
regarding the possible opening of the Turkish border. Phillips invents a
non-existent problem by blaming the Turkish blockade on “Mr. Kocharian’s
refusal to issue an unambiguous statement renouncing claims on territory in
Eastern Turkey.”
Finally, Phillips urges the U.S. government to use its foreign aid as a
stick to pressure the Armenian government to hold a presidential referendum
“within three months.” He fantasizes that Turkey would open the border, the
Karabagh peace talks would make progress and the influence of Russia and
Iran would be lessened, only if Armenia would become more democratic,
enabling “the Armenian people to finally look forward and begin to build a
brighter future.”
It is very clear that Phillips and his neo-conservative colleagues in the
Bush Administration want to do in Armenia what they are trying to
accomplish in Iraq. Under the guise of bringing democracy to the country,
they are trying to undermine the government of Armenia so the Armenian
people would forget the Genocide, give up Karabagh and reconcile with
Turkey and Azerbaijan from a position of weakness! Phillips does not want
democracy in Armenia. What he really wants is a subservient Armenia that is
willing to follow the dictates of foreign masters!
Those Armenians who befriended Phillips in the past should immediately
denounce him publicly and cut off all future contacts with him. Phillips is
no friend of Armenia or Armenians!

**************************************************************************
2 – Library of Congress Area Specialist
Dr. Levon Avdoyan Speaks at AUA
YEREVAN – Dr. Levon Avdoyan, Armenian and Georgian Area Specialist of the
U.S. Library of Congress’ African and Middle Eastern Division, visited AUA
on May 11 and discussed the Near East Section of the Library of Congress
and the Armenian portal within their website.
Avdoyan described the Library’s rich depository of materials in over 40
languages about the area known as the Near East, including the countries
and peoples of the Caucasus and Central Asia. The Armenian portal has a
comprehensive collection of materials published in the Republic and the
Diaspora, including manuscripts, books, serials, newspapers, electronic
media, motion pictures, music, etc. and encompasses subjects related to
Armenian life and culture.
Avdoyan noted that while there is much material on the Armenian Genocide,
the portal does not use the term Genocide. He expressed hope that with
Armenian-American lobbying efforts that will soon change.
AUA Papazian Library staff and other library representatives participated
in the lively exchange. This includes representatives from Armenia’s
National Library, Gladzor University Library, National Assembly Library,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Library, Yerevan City Central Library, National
Academy of Sciences Fundamental Library, US Embassy’s Information Resource
Center, and students from the Yerevan State University’s Library
Department.
Satenik Avagian, the AUA Papazian Library Director, thanked Dr. Avdoyan for
his informative presentation. The Library is a major participant in the
region’s development of Library Sciences, providing innovative services and
utilizing technological advances in the field.
It is currently the only fully automated library in the region and has an
open access policy for most of its collection, serving students and
scholars from other institutions and the community at large. AUA also
developed the Alice Ohanasian Digital Library of Classical Armenian
Literature, which makes original works from the 5th – 18th centuries
available online.
**************************************************************************
3 – YWCA Honors
Women of Heart
GLENDALE – Glendale’s Dr. Frieda Jordan is among four women from the
Glendale area honored at this year’s YWCA Legacy Award luncheon.
Jordan is the founder of the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry in
Glendale and Armenia.
“It is a way for us to recognize women in the community who are making a
difference and creating a legacy for other women through the work they are
doing today,” said Mary Boger, chairwoman of the YWCA Awards Luncheon.
Event proceeds will benefit the YWCA’s Domestic Violence programs and
ENCOREplus, a program that provides breast- and cervical-cancer screenings
to low-income women.
**************************************************************************
4 – Armenian Bobsled Team to Participate
In Fresno Armenian Summer Games
FRESNO – The Armenian Bobsled Team, fresh off a Silver medal finish at the
America’s Cup 2-Man Bobsled Championship, will be participating in the 34th
Annual Armenian Summer Games, June 18-20 at Buchanan High School in Clovis,
Calif.
Team members Allen Babayan, Dan Janjigian, Ara Bedzjian and Yorgo
Alexandrou made their Olympic debut in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in
Salt Lake City, Utah. Allen, previously a member of the 2000 US Olympic
Trials Teams where he competed in the shot put, joined the Bobsled Team in
2002.
Their unique story of success has earned them an abundance of media
coverage, including ABC World News, CSB News, numerous other TV spots, as
well as newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle,
and other periodicals.
The Summer Games will have several new activities on Saturday, including a
continental breakfast to start off the day, and Radio Disney to entertain
the kids with music, games and prizes. There are activities and sports
events for everyone.
For more information, call Marty Bohigian at (559) 297-7887 or Van Der
Mugrdechian at (559) 298-2372.
**************************************************************************
5 – FAPC Hosts Memorial Day
Picnic, May 31 in Fresno
FRESNO – The First Armenian Presbyterian Church of Fresno will observe
Memorial Day by hosting its 108th Annual picnic at the Central Unified
Aquatics Complex in northwest Fresno, on May 31 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Complex is located at the Central High School East Campus, 3535 North
Cornelia Avenue at Dakota Avenue, one and one-half miles west of state
Highway 99.
Dedicated in the millennium, the Complex features enclosed and open-air
waterslides leading to a spacious landing pool. An adjacent zero-entry
activity pool includes an array of water novelties for swimmers and waders
of all ages. Shaded canopies, a lush terrace, and a lush snack/beverage bar
round out the venue.
The Memorial Day picnic menu features barbecues shish kebab dinners for $12
per person, and gourmet hot dog dinners for $7. Each dinner included
unlimited beverages, oven-baked peda bread, garden salad, rice pilaf, and
homemade desserts prepared and served by the Fidelis Women’s Society. Meals
are available on a dine-in or take-out basis and guests are encouraged to
dine early.
In addition to water sports and dining, the picnic will include a
backgammon tournament, softball, tennis, games for children, Armenian and
patriotic music, and a book/tape/CD sale to benefit ministries at home and
abroad.
Rev. Mgrdich Melkonian is the Senior Pastor. Rev. Samuel Albarian is the
Associate Pastor for Mission and Outreach, and Elder Larry Shapazian, Esq.,
is the General Chairperson of the 2004 Memorial Day Picnic.
**************************************************************************
6 – Ararat Nursing Facility Earns
Deficiency-Free State Surveys
MISSION HILLS, CA – In the intensively regulated profession of nursing
facilities, Ararat Home of Los Angeles has achieved the nearly impossible –
not one but two consecutive years of perfect annual inspections by the
state Department of Health Facilities.
“When the surveyors delivered the survey results this year, they indicated
their office had never before given two consecutive zero-deficiency surveys
to the same facility,” said administrator Walter Hekimian.
The accomplishment is even more noteworthy because Ararat, which has 196
beds, is nearly twice as large as the average nursing facility in
California.
“With twice the number of residents, twice the staff, twice the scope of
everything, there’s that much more opportunity for a technical violation of
the rules,” said Betsy Hite, director of public affairs for the California
Association of Health Facilities, of which Ararat is a member.
Devoting 200 hours of inspection each year on more than 900 separate
regulations, California’s oversight of long-term care facilities is the
most rigorous in the nation and the most comprehensive for any category of
health-care provider in the state.
Every facility must meet state licensure standards, and any facility
certified to participate in the Medicare or Medi-Cal programs also is
governed by stringent federal requirements.
“We’re incredibly proud of Ararat’s achievement,” Hite said. “A perfect
survey is the dream of every nursing facility, but it is so difficult as to
be just about unheard of. To do it twice is sterling proof of the highest
standards and best of care.”
Actually, Ararat’s superlative reputation is nothing new. The facility –
located at 15099 Mission Hills Road in Mission Hills – has received nine
national or state awards of excellence and last year was one of only 20
facilities to receive cash awards from the state of California for survey
excellence.
“These monetary awards were given directly to the staff, who were most
appreciative of the recognition and thankful for the award,” Hekimian said.
Founded in 1949 as a nonprofit facility, Ararat occupies a 10-acre campus
which includes a residential-care facility for the elderly, a 500-seat
banquet hall, a church and a museum dedicated to Armenians and Armenian
culture.
“Once a month the Armenian community joins us for a luncheon to raise funds
for the home,” Hekimian said. “Attendance for this event averages about 400
people. In April, Rep. Brad Sherman spoke at our luncheon.”
Individuals can become members of the organization for a nominal entrance
fee, and presently there are about 3,500 members.
“Were it not for our patrons, the home would be severely challenged to
remain viable,” Hekimian said. “The resident population is nearly
100-percent Medi-Cal recipients. Because of this fact and because of all
the rising costs associated with workers’ compensation, professional
liability insurance, utility bills and health insurance, the home and its
residents rely heavily upon the generosity of its members and supporters.”
**************************************************************************
7 – NY Life Settlement Improperly
Handled, Attorney Appeals to Judge
Los Angeles, CA – Following a proposed settlement in Marootian v. New York
Life Insurance, class action attorney Ben Nutley has filed papers in court
saying that notices of the settlement published in newspapers are
incomplete and leave out the term “Armenian Genocide.” Nutley added that
the notices are not even being handled according to the terms set by the
judge.
What is interesting, Nutley states, is that there is not one mention of the
term “Armenian Genocide” in the official website of the proposed settlement
or in any other official document related to the case. According to Nutley
and his clients, the absence of the words “Armenian Genocide” is an
outrage. The law passed by the California legislature that made this case
possible was commonly referred to as “The Armenian Genocide Insurance Bill”
and the statute had several references to the term “Armenian Genocide.”
Raphael Lemkin, a Polish Jew living in New York City, invented the very
word “genocide” to characterize the Armenian massacres.
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, New York Life Insurance has
agreed to pay $20 million which covers payment to identified heirs of more
than 2,000 policyholders, a contribution to nine Armenian organizations,
administrative expenses, and attorney fees. The terms of the settlement
require that potential claimants must be notified so they can either join
the class-action lawsuit or be excluded in the event they want to bring
their own case. They may also remain in the case and object to the terms of
the proposed settlement. Judge Christina Snyder has set a hearing for July
30, 2004, at which she will consider whether to give final approval to the
settlement.
The motion just filed in the case charges that policyholders are not being
given adequate notice of the settlement, that the notice being used does
not contain the minimum information required by law and that the lawyers
handling the case ignored Judge Snyder’s specific instructions on the
content of the notice. The motion asks the judge to require the parties to
provide a more detailed notice and to expand the geographic scope of its
publication to include all areas in which a significant number of Armenians
reside.
“This case involves Armenians all over the world, yet the settling parties
have only published notice in a few newspapers, mostly in the United
States. They have completely left out the former Soviet Republics other
than Armenia, where some 30% of Armenians worldwide are living, as well as
other geographic areas where a significant number of Armenians reside,”
said Nutley. “By and large, the settling parties are ignoring their legal
obligation to provide notice of this settlement to the members of the
class.”
“We’re asking Judge Snyder to ensure that proper notice gets out in this
case,” said Nutley, who filed the motion on behalf of several class members
interested in the case, “and I am confident she will do so.” “What is even
more amazing,” Nutley added, “is that the descendants of one policyholder
stand to receive as much as $1 million. However, the official website of
the proposed settlement hides this fact by not listing the amount of any
insured’s unpaid insurance policy.”
In class actions, notice to potential claimants is important because people
with legitimate claims can lose their rights and are not paid from a
settlement if they do not file to join the claim. This is true even if
potential claimants never receive notice or obtain any knowledge about the
case.
Nutley also asserted that the notices published in newspapers are
confusing, and in incredibly small, tiny print that is almost illegible.
Although the case is based on life insurance claims for people who died
during the Armenian Genocide, the notice does not contain the term
“Armenian Genocide.” Instead, it refers to policies “in force as of January
1, 1915.” According to the motion papers, that description doesn’t make it
obvious to people reading the newspaper that this is a case that involves
insurance claims from the Armenian Genocide. As a result, people are likely
to skip over it without realizing it applies to them. In fact, many of
Nutley’s clients have indicated to him that they received the newspapers in
which publications of notice were printed, and never even identified the
published notice (some were in small 1/8 page advertisements).
“Even if you happen to see it, and you can make out the small print, and
you understand that it might apply to you, the notice leaves out all kinds
of information that claimants must know to make a decision about the
settlement and otherwise protect their rights, ” said Nutley. People
without internet access will not be able to get information about the case
because only an internet website address is given in the notice for class
members to find out more information. Nutley said Judge Snyder ordered that
a telephone number and address be included in the notice so that class
members could get more information, but the parties did not follow her
instructions. For those potential class members who do manage to visit the
official proposed settlement website, Nutley adds that they will not even
be able to review a list of policyholders unless they correctly understand
that a small space at the bottom of the home page entitled “Subject
Policies” contains the official list of policyholders.
Nutley suggests that interested parties go to a website operated by
concerned members of the Armenian-American community –
, which contains much more information about the case
and is easier to use.
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