Author: Frangulian Shushan

Controversial mobile carrier in Upper Garabagh owned by Armenian

AzerNews
3 June 2004

The recent rumors concerning the operation of a US mobile
communications company in the self-proclaimed Upper Garabagh Republic
have triggered a serious public outcry in Azerbaijan. Minister of
Communications and Information Technologies Ali Abbasov, touching upon
the issue, said ‘Telecom-2’ mobile communications company operating
in Upper Garabagh is owned not by the US but by an Arab country and
is managed by an Armenian.

Abbasov went on to say that in an effort to stop the company’s
unlawful activity, the Ministry has addressed the International
Telecommunications Union and GSM Association.

An appeal was also forwarded to all mobile communication operators
cooperating with Azerbaijan not to conclude any roaming agreements with
‘Telecom-2’.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
June 1 2004

SUCCESSFULLY REALIZED LARGE-SCALE PROJECTS ARE COMMON US-AZERBAIJAN
ACHIEVEMENTS
PRESIDENT OF THE AZERBAIJAN REPUBLIC ILHAM ALIYEV RECEIVES US
PRESIDENT’S SPECIAL ADVISOR ON CASPIAN ENERGY DIPLOMACY
[June 01, 2004, 21:58:27]

President of the Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev received the US
President’s special advisor on Caspian energy diplomacy, ambassador
Steven Mann, on 1 June.

Noting that the Conference-Exhibition starting today in Baku has been
conducted for 11 years, President Ilham Aliyev assessed the event as
a notable success. Today, the participants of the Exhibition total
340. Traditional events usually attract less interest. But interest in
the Exhibition-Conference, on the contrary, rises year by year. Of
course, this is connected with the significant and large-scale
projects. Azerbaijan is attractive for the foreign companies,
investors, and service firms.

President Ilham Aliyev further said: “First of all, I would like to
ask you to convey my gratitude to the US President for kind letter.
You presented it this morning. It is important and is a strong impetus
for our relations. I am rather pleased with it. I am convinced that
our cooperation in energy and other fields will successfully continue
in the coming years”.

Expressing his gratitude to Azerbaijan president for warm words, Mr.
Steven Mann appraised the today’s Exhibition-Conference as a landmark
event. In this oil-gas fair you have displayed your accomplishments
gained during the passed 11 years. I present the letter of President
Bush to You with a feeling of pride. In this letter, he expresses his
congratulations and personal greetings to You. My country is pleased
with cooperation in energy field and we have reached great success
in this direction. Next year, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline
will be put into operation. Today’s arrangement clearly demonstrated
that Azerbaijan is a very attractive country for the energy companies
and other investors. Today, Your Country’s cooperation with the US
ambassador Reno Harnish and other investors is high level”.

The achievements gained in the oil and gas field are common
success of Azerbaijan and the United States, President Ilham Aliyev
emphasized. “Successful realization of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan MEP
became possible due to strong support by the United States, and You,
Mr. Ambassador, have made your own contributions to these successes.
I am eyewitness of your efforts in this direction and would like once
again to stress that these are our common successes. I am confident
that these successes will continue in the coming years as well.

In the course of meeting, stating that Ambassador Steven Mann has
another important mission – he is the co-chair of the OSCE Minsk
Group for settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorny Karabakh
conflict, President Ilham Aliyev had comprehensive exchange of views
on resolution to the problem.

Ambassador of the United States to Azerbaijan Reno Harnish attended
the reception.

ANSA Notiziario Generale in Italiano
May 26, 2004

DIAMANDA GALAS A FERRARA PER ATERFORUM SU ‘FOLK SONGS’ ;
(NOTIZIARIO TURISMO EMILIA-ROMAGNA)

FERRARA

(ANSA) – FERRARA, 26 MAG – La prima europea di ‘Defixiones, Will and
Testament’ della cantante e pianista Diamanda Galas, chiudera’ il
13 giugno al Teatro Comunale di Ferrara ‘Aterforum’, la diciottesima
edizione del festival che a partire dal 4 giugno proporra’ sei concerti
all’insegna di ‘Folk songs’.

Straordinaria vocalist di origine greca, Diamanda Galas e una
performer di grandissima profondita’ espressiva. ‘Defixiones, Will
and Testament’ e’ una meditazione, intensissima, sul genocidio dei
popoli armeno e greco anatolico avvenuto ad opera dei turchi nei
primi decenni del Novecento.

La serata inaugurale (a Casa Romei) vedra’ l”Omaggio a Berio’ della
cantante Cristina Zavalloni, accompagnata da Andrea Rebaudengo al
pianoforte. Tutti in esclusiva italiana gli altri cinque concerti,
dislocati tra Palazzo Ludovico il Moro e Casa Romei (ore 21,15).

Il chitarrista e pianista brasiliano Egberto Gismonti (5 giugno)
proporra’ la sua ricerca musicale che mescola i suoni antichi degli
indios d’Amazzonia e la moderna improvvisazione. Seguira’ il 6 il
doppio concerto dedicato al folk inglese: prima il chitarrista John
Renbourn in duo con Clive Carroll, poi il trio con la cantante Norma
Waterson, il chitarrista Martin Carthy e il fisarmonicista Chris
Parkinson (Palazzo Ludovico il Moro). L’11 giugno il compositore Aldo
Brizzi sara’ affiancato dal gruppo brasiliano Aco do Acucar. Seguira’
il 12 un omaggio all’Armenia con il trio di duduk di Gevorg Dabaghyan e
il duo formato dalla violoncellista tedesca Anja Lechner e dal pianista
greco Vassilis Tsabropoulos. Il concerto sara’ preceduto la mattina
(ore 12, Biblioteca Ariostea) da un incontro con Tigran Mansurian,
considerato il massimo compositore armeno vivente.

Info: 0532/202675
(ANSA).

CANNES: ITALY FILM PRESENTS ELEGY OF MANKIND

ANSA English Media Service
May 22, 2004

(ANSA) – CANNES, May 22 – Italian film Oh, Uomo (Oh, Mankind), is
the last to arrive at the Cannes film festival but is expected to
make a vivid impression on film aficionados.

Oh, Uomo’s first copy left the film laboratory just three days ago. The
film was covered with great mystery and was completed in a time frame
recalling the medieval craftsmanship.

Oh, Uomo is directed by two of Italian cinema’s most peculiar and
isolated directors, Yervant Gianikian, who is of Armenian origin,
and Angela Ricci Lucchi. In their Milan house-laboratory the two
have been gathering, manipulating and transforming archive films,
old newsreels and amateur filmings for many years creating each time
an impact of emotions and stories similar to experimental cinema but
characterised with the warmth and originality of authentic poetry.

This time the two directors have used as a basis some rare films
from World War I collected by the museum of Trento, northern
Italy. The museum of Trento along with local Trento authorities, the
municipality of Rovereto and the province of Trento are among the Oh,
Uomo producers.

Oh, Uomo leaves apart the famous historical events in order to focus
on the everyday drama of the many infantrymen who found their death in
the mountains in northern Italy as well as on the memories of ordinary
people, whose names have been long forgotten. The film’s directors
have been driven exactly by this sense of the brevity of memory and
the vivid topicality of the signs of war, which unfortunately remains
the same atrocious massacre as it has always been.

Oh, Uomo has won the favour of Olivier Pere, artistic director of the
Cannes film festival Directors’ Fortnight section, but it is not clear
how it will be distributed in Italy. Italy’s public service TV RAI
has never shown interest in the previous works of Gianikian and Ricci
Lucchi. Thanks to the participation of Oh, Uomo in the Cannes festival,
however, numerous countries have shown interest in the film. (ANSA).

Words of grief, praise offered for Minnesotan killed in Armenia
By AVET DEMOURIAN

Associated Press
May 23 2004

YEREVAN, Armenia – Friends, colleagues and students shed tears and
shared words of praise at a memorial service Sunday for Joshua Haglund,
a Minnesotan who was teaching English in Armenia and was stabbed to
death in the capital Yerevan earlier this month.

About 100 people attended the ceremony in an auditorium at the
American University of Armenia. A portrait photograph of Haglund,
a 33-year-old from Shoreview, Minn., stood flanked by two burning
candles on a stand draped with black cloth, and mourners made entries
in a condolence book.

“I was fascinated with his sensibility and sense of humor. We shared
everything, good and bad,” Amelia Weir, a friend who met Haglund
on her first day in Armenia, told those assembled. “Something that
struck me – he was fully present in this life. He wanted us to be
dedicated to what we do.”

“Joshua was filled with emotion by nature, and his honesty and
decency amazed us,” said Zarui Shushanian, one of Haglund’s students
at Yerevan’s Linguistics University, where he taught under the aegis
of the U.S. State Department’s English Language Fellow program.

The U.S. deputy chief of mission in Armenia, Vivian Walker, recited
Psalm 23 from the Bible – “The Lord is my shepherd” – and an Armenian
priest, Father Ktrich Derezhian, said that Haglund had “wished people
well with all his heart, but his heart was broken.”

Haglund’s body was found in downtown Yerevan on the night of May 17,
with signs of beating and three stab wounds in his chest, Armenian
police said. An official with the Armenian Prosecutor General’s office
said on condition of anonymity that the killing had “personal motives”
and voiced hope that perpetrators could be quickly found.

Haglund had been planning to leave Armenia shortly for a trip through
Iran before returning to Minnesota for the summer. Before coming to
Armenia, a Caucasus Mountain nation that gained independence in the
1991 Soviet breakup, he had lived for extended periods in Japan,
India and Puerto Rico.

PrimeZone Media Network
May 20, 2004 Thursday

>>From the Book of One Thousand Tales – Author’s Short Stories
Chronicle Persecution of Armenian People

MARIPOSA, Calif., May 20, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) — In the early 20th
century, Diana Agabeg Apcar wrote a collection of stories that
revealed atrocities committed against Armenians. From the Book of One
Thousand Tales: Stories of Armenia and Its People 1892 – 1922 (now
available through AuthorHouse) reveals these incredible stories of a
persecuted people and their courage and determination.

Although fictional, the tales are based on real events that happened
during a dark time in world history. The horrors that took place in
the late 19th and early 20th centuries were largely ignored by the
world, permitting the Young Turk government of the Ottoman Empire to
cleanse Asia Minor of millions of Armenians. There is speculation
that this global indifference made way for Hitler’s Holocaust and
Hideki Tojo imposing force on many races in the Pacific.

Apcar never set foot in her beloved homeland of Armenia, but One
Thousand Tales reads as if she trod every inch and scrutinized every
face. The stories came from the mouths of survivors, who spoke with
Apcar after their arduous journey to Japan by way of the
TransSiberian Railway and other primitive modes of transportation.
With eloquence and vivid detail, she captured their joys, pain, and
unwavering faith. The stories describe locations that still exist
today, and a map of Asia Minor at the beginning of the book further
helps readers to place these historic and tragic events.

Born in Rangoon, then British East India, now Yangon, Myanmar, Apcar
lived her later years in Yokohama, Japan where she died in 1937. A
keen businesswoman, she assisted her husband in a prosperous trade in
Japan. She wrote 13 books, numerous pamphlets and papers that were
widely read in her lifetime. She corresponded with many noted
personalities in the academic, political and business world. Apcar
served as Consul to the Republic of Armenia, making her the first
woman to serve in a diplomatic capacity. This position enabled her to
provide assistance to hundreds of refugees fleeing Turkish and
Russian oppression, providing the stories for One Thousand Tales. The
manuscript for this book was discovered among family papers by her
granddaughter, Lucille Apcar, who realized the importance of sharing
these stories with the world.

AuthorHouse is the world leader in publishing and print-on-demand
services. Founded in 1997, AuthorHouse has helped more than 18,500
people worldwide become published authors. For more information,
visit

CONTACT:
EDITORS: For review copies or interview requests, contact:
Promotional Services Department
Tel: 800-839-8640 ext. 244
Fax: 812-961-3133
Email: [email protected]
(Please provide a street address for review copies.)

PRESS RELEASE

Jennifer Karch Cannata
Press Secretary
Office of U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr.
420 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-4671 office
(202) 225-9665 fax

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 21, 2004

PALLONE SAYS ALIYEV’S WILLINGNESS TO RESORT TO FORCE IS REASON ENOUGH
TO MAINTAIN AID PARITY

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), cochairman
of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, today expressed
concern regarding Azeri President Ilham Aliyev’s recent statements
that Azerbaijan is willing to use military force to resolve the
Nagorno Karabagh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“Such statements are unsettling and send a message to Armenia, as well
as to all those involved in working toward a peaceful resolution, that
Azerbaijan is prepared to undertake a military approach to addressing
the conflict should recommendations by the Minsk Group not align with
Azerbaijan’s position,” the New Jersey congressman said earlier this
week during a speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

During an interview with the BBC last week, President Aliyev said
that while he would continue to try to resolve the Nagorno Karabagh
conflict by peaceful means, the Azeri army is able at any moment
to free, what President Aliyev called, “our territory.” President
Aliyev also stated, “We have every right to do that, to restore our
territorial integrity.”

“President Aliyev’s actions and statements do not signal a willingness
to negotiate and in fact, I think they illustrate the opposite,”
Pallone said. “If there is any chance that the parties can move
in the direction of a peaceful resolve, President Aliyev must show
that he is willing to consider options developed by the Minsk Group
without threatening military actions.”

During the speech, Pallone also called on President Bush and Congress
to not support a military resolution to the Nagorno Karabagh conflict
and to restore military aid parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“I strongly believe we must do everything in our power here in Congress
to signal that we will not support the use of military power to address
this conflict,” Pallone continued in his speech on the House floor.
“Amid rising tension and animosity in the region, with two new leaders
in both Armenia and Azerbaijan, it is more important today than ever
for the United States to be sure that no signal is sent suggesting
that one side is being provided a military advantage over the other.”

Pallone cited President Aliyev’s statement during the BBC interview
that the Azeri government’s military spending has increased over the
last couple of years and “will keep increasing in the future.”

“At this time, the U.S. should not be providing resources to
Azerbaijan that can, in any measure, be turned into military
efforts against Armenia to reclaim Nagorno Karabagh,” Pallone said.
“President Aliyev’s comment regarding current and future increases in
Azerbaijan’s military funding does not put me at ease that funding
from the U.S., either directly or indirectly, will not be used to
unleash a military campaign against the people of Nagorno Karabagh,”

Earlier this year, President Bush’s budget proposal included
unequal military aid to Armenia and Azerbaijan. This request
dismissed a unilateral policy agreement between the Congress and
the Administration that there be military parity between Armenia and
Azerbaijan. However, language included in the waiver states that any
assistance to Azerbaijan should not be used to “undermine or hamper”
the Karabagh peace process or “be used for offensive purposes against
Armenia or the Armenian communities in the South Caucuses.”

-30-

Khamushi Called For Signing Free Trade Agreements

Tehran Times
May 20 2004

TEHRAN (MNA) — Chairman of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, Ali Naqi
Khamushi attended the monthly session of the chamber on Wednesday in
which the organization’s budget was ratified, news reports said here
on Wednesday. Discussing the issue of free trade with neighboring and
Muslim countries, Khamushi said, “Bosnia is the entry gate to Europe,
Saudi Arabia has petrochemical products and, the republics of Armenia
and Azerbaijan are open markets for all types of goods. By signing
free trade agreements with these countries, the export of Iranian
merchandise would become more convenient.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Khamushi called for the Ministry of Commerce
to seriously follow up and facilitate the inking of free trade
agreements with these countries or delegate authority to the Iranian
Chamber of Commerce to sign free trade agreements on their behalf.

Government representatives, economic bodies, and chambers of commerce
from townships all over the country participate in the monthly session
of the Iranian Chamber of commerce.

Azeri leader says Karabakh problem threat to major economic projects

Trend news agency
19 May 04

Baku, 19 May, Trend correspondent E. Huseynov: Armenia’s position
regarding the occupation of the Nagornyy Karabakh region of Azerbaijan
and seven districts around it is nothing other than support for
aggressive separatism, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told a
press conference at Brussels’ Conrad Hotel on 19 May.

The persistence of the situation, when 20 per cent of Azerbaijani
territories are under occupation, is seriously threatening the whole
of the region, Aliyev said. He regretted that the peace talks within
the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group had yielded no results and
hoped that a just settlement would be found which would be based on
international legal norms and would ensure Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity. The president urged the international community to boost
their effort to find a peaceful settlement to the problem.

Aliyev highlighted that a big question mark was hanging over
all major economic projects in the South Caucasus, including the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas
pipeline, until stability was ensured. He positively evaluated
the European Union’s fresh initiative New Neighbourhood Policy and
noted that the programme was opening new cooperation opportunities.
Speaking about freedom of the media in Azerbaijan, the president
said that there was no censorship and no problem in this sphere in
the country.

[Passage omitted: Aliyev’s next meeting]

Armenian National Committee of America
Eastern Region
80 Bigelow Avenue
Watertown, MA 02472
Tel: 617-923-1918
Fax: 617-926-5525
[email protected]

PRESS RELEASE
May 17, 2004
For Immediate Release

Contact: Arin Gregorian
617-923-1918; [email protected]

GRANIAN BENEFIT CONCERT A SUCCESS

— New York City Show Held in Support of Armenian Genocide Recognition
Efforts

WATERTOWN, MA–On Friday, April 16, Granian performed a concert in New
York City at CB’s 313 Gallery to support continued efforts to raise
awareness and gain recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Proceeds of
the show were donated to the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA) Eastern Region.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of the ANCA Eastern
Region, I would like to thank Granian–and all of its fans–for this
special benefit concert,” remarked ANCA Eastern Region Chairman Dikran
Kaligian. “As we continue to work towards gaining international
recognition for the Armenian Genocide, we will utilize all avenues
to raise public awareness of this great crime against humanity,”
continued Kaligian.

During the concert, Armenian National Committee activists had an
opportunity to distribute background information on the Armenian
Genocide. Individuals also had an opportunity to participate in the
ANCA nationwide postcard campaign. The postcards urge legislators to
“help end the cycle of genocide” by taking swift action in support
of the Congressional Genocide Resolutions, H.Res.193 and S.Res.164.
Specifically, they call on House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) to schedule a vote on the
measures in their respective chambers.

“I’ve wanted to put together a concert to promote the recognition
of the Armenian Genocide for a long time,” stated Garen Gueyikian of
Granian. “The benefit was to highlight the importance of recognizing
past crimes against humanity in an effort to avoid future atrocities.
It was also held to support the Armenian National Committee of
America, an organization whose tireless work cannot be overstated,”
continued Gueyikian.

“I urge all Granian fans to contact the Armenian National Committee
of America or visit to see what each one of us can do
to help bring an end to genocide,” concluded Gueyikian.

The Armenian National Committee of America is the largest
and most influential Armenian American grassroots political
organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices,
chapters, and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated
organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns
of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.

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