Author: Hovhannisian John

The Messenger, Georgia
Feb 16 2005

President to students: build the private sector

Presenting cabinet at university, Saakashvili praises new Georgian
version of Windows, defends criticism of opponents

By Nino Kopaleishvili

The political ball is in the students’ playing field, stated President
Mikheil Saakashvili as he presented the new cabinet of ministers at
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University on Tuesday.

The government members, who are set to be approved by Parliament on
February 17, met with the university students to answer any questions.

The students were emboldened with the president’s words that in
case the ministers failed to gain the young people’s trust, he would
seriously reconsider the candidates.

“I want you to ask all the questions you have,” he told the university
audience on February 15, “Now all the power goes to you, to the
Georgian students and youth. Here is the ball, and here is the
playing field.”

In his speech Saakashvili called on the students to create an active
society and to become engaged in the private sector to support a
thriving economy in the country.

“Now is the time that those who are shrewd and smart to step forward,”
said the president, stressing that the new government and a new tax
code supports enterprises.

“All students should think about entering the private sector.
Certainly the best should come to the state offices but the best
should go to the private sector as well. This is very important
because private sector creates the economy,” he said.

Talking at the university the president also referred to the reforms
that are under way in the education sector. According to him the
government is ready to invest money to improve the level of education
in the country.

“The reform of education is mainly putting investments in the education
sphere. We will work on this as a fundament because without money
there is no high-quality education,” he said.

“In four years all Georgian schools should be computerized and
given access to the internet,” the president said, highlighting the
announcement on Tuesday that Microsoft is working with the Tbilisi
IT-company United Global Technology (UGT) to create an official
Georgian language version of the operating system.

“Today Microsoft made a presentation of the first Georgian language
[Microsoft software] and we should do everything toward this
direction,” said Saakashvili. As he stated, the project would cost
the government USD 40 million “We will allot this money by all means,”
he promised.

On Tuesday Saakashvili once more stressed his will to create an active
multi-ethnic society in Georgia that is ready to work hard for a better
future and does not demand too much care from the government. As he
explained, Georgian society remains occupied with an obsolete mentality
and considers that it is the government who should initiate activities.

“We [the people] should lay the groundwork to an active society,”
he said. “The population can take the reins of their fate into their
own hands.”

In his didactic speech at the university Saakashvili also talked about
the ethnic tolerance, and the multi-ethnic society that is struggling
for a better future in Georgia.

“We have Azeris who are proud of Georgia. We have Armenians who are
proud of Georgia, and I am sure we will have many more Abkhaz who
will be proud of the fact that they are in Georgia and they are a
part of the country,” said the president.

Saakashvili also commented on his harsh statement that last week in
Parliament that New Rights Opposition leader MP David Gamkrelidze was
“jerking around.” The president’s statement was severely criticized
in media, and Saakashvili defended himself saying that there is a
place for harsh expressions in a democratic state.

“I am sorry but democracy is not when only one person can speak and a
poor government tolerates it and never responds. We already had such
a government,” stated the president.

“Democracy is something where everyone can express his opinion, among
them the most radical opinions, but finally people will decide who
is right and who is not,” he added.

As for the question and answer portion, Georgian media covered little
of the interaction except for State Minister Kakha Bendukidze telling
one student that he expected a “more intelligent” question.

Glendale News-Press
Published February14, 2005

Ambassador to visit Glendale

John Evans, United States ambassador to Armenia, will stay two days, visit
with city officials.

By Josh Kleinbaum, News-Press and Leader

GLENDALE — When police officers in Yerevan, Armenia, wanted to learn better
fingerprinting techniques, they turned to their counterparts in Glendale. So
a team of Glendale police officers flew to Armenia with high-tech
fingerprinting equipment and trained the Armenians.

As the relationship between the Yerevan and Glendale police departments grew
tighter, the cities have relied on help from the U.S. Embassy to Armenia to
facilitate travel and the flow of information.

When U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans spends two days in Glendale this
week, city officials will show their appreciation.

“The United States Embassy has been very, very helpful in making sure we can
get some of these things done,” Mayor Bob Yousefian said. “We’re going to
welcome him, talk to him, see what other challenges face him, and see what
we can do here to help relations between law enforcement here and law
enforcement in Armenia.”

Evans, who replaced John Ordway as ambassador in June 2004, is making his
first trip to Glendale on Tuesday. Because nearly 30% of Glendale’s
population is of Armenian descent, Armenian officials often visit the city.
Ordway came to Glendale several times, most recently in June 2003.

Evans will meet with Yousefian and other City Council members at City Hall
before Tuesday’s council meeting, and he will receive a mayor’s commendation
during the 6 p.m. meeting.

He will also meet with officials from the Armenian churches and the Glendale
Unified School District as well as members of community organizations.
Although the city’s interaction with Evans will focus on law enforcement,
other organizations have other priorities.

“We’re going to have a luncheon with him, exchange some ideas and see what
kinds of linkage we can develop,” Glendale Unified Supt. Michael Escalante
said.

“Maybe it’s as simple as exchanging letters or e-mails or sending support.
But having a contact with him as a conduit to do some of these things will
be a pretty neat thing.”

Evans will be accompanied by officials from the U.S. Agency for
International Development, the organization that dispenses money that
Congress gives to Armenia, said Armen Carapetian, acting executive director
of the Armenian National Committee Western Region.

Carapetian is trying to arrange a breakfast meeting with Evans and his
entourage.

“It’s important for us who work on communicating concerns and initiating
such [federal funding] that we listen to what they’re facing on the ground,”
Carapetian said.

* JOSH KLEINBAUM covers City Hall. He may be reached at (818) 637-3235 or by
e-mail at josh.kleinbaum @latimes.com.

NATO finalizing Azerbaijan partnership plan

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Feb 10 2005

NATO Secretary General’s special envoy on South Caucasus and Central
Asia, Robert Simons, says he is pleased with the status of
NATO-Azerbaijan relations.

“I am very satisfied with the current level of ties between the
alliance and Azerbaijan”, he told a news briefing at the Foreign
Ministry on the results of his visit to Baku.
Simons said that NATO and Azerbaijan are co-operating extensively in
numerous fields. He added that work on the Individual Partnership
Plan has been completed, and its implementation will begin following
its approval by NATO.

Simons continued that he had met with Azeri officials dealing with
the document and discussed with them all matters relating to its
efficient realization. A NATO working group is due to visit Baku in
mid-February to clarify certain details of the mentioned Plan.
Simons added that while in Azerbaijan, he also met with his
colleagues to discuss the Upper Garabagh conflict. He said that he
had collected enough data on the matter and would submit a relevant
report to the NATO Secretary General.

NATO admission
Azerbaijan is not currently seeking membership to NATO, Deputy
Foreign Minister Araz Azimov said.
“Azerbaijan has not raised the issue of NATO membership yet. Baku
believes that bi-lateral co-operation is essential at this point.”
Azimov said Azerbaijan intends to continue its collaboration with the
alliance on the level of political dialogue.
Simons said that Azerbaijan’s admission to NATO depends on the
country itself. He noted, however, that Baku is currently not seeking
to become a NATO member state but is exploring opportunities for
deepening its partnership with the alliance.

Washington Post
Feb 12 2005

Editor’s Query
Tell us about a disastrous or funny experience you had involving
food.

Sunday, February 13, 2005; Page W08

In late summer 2001, the State Department sent my husband to Armenia.
During our tour, some friends threw a party in our honor. Like
many Armenians, they were quite poor, but they were determined to
demonstrate their hospitality by creating a feast to remember.

Iza cooked for days. On the appointed evening, she led me out to the
patio to show me two giant tables crowded with food. There were plates
of hummus and tabbouleh, fresh figs and persimmons, roasted peppers
and tomatoes. There were pitchers brimming with apricot juice and
rose hip juice. The homemade baklava was dripping with fresh honey —
even Iza’s phyllo dough was made from scratch!

It took me a moment to locate the main course, but then I had to stifle
a gasp. Smack in the middle of the table, the giant head of a cow
glared at me, its tongue poking out. It’s your fault, the cow seemed
to be saying, that they are throwing this party and roasted my head.

But Iza’s husband, Vova, was so proud of this Armenian delicacy,
for which he’d driven three hours just that morning. He regaled us
over dinner with tales of the journey — the car bouncing over rutted
roads, the head wrapped carefully and sitting on the passenger seat
beside him.

Beaming with pride, he urged us all to taste it.

“The cheeks,” he declared, “are especially delicious.”

Frankfurter Allgemeine, Germany
Feb 11 2005

Reference to genocide to be added
State retracts decision to eliminate notation

11. Februar 2005 F.A.Z. Weekly. The eastern state of Brandenburg has
withdrawn its decision to remove a passage in a history lesson that
refers to the killings of more than 1 million Armenians by the Turks
in the early 20th century.

The state’s premier, Matthias Platzeck, made the announcement on
Tuesday after he met with Armenian representatives in the state
capital of Potsdam. Beginning next school year, the history lesson
for the ninth and 10th grade will once again include a reference to
the killings, but it will also contain other examples of genocide.
Previously, the killings of the Armenians were listed as the only
example.

In explaining the latest decision, Platzeck said it would be wrong to
list just one example of genocide. The view was shared by the state’s
education minister, Holger Rupprecht. In a newspaper last week,
Rupprecht defended the decision. “The reference was removed because I
and the premier consider it to be a mistake to list Armenia as the
sole example of such a controversial subject.”

The issue is an extremely sensitive one between Armenians and Turks.
Armenians say 1.5 million people were killed between 1915 and 1923 as
part of the Ottoman Empire’s campaign to push them from eastern
Turkey. Turkey maintains the Armenians were killed as the empire
fought civil unrest.

As a result, the Social Democrat Platzeck faced pressure from both
the Armenian and the Turkish representatives. The first change was
announced in late January two weeks after Turkish General Counsel
Aydin Durusay raised the issue.

The decision set off a wave of criticism from parties in the state,
including at least one member of the Social Democrats, who demanded
that Platzeck reverse the decision. Sven Petke, the general secretary
of the Christian Democrats in Brandenburg, said the removal of the
passage had hurt the state’s reputation. “It was not the reference to
the genocide on the Armenians that communicated a wrong image. It was
the unjustified removal,” Petke said.

Armenians joined the criticism as well. This protest resulted in
Tuesday’s meeting, which was attended by the Armenian Ambassador
Karine Kazinian. Kazinian expressed her satisfaction with the change.
“The key issue is that that genocide and everything associated with
the things that happened then will be discussed clearly,” she said.

Platzeck denied previous reports that he had bowed to Turkish
pressure and noted that discussions with the Education Ministry had
been conducted months ago.
Brandenburg is the first of Germany’s 16 states to use a textbook
that discusses the subject of genocide in the 20th century.

IPR Strategic Business Information Database
February 10, 2005

KING, ARMENIAN DELEGATION REVIEW TIES

According to “Bahrain Tribune”, the King, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa,
received the visiting Armenian parliamentary delegation, led by
the Speaker, Artur Baghdassarian. Baghdassarian presented the
King with a letter from the Armenian President, Robert Kocharian,
on relations and cooperation between the two countries. The King
hailed the advanced relations at all levels, affirming the importance
of the exchange of visits and parliamentary experience. King Hamad
highlighted the status achieved by Bahrain as a democratic country.
The King expressed satisfaction with the signing of the agreement
of cooperation between the parliaments of Bahrain and Armenia which,
he said, would reinforce joint work. Baghdassarian lauded Bahrain’ds
achievements and democratic steps in its political experience,
wishing the Kingdom constant success under its leadership.

UK GOVERNMENT DE FACTO ACKNOWLEDGES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7. ARMINFO. For the first time the UK government
has de facto acknowledged the Armenian Genocide.

According to the official site of the UK Government, political
leaders in Wales and religious representatives will mark Holocaust
Memorial Day in an event also reflecting on the 90th anniversary of
the Armenian genocide

This is for the first time ever, an UK government web-site has referred
to the “Armenian Genocide” and “Armenian Holocaust”

Meanwhile UK Ambassador to Armenia Thorda Abbot-Watt told ARMINFO
that she knows that in Armenia there are many archive records of
the events of 1915-1917. She said that the UK has not changed its
position on the issue. She preferred not to touch on this delicate
and painful subject for the Armenian nation.

Anadolu Agency
Feb 8 2005

Strong Future Of Turkish – U.S. Relations Confirmed By Gul & Rice

Anadolu Agency: 2/7/2005
ANKARA – Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and U.S. Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice confirmed strong past and future of
Turkish-U.S. relations, sources said on Sunday.

Sources said that Gul and Rice stated that Turkish-U.S. relations
were not based on solely one matter, and stressed that matters on
which two countries had differences of opinion could not have a
central role in relations.

Underlining strategic partnership between two countries, Gul and Rice
also debated Iraq and Cyprus in their meeting.

In the meeting, Gul underlined importance of a continuous dialogue
between Turkey and the United States, and said that problems between
two countries could be solved by a common vision.

On the other hand, Rice also stressed importance of bilateral
relations, and expressed belief that these relations should be
further improved.

Also confirming that problems could be solved by mutual talks, Rice
said that what was important was the strategic goals of the two
countries.

-IRAQ-CYPRUS-

Ankara expressed its concerns over Iraq and Kirkuk during talks with
Rice, and stressed that Kirkuk’s special status should be preserved.

Expressing Turkey’s views that peace should be assured in Iraq and
Iraq’s territorial integrity should be preserved, Gul said that
Turkish lorry drivers continued to support the international forces
in the region, sacrificing their lives.

Diplomatic sources said that Washington once more understood Turkey’s
views. Touching on Cyprus problem, Gul reiterated that Turkey wanted
a lasting solution in the island, and said that Turkey and the United
States should have close consultations.

Gul said that Turkey expected the United States to take steps to lift
embargoes on Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), and stated
that thus, the Greek Cypriot administration would have to take steps.

On the other hand, Rice said that they were working on what they
could do to contribute to solution of Cyprus problem, and stated that
they did not want to see the Turkish Cypriot side as the suffering
party although it voted ”yes” to the Annan plan in (last April’s
simultaneous) referenda in the island.

Meanwhile, two countries stated that they would do their best to
eliminate misunderstandings between them.

Gul recalled Turkey’s sensitivities about Kirkuk and the terrorist
organization PKK, and said that if the United States did not take any
steps to eradicate the terrorist organization PKK in the north of
Iraq, Turkish people, who had suffered much from terrorism, could
think that the United States was not keeping its promises. Sources
said that Rice’s visit might contribute to elimination of
misunderstandings in Turkey and the United States.

Touching on developments in the Middle East, Gul briefed Rice on his
visit to this region, and expressed Turkey’s wish to make active
contribution to the peace process.

Rice said that Turkey’s contribution was necessary, and underlined
Turkey’s role in the Broader Middle East Initiative. She added that
Turkey was a good model for the Islam world with its democracy.

Gul and Rice also discussed Armenian-Azerbaijani controversy,
Afghanistan, Iran and Incirlik base in southern city of Adana during
their meeting.

Stuff.co.nz, New Zealand
Feb 6 2005

Cher bliss in NZ

It may be her farewell tour, but Cher is going out with a bang, not a
whimper, writes Michelle Hurley.

She’s the queen of camp glamour who longs for a spell on a ranch. An
unabashed narcissist who has melded five decades of stardom with a
lifelong commitment to left-wing politics. A woman who has reinvented
herself more often – and more successfully – than Madonna. She’s Cher
– inimitable, trashy and more durable than a Toyota Hilux – and she’s
coming here.

It will be Cher’s first – and final – performance in New Zealand and
her concerts in Auckland and Christchurch this month promise to be
wildly over-the-top, with myriad costume changes and special effects,
a sequined cross between Liberace and Cirque du Soleil. And, aside
from a tricky moment where Cher scales down a chandelier in the
middle of belting out her dance anthem “Believe”, she promises no
lip-synching. “It’s absolutely 100% the full show,” she says from her
ocean-view Mediterranean renaissance mansion in Malibu.

The two New Zealand shows are at the tail end of what is billed “The
Farewell Tour”. Cher then heads to Australia before returning to the
US for the tour’s final – and 325th – performance at the Hollywood
Bowl in Los Angeles on April 30. So after three years, more than 3000
costume changes and playing in front of more than 3 million devotees,
it’s finally about to end.

“I’ve had a great time doing it, babe,” she says in her soporific
slow drawl. “I couldn’t have done it if I hadn’t enjoyed it.” It’s
helped by the tour having “a real family atmosphere, nobody complains
and everybody gets along”, with much of the crew having worked for
her for years.

It’s been five decades in the spotlight for the daughter of a
French-Cherokee mother and Armenian father, born Cherilyn Sarkasian
La Pierre in 1946. She first came to our attention in the 1960s and
’70s via her hit songs and The Sonny and Cher Show, the TV show in
which she starred with then-husband Sonny Bono before spending much
of the ’80s being famous largely for her Bob Mackie-designed Oscar
gowns in which she most closely resembled a black and white peacock
(this was in the decade before the stars hired stylists, although
Cher still delights in giving the Academy a non-verbal f-k you in her
choice of attire). About this time she also earned her stripes as a
serious actress, appearing in Silkwood, The Witches of Eastwick, Mask
and the one for which she got the Oscar nod: Moonstruck.

And of course, there was her return to the top of the pop charts with
the nuclear-powered dance track “If I Could Turn Back Time”, helped
along by the video to accompany the song, where she flaunted her
rock-hard bod to thousands of ecstatic sailors on a US Navy
battleship.

It’s this indifference to being cool or tasteful, along with a
propensity to speak her mind, that has won her so many fans, but when
asked how much of her success is down to doing whatever the hell she
wants, she gives a perversely modest answer.

“You know, I think it’s mostly to do with luck. It’s some sort of
timing. I know people a lot more talented than I am that just never
really made it,” she says before laughing. “And I know people a lot
less talented that have made it to everyone’s genuine surprise.”

Luck, timing – and a formidable work ethic. By the time she wraps up
this tour, Cher will have spent close to three years on the road; an
insane amount of time to spend touring but one she justifies by it
being her last world tour. “I think you get to the point of
diminishing returns and this show is really good, so I wouldn’t want
to come back and not be as good as the last time. It’s hard, but you
make a commitment to it and just do it.”

At least the touring takes her mind off the fact that George W Bush
is still in the Oval Office, despite Cher’s best efforts to help oust
him. She spent weeks campaigning for John Kerry, in what was often a
hostile political climate for celebrities who hitched their wagon to
the Democrats. “I was terrified to speak out, but then I just thought
I have to do it, I have to speak my mind.”

When she found herself on the receiving end of derisory comments from
radio shock-jocks, she put the boot on the other foot and told them:
“Yes, I’m getting on this programme because I’m me, but just because
I’m a celebrity doesn’t mean I don’t get to have my basic American
rights to speak my opinion.”

And if George gets too much, there is always New Zealand to escape
to. Yes, Cher has seen The Lord of the Rings, and as a result, thinks
New Zealand is “the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen”, even if it
was digitally enhanced. While here, she is on the hunt for “a little
piece of property”, preferably by the ocean. “Though don’t worry, I’m
not planning on asking for a lot of land, just a tiny little bit. I
think it seems a bit over the top to come in and buy a gigantic piece
of property in somebody else’s country.”

And when the tour finally finishes, what’s next in the life of the
galactic superstar? “The only thing I know I’m going to do when the
tour finishes is I’m going to go work on a cattle ranch for a while.”

Er, why?

“It’s just something I’ve always wanted to do.”

For it seems the plastic-fantastic, super-groomed one has another,
earthier side. “When I was young, I ran everywhere, I climbed the
highest trees, I played baseball and football – I was a real tomboy.”

Even now, she says, she’s clad in old sweat pants, ugg boots and
T-shirt, with no make-up and her hair in a ponytail. “I like it.”

So will we see tomboy Cher on show? “Oh no,” she laughs. “I still
enjoy glamming myself up for my shows, it wouldn’t be any fun for me
if I just came out in a pair of old jeans and a T-shirt.”

And don’t the fans expect it anyway?

“I think they do, and they won’t be disappointed.”

Cher plays North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, on Sunday February 20 and
Westpac Stadium, Christchurch on Tuesday February 22. Tickets
available from Ticketek.

US, Canada saddened at death of Georgia’s Zhvania

Agence France Presse
February 3, 2005

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States and Canada expressed “sadness” at
the death of Georgian prime minister Zurab Zhvania, 41, seen as the
driving force behind market reforms in the restive former Soviet republic.

The United States expressed “our sadness and condolences to the family
of Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania of Georgia,” said State Department
deputy spokesman Adam Ereli.

He said Washington was “deeply saddened” by the death, and that
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (news – web sites) had called
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili to extend condolences to the
government, to Zhvania’s family and to the people of Georgia.

“Prime minister Zhvania was a catalyst for democratic change in Georgia.
He was a dynamic leader, and he was a friend of the United States,”
Ereli added.

In Ottawa, Foreign Affairs Minster Pierre Pettigrew said: “It was with a
great sense of sadness that I learned earlier today of the death of
Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania.

“His commitment to Georgia and its people has long been recognized. Mr.
Zhvania’s contributions to the peaceful transfer of power in 2004 and
his help in advancing relations with Georgia’s regions have enhanced
stability in Georgia and the entire region.”

Zhvania died early Thursday in an apartment on the outskirts of Tbilisi
apparently after breathing toxic fumes leaked by a faulty heater,
officials said, ruling out foul play.

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