Author: Hovhannisian John

PARTNERSHIP OF VIRONA AND NOYEMBERIAN SISTER CITIES AIMS AT DRAWING
CLOSER THE TWO PEOPLES

YEREVAN, July 27 (Noyan Tapan). The park of Noyemberian city of
Tavoush marz has been reconstructed through the $20,000 transferred by
the Greece city Virona, the sister city of Noyemberian. The official
opening ceremony of the park will take place on July 28, Hrach
Tadevosian, member of the ARF Supreme Body of Armenia stated at the
press conference held July 26. The delegation led by Nikos Khardalias,
Mayor of Virona, arrived in Armenia to take part in the opening
ceremony. Maro Adamabulu, Vice Mayor, members of the Elder’s Council,
members of ARF Central Committee of Greece, members of “Aram Manukian”
Committee of Virona, as well as the chairwoman of the Armenian Releif
Society branch were included in the delegation. Nikos Khardalias
stated that according to the agreement reached with Vanoush
Amiraghian, Mayor of Noyemberian last year in Virona, the sister city
will assist the development of the infrastructures of Noyemberian. In
return, the Greek will have a chance to get acquainted with the
Armenian culture. He believes that further programs of partnership
will become more clear during this visit. Nikos Khardalias indicated
that during the three years after the fraterization of the cities,
Virona has sent 20 computers, a large quantity of medicine, modern
technics necessary for the medical analyses, toys etc to
Noyemberian. “If Virona assists the development of Noyemberian today,
Noyemberian may have a chance to help Virona tomorrow”, Khardalias
indicated emphasizing that the partnership of the sister cities is not
of “commercial” nature. It aims at drawing closer the two cities and
the peoples instead. The mayor of Virona also stated that the
fraternization between another four Greek cities and Armenian ones is
underway. Sisian will become siter of Neazmir, Ijevan – of Nikia,
Alaverdi- of Rendis. It is not clear yet what city will become a
sister city for Kalamaria city. According to Nikos Khardialias, about
1000 Armenian families live in Virona with 135,000 population. Most of
the Armenian families have expressed willing to contribute to the
prosperity of their homeland. The Armenian community takes active
participation in all the events of Virona.

Envoy in Azerbaijan denies Iran-Armenia gas pipeline construction launch

ANS TV, Baku
21 Jul 04

[Presenter Natavan Babayeva] The Armenian ambassador in Tehran has
said that Iran has started to construct a gas pipeline from Iran to
Armenia. But the Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan advises us not to
take this report seriously.

[Correspondent, over archive footage] Iran has started to construct a
100-kilometre section of the gas pipeline from Iran to Armenia across
its territory, the Armenian ambassador in Tehran, Gegam Garibdzhanyan,
has told Iran.ru news agency. According to him, the construction will
finish in spring 2006 and is being held at the expense of the Iranian
state.

The Armenian ambassador said that an Iranian company, representatives
of which had visited Armenia a few days ago, would build the
pipeline’s 40-kilometre section across Armenian territory. Although
Garibdzhanyan did not name the company, he said that the state [Iran]
is in control of this company which has the capacity to finish the
construction before the scheduled date. [Passage omitted: background
of pipeline project].

The Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan, Ahad Qaza’i, denied the
statement by the Armenian ambassador to Iran on the construction of
the gas pipeline.

May 23, 2004
Press Contacts:
Anneliesa Clump Behrend (202) 707-9822
Helen Dalrymple (202) 707-1940
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS VETERANS HISTORY PROJECT:
400 VOLUNTEERS TO COLLECT VETERANS STORIES ON THE MALL, MAY 27-30

National World War II Reunion Gives All Who Served a Chance to Tell
Their Story

The Veterans History Project (VHP) of the Library of Congress will
participate in the National World War II Reunion on the National Mall
in Washington, DC during Memorial Day weekend, May 27-30. The four-day
event will include ceremonies and activities produced by the
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and the American
Battle Monuments Commission. One of seven pavilions and two
performance stages on the Mall during the Memorial Day weekend, the
Veterans History Project Pavilion (located near the National Air and
Space Museum) will collect memoirs and stories onsite from those who
experienced the war overseas and on the home front.

The National Reunion coincides with the American Battle Monuments
Commissions dedication of the National World War II Memorial on
Saturday, May 29. The Veterans History Project invites all veterans
and civilians who served to visit the Veterans History Project
Pavilion on the Mall during the weekend and to contribute their
stories to the archives of veterans histories, which is part of the
Librarys American Folklife Center.

The National World War II Reunion will be the largest-ever gathering
of World War II veterans, said Diane Kresh, coordinator of the VHP
volunteers at the Library of Congress. Our aim is to collect as many
stories as possible over the four-day period. These stories will find
a permanent home in the archives of the Veterans History Project along
with the oral histories of veterans from other wars already in our
collection.

In an unprecedented effort, the Library of Congress will collect
on-the-spot interviews from World War II veterans and civilians who
served in support of them during the four-day weekend. In teams of
two, Library of Congress staff will roam the National Mall to record
the wartime experiences of World War II veterans and home front
workers.

Volunteers from high schools, universities, civic groups and other
organizations will also conduct interviews on the Mall. Participating
volunteers will be from schools throughout the region including
Connelly School of the Holy Child, Potomac, MD; Georgetown Day School,
Washington, DC; Rutgers University’s Oral History Archive, NJ;
St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, Potomac, MD; U.S. Senate Page School,
Washington, DC; and West Virginia University, Perley Isaac Reed School
of Journalism, Morgantown, WV. These schools join the other 150 public
and private schools around the country already participating the
project.

In addition, more than 30 hours of panel discussions will take place
at the VHP Pavilion during the four days. Topics, times and
participants are below. Check the Web site at for
complete details.

Former Prisoners of War: Richard Francies, Enso Bighinatti, Jimmie
Kanaya and Marty Higgins
1 p.m. on May 27 and 11 a.m. on May 28

Reunion of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 1st Battalion
(Lost Battalion) of the 141st Regiment of the 36th (Texas) Division
2 p.m. on May 27

Hispanic-American Experience During World War II: Frank Medina, Miguel
Encinias and Evelio Grillo
1 p.m. on May 30

Japanese-American Experience During World War II: Warren Tsuneishi,
Jimmie Kanaya, Marty Higgins and Frank Sogi
4 p.m. on May 28

Navajo Code Talkers: Sam Billison, Sam Smith, Keith Little
3:15 p.m. on May 27 and noon on May 30

Tuskegee Airmen: Lee Archer, Charles McGee and Thomas Lowery
2 p.m. on May 28 and 2 p.m. on May 30

D-Day Veterans: Sam Gibbons 11 a.m. and Tracy Sugarman, Bob Powell and
Brig. Gen. Alvin Ungerleider
2:15 p.m. on May 27

Wartime Journalists: Paul Green, Barrett McGurn, Jack Pulwers and
Col. Peter Sweers
3 p.m. on May 30

Women in the Military: Maj. Gen. Jeanne Holm, Miriam Ownby, Martha
Putney, CW04 Elizabeth Splaine, Cdr. Ruth Erno
3 p.m. on May 28

Red Cross in WWII: Ruth Belew, Helen Colony, Mary ODriscoll
4:15 p.m. on May 27

Women in Military Medicine: Maj. Jennifer Petersen, Anna Busby, Marian
Elcano, and Martha Leierer
11 a.m. on May 30

Memories From the Home Front: Marion Gurfein, Helen Sudyk, Elizabeth
Olson and Venus Ramey (Miss America 1944)
Noon on May 27

Other WWII Veterans: Sen. John Warner (R-VA) and Adm. J. L. Holloway;
noon on May 28 and Robert Bloxsom, Jerry Brenner, Joseph DeLuca, John
Sudyk and George Zavadil
5:15 p.m. on May 27 and 4 p.m. on May 29

Special Appearances: Fayard Nicholas; 1 p.m. on May 28; Venus Ramey
(Miss America 1944); 5 p.m. on May 28. Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI), Rep. Amo
Houghton (R-NY), Everett Alvarez, Jr., Gail Buckley, Lt. Gen. Julius
W. Becton, Francisco Ivarra

Each of the participants tells the American story through his or her
unique story and memories. Riki (Ruth) Belew from Laguna Woods,
California, worked with the American Red Cross in clubs for the troops
in North Africa: near Algiers, in Oran, and at the Casablanca Officers
Club. After crossing the Mediterranean in the nose of a B-17 bomber
during a terrific storm, she began service at a series of Red Cross
clubs in Italy. She remembers being stationed near a staging area on
the outskirts of Naples and dancing with hundreds of men a night.

Navajo Code Talker Sam Billison of Window Rock, Arizona, enlisted in
the Marines in 1943 and was sent to signal school at Camp Pendleton,
California, immediately after boot camp. He landed on Iwo Jima on the
second day of the battle to take the island, and with other Code
Talkers transmitted more than 800 error-free messages during 26 days
of fighting. Following the war, Billison served as a school principal
for many years and was elected to the Navajo Tribal Council.

Francis X. (Frank) Medina from Kansas City, Missouri, was a 20-year
old tail gunner in the 459th Bomb Group of the 756th Bomb Squadron,
when he was shot down over northern Italy in July 1944. Hit by
anti-aircraft fire, the crew of nine bailed out; all but Medina were
captured, and he was believed to be missing in action. On his own in
unknown territory, he was befriended by Italians who helped him link
up with the partisans with whom he was active for eight months. In
1945, Medina was rescued by the British. In the Library of Congress
Whittall Pavilion (Jefferson Building) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May
27-29, the Veterans History Project will be providing special
hospitality, information about the Project, and a tour of the Library
of Congress to invited Congressional constitutents while they are
visiting Washington, DC, for the World War II Reunion.

Prior to the World War II Reunion, on May 23, volunteers will
videotape members of Rolling Thunder Virginia Chapter 3 as they wash
the walls of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in preparation for the
Memorial Day weekend. The roving interviewers will also be collecting
oral histories at the Pentagon parking lot from 7 a.m. – noon on
Sunday, May 30, where Rolling Thunder motorcyclists assemble for
Rolling Thunder Inc. XVII/Ride for Freedom.

Visitors to Washington are invited to view the Library of Congress
American Treasures exhibit that is featuring special objects from the
Veterans History Project collection, From the Home Front to the Front
Lines. The exhibit highlights experiences of World War I, World War
II, Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf veterans with first-hand accounts
of war through letters, photographs, diaries, albums, maps, flags and
newspaper clippings. The American Treasures exhibit is located in the
Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street, S.E., and is open Monday
through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

In addition to the American Treasures exhibit and through July 10, the
Library of Congress hosts the first comprehensive exhibit of Winston
Churchill material in the United States. More than 200 items ranging
from the 9-year-old Churchills report card to handwritten notes passed
between Churchill and Averell Harriman as they rode to the 1942
Churchill-Stalin conference will be on display. Presented in
conjunction with the Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge, England,
the exhibit is located in the Thomas Jefferson Building and is open
Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Authorized by legislation passed in 2000, the Veterans History Project
is being carried out in the way that Congress envisioned: with
grandchildren interviewing grandparents, veterans interviewing each
other, and students conducting interviews as part of classroom
assignments. The success of the program relies on volunteers rather
than professional oral historians to collect stories and
artifacts. AARP is the founding sponsor of the project, with more than
1,000 other organizations also participating.

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to
making life better for people 50 and over. It provides information and
resources; engages in legislative, regulatory and legal advocacy;
assists members in serving their communities; and offers a wide range
of benefits, special products and services for its members.

To learn more about the Veterans History Project, to submit your story
online, or to view a schedule of panel presentations and other reunion
activities scheduled over the four-day weekend, visit

Note: For biographical information on the veterans speaking in the
Veterans History Project Pavilion and to speak with veterans from the
Veterans History Project, contact (202) 707-9822 or (703) 470-4275.

# # #

ArmenPress
July 20 2004

KOCHARIAN RECEIVES OUTGOING FINNISH AMBASSADOR

YEREVAN, JULY 20, ARMENPRESS: Armenian president Robert Kocharian
received today Finland’s ambassador to Armenia, Timo Lahelma, who is
ending his diplomatic tenure in Armenia. Kocharian’s press office
said possibilities for boosting bilateral ties were discussed during
the meeting. Kocharian was said to underscore the necessity of
developing the appropriate legislation for stepping up business and
trade contacts.
Thanking for the assistance he received during his tenure, Timo
Lahelma pointed out that he is leaving Armenia with rich impressions
and good memories. Kocharian wished the diplomat success in future
activity.

Sydney Morning Herald
July 18 2004

Editor’s murder adds to slaughter of journalists in Russia

Moscow: The editor of a Russian arts magazine has been found stabbed
to death, police said at the weekend.

“The body of journalist Pail Peloyan, with knife wounds to his chest
and bruises on his face, was found on Saturday,” the RIA Novosti news
agency quoted a police spokesman as saying.

He was found on the side of the MKAD highway that encircles the
Russian capital, police said.

Peloyan was the editor of Armyanski Pereulok (Armenian Lane), a
Russian-language magazine of literature and the arts.

His death follows that of Paul Klebnikov, an American citizen and
editor of the Russian Forbes magazine, who was shot dead as he left
his northern Moscow office on July 9.

Following that murder, the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists
called on President Vladimir Putin to move against a “climate of
lawlessness” in which 15 journalists have been killed in Russia
during the past four years.

“Klebnikov is the 15th journalist killed in connection with his work
during your tenure,” the committee said in a statement.

“No one has been brought to justice in any of the slayings, creating
a sense of impunity that endangers all journalists and undermines
your democracy.”

The failure to solve any of the journalists’ murders over the past
four years is “a testament to the ongoing lawlessness in Russia and
your failure to reform the country’s weak and politicised criminal
justice system”, it added.

Klebnikov, 41, had arrived in Moscow with a spirit of civic reform.
His killing has raised troubling questions for Russia.

“The country can build skyscrapers and solve international conflicts
and even win tennis tournaments,” said Peter Klebnikov, one of his
brothers. “But so long as it’s considered completely normal to
resolve disputes and kill a person who is interfering with the way
you want to live, this country is ailing.”

Klebnikov’s work – informed and sometimes brazen – inserted him
squarely into the worlds of Russian business, crime, power and
wealth.

A foreign investor interviewed for two stories by Klebnikov, William
Browder, said: “If somebody feels safe enough to kill the editor of a
major Western magazine, we have anarchy in Russia.

“It makes Putin look like a weak man,” he added.

Bush and House Oppose Armenian Motion
ZAMAN on-line

US President George W. Bush and several Republicans from the US House
of Representatives declared yesterday that they were determined not to
allow passage in the House of an anti-Turkey initiative proposed by
the Armenian lobby.

US State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher issued a detailed
statement announcing the Bush administration’s opposition to the
motion. The statement warns that the action taken by the Armenian
lobby could hurt the aim to achieve conciliation between Turkey and
Armenia.

Boucher stressed Bush’s “strong” opposition to the motion and
underlined that the US seeks to reinforce cooperation between Armenia
and Turkey.

17.07.2004
Washington, D.C., aa
;alt=&hn=10502

UEFA.com
July 15 2004

Dinamo leave it late for victory

FC Dinamo Tbilisi produced a stunning comeback to keep their hopes
alive while Sergiy Zakarlyuka was the hero for Ukraine’s FC
Illychivets Mariupil in tonight’s UEFA Cup first qualifying round
first-leg action.

Romero the hero
A late winner from Cesar Romero gave Dinamo Tbilisi victory at FC
BATE Borisov. The Georgian side, without newly-signed international
Giorgi Nemsadze, had looked down and out after conceding two goals in
the opening 19 minutes. The first was sensationally struck straight
from a goal kick by Yury Zhaunou, whose long punt beat shocked fellow
goalkeeper Irakli Zoidze.

Romero pops up
Four minutes later, Aleh Strakhanovich made it 2-0. However, Dinamo,
who won the 1980/81 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, refused to lie down and a
Mikheil Kakaladze goal just before half-time proved crucial. Eleven
minutes after the break, Boris Gancharov ensured parity before
Brazilian midfield player Romero popped up in the 89th minute to give
his side a 3-2 victory and stun the home crowd.

Second-half strikes
Zakarlyuka was the key as Illychivets made the most of home advantage
against FC Banants. The international midfield player, signed from FC
Shakhtar Donetsk, found the net twice in the second half to ensure a
2-0 win that should see his side able to finish the job in Armenia.

Two penalties
FC Tiraspol of Moldova were also away winners this evening,
triumphing 2-1 in Armenia against FC Shirak. Nicolae Josan started
the ball rolling in the sixth minute before Ruslan Barburos added a
second from the penalty spot five minutes before the interval.
However, Shirak gave their fans something to cheer in the 70th minute
when Tigran Davtyan scored from another spot-kick.

Goals galore
Meanwhile, FK Dukla Banská Bystrica had to wait before taking control
of their tie against Azerbaijani visitors FK Karabakh with a 3-0
victory. After a goalless first half, Róbert Semeník, Martín Svintek
and Viktor Pešcvský all found the net in quick succession to put the
Slovakian side in pole position to make it through. Also among the
goals were Albanian contenders FK Partizani, who won 4-2 at home
against Birkirkara FC of Malta.

Tight games
There were 1-0 victories for Lithuanian side FK Ekranas and Georgian
hopefuls FC Tbilisi at home against F91 Dudelange and FK Shamkir
respectively, with the return legs still to come in Luxembourg and
Azerbaijan. FC Nistru Otaci of Moldova drew 1-1 at home against FC
Shakhtyor Soligorsk of Belarus while Finland’s FK Haka held on for a
2-1 win against their visitors from Luxembourg, FC Etzella
Ettelbrück, despite playing the entire second half with ten men.

Second legs
Finally, Estonian outfit FC Levadia Tallinn could only manage a 0-0
draw at home against their Irish visitors Bohemian FC. The second leg
of that tie is on 27 July, with all the rest coming two days later.

Cihan News
July 14 2004

Turkish Committee Members Meet With Welsh Party Leader To Discuss
‘so-called Armenian Genocide’ Resolution

LONDON (CÝHAN) – Representatives of the Committee for the Protection
of Turkish Rights met with Plaid Cymru Party Deputy and leader of the
Welsh House of Commons, Elfyn Llwyd in response to a local council
resolution which officially recognized an Armenian Genocide.

Representatives of The Committee for the Protection of Turkish Rights
including Haluk Savas, Günay Aydin and N.Fatih Sener visited House
deputies.

The committee first met with Plaid Cymru Party Deputy and leader of
the House of Commons, Elfyn Llwyd who stated that the attempts of the
district council of Gweynedd would injure the amity between Turkey
and Wales.

Dafydd Iwan the Chairman of a parliamentary group of Plaid Cymru had
presented a bill to the Welsh Gwynedd District Council, and the bill
was passed on March 4, 2004. The bill demands the recognition of an
Armenian genocide.

The bill claims that more than 1.5 million Armenians were killed in
Eastern Anatolia during World War I by the Ottoman Empire. The bill
also includes the statements, “If the Turkish government does not
officially recognize the Armenian Genocide, Turkey’s European Union
membership should not be supported by the English Parliament nor by
the regional Welsh Parliament.” The bill also called on other Welsh
district parliaments to recognize so-called genocide.

Llwyd claims he wasn’t informed of the proposal which was supported
by local representatives of his party at the city council of
Gweynedd. He declared that he understood Turkey’s concerns and added
that he would propose to officially include Turkey’s views against
“The Armenian Genocide Proposal”.

A similar motion which would recognize an Armenian genocide was
recently presented to the English House of Commons by Labour Party
member Jeremy Corbyn.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
July 9 2004

PAKISTANI PRESIDENT RECEIVES AZERBAIJAN FOREIGN MINISTER
[July 09, 2004, 21:10:54]

President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf
received at his residence Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan
Elmar Mammadyarov, July 9. During the meeting, the Pakistani
President expressed his satisfaction with results of the visit and
noted that the fruitful exchange of views on a wide range of
international and regional issues he had had with President Ilham
Aliyev would have very positive impact on further deepening of
cooperation between the two countries.

Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov updated President
Musharraf in detail on the steps the country had taken with respect
to the settlement of the Armenia – Azerbaijan conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh noting that Azerbaijan is striving to solve the
problem on the base of the international legal norms, UN SC’s
relevant resolutions and its territorial integrity. The Minister
expressed his gratitude to the Pakistani President for supporting the
fair stance of Azerbaijan in various international organizations.

Elmar Mammadyarov also stressed the necessity to bring economic
relations between the two countries up to the level of their existing
political partnership.

President Musharraf expressed his country’s readiness for active
cooperation with Azerbaijan in oil and gas sector, light industry and
agriculture. He also expressed confidence that relevant structure of
Azerbaijan and Pakistan would take active steps in this direction.

ArmenPress
July 8 2004

PRIME MINISTER, EU COMMISSIONER DISCUSS NEW NEIGHBORHOOD POLICY

YEREVAN, JULY 8, ARMENPRESS: Armenian prime minister Andranik
Margarian conferred today with Janez Potocnik, a junior commissioner
for a new EU member state, Slovenia, who works with the enlargement
commissioner, Guenter Verheugen. The latter is charge of the EU’s
“new neighborhood” program, which offers closer ties to some EU
neighbors. Potocnik is touring the South Caucasus countries to
emphasize the EU’s renewed interest in these three countries.
Prime minister Margarian was quoted by the government’s press
office as saying that the visit is important in the context of EU’s
New Neighborhood Policy, extended recently to the three South
Caucasian countries. Margarian reiterated Armenia’s willingness to
build its relationships with Europe based on its values and
fundamental principles, which he said stem from Armenians’ interests.
He said a special task force was set up to develop the National Plan
of Actions for implementation of Partnership and Cooperation
Agreement between Armenia and the EU.
Potocnik said: “The next steps are to consider the possibility of
setting up a so-called action plan with Armenia, Azerbaijan and
Georgia – setting the reform priorities they should address. And, on
our side, offering an approximation with the European Union.” That,
according to him, could eventually — but in the longer term — lead
very far toward a share in the internal market, for instance, or
alignment with several EU policies, like environment or energy and
transport networks.” He said the EU is prepared to assist these
countries to reform all sectors of life.
Both sides agreed also that unless the regional conflicts are
resolved no complete integration with Europe is possible, adding also
that establishment of normal relations among all the countries of
region will give a substantial boost to economy and trade
development.