Author: Hunanian Jack

THE ACTING CHAIR OF THE OSCE TO ARRIVE IN ARMENIA

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 5 2005

YEREVAN, September 5. /ARKA/. The acting Chair of the OSCE, Minister
of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia Dimitrij Rupel will arrive in Armenia
for a two-day official visit. In the framework of his visit Rupel
will meet the RA President Robert Kocharyan, Prime-Minister Andranik
Margaryan, minister of Foreign Affairs Vardan Oskanian, as well as the
NKR President Arkadi Ghukasyan. It’s supposed that in the course of
the visit Rupel will discuss the results of Kazan meeting between the
Presidents of RA and AR, as well as issues concerning the approaching
referendum in November on constitutional reforms.

After Armenia Rupel will visit Azerbaijan, where he will discuss the
issues of Karabakh conflict settlement and parliamentary elections in
Azerbaijan. According to some diplomatic sources in Baku, the Head
of the OSCE will meet the AR President Ilham Aliyev, Prime Minister
Arthur Rasi-zade, the Speaker of the parliament Murtuz Aleskerov,
Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mamediarov. A.H. –0–

THE ORGANIZATION FOR LIBERATION OF KARABAKH CONDUCTED A SOCIOLOGICAL POLL ON THE WAYS OF KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

DeFacto, Armenia
Sept 5 2005

The Organization for Liberation of Karabakh conducted a public opinion
poll on Azeri people’s attitude towards Karabakh issue, Trend reports.
1943 respondents were asked a question how the Armenian aggression’s
consequences could be eliminated – by military or peaceful way. 39%
of those asked said they were for the military way of the conflict
settlement, 40% were the negotiations’ supporters, while 21% found it
difficult to answer the question. That was the adult people’s answer.

Young people gave the following answer: 40% were for the military
way, 35% were the supporters of the conflict’s peaceful solution.
To note, 49% of women were for the conflict’s military settlement,
while 37% were the negotiations’ supporters.

ENTRY EXAMINATIONS IN ARMENIA IN 2005 WERE ACCOMPANIED WITH GROSS VIOLATIONS, THINKS HEAD OF YOUTH ANTI-CORRUPTION STAFF

YEREVAN, AUGUST 30. ARMINFO. Entry examinations in Armenia in 2005
were with mass centralized violations and facts of corruption, Head
of the Youth Anti- Corruption Staff, Leader of the Armenian Youth
Party Sargis Asatryan told journalists today.

He says that at the beginning of the summer, an independent youth anti-
corruption staff was created and 92 employees followed the process
of entry examinations throughout the country. Asatryan states that
he considers himself a politician and makes a political statement and
has no intention to specify it. He says all the facts of violations,
that is 67 episodes of corruption, were brought in a special letter
to Armenian President, wherein the party proposes dismissing Minister
of Education and Science of Armenia Sergo Yeritsyan as the main person
responsible for the disorders at the examinations.

In response to the numerous questions of journalists related
the largest violations at the exams, Asatryan mentioned Gyumri
Pedagogical University and the State Agricultural Academy and the
subjects “Armenian language,” “English Language,” “Physics,” and
“Mathematics.” Asatryan thinks that such person as Sergo Yeritsyan
should not be in charge of the native science and the future of
children, and moreover, in charge of numerous grants and credit
projects in the sphere of education. He pointed out that responsibility
for “machinations at the examinations” are laid on Head of the Clearing
Center Ruben Topchyan distributing free and paid places. But the main
guilty person is Minister Sergo Yeritsyan, Asatryan reiterates.

ROBERT KOCHARYAN: NKR IS ABLE TO BE INDEPENDENT

DeFacto.am, Armenia
Sept 2 2005

“I have not given rise to think that our stand in Karabakh settlement
issue has become changed”.

Today RA President Robert Kocharyan who arrived in Nagorno Karabakh
to take part in the activities devoted to the 14th Anniversary of
Proclamation of Nagorno Karabakh Republic has informed journalists
of the fact.

According to RA President, “our stand has not been changed, and the 14
years have testified to the NKR viability. It is able to have its own
statehood”. Robert Kocharyan stressed that Nagorno Karabakh Republic
could serve as an example for some post – Soviet Republics.

“Nagorno Karabakh cannot be subject to bargaining, and people of
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh are unanimous in the opinion”, said
President of Armenia.

Touching upon Armenian and Azeri Presidents’ meeting in Kazan Robert
Kocharyan noted it had been favorable. “The negotiation process has
some positive tendencies”, emphasized he.

RA President said Nagorno Karabakh took part in the talks indirectly.

Robert Kocharyan stated after the meetings referring to the settlement
he informed the NKR President of the outcomes.

NKR President Arkady Ghoukasyan refused to make comments on the
settlement process referring to its confidentiality. “I guess it is
not time to throw light on all the particulars of the talks, however,
I believe everything is all right, and Nagorno Karabakh need not
worry”, said NKR President.

EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
444
2.9.2005

Press release issued by the Registrar

European Court of Human Rights – September hearings

The European Court of Human Rights will be holding the following hearings in
September 2005.

Tuesday 20 September 2005

Chamber Hearing on the merits

9 a.m. Fener Rum Erkek Lisesi Vakfi v.Turkey (no. 34478/97) and
Yedikule Surp Pirgic Ermeni Hastanesi Vakfi v. Turkey (nos. 50147/99
and 51207/99)

Both applicants are foundations under Turkish law that were established
at the time of the Ottoman Empire. Fener Rum Erkek Lisesi Vakfi
was set up to provide educational facilities at the Greek Higher
Secondary School in Fener (Istanbul). Yedikule Surp Pirgic Ermeni
Hastanesi Vakfi is the foundation for the Armenian hospital Surp
Pirgic in Yedikule. The status of both foundations complies with the
provisions of the Lausanne Treaty of 1923 affording protection to
foundations that provide public services for religious minorities.

In accordance with Law no. 2762 of 13 June 1935, by virtue of which
they obtained legal personality, the applicant foundations filed a
declaration in 1936 of their aims and of their immovable property.

In 1952 the Fener Rum Erkek Lisesi Vakfi Foundation received a gift
of part of a building in Istanbul. It purchased another part of the
building in 1958. The Yedikule Surp Pirgic Ermeni Hastanesi Vakfi
Foundation received gifts of two properties in Istanbul in 1943 and
1967, one in Beyoglu, the other in Kadikoy.

In 1992 the Treasury applied to the Turkish courts for an order
setting aside the applicants’ title to the properties and deleting
their names from the land register. In three judgments (on 7 March
1996 in the case of Fener Rum Erkek Lisesi Vakfi and on 30 October
1997 and 24 February 1998 in the case of Yedikule Surp Pirgic Ermeni
Hastanesi Vakfi), the Istanbul High Court granted the Treasury’s
applications. Referring to a decision of the Court of Cassation of
8 May 1974, it held that the foundations, whose membership was made
up of religious minorities as defined by the Treaty of Lausanne
and whose constitutive documents did not contain a statement that
they had capacity to acquire immovable property, were precluded
from purchasing or accepting a gift of such property. Accordingly,
their immovable property was restricted to that set out in their
constitutive documents and finalised in the declaration made in 1936,
so that they were precluded from acquiring immovable property.

On appeals on points of law by the applicants, the Court of Cassation
upheld the judgments of the Istanbul High Court in decisions of 9
December 1996, 22 September 1998 and 20 October 1998.

In October 2000 Fener Rum Erkek Lisesi Vakfi applied to the Foundation
Commissioners for permission to amend its status to permit it to
acquire immovable property. However, its application was turned down.

In both cases, the applicants complain of the orders setting aside
their title to the properties. They argue that the Turkish legislation
as interpreted by the domestic courts deprives foundations established
by religious minorities within the meaning of the Lausanne Treaty of
all capacity to acquire immovable property. In their submission,
that incapacity amounts to discrimination when their position
is compared to that of other foundations. The applicants rely on
Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property), and Article
14 (prohibition of discrimination) taken together with Article 1 of
Protocol No. 1. Yedikule Surp Pirgic Ermeni Hastanesi Vakfi further
complains under Article 6 (right to a fair hearing) that it did not
receive a fair hearing in the Turkish courts.

***

Decisions, judgments and further information about the Court can be
found on its Internet site ().

Registry of the European Court of Human Rights
F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex
Press contacts: Roderick Liddell (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 24 92)
  Emma Hellyer (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 90 21 42 15)
  Stephanie Klein (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 21 54)
Fax: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 27 91
The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg by the Council
of Europe Member States in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950
European Convention on Human Rights. Since 1 November 1998 it has sat as a
full-time Court composed of an equal number of judges to that of the States
party to the Convention. The Court examines the admissibility and merits of
applications submitted to it. It sits in Chambers of 7 judges or, in
exceptional cases, as a Grand Chamber of 17 judges. The Committee of
Ministers of the Council of Europe supervises the execution of the Court’s
judgments.
1 Under Article 43 of the European Convention on Human Rights, within three
months from the date of a Chamber judgment, any party to the case may, in
exceptional cases, request that the case be referred to the 17-member Grand
Chamber of the Court. In that event, a panel of five judges considers
whether the case raises a serious question affecting the interpretation or
application of the Convention or its protocols, or a serious issue of
general importance, in which case the Grand Chamber will deliver a final
judgment. If no such question or issue arises, the panel will reject the
request, at which point the judgment becomes final. Otherwise Chamber
judgments become final on the expiry of the three-month period or earlier if
the parties declare that they do not intend to make a request to refer.

Press Release
Council of Europe Spokesperson and Press Division
Ref: 444a05
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 25 60
Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 39 11
[email protected] 
internet:  
To receive our press releases by e-mail, contact :
[email protected] 
A political organisation set up in 1949, the Council of Europe works to
promote democracy and human rights continent-wide. It also develops common
responses to social, cultural and legal challenges in its 46 member states.

–Boundary_(ID_VmR24I3GVDiMEbZIh0khpA)–

RA NA President Artur Baghdasaryan’s Congratulatory Message on the
14th Anniversary of NKR’s Independence

National Assembly of RA (press release), Armenia
Sept 2 2005

RA NA President Artur Baghdasaryan sent congratulatory messages to
NKR President Arkady Ghukasyan, NKR NA President Ashot Ghulyan, NKR
Prime Minister Anushavan Danielyan on the 14-th anniversary of the
Nagorno Karabakh’s independence.

To NKR President Arkady Ghukasyan

Dear Mr. Ghukasyan,

I warmly congratulate you and all the Artsakh people on the 14-th
anniversary of the independence.

The past 14 years have proved that the people of Artsakh not only
withstood the tests of war and peaceful life but also created its
strong and stable statehood. I bow before the martyrs of the liberation
struggle and hereafter, I wish Artsakh to live in peace and democracy.

To NKR NA President Ashot Ghulyan

Dear Mr. Ghulyan,

I warmly congratulate you and all NKR National Assembly deputies of
Nagorno Karabakh on the 14-th anniversary of the independence.

The Artsakh people secured their right to a decent life in a liberation
struggle and reiterating their commitment to human values, carry on the
road of constructing the statehood, the role of the National Assembly,
as a legislative body, which is called on to ensure the legislative
bases for the development and progress.

On the occasion of the anniversary I wish you and all the deputies of
the National Assembly success, effective work and I express readiness
of cooperation of the National Assembly of Armenia.

To NKR Prime Minister Anushavan Danielyan Dear Mr. Danielyan,

Accept my warm congratulations to you and the NKR Government members
on the 14-th anniversary of independence.

The past years were tests of war and peace for the Artsakh people
and Artsakh not only passed the tests and proved its viability and
commitment but also created its independent statehood.

A country is strong with its economy, and the economic success
become as basis for the political progress, therefore, I wish you
and the members of the Government success on the way to the economic
strengthening of Artsakh.

ALIYEV-KOCHARIAN MEETING WAS DOOMED TO FAILURE – ARMENIAN ANALYST

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Aug 30 2005

Baku, August 29, AssA-Irada

The meeting of the Azeri and Armenian presidents Ilham Aliyev
and Robert Kocharian held last Saturday was ‘doomed to failure’, a
well-known Armenian political analyst said. “The meeting, held within
the CIS summit in Kazan, Russia certainly means some progress. But
both Aliyev and Kocharian understood well that it would be extremely
difficult to agree upon anything on the eve of the parliament
election in Azerbaijan”, Andranik Migranian told Russian media.
“The pre-election situation has heated up in Azerbaijan so much that
any talk of compromises is harshly disapproved there. The meeting
was therefore doomed to fail beforehand.” Asked what Azerbaijan and
Armenia should do to achieve success in the conflict settlement,
Migranian said that ‘the conflicting sides themselves cannot do
anything on their own’. “In this case, the decision may be imposed by
the international community or the status quo in the current situation
will remain. This may continue until one of the sides decides that
it is strong enough to solve the problem through military action.”
The analyst said that certain progress in the conflict resolution
could be achieved if superpowers ‘imposed a compromise solution on
the conflicting sides’. “Without this decision, it is difficult for
the authorities of Azerbaijan and Armenia to explain to their own
electorate why they would accept such unfavorable concessions.”
Asked if Russia may step up its mediating role in the conflict
settlement, Migranian said this country is involved in the process
anyway. “However, Russia’s current potential does not allow doing
more that it is doing now.” “Russia has limited financial, economic
and military-political potential, not to mention the fact that it has
almost lost its influence in Georgia and Azerbaijan…Many do not see
Russia as a country that has a key to the resolution of the Garabagh
problem any more. Azerbaijan binds greater hopes for Washington or
Brussels rather than Moscow in this respect.” The analyst said that
the increase of Azerbaijan’s military spending stated by President
Ilham Aliyev earlier is a ‘move aimed at pressuring Armenia’.
Migranian did not rule out that the Azeri government is ‘tempted to
make a decision to fight back’. “When they build up certain military
potential, they may resort to fighting back”, he said.*

Malaysia Star, Malaysia
Aug 29 2005

Diversity the heart of unity

By MANGAI BALASEGARAM

EVERY now and then when I travel overseas, someone will say – or even
sing – `Malaysia, truly Asia’ to me. People certainly have been sold
by the country’s promotional ad on CNN. My Danish friend Pernille,
who lives in Manila, routinely asks me, with a little giggle: `So how
is Malaysia truly Asia?’ Corny as it may be, people don’t seem to
tire of that phrase.

Some people have asked me to explain exactly what it means. Others
who know multiracial Malaysia have told me something along the lines
of, `That’s one of the best things about Malaysia – the way all these
different people live side by side. That, and the food.’

Our multiracial mix seems to be one of our best selling points. It’s
our strength and wealth. It makes us unique among our neighbours.

So tell me, how come we don’t always see it ourselves? How come some
of us never see beyond our differences? How come some of us separate
ourselves so much from other races? As Merdeka approaches again, it’s
timely that we reflect on this again.

We identify ourselves so much by our `own’ race. Have you ever
considered that you also `own’ a part of the other races? If you are
Chinese, is it possible to feel a little Indian at times? Or if you
are Malay, can you have a little Chinese in you?

Ours is a history of rich racial and cultural diversity, which is
what Malaysia is today.
Don’t laugh. The idea is less absurd than it sounds. When I first
went to Britain, it was Chinese food that I missed most. Especially
wan ton mee and that preserved fruit delicacy, mo far kor. This used
to really puzzle a couple of Hong Kong Chinese who I knew.

For some time now, I have been calling myself `Malaysian’. That’s not
to say that supersedes my Tamil ethnicity – it doesn’t. But
`Malaysian’ is simply more inclusive of all the different elements of
the environment that I was raised in.

Anyway, as I’ve said before in this column, I find this simple
division of Malay, Chinese, Indian and lain-lain ridiculous. Because
most people are not that simple – they’re much more specific and
complex. For example, I’m in the Indian category, but my forefathers
actually came from Sri Lanka – or, to be precise, a tiny island of
this island.

Another example. A celebrated `Malay’ writer I know actually has no
Malay blood (and is not reluctant to say it either), but is a mix of
Javanese, Arab and Chinese.

Thinking along generalities makes us forget how heterogeneous we are.
Maybe the politicos and demographers find it easier, but it’s really
terribly imprecise, let alone racially divisive. The idea of a `pure’
race is a complete fallacy. Half the time, such talk simply serves
political purposes. (Remember Adolf Hitler?)

Take the English `race’. It’s actually a mix of Celts, Angles,
Saxons, Vikings and much more. Interestingly, in the north of
Britain, you can find local words of Scandinavian origin. Or take Sri
Lanka. Arab traders have been going there for over 2,500 years. The
tiny island of this island from which my forefathers originated bears
foreign influence in its name – it is called Delft, after the Dutch
who once ruled it.

There’s been all kinds of mixing. Many European languages have some
of their origins in Sanskrit. (The common heritage of Welsh and Hindi
– which have similar-sounding accents – was discussed in a BBC
article). Finnish is related not to Scandinavian languages but
Hungarian (the Finno-Ugric languages), which is spoken at the other
end of Europe!

History is all about the movement of people. (Remember, we’re all
supposed to have come from original man in Africa?)

The history of regional trade and migration in Malaysia dates back
thousands of years. Archaeological remains of 2,500-year-old Chinese
ceramics have been found in Sarawak. And ruins of Indian temples in
Kedah are just as old.

In the last few centuries, people from all over the place have
arrived on these shores. Once there were Jews here – there’s a Jewish
cemetery in Penang. There was even an Armenian community. In fact, it
was two Armenians, the Sarkies brothers, who built the Raffles Hotel
in Singapore and the E&O Hotel in Penang.

Our history is rich with such influence. Multiracial Malaysia, my
friends, is not new. And it is still very much alive. Yet some among
us refuse to accept this reality. On the eve of our 48th birthday,
don’t you think it’s about time that we really embrace and celebrate
our diversity?

The sooner we get beyond race and think `Malaysia’, the quicker this
country can progress. And then we really will be Malaysia truly Asia.

Mangai Balasegaram is a journalist who stubbornly remains an
optimist, despite more than a decade of working on bad news. She
still believes it is possible to change the world, if only by
changing the perspective a little bit. Send your feedback to
[email protected].
;sec=lifefocus

KOCHARYAN MADE CONCESSIONS IN VAIN

SOURCE: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, August 24, 2005, pp. 1, 5

by Yury Simonyan, Sokhbet Mamedov

GEORGIA DOESN’T CARE ABOUT THE INTERESTS OF NEIGHBORS IN THE SOUTH
CAUCASUS

The Georgian authorities once again deliberately demonstrated that
they care little for the interests of their neighbors in the South
Caucasus. This was made clear at the close of the Eternity 2005 staff
command exercises, organized this week in Tbilisi on the basis of the
National Military Academy of the Georgian Defense Ministry for Russia
and its only military ally in the region Armenia. The exercises were
dedicated to guarding the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline.
Interestingly, this happened right after the two-day meeting of
presidents Mikhail Saakashvili and Robert Kocharyan, which analysts
took primarily as a demonstration of obvious establishment of closer
relations between Yerevan and Tbilisi. However, reality is evidently
a little bit different. Georgia seems to take into account Kocharyan
but until a certain limit.

The military exercises in Tbilisi that will last until the end of the
week include 52 officers of the armed forces of Georgia, Azerbaijan
and Turkey. Turkey finances the exercises. In the course of the
exercises servicemen of the three countries the territories of which
are crossed by the pipeline route are trained to act in emergency
situations in case of appearance of a threat to the BTC. A special
program makes provisions for their training to act efficiently in
case of terrorist acts and subversions. It was planned that military
specialists of the neighboring countries participating in the BTC
project would take part in the exercises in Tbilisi at least as
observers. In the special press release of the Georgian Defense
Ministry it was reported that the relevant invitations would be sent
to the military attaches of all diplomatic missions accredited in
Tbilisi. However, it seemed that organizers of the exercises changed
their mind at the very last moment.

Moscow takes the fact of closing of these exercises for
representatives of Russia as another unfriendly step of the Georgian
authorities. Alexei Bogaturov, deputy general director of the
International Security Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences,
told us, “Everything is clear at this point.” Bogaturov added,
“Overall, I don’t know a single expert or analyst who has hoped that
Georgian authorities may invite Russia party to such an event.
Actions of Tbilisi fully correspond to the line pursued by Georgian
President Mikhail Saakashvili. Georgian authorities want a halt to
military relations with Russia, have achieved withdrawal of Russian
bases from Georgian territory and its does not make sense for
Saakashvili to invite Russia to any joint actions and even to inform
Moscow about his plans. The German President has an absolutely
different logic. He wants to show that political activeness of not
only Georgia but also all Transcaucasian countries is quite possible
and profitable (both in political and military aspects) even without
participation of Russia. Saakashvili is permanently trying to create
a kind of illusory anti-Russian “resistance front.” Along with this,
he himself does not quite understand to what he needs to resist and
what is the prospect of such front. He simply wants very much to be a
member of at least something and not a simple member but an initiator
of a new coalition.”

Azerbaijan preferred not to notice the action of the Georgian party
because the problem of security of the BTC was much more important.
With regard to possible threats to the $3-billion project, Baku sees
at least two such threats. First, these are possible subversions at
the pipeline on the part of various terrorist organizations. Second,
this is unregulated Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Incidentally,
Steven Mann, advisor on energy resources to the US State Department,
points to this conflict too. In a recent interview with us in Baku,
Mann said directly that peaceful solution of the problem of
Nagorno-Karabakh was the most important condition for provision of
security of the BTC project.

Taking into account these threats diseased President of Azerbaijan
Geidar Aliev issued a special decree on April 20, 2002, on working
out of measures for production of the BTC. At the same time
responsibility for guarding of the BTC was laid on the State Security
Service headed by General Vagif Akhundov.

In any case, later Baku decided that the measures taken were
insufficient for protection of the pipeline. Because shares of the
company that has built the BTC belong primarily to Western
corporations, especially American and British ones, defense
ministries and special services of the West start taking an active
part in provision of security of the pipeline. Frequent visits to
Baku of US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, commander of NATO
forces in Europe General James Jones and top-ranking officers of the
Turkish Armed Forces are intended to lay the foundation for creation
of Caspian Guard in Azerbaijan. These will be special forces to
provide for security in the entire Caspian region. The role of the
outpost of the European command of the US, whose zone of
responsibility includes the Caspian region, is prepared for Caspian
Guard. The US government plans to spend approximately $100 million on
creation and functioning of this structure in the next ten years.
According to available information, headquarters of Caspian Guard
equipped with the most modern radar will be located in Baku.
Azerbaijan also does not object to the plans of Pentagon to deploy
American mobile rapid response groups in the territory of the country
in the framework of this program. Analysts expect that very soon
President of Azerbaijan Ilkham Aliev will make the relevant political
decision. Now Baku prefers not to speak about Russia’s interests in
the region controlled by American soldiers.

Translated by Pavel Pushkin

British man stabbed to death in Jerusalem

The Independent – United Kingdom; Aug 26, 2005

Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem

Police were last night hunting a lone Arab who stabbed to death a
21-year-old British Jew and wounded another as they returned from
praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Shmuel Mett, from Golders Green, north London, was stabbed to death
with a kitchen knife two months before he was due to get married in
England.

Mr Mett, an ultra-Orthodox rabbinical student at Jerusalem’s Mir
Yeshiva religious college, was with his close friend Sam Weissbart,
22, also from Golders Green, when the attack happened on David
Street. Mr Weissbart, also a yeshiva student, was stabbed but escaped
to a nearby police station. He was recovering yesterday in the Shaare
Zedek hospital.

David Street, one of the main alleys leading into the heart of the Old
City, runs through the Christian Quarter, which is mainly populated by
Christian Arabs. But Jews frequently go through it to pray at the
Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site, without being attacked or
threatened.

Relatives of Mr Weissbart said that a man jumped out at him shouting
something he could not understand.

He said that he thought he had been punched before realising that he
was bleeding from a wound just above the hip bone. He had not seen
what had happened to Mr Mett, whom he had known from childhood.

The murder was caught on one of the many CCTV cameras throughout the
Old City and police were reported to be taking a photograph of the
assailant round the neighbourhood in an effort to find him. Police
said last night that a third yeshiva student, whom they did not
identify, had been walking with the two men and had come forward to
give information.

The dead man’s parents, Percy and Judith, flew immediately to Israel
from London for the funeral yesterday evening at the Mir Yeshiva in
the ultra orthodox Beit Israel neighbourhood. More than 1,000 yeshiva
students and local residents attended the funeral, conducted in
Yiddish and Hebrew, along with eminent scholars and leading rabbis
attached to the yeshiva. Mir Yeshiva is currently on holiday but is
normally attended by 400 to 500 students and is one of the leading
centre of Talmudic scholarship in world Jewry.

One leading mourner sobbed as he cried out in Yiddish: ‘Why do the
disciples of the wise die when they are so small?’ Mr Mett’s fiance,
Dina Rosenfeld, whom he was due to marry in two months, was understood
to have remained in London.

Earlier, Daniel Harrington, a 22-year-old American traveller from
Spokane, Washington, said he had heard a ‘commotion’ at around 8.30pm
on Wednesday and had left the Petra hostel where he was staying to see
what had happened. He said that he had been at the scene for about
four minutes when the police arrived and started to move people back.

Mr Harrington said the blade appeared to be in Mr Mett’s stomach and
that there appeared to be blood running from a second wound on his
leg. He added: ‘When I arrived he was still breathing and he had
colour, but by the time the police moved me on he was as white as a
sheet.’ Students at the yeshiva, largely foreigners unable to go home
for the August break, were among demonstrators on Wednesday evening at
the Hadassah Ein Karem hospital where Mr Mett had been taken,
protesting at reported police plans to hold an autopsy, which
ultra-Orthodox Jews regard as forbidden by their religion.

In the face of the protests ” and the resistance of Mr Mett’s sister,
who lives in Israel ” police announced yesterday morning that they
would not be holding an autopsy but instead there would be a ‘visual
inspection’ of Mr Mett’s wounds by a doctor approved by the dead man’s
family.

At the yeshiva, fellow students, who declined to give their names,
spoke of Mr Mett as a ‘smiley, quiet, boy who was very serious about
studies’. One student, also from Golders Green, said: ‘Shmuel was one
of those people who was impossible to dislike. This is a tragic,
tragic thing.’ The student said that both Mr Mett and Mr Weissbart had
regularly attended the Hagers synagogue in Golders Green.

One family friend, who asked for his name not to be used, said: ‘Sam
couldn’t sleep last night. He said that when he shut his eyes he saw
the man jumping out at him shouting.’ One of Mr Weissbart’s cousins
Noah Feld, said both men ” who had been friends since attending Pardes
House school in Golders Green and had been together at the Gateshead
Yeshiva before coming to Israel ” ‘wouldn’t hurt a fly. They were
gentle, special people’.

Mr Feld said Mr Weissbart had managed to reach the police station at
the Armenian quarter about 300 yards from where the attack took place
in David Street, where a small group of ultra-Orthodox mourners
gathered to pray yesterday afternoon.

Yoram Halevy, commander of the Old City’s police station, said a
Palestinian carried out the stabbings. Police said the attack was
‘nationally’ motivated.