Author: Hunanian Jack

armenianow.com
August 6, 2004

The Greek Connection: Descendents (if only a few) of first generation still
call Armenia home

By Vahan Ishkhanyan
ArmeniaNow reporter

During Soviet times, Hankavan was home to 120 Greek families, descendents of
the six families who founded the village in 1828. The Greeks came to Armenia
to work in gold and copper mines. At one time there were about 5,000 Greeks
throughout Soviet Armenia.
But when the mines closed in the early 20 th century, the Greeks – like the
Armenians – turned to cattle breeding.

Hankavan: The Greeks call it home
In the 1990s almost all the Greeks of Hankavan returned to Greece. Today,
after migration and immigration, the Greek community in Hankavan is only
about 15 residents.
Seventy-nine-year old Apolstle Chakhirov was among the Greek residents who,
in 1992, moved back his native country.
But, like others, Greece didn’t live up to expectations, so he came back to
Hankavan just three years later. His family convinced him to give Greece
another try. So he moved a second time. And moved back to Armenia a second
time, in 2002. He says he has no intention of moving again.
“First, I came back because this is my homeland and second, because of my
age I couldn’t find any job and it was impossible to continue my bee-keeping
in Salonica,” Apostle says.
Like most of the older generation, Apostle’s wife and three sisters also
weren’t satisfied in Greece, and came back to Hankavan. (All the women are
Greek citizens, and get pensions of about 200 Euro per month.)
Apostle is the unofficial leader of the Greek community. He is also a member
of the Armenian Communist Party, a follower of Marxism and Leninism. At the
same time he is a spiritual leader of sorts and the manager of Greek
Orthodox Church in the village. In the early 20 th century the church had a
priest, but he was shot, in 1937 during Stalin’s repressions.
As soon as Apostle came back from Greece he repaired the inner parts of the
church.
“I am both communist and believer in God. I like Christ, he was very clever
person. But when our priests say that he (Christ) will be back, I don’t
believe. He is dead and so, can’t be back,” Apostle says.

Apostle, a Marxist, makes candles for the church
He puts candles in the church which are made by him from bees-wax from his
very own bees.
“Priests’ candles are false. Things that bees create are created by God,”
the beekeeper says.
Maria, Apostle’s 83 year old sister, is the oldest resident of Hankavan.
Maria remembers when she was 15, and her father engaged her to an Armenian
boy. But she didn’t want to marry an Armenian, so her father gave permission
to marry a Greek.
When her husband died several years ago, her children took her to Greece.
“Greece is good, but it is not for me. Armenia is better,” she says. She
says she will never go to Greece again. Now her children come to see her.
Maria lives alone next to sister Natalie’s home, who also came back with her
husband to the village, leaving her children in Greece.
“Greeks in Greece are not like Armenian Greeks, we don’t like them,” says
Natalie. “In Greece we went to Armenian restaurant and our sons were crying
under the Armenian music. We will die here in Armenia; we will not go to
Greece. But here in Armenia there is nobody who cares about us: neither
telephone, nor roads . . .”
Before, there was a telephone in the village, but 10 years ago some people
cut the wires and took them. Just days ago, Natalie’s husband suffered pain
all night, but they had no possibility to take him to hospital. The next
morning, by chance, Natalie’s nephew, who was back from Greece to visit
relatives, came to the village and took him to hospital. But as of the next
day, none of them had news about Natalie’s husband.
Two years ago Donara Avgirova’s parents persuaded to come back to Hankavan
from Greece. Over the course of the two years, both parents died, leaving
her alone in the village, where she manages the hardship of poor living
conditions.

Some have come back from Greece for eternal rest in Armenia
She first lived in Yerevan, but now faces the village life of collecting
firewood, and trying to find a means to get running water in her house.
She says that when she moved to Greece, she too coerced her parents into
going. “We took them like birds in a coup,” she says. “They wanted to live
here.”
Donara has children in Greece, but says she wants to continue living in
Hankavan.
“My blood doesn’t flow in Greece,” she says. “My homeland is Armenia and we
got used to that life.”
Donara, who is in her 50s, says there are several reasons why life for her
is more comfortable in Hankavan. For example, she says that it is difficult
to establish relations. She says she wants to get married, but that in
Greece, the men “who only want to take you to bed right away.”
Language is also an obstacle for her in Greece, because her family speaks a
different dialect among themselves here, than in her native community in
Greece.
Spiridon Kerasov’s mother has returned to Hankavan, but later than she might
have wished.

Natalie came back after moving to Greece.
“Twelve years ago my four brothers and I went back to Greece and took mother
with us,” Spiridon says. “Mother asked us to let her stay in the village,
but we didn’t allow it, saying that she is an old woman and can’t stay
alone.
“We promised to bring her remains back to Hankavan if something should
happen to her in Greece.”
In 1998, six years after leaving Hankavan, the mother died.
Two weeks ago Spiridon brought his mother’s ashes back to be buried in
Armenian soil. An Armenian priest conducted the interment.
In Greece, the family had rented a grave for their mother, which had to be
vacated after six years. It was after that time that the sons remembered
their mother’s request.
Now she lies in a free grave under her portrait, and next to Spiridon’s
father. In an Armenian village the Greeks call home.
Spiridon keeps his house in Hankavan and doesn’t want to sell it, because
prices are too low. At the same time, he isn’t eager to move back to
Armenia. Unlike his compatriot Donara, Spiridon isn’t ready to make a
permanent home here.
Yes, this is our country, but this is not the right way to live,” he says.
“Who knows? Maybe one day it will be better.”

Azeri opposition MP in favour of Bush’s victory in presidential polls

Sarq, Baku
5 Aug 04

Excerpt from Yadigar Cafarli and Teymur Turan report by Azerbaijani
newspaper Sarq on 5 August headlined “John Kerry’s remarks seem
dangerous” and subheaded “Asim Mollazada: ‘This man is one of the
authors of Section 907′”. Subheadings have been inserted editorially:

The main issue on the agenda is the visit to Baku by the rapporteurs
of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe PACE on
Azerbaijan, Andreas Gross and Andres Herkel. At its autumn session,
PACE’s agenda will include the discussion of Azerbaijan’s commitments
to the organization. This attaches special importance to the visit of
the co-rapporteurs to Baku. A member of the Azerbaijani delegation at
PACE and an MP from the “reformist” wing of the People’s Front of
Azerbaijan Party, Asim Mollazada, also reckons that this visit is
important.

Mollazada The Azerbaijani public pins great hopes on the visit. I am
sure that Azerbaijan can get stronger by integrating European values.

Passage omitted: Azerbaijan’s relations with the PACE

US official’s regional visit

Correspondent The recent visit of US Assistant Secretary of State for
European and Eurasian Affairs Elizabeth Jones has caused much
interest.

Mollazada This was a scheduled visit. She visited not only Azerbaijan,
but also Georgia.

The visit had been planned. Therefore, I see nothing strange about
it. This was a working visit and if there are more of such visits and
such relations, this will be of benefit to Azerbaijan and the region.

There are some really dangerous processes under way in the region,
namely, in Georgia’s South Ossetia. Naturally, the USA – which has
relations of partnership with Azerbaijan and Georgia – is monitoring
these developments.

Correspondent Did the visit have an impact on the delay in the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline’s construction in Borjomi?

Mollazada I think that this is temporary. The construction will resume
within days.

The US presidential election

Correspondent The election campaign is under way in the USA. You used
to be an active supporter of George Bush in Azerbaijan. What about
now?

Mollazada I would like to recall that during his four-year term in
office, George Bush suspended the unjust Section 907 to the Freedom
Support Act banning direct US government assistance to Azerbaijan
. The measures he has taken on the issues where Azerbaijani and
American interests converge have facilitated Azerbaijan’s development.

Correspondent What about John Kerry then?

Mollazada Some of Kerry’s remarks seem dangerous to me. This man is
one of the authors of Section 907. He recently said that when elected
he would take certain decision regarding the “Armenian genocide”.

I believe that a person who prioritizes the interests of one ethnic
diaspora in his election campaign will prove unable to fully protect
America’s national interests in the future. What we want is
cooperation between the USA and Azerbaijan, a policy based on common
interests.

I hope that the majority of the American people will vote for the
politician who protects national security better.

Construction Industry Update for Armenia

BISNIS
August 5, 2004

BISNIS Trades & Tenders Leads:

Company: Comfort R&V

Product: glue for ceramic tiles, doors and windows, accessories for
swimming pools, swimming pool purification chemicals
Location: Yerevan, Armenia

Lead Link:

**********************************************************************
BISNIS Search for Partner Leads:

Company: Comfort R&V

Project Description: The company owns 17,000 sq.m. of land located
near the capital city of Yerevan where it plans to establish a large
trade center specializing in the wholesale and retail distribution of
building materials.

The total project cost is $4 million.

The company seeks a U.S. partner that would co-invest in the project.

Comfort R&V will finance 50% of the total project cost.

Location: Yerevan, Armenia

Lead Link:

**********************************************************************

NOTE: These opportunities are provided solely as an informational
service and do not represent an endorsement by the U.S. Department of
Commerce. Verification of these leads is the responsibility of the
reader.

BISNIS Programs available to you FREE OF CHARGE:
BISNIS ExpoLink Eurasia
BISNIS Trades & Tenders
BISNIS Search for Partners
BISNIS FinanceLink fm

For industry-specific information, please go to Construction Industry page at

********** Provided by: *********************************************
Irin a C. Mitchell, BISNIS Trade Specialist for Construction Industry
U.S. Department of Commerce
Tel: 202/482-3729, Fax: 202/482-2293
e-mail: [email protected]

Aspen Times, CO
Aug 4 2004

Gulezian’s guitar playing infused with devotion to music’s power

By Stewart Oksenhorn
Aspen Times Staff Writer

The topic of conversation is that subset of contemporary instrumental
music that only an elevator or hotel lobby could love.

But Michael Gulezian has misunderstood my question, and the normally
mild-mannered, spiritual-leaning guitarist has turned into a
fire-breathing beast.

`It’s dreck,’ said Gulezian, using the Yiddish substitute for a word
that no longer can appear in The Aspen Times. `It makes me want to
scream. It’s the audio equivalent of Sominex. It’s wallpaper. If I
hear it in the supermarket, I run out.’

Gulezian thought I had asked what he did when he hears this music,
with its cheesy sounds, formulaic rhythms and empty melodies. But my
actual question was, what does someone like him do that separates his
contemporary instrumental music from the dreck. I explain the
misunderstanding, and Gulezian turns from Anti-Elevator Music Man
back into his humble self.

`Music,’ explained the 47-year-old Nashville resident, `should be an
active, participatory experience, an experience of community, a
common experience of a language that transcends spoken word. To water
that powerful thing down to a formula is shameful, even sinful.’

Gulezian’s music is, in fact, no relation to the simplistic,
synthesized bromide one hears in the hallways of shopping malls. On
albums like `Language of the Flame’ and the forthcoming live
recording `Concert at St. Olaf College,’ Gulezian’s music, mostly
solo guitar work, is inventive and complex; like his heroes of the
finger-style guitar – especially the late Michael Hedges, and John
Fahy, Gulezian’s first major influence – he melds rhythm, melody and
harmony using just one instrument and 10 fingers. The less-humble
side of Gulezian actually boasts that he is `a technical monster.’
But the more artistic side of Gulezian counters that the art is not
about the technique.

`It’s not about the technique,’ said Gulezian, who performs tonight
at Main Street Bakery. `That’s the last thing people should be paying
attention to. It’s about whether I’m transforming something about the
heart and soul to people who are listening. Technically, I can blow
anybody away. But if that’s all you’re going to do, you’re going to
play to an audience of nothing but guitar junkies.’

Though tonight’s concert is his Aspen debut, Gulezian spent his high
school years as a Coloradan, attending a small prep school in Cañon
City, Holy Cross Abbey, run by Benedictine monks. His love of music,
however, was already instilled in him by the time he got to high
school.

Gulezian’s mother, an Armenian born in Syria, sang Armenian folk
songs in a beautiful voice; his father, a New York native also of
Armenian descent, was an ethnomusicologist who transcribed ancient
Egyptian music scrolls for the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

`When I say I heard music growing up from other cultures,’ said
Gulezian, `I mean cultures from thousands of years ago. That’s the
environment I grew up in – listening to Motown and the Beatles, and
also traditional classical music from the Middle East and India.’

Gulezian began playing Western classical music on guitar at 7. `But
to be honest, it didn’t resonate in my heart,’ he said. `I practiced
because I was diligent. But nothing really got me until I was 12, 13,
when I heard finger-style players like Doc Watson, and the
Mississippi Delta players like Leadbelly and Mississippi John Hurt.’

Those blues players got to his heart. But it was Fahy, the pioneering
finger-style guitarist who broke the trail for Leo Kottke and the
like, who got into Gulezian, heart, soul and mind.

`That blew me away,’ said Gulezian. `John Fahy was to steel-string
instrumental guitar music what Andrés Segovia was to classical
guitar. Nobody took classical guitar seriously until Segovia started
playing it.’

For Gulezian, the Maryland-born Fahy opened up a world of
near-infinite possibilities. `He provided the model for someone to be
idiosyncratic and create his own artistic path. I knew I could
express the deepest part of me.’

That seems to get to the heart of the original question. What
separates the contemporary instrumental music played by Gulezian –
and Pierre Bensusan, Kottke, Alex De Grassi and the like – from
elevator sounds is the element of humanity. Gulezian’s music has a
personality, rather than a formula, behind it.

Gulezian concludes: `I guess the answer is I love it so much and
respect it so much and have such awe for the power of music, I treat
it with devotion.’

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
July 29 2004

GEORGIA SEEKS ALTERNATIVE GAS SUPPLY FROM IRAN
[July 29, 2004, 16:27:30]

Georgian officials say Tbilisi considers Iran as an alternative gas
supplier for Georgia, which currently depends only the Russian giants
GazProm and Itera for its gas supply, reported AzerTAj Tbilisi based
correspondent.

Officials say that the project is a long-term one and may be launched
as early as next year. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili
discussed this issue during his visit to Iran in early July. `Iranian
gas can serve as an alternative source of gas supply for Georgia only
in cases of emergency situations and in the case that Russia reduces
or stops the gas supply

[to Georgia]. It can not be a permanent supplier for us, as Iranian
gas is more expensive,’ Teona Doliashvili, a spokesperson for the
Georgian Energy Ministry, told journalists.

There are two potential delivery routes of gas from Iran into Georgia
– one via Azerbaijan and another through Armenia.

In Soviet times Georgia received gas from Iran via Azerbaijan;
however the Azerbaijani pipeline needs rehabilitation, which,
according to the Georgian Energy Ministry, would cost around USD 2
million.

Representatives from SakGazi, the gas distribution company in
Georgia, say that the joining of the Georgian gas system to the
Iranian-Armenian gas pipeline may prove cheaper.

`These considerations over a gas supply from Iran were launched some
three years ago, but discussions yielded no results, mainly because
of the lack of finances to rehabilitate the pipe. I think the
Armenian option will be cheaper,’ Maka Arakhamia, a spokesperson for
the SakGazi Company, told correspopndents.

This issue was discussed during the Georgian Foreign Minister Salome
Zourabichvili’s vist to Armenia last week. Zourabichvili said that
Georgia is interested in gas being delivered from Iran.

According to the Georgian Energy Ministry, Iran is also interested in
Georgia as a transit country to export its gas to Europe.

ARMENIAN ACADEMIC MUSIC IN 21-ST CENTURY

Azg/am
28 July 2004

The Armenian classical composers have left rich inheritance. Today
this tradition is still alive. The contemporary Armenian composers are
working, creating new pieces. Suren Zakarian, composer, pianist,
laureate of international contests, professor at Yerevan State
Conservatoire, touches upon the issuesof the modern musical
developments, the fate of the musical pieces and the new composers in
the interview to Azg Daily.

– Years ago you were of the opinion that the Armenian composers are
creating bright music that the art-loving audience has no opportunity
to listen to. What ‘s the situation now?

– The social-economic situation wasn’t globally changed, sothe
situation is almost unchanged in our sphere. Everything depends on
financing. The issue of giving royalties for hiring concert halls and
for musicians has occurred. The contemporary music is paid less
attention. This tendency is observed through the world. Here is no
commercial benefit for the organizers of the concerts, the sponsors
and the musicians. There are musicians that would like to include
contemporary music in their repertoire, but they don’t want their
audience to fail understanding the music. Most of all they perform
well-known classical pieces that secure their musical success.

– During the years of hardship Loris Tchgnavorian awoke the people’s
love for music. What can you say about this?

– Today, the audience is brought up as a consumer. The art-loving
society accepts the musical format in which it was brought up. When
listening to a musical piece one should “perform”, i.e. feel together
with the musicians. Each person should find the reflection of his soul
when listening to music. He can understand, feel and estimate all only
through his own inner world. This concerns the art, as a whole. I can
remember that in Moscow during the premiere of Tarkovsky’s “Stalker”
most of the viewers left the cinema hall. Thehigher is the art piece
in its depth, value, sophistication, uniqueness the narrower is the
circle of the people who estimate and accept that piece. This is a
rule anda very natural one. I don’t want to say that all the things
that aren’t accepted in the art are talented, interesting, certainly,
not. The matter is that if there are interesting, valuable pieces they
shouldn’t be placed on the same level with the bad ones.

– There are professional musicians, aren’t there?

– Each professional musician has his own musical taste, orientation
and weak sides. The opinions can’t coincide and this is natural, too.

– Do the times influence the composers?

– From the political viewpoint, no. The musical language is important
for the composer and that is developing constantly. A period comes
when certain styles, musical languages fade. For professionals working
in that language means to be engaged in styling. Today you can’t write
in the language of Chopin and have your own face.

– What do you think, what can contribute to the creative work of the
contemporary artist?

– The artist writes, as he can’t help writing, as he can’t help
expressing his thoughts, feelings. The ordering practice isn’t applied
in Armenia, though it is widely accepted in the world. In the case of
an order you feel secure both from the performing and financial
viewpoints. In Armenia only Aram Gharabekian has ordered music for the
chamber orchestra for 3-4 times to different composers, including
me. This is important in our situation when the composer is given such
an opportunity. Otherwise you have to wait for a lucky chance to
perform your piece. A piece that has been performed only once means
nothing, as it depends on many factors. The performance can be a bad
one, besides, each musician can perform the music in his own
way. Publishers, foundations, sponsors contribute to the development
of culture abroad. The same can be applied in our country, as
well. Videos of contemporary music can be frequently shown on
TV. Artist Henrik Elibekian makes his studio a salon time after time
and organizes musical evenings there.

– Aram Khachaturian is a world-known composer. Why our best composers
aren’t known in the world?

– Khachaturian’s music is accessible and his musical language is
animportant factor. I must say that Alexander Haroutiunian’s music is
also wellknown in the world. The pieces of our other contemporary
composers are paid attention too. But this is not enough.

– Maybe it is because the artists are passive?

– The premier of two my pieces took place in New York. But that
wasnâ=80=99t my initiative and I wasn’t present at the
concerts. Another piece of mine “Monograph” for cello and orchestra
was performed in France at the initiative of the French musicians.

By Aida Arshakian

ArmenPress
July 22 2004

ARMENIAN SCIENTISTS DENIES TURKISH MEDIA REPORTS

YEREVAN, JULY 22, ARMENPRESS: Lavrenty Barseghian, the director of
Genocide Museum-Institute, denied Wednesday media reports that Turks
and Armenians had exchanged documents in Austrian capital Vienna to
discuss, as Turks put it, “the so-called genocide allegations.”
Armenian mass media reported, citing Turkish newspapers that Turkish
and Armenian scientists met in Vienna on July 16th under chairmanship
of Prof. Bihl of Vienna Armenian Turkish Platform (VAT) and exchanged
documents concerning the Genocide.
“The reports about the alleged meeting came as a big surprise and
I think they were concocted by Turks to disrupt the planned meeting
,” Barseghian, who was supposed to be one of the two Armenian
scientists to visit Vienna, told Armenpress, adding that none of the
two was in Vienna on July 16.
Barseghian said he will travel to Vienna later and will take
documents from German and Austrian archives who were Turkey’s allies
in W I, which he said prove that the massacre of Armenians had been
planned and carried out by then Turkish government. He added that the
fact of the Genocide cannot be subject of discussions, as it is an
undeniable fact and “once Turks try to raise it we shall walk out of
the meeting.”

Le Figaro, France
21 juillet 2004

Les opposants se mobilisent

Cécile de Corbière
[21 juillet 2004]

En réaction à la visite du premier ministre turc, le parti
FRA-Daschnaktousioun (Fédération révolutionnaire arménienne) et le
Parti arménien démocrate libéral (PADL), accompagnés de Michel
Tubiana, président de la FIDH (Fédération internationale des droits
de l’homme), ont exprimé leur opposition à l’ouverture des
négociations avec la Turquie. Varoujan Sirapian, représentant du
PADL, a repris point par point les arguments en faveur de la Turquie.
Et, point par point, les a réfutés. La Turquie est une nation
européenne ? L’héritage judéo-chrétien et gréco-romain «a été balayé
par la turquisation et l’islamisation du pays», dont, selon lui, «le
point culminant a été le génocide arménien». L’Europe ne doit pas
être un club chrétien ? «C’est à la Turquie de montrer qu’elle est
pluraliste et non l’inverse.» Quant à Erdogan, il s’est,
affirme-t-il, «déclaré ouvertement favorable à la polygamie». Bref,
«la Turquie n’est pas encore apte à intégrer l’UE». Ces propos ont
provoqué la colère du président de la FIDH, Michel Tubiana, qui a
refusé catégoriquement de les cautionner. Son combat se joue sur le
terrain des droits de l’homme et n’est pas affaire de religion. Comme
la FRA et son représentant Mourad Papazian, il n’est pas contre une
intégration à terme de la Turquie. Mais il considère que le volet
politique des critères de Copenhague, que la Turquie doit satisfaire
pour intégrer l’Europe, n’est pas respecté. Pour la FRA et la FIDH,
ce volet signifie pour Ankara la reconnaissance du génocide arménien,
la fin de l’occupation de Chypre par la Turquie, le respect de la
minorité kurde. Papazian réclame un report de l’ouverture des
négociations, ainsi qu’un audit généralisé en Turquie.

Armenian population’s incomes increase in six months of 2004

Arminfo
20 Jul 04

YEREVAN

The income of the Armenian population increased by 19.2 per cent in
the first six months of 2004 and totalled 534.9bn [958m dollars]
drams. According to preliminary information given to Arminfo news
agency by the Armenian National Statistics Service, this figure
increased by 6.8 per cent in June.

The population’s spending went up by 18.2 per cent in the first six
months of the year and by 3.4 per cent monthly, amounting to 544.7bn
drams [976m dollars]. The rate of the dram for the dollar was 558
drams in January-March 2004.

The average salary amounted to 40,014 drams [76 dollars] in
January-June 2004, or 32.9 per cent higher than in 2003 – the growth
was 3.3 per cent in June compared to May. Moreover, the salary of
public sector employees totalled 25,838 drams [49 dollars] at the end
of June, whereas in private organizations, it totalled 51,915 drams
[98 dollars], with a 45.9-per-cent and 26.4-per-cent growth
respectively in January-June 2004.

Compared to May 2004, the salary of public sector employees increased
by 2 per cent in June, and by 3.8 per cent in private organizations.
By the end of 2004, the number of officially registered unemployed
people totalled 115,100, having dropped by 8.4 per cent per year and
by 0.8 per cent in June.

Turkish ex-intelligence agent questioned over alleged crime links

NTV web site, Istanbul
20 Jul 04

Faik Meral, a former MIT [National Intelligence Organization] employee
and the holder of the green passport [a special passport issued to
public officials], which was used by Alaattin Cakici [leader of a
crime syndicate in Turkey] in order to flee to Austria where he was
detained, has been arrested.

Meral, who was released on bail under a court order yesterday, was
detained again at Ataturk Airport before taking a flight to
Izmir. Meral was taken to the Organized Crimes Bureau and then
appeared in a High Criminal Court to re-examine the arrest warrant in
absentia issued against him and the court decided to remand him in
custody. Meral was later sent to Type-F Prison in Tekirdag.

The arrest warrant in absentia issued by Istanbul 11th High Criminal
Court against Meral for aiding and abetting a crime syndicate was put
into effect by Istanbul 12th High Criminal Court.

After completion of legal formalities in a building, which housed a
State Security Court before it was abolished, located in Besiktas
district, Meral, who was handcuffed, was escorted by two police
officers to a police car with a civil registration plate waiting in
front of the building.

Wearing sunglasses and refusing to answer questions put by reporters,
Meral was later taken to a type-F prison in Tekirdag.

In the testimony he gave in an emergency court he appeared in
yesterday, Meral said that his last meeting with Cakici, to whom he
was introduced by a high-level MIT official 10 to 15 years ago, took
place after Cakici was released last year.

Noting that he visited Cakici at his home, Meral said that he was
carrying his passport that day, but did not notice that he had lost it
as he did not travel abroad later.

Claiming that he had learned that Cakici was carrying his passport
when he was arrested while he was watching a newscast, Meral said that
he had been taken part in intelligence operations launched against the
Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia in Paris, but did
not take part in any operation in which Cakici was also involved.