Author: Jagharian Tania

ARMENIAN NPP TO BE RESTARTED ON OCTOBER 4, 2004

YEREVAN, AUGUST 25. ARMINFO. The Armenian NPP, which is not operative
now, is to be connected to the energy system on October 4, 2004, RA
Minister of Energy Armen Movsisyan told reporters.

The NPP was shut down for maintenance repairs and re-fueling on July
31. The Minister pointed out that the work has been done 45-50 per
cent, and monitoring shows that it will be completed within 64
days. He added that fuel has for the first time been supplied on time
since 1995. The reactor is being repaired on the NPP’s internal
funds. Specialists of the Czech “Skoda” company are now testing the
strength of the metal case of the reactor in conformity with
international standards and technical requirements of the IAEA. This
work is to be completed within 5-6 days. To enhance the safety,
specialists intend to install 37 electro-gas circuit breakers. A
computer system will also be installed to register all the parameters
of the reactor, which will be filed for post-accident analysis.

In 2003, the NPP generated a total of 1.9bln. kw/h of energy, 36% of
the total energy output in Armenia. Last September, the NPP was
transferred to the management of the “Inter RAO EES” CJSC, a
subsidiary of the RAO “EES Rossii.”

ArmenPress
Aug 19 2004

MAMEDYAROV SAYS BAKU WILL STRIVE FOR PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF NAGORNO
KARABAKH CONFLICT

BAKU, AUGUST 19, ARMENPRESS: Baku will strive to the last point to
settle Nagorno Karabakh conflict peacefully, Azeri foreign minister
Elmar Mamediarov told a news conference today. He said that Nagorno
Karabakh “is the major conflict in the region and the oldest.” The
minister opposed the possibility of “freezing” the conflict. “We do
not believe that conflicts can be frozen,” he said. “International
community should understand that force is not a method for solution.
Armenian military forces have occupied territories,” Azeri foreign
minister said. “Such superpowers as USA, France and Russia should say
their word. The principle of territorial integrity is inviolable.”

Sportsnetwork.com
August 19, 2004

Ward wins Olympic boxing debut; Martirosyan falters

Athens, Greece (Sports Network) – Light heavyweight Andre Ward won his
Olympic debut Thursday, scoring a victory over Italy’s Clemente Russo at
Peristeri Hall. But welterweight Vanes Martirosyan wasn’t as lucky.

Martirosyan, a California native like Ward, dropped his second-round
bout with reigning world champion Lorenzo Aragon Armenteros of Cuba,
becoming the second American boxer in as many days to lose.

“He was the better fighter,” said the 18-year-old Martirosyan, who won
his Olympic opener Sunday, a lopsided 45-20 victory over Algerian
Benamar Meskine. “I hope he gets the gold.”

Martirosyan was never really in the bout, falling behind 8-2 in the
first round on the way to a 20-11 loss. Flyweight Rau’Shee Warren was
the first American to lose here when he dropped a decision to China’s
Zau Shiming on Wednesday.

For Ward, who hasn’t lost a fight since 1998, things went just as
planned. He opened up with a slim 2-1 advantage in the first round
before outpointing Russo 6-4 and 7-3 over the next two frames on the way
to a 17-9 triumph.

“Andre likes to feel his opponents out first,” USA coach Basheer
Abdullah said. “But he was more aggressive over the last rounds.”

Ward moved on to face two-time world champion Evgeny Makarenko of
Russia. He is just the eighth American boxer to win his Olympic debut.

08/19 11:58:42 ET

powered by

Armenian, Azeri foreign ministers’ meeting tentatively set for 29-30 August

Mediamax news agency
19 Aug 04

YEREVAN

The Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers are scheduled to meet
on 29-30 August in Prague, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan
said in Yerevan today.

At the same time, he admitted that the date of the meeting might
change.

Speaking about Armenia’s approach to the negotiations, Vardan Oskanyan
noted that after a peaceful settlement of the problem, Nagornyy
Karabakh’s status should not differ much from the one possessed by
this country today.

Olympic Swimming Results

.c The Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Results for Sunday’s Olympic swimming competition at
the Olympic Aquatic Center:

Men

100 Backstroke

Qualification

1. Tomomi Morita, Japan, 54.41 (Q).

2. Aaron Peirsol, United States, 54.65 (Q).

3. Laszlo Cseh, Hungary, 54.80 (Q).

4. Markus Rogan, Austria, 54.87 (Q).

4. Lenny Krayzelburg, United States, 54.87 (Q).

6. Steffen Driesen, Germany, 54.92 (Q).

7. Arkady Vyatchanin, Russia, 55.17 (Q).

8. Keng Liat Alex Lim, Malaysia, 55.22 (Q).

9. Matt Welsh, Australia, 55.35 (Q).

10. Kunpeng Ouyang, China, 55.50 (Q).

11. Marco di Carli, Germany, 55.58 (Q).

12. Gerhard Zandberg, South Africa, 55.62 (Q).

13. Simon Dufour, France, 55.76 (Q).

14. Gregor Tait, Britain, 55.77 (Q).

14. Razvan Ionut Florea, Zimbabwe, 55.77 (Q).

16. Gordan Kozulj, Croatia, 55.80 (Q).

17. Aristeidis Grigoriadis, Greece, 55.85.

17. Josh Watson, Australia, 55.85.

19. Evgeny Aleshin, Russia, 55.91.

20. Ryan Pini, Papua New Guinea, 55.97.

21. Pierre Roger, France, 56.07.

22. Cameron Gibson, New Zealand, 56.14.

23. Adam Mania, Poland, 56.20.

24. Darius Grigalionis, Lithuania, 56.21.

25. Nicholas Alfred Neckles, Barbados, 56.32.

26. Derya Buyukuncu, Turkey, 56.34.

27. Lubos Krizko, Slovakia, 56.62.

27. Volodymyr Nikolaychuk, Ukraine, 56.62.

27. Matt Rose, Canada, 56.62.

30. Sung Min, South Korea, 56.78.

31. Ahmed Hussein, Egypt, 56.86.

32. Paulo Machado, Brazil, 57.07.

33. Eduardo German Otero, Argentina, 57.28.

34. Peter Horvath, Hungary, 57.29.

35. Aschwin Wildeboer, Spain, 57.35.

36. Matti Maki, Finland, 57.57.

37. George Gleason, U.S. Virgin Islands, 57.64.

38. Christopher Vythoulkas, Bahamas, 58.31.

39. Brendan Ashby, Zimbabwe, 58.91.

40. Igor Beretic, Serbia-Montenegro, 59.38.

41. Stanislav Ossinkskiy, Kazakhstan, 59.92.

42. Alexandr Ivlev, Moldova, 1:00.13.

43. Danil Bugakov, Uzbekistan, 1:02.28.

44. Omar Abu Fares, Jordan, 1:02.36.

NR. Donnie Defreitas, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, DNS.

Semifinals

1. Aaron Peirsol, United States, 54.34 (Q).

2. Markus Rogan, Austria, 54.42 (Q).

3. Tomomi Morita, Japan, 54.62 (Q).

4. Lenny Krayzelburg, United States, 54.63 (Q).

5. Steffen Driesen, Germany, 54.64 (Q).

6. Matt Welsh, Australia, 54.69 (Q).

7. Laszlo Cseh, Hungary, 54.86 (Q).

8. Marco di Carli, Germany, 55.03 (Q).

9. Arkady Vyatchanin, Russia, 55.20.

10. Razvan Ionut Florea, Romania, 55.27.

11. Ouyang Kunpeng, China, 55.28.

12. Gregor Tait, Britain, 55.31.

13. Gerhard Zandberg, South Africa, 55.76.

14. Gordan Kozulj, Croatia, 56.02.

15. Keng Liat Alex Lim, Malaysia, 56.08.

16. Simon Dufour, France, 56.15.

100 Breaststroke

Final

1. Kosuke Kitajima, Japan, 1:00.08.

2. Brendan Hansen, United States, 1:00.25.

3. Hugues Duboscq, France, 1:00.88.

4. Mark Gangloff, United States, 1:01.17.

5. Vladislav Polyakov, Kazakhstan, 1:01.34.

6. James Gibson, Britain, 1:01.36.

7. Darren Mew, Britain, 1:01.66.

8. Oleg Lisogor, Ukraine, 1:02.42.

200 Freestyle

Qualification

1. Ian Thorpe, Australia, 1:47.22 (Q).

2. Pieter van den Hoogenband, Netherlands, 1:47.32 (Q).

3. Emiliano Brembilla, Italy, 1:47.95 (Q).

4. Klete Keller, United States, 1:47.97 (Q).

5. Michael Phelps, United States, 1:48.43 (Q).

6. Simon Burnett, Britain, 1:48.68 (Q).

7. Grant Hackett, Australia, 1:48.90 (Q).

8. Jens Schreiber, Germany, 1:49.00 (Q).

9. Kvetoslav Svoboda, Czech Republic, 1:49.25 (Q).

10. Rick Say, Canada, 1:49.32 (Q).

11. Dominik Meichtry, Switzerland, 1:49.45 (Q).

12. George Bovell, Trinidad and Tobago, 1:49.48 (Q).

13. Yoshihiro Okumura, Japan, 1:49.54 (Q).

14. Brent Hayden, Canada, 1:49.56 (Q).

15. Andreas Zisimos, Greece, 1:49.60 (Q).

16. Andrey Kapralov, Russia, 1:49.91 (Q).

17. Olaf Wildeboer, Spain, 1:50.01. 18. Jacob Carstensen, Denmark, 1:50.15.

19. Stefan Herbst, Germany, 1:50.23.

20. Rodrigo Castro, Brazil, 1:50.27.

21. Saulius Binevicius, Lithuania, 1:50.50.

22. Peter Mankoc, Slovenia, 1:50.72.

23. Romans Miloslavskis, Latvia, 1:50.83.

24. Maxim Kuznetsov, Russia, 1:50.93.

25. Nicolas Rostoucher, France, 1:50.96.

26. Dominik Koll, Austria, 1:51.36.

27. Dmytro Vereitinov, Ukraine, 1:51.38.

28. Joshua Ilika Brenner, Mexico, 1:51.66.

29. Luis Monteiro, Portugal, 1:51.78.

30. Lukasz Drzewinski, Poland, 1:51.90.

31. Mihail Alexandrov, Bulgaria, 1:52.12.

32. Tamas Szucs, Hungary, 1:52.26.

33. Han Kyu-chul, South Korea, 1:52.28.

34. Damian Arthur Christopher Alleyne, Barbados, 1:52.89.

35. Aleksandar Malenko, Macedonia, 1:53.00.

35. Mahrez Mebarek, Algeria, 1:53.00.

37. Yahor Salabutau, Belarus, 1:53.03.

38. Albert Subirats Altes, Venezuela, 1:53.11.

39. Giancarlo Zolezzi, Chile, 1:53.18.

40. Juan Martin Pereyra, Argentina, 1:53.19.

40. Shaune Fraser, Cayman Islands, 1:53.19.

42. Miguel Molina, Philippines, 1:53.81.

43. Lin Zhang, China, 1:53.84.

44. Alexandros Aresti, Cyprus, 1:53.90.

45. Martin Kutscher, Uruguay, 1:53.91.

46. Andrea Beccari, Italy, 1:54.00.

47. Te Tung Chen, Taiwan, 1:54.14.

48. Igor Erhartic, Serbia-Montenegro, 1:54.21.

49. Stepan Pinciuc, Moldova, 1:54.56.

50. Anouar Ben Naceur, Tunisia, 1:54.69.

51. Jung Jun Mark Chay, Singapore, 1:54.70.

52. Aytekin Mindan, Turkey, 1:55.65.

53. Adil Bellaz, Morocco, 1:55.79.

54. Mario Delac, Croatia, 1:55.82.

55. Vitaliy Khan, Kazakhstan, 1:56.11.

56. Diego Mularoni, San Marino, 1:56.18.

57. Petr Vasilev, Uzbekistan, 1:56.93.

58. Zurab Khomasuridze, Georgia, 1:58.02.

59. Ruslan Ismailov, Kyrgyzstan, 2:01.53.

Semifinals

1. Pieter van den Hoogenband, Netherlands, 1:46.00 (Q).

2. Ian Thorpe, Australia, 1:46.65 (Q).

3. Michael Phelps Iii, United States, 1:47.08 (Q).

4. Klete Keller, United States, 1:47.28 (Q).

5. Grant Hackett, Australia, 1:47.61 (Q).

6. Simon Burnett, Britain, 1:47.72 (Q).

7. Emiliano Brembilla, Italy, 1:47.93 (Q).

8. Rick Say, Canada, 1:48.16 (Q).

9. Kvetoslav Svoboda, Czech Republic, 1:49.27.

10. Yoshihiro Okumura, Japan, 1:49.49.

11. George Bovell, Trinidad and Tobago, 1:49.59.

12. Andreas Zisimos, Greece, 1:49.76.

13. Brent Hayden, Canada, 1:50.00.

14. Dominik Meichtry, Switzerland, 1:50.02.

15. Olaf Wildeboer, Spain, 1:50.61.

16. Andrey Kapralov, Russia, 1:51.35.

4×100 Freestyle Relay

Qualification

1. South Africa, 3:13.84 (Q).

2. United States, 3:15.83 (Q).

3. Italy, 3:16.18 (Q).

4. Netherlands, 3:16.42 (Q).

5. Russia, 3:17.46 (Q).

6. France, 3:17.64 (Q).

6. Australia, 3:17.64 (Q).

8. Germany, 3:17.97 (Q).

9. Canada, 3:18.35.

10. Ukraine, 3:18.95.

11. Lithuania, 3:19.28.

12. Brazil, 3:20.20.

13. Croatia, 3:21.01.

14. Greece, 3:24.26.

15. China, 3:24.31.

NR. Sweden, DQ.

Final

1. South Africa (Roland Mark Schoeman, 48.17; Lyndon Ferns, 48.13; Darian
Townsend, 48.96; Ryk Neethling, 47.91), 3:13.17.

2. Netherlands (Johan Kenkhuis, 49.81; Mitja Zastrow, 49.25; Klaas-Erik
Zwering, 48.51; Pieter van den Hoogenband, 46.79), 3:14.36.

3. United States (Ian Crocker, 50.05; Michael Phelps, 48.74; Neil Walker,
47.97; Jason Lezak, 47.86), 3:14.62.

4. Russia (Andrey Kapralov, 49.27; Evgeny Lagunov, 49.17; Denis Pimankov,
49.25; Alexander Popov, 48.06), 3:15.75.

4. Italy (Lorenzo Vismara, 49.16; Filippo Magnini, 48.30; Michele Scarica,
49.21; Christian Galenda, 49.08), 3:15.75.

6. Australia (Michael Klim, 49.37; Todd Pearson, 49.07; Eamon Sullivan,
49.19; Ian Thorpe, 48.14), 3:15.77.

7. France (Romain Barnier, 49.65; Julien Sicot, 49.31; Fabien Gilot, 48.95;
Frederick Bousquet, 48.32), 3:16.23.

8. Germany (Jens Schreiber, 49.88; Lars Conrad, 48.72; Torsten Spanneberg,
49.24; Stefan Herbst, 49.34), 3:17.18.

Women

100 Butterfly

Final

1. Petria Thomas, Australia, 57.72.

2. Otylia Jedrzejczak, Poland, 57.84.

3. Inge de Bruijn, Netherlands, 57.99.

4. Jess Schipper, Australia, 58.22.

5. Jennifer Thompson, United States, 58.72.

6. Martina Moravcova, Slovakia, 58.96.

7. Alena Popchanka, Belarus, 59.06.

8. Junko Onishi, Japan, 59.83.

100 Backstroke

Qualification

1. Laure Manaudou, France, 1:01.27 (Q).

2. Reiko Nakamura, Japan, 1:01.39 (Q).

3. Natalie Coughlin, United States, 1:01.45 (Q).

4. Kirsty Coventry, Zimbabwe, 1:01.60 (Q).

5. Noriko Inada, Japan, 1:01.67 (Q).

6. Antje Buschschulte, Germany, 1:01.68 (Q).

7. Nina Zhivanevskaya, Spain, 1:01.75 (Q).

8. Stanislava Komarova, Russia, 1:01.84 (Q).

9. Ilona Hlavackova, Czech Republic, 1:01.95 (Q).

10. Giaan Rooney, Australia, 1:01.96 (Q).

11. Haley Cope, United States, 1:01.99 (Q).

12. Katy Sexton, Britain, 1:02.01 (Q).

13. Louise Oernstedt, Denmark, 1:02.17 (Q).

13. Sarah Price, Britain, 1:02.17 (Q).

15. Chang Gao, China, 1:02.19 (Q).

16. Shu Zhan, China, 1:02.39 (Q).

17. Sanja Jovanovic, Croatia, 1:02.47.

17. Erin Gammel, Canada, 1:02.47.

19. Iryna Amshennikova, Ukraine, 1:02.57.

20. Marieke Guehrer, Australia, 1:02.76.

21. Nikolett Szepesi, Hungary, 1:02.78.

22. Hannah McLean, New Zealand, 1:03.09.

23. Janine Pietsch, Germany, 1:03.13.

24. Shim Min Ji, South Korea, 1:03.14.

25. Sviatlana Khakhlova, Belarus, 1:03.25.

26. Alessandra Cappa, Italy, 1:03.50.

27. Gisela Morales, Guatemala, 1:03.72.

28. Anna Gostomelsky, Israel, 1:04.06.

29. Alexandra Putra, France, 1:04.13.

30. Hiu Wai Sherry Tsai, Hong Kong, 1:04.25.

31. Kiera Aitken, Bermuda, 1:04.37.

32. Chonlathorn Vorathamrong, Thailand, 1:05.15.

33. Eirini Karastergiou, Greece, 1:05.30.

34. Sadan Derya Erke, Turkey, 1:05.38.

35. Serrana Fernandez, Uruguay, 1:05.51.

36. Hanna-Maria Seppala, Finland, 1:05.55.

37. Hsiao Han Fu, Taiwan, 1:06.62.

38. Anastassiya Prilepa, Kazakhstan, 1:07.55.

39. Lenient Obia, Nigeria, 1:09.65.

40. Galindo Ana, Honduras, 1:11.80.

41. Olga Gnedovckaya, Uzbekistan, 1:15.33.

42. Yelena Rojkova, Turkmenistan, 1:15.48.

Semifinals

1. Natalie Coughlin, United States, 1:00.17 (Q).

2. Laure Manaudou, France, 1:00.88 (Q).

3. Antje Buschschulte, Germany, 1:00.94 (Q).

4. Louise Oernstedt, Denmark, 1:01.12 (Q).

5. Haley Cope, United States, 1:01.13 (Q).

6. Nina Zhivanevskaya, Spain, 1:01.19 (Q).

7. Kirsty Coventry, Zimbabwe, 1:01.21 (Q).

8. Reiko Nakamura, Japan, 1:01.24 (Q).

9. Giaan Rooney, Australia, 1:01.41.

10. Stanislava Komarova, Russia, 1:01.63.

11. Noriko Inada, Japan, 1:01.74.

12. Ilona Hlavackova, Czech Republic, 1:01.81.

13. Katy Sexton, Britain, 1:01.96.

14. Zhan Shu, China, 1:02.10.

15. Gao Chang, China, 1:02.17.

16. Sarah Price, Britain, 1:02.48.

100 Breaststroke

Qualification

1. Brooke Hanson, Australia, 1:07.35 (Q).

2. Leisel Jones, Australia, 1:07.69 (Q).

3. Tara Kirk, United States, 1:07.92 (Q).

4. Sarah Poewe, Germany, 1:07.97 (Q).

5. Amanda Beard, United States, 1:08.04 (Q).

6. Xuejuan Luo, China, 1:09.07 (Q).

7. Hui Qi, China, 1:09.29 (Q).

8. Svitlana Bondarenko, Ukraine, 1:09.35 (Q).

9. Rhiannon Leier, Canada, 1:09.38 (Q).

10. Masami Tanaka, Japan, 1:09.44 (Q).

11. Agnes Kovacs, Hungary, 1:09.51 (Q).

12. Vipa Bernhardt, Germany, 1:09.60 (Q).

13. Lauren van Oosten, Canada, 1:09.93 (Q).

14. Mirna Jukic, Austria, 1:09.99 (Q).

15. Elena Bogomazova, Russia, 1:10.24 (Q).

16. Chiara Boggiatto, Italy, 1:10.33 (Q).

17. Maria Ostling, Sweden, 1:10.45.

18. Ina Kapishina, Belarus, 1:10.66.

19. Majken Thorup Toft, Denmark, 1:10.97.

20. Smiljana Marinovic, Croatia, 1:11.00.

21. Madelon Baans, Netherlands, 1:11.10.

22. Marina Kuc, Serbia-Montenegro, 1:11.27.

23. Eeva Saarinen, Finland, 1:11.39.

24. Diana Gomes, Portugal, 1:11.40.

24. Emma Robinson, Ireland, 1:11.40.

26. Ilkay Dikmen, Turkey, 1:11.69.

27. Imaday Nunez Gonzalez, Cuba, 1:12.14.

28. Salama Ismail, Egypt, 1:12.20.

29. Javiera Salcedo, Argentina, 1:12.46.

29. Aikaterini Sarakatsani, Greece, 1:12.46.

31. Jaclyn Pangilinan, Philippines, 1:12.47.

32. Alia S Atkinson, Jamaica, 1:12.53.

33. Wei-Min Nicolette Teo, Singapore, 1:12.87.

34. Lee Ji Young, South Korea, 1:12.93.

35. Annabelle Carey, New Zealand, 1:13.21.

36. Yi Ting Siow, Malaysia, 1:13.30.

37. Valeria Silva, Peru, 1:13.52.

38. Adriana Marmolejo Vargas, Mexico, 1:14.35.

39. Tsz Wa Yip, Hong Kong, 1:14.53.

40. Iris Edda Heimisdottir, Iceland, 1:15.35.

41. Katerine Moreno, Bolivia, 1:18.25.

42. Varduhi Avetisyan, Armenia, 1:18.87.

43. Shrone Austin, Seychelles, 1:19.02.

44. Nataliya Filina, Azerbaijan, 1:20.21.

45. Melissa Ashby, Grenada, 1:22.67.

46. Pauline Keita, Mali, 1:30.40.

47. Nayana Shakya, Nepal, 1:32.92.

48. Pamela Girimbabazi Rugabira, Rwanda, 1:50.39.

Semifinals

1. Leisel Jones, Australia, 1:06.78 (Q).

2. Sarah Poewe, Germany, 1:07.48 (Q).

3. Tara Kirk, United States, 1:07.60 (Q).

4. Brooke Hanson, Australia, 1:07.75 (Q).

5. Amanda Beard, United States, 1:07.92 (Q).

6. Svitlana Bondarenko, Ukraine, 1:08.28 (Q).

7. Luo Xuejuan, China, 1:08.57 (Q).

8. Qi Hui, China, 1:09.06 (Q).

9. Masami Tanaka, Japan, 1:09.11.

10. Agnes Kovacs, Hungary, 1:09.12.

11. Lauren van Oosten, Canada, 1:09.45.

12. Rhiannon Leier, Canada, 1:09.46.

13. Vipa Bernhardt, Germany, 1:09.72.

14. Mirna Jukic, Austria, 1:10.06.

15. Elena Bogomazova, Russia, 1:10.41.

16. Chiara Boggiatto, Italy, 1:10.84.

400 Freestyle

Qualification

1. Laure Manaudou, France, 4:06.76 (Q).

2. Otylia Jedrzejczak, Poland, 4:07.11 (Q).

3. Camelia Alina Potec, Zimbabwe, 4:07.39 (Q).

4. Ai Shibata, Japan, 4:07.63 (Q).

5. Rebecca Cooke, Britain, 4:08.18 (Q).

6. Kaitlin Sandeno, United States, 4:08.22 (Q).

7. Linda Mackenzie, Australia, 4:08.46 (Q).

8. Sachiko Yamada, Japan, 4:09.10 (Q).

9. Claudia Poll Ahrens, Costa Rica, 4:09.75.

10. Kalyn Keller, United States, 4:09.83.

11. Simona Paduraru, Zimbabwe, 4:10.39.

12. Hannah Stockbauer, Germany, 4:10.46.

13. Elka Graham, Australia, 4:11.67.

14. Jiaying Pang, China, 4:11.81.

15. Eva Risztov, Hungary, 4:12.08.

16. Brittany Reimer, Canada, 4:12.33.

17. Hua Chen, China, 4:12.67.

18. Erika Villaecija, Spain, 4:13.03.

19. Monique Ferreira, Brazil, 4:13.75.

20. Zoi Dimoschaki, Greece, 4:13.96.

21. Joanne Jackson, Britain, 4:14.89.

22. Cecilia Elizabeth Biagioli, Argentina, 4:16.42.

23. Arantxa Ramos, Spain, 4:16.52.

24. Anja Carman, Slovenia, 4:17.79.

25. Daria Parshina, Russia, 4:18.24.

26. Kristel Kobrich, Chile, 4:18.68.

27. Vesna Stojanovska, Macedonia, 4:19.39.

28. Janelle Anya Monique Atkinson, Jamaica, 4:20.00.

29. Paola Duguet Duran, Colombia, 4:20.69.

30. Kristyna Kynerova, Czech Republic, 4:21.12.

31. Rebecca Linton, New Zealand, 4:21.58.

32. Ha Eun-ju, South Korea, 4:21.65.

33. Golda Marcus, El Salvador, 4:22.27.

34. Pilin Tachakittiranan, Thailand, 4:23.62.

35. Ozlem Yasemin Taskin, Turkey, 4:24.08.

36. Ivanka Moralieva, Bulgaria, 4:25.92.

37. Anita Galic, Croatia, 4:26.09.

38. Olga Beresnyeva, Ukraine, 4:26.30.

Final

1. Laure Manaudou, France, 4:05.34.

2. Otylia Jedrzejczak, Poland, 4:05.84.

3. Kaitlin Sandeno, United States, 4:06.19.

4. Camelia Alina Potec, Romania, 4:06.34.

5. Ai Shibata, Japan, 4:07.51.

6. Sachiko Yamada, Japan, 4:10.91.

7. Linda Mackenzie, Australia, 4:10.92.

8. Rebecca Cooke, Britain, 4:11.35.

08/15/04 14:11 EDT

Armenian defence minister wants normal relations with Turkey

Arminfo
5 Aug 04

Yerevan, 4 August: The secretary of the Security Council under the
Armenian president , Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan, is for the
normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations. The minister said this at
a meeting with participants in the All-Armenian youth gathering
Baze-2004 in the resort town of Dilizhan.

The minister stressed there are no Armenian-Turkish diplomatic
relations and ties between the two countries today appear only in the
international foreign policy arena. “My personal opinion is that one
certainly needs normal relations with every neighbour. I support the
resumption of relations with Turkey,” the minister said.

Sarkisyan said that relations should be established in those fields
where Armenia and Turkey could cooperate. “The more normal their
attitude to us, then the more normal our attitude to them, but not
violating norms of national security at the same time,” he said.

ARMENIAN RELIEF SOCIETY, INC.
80 Bigelow Avenue
Watertown, MA 02472
Telephone; 617-926-5892
E-Mail [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected])
Website; ARS1910.ORG
Contact Person: Hamesd Beugekian

ARS, Inc. to Participate in United Nations
Department of Public Information Conference
8-10 September, 2004

The 57th Annual Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs),
entitled MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS: CIVIL SOCIETY TAKES ACTION, will
take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, from
Wednesday to Friday, 8 to 10 September, 2004. The Conference, the
premier NGO event at United Nations headquarters each year, is
organized by the NGO Section of DPI (Department of Public Information)
together with the Executive Committee of NGOs associated with DPI.
Secretary-General Kofi Anan will open the Conference on 8 September in
the general Assembly Hall. In addition to the opening and closing
plenary sessions, which will feature keynote speakers, the Conference
will hold 5 morning and afternoon plenary panels, as well as 30 Midday
NGO Interactive workshops. Over 1,700 NGO representatives, associated
with the DPI and Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) from about 90
countries around the world, are expected to attend The Conference.
The Armenian Relief Society, Inc. will have a midday workshop
partnership with 2 other NGO’s: NGO Committee on Child’s Rights, and
NGO Committee on HIV/AIDS, on Thursday, September 9th, 2004, from
1:15pm to 2:45 pm in the Dag Hammarskjold Library and Auditorium in
the UN headquarter building. The workshop is entitled `HIV/AIDS
Education, Prevention and Care; an Emphasis on Engaging Boys and Men
as Full Partners of Women and Children’. A large number of ARS members
will attend this conference from Canada and the USA.

ArmenPress
Aug 5 2004

SECRETARY GENERAL OF COUNCIL OF EUROPE REGRETTED ABOUT ELECTIONS IN
NAGORNO KARABAKH

STRASBOURG, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS: Referring to the previous call
by Council of Europe leaders to refrain from staging one-sided “local
self-government elections” in Nagorno-Karabakh, Walter Schwimmer,
Secretary General of the 45-nation Council of Europe, regretted that
elections would again be held in the province on 8 August 2004.
“One-sided actions are counter-productive. The future status of
Nagorno-Karabakh must be decided through negotiations”, said Mr.
Schwimmer, who confirmed that the Council of Europe fully supports
the efforts undertaken to this end by the “Minsk Conference” under
the auspices of the OSCE. “I further welcome the recently revived
contacts at the highest political level by Armenia and Azerbaijan to
find a peaceful solution to the conflict, as well as the efforts by
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to foster
parliamentary co-operation in the region”, added Mr. Schwimmer.

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway

The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief

=================================================

Tuesday 3 August 2004
ARMENIA: IMPRISONMENT, NO REGISTRATION, AND NO IDENTITY DOCUMENTS FOR JW’S

Armenia continues to jail Jehovah’s Witness conscientious objectors, in
clear breach of its Council of Europe and OSCE commitments, although human
rights ombudsman Larisa Alaverdyan has denied to Forum 18 News Service that
the commitments have been broken. The head of the state religious affairs
department, Hranush Kharatyan, has rejected the right upheld in
international human rights agreements of religious believers to spread
their beliefs by peaceful means. An alternative service law is
theoretically in force, but in practice cannot yet be applied. Jehovah’s
Witnesses see the alternative service terms as excessive punishment for
their refusal to do military service, and are also being denied identity
documents – necessary eg. for employment or marriage – on completing
jail terms. Also, for the twelfth time since 1995, Jehovah’s Witneses have
been denied state registration. Stefan Buchmayer, the OSCE’s Yerevan human
rights officer, told Forum 18 that “one cannot find real legal
justification for the refusal.”

ARMENIA: IMPRISONMENT, NO REGISTRATION, AND NO IDENTITY DOCUMENTS FOR JW’S

By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service

Armenia’s Jehovah’s Witness community has just received its twelfth
registration denial since 1995, with fourteen members in prison for
refusing military service on religious grounds and a further eleven
expecting to be tried for refusing the lengthy and harsh alternative
service, the terms of which they see as a punishment for refusing military
service. Problems for those completing prison terms also seem to be
mounting. Jehovah’s Witnesses told Forum 18 News Service that seventeen
recently freed young men are being refused identity documents (internal
passports) because they are not registered with the military commissariat,
while a further seven who have identity documents are being refused
residency registration, a requirement in Armenia.

Officials blame the Jehovah’s Witnesses for allegedly failing to try to
resolve these problems with the government. “If those being released
are not getting passports they have put themselves in that situation,”
the human rights ombudsman Larisa Alaverdyan told Forum 18 from the capital
Yerevan on 2 August. Hranush Kharatyan, head of the government’s religious
affairs department, told Forum 18 the same day that the Jehovah’s Witnesses
had failed to respond to her invitations to discuss how to amend their
statute to get registration.

Fifteen Jehovah’s Witnesses from various parts of Armenia, who did not
possess an internal passport before they were called up by the army, found
that after their release the local military commissariat refused to issue a
certificate to them until they are registered with the military
commissariat, saying they will not issues the certificates until the
Jehovah’s Witnesses have served their time. The passport office will not
issue an internal passport without this certificate. In two further cases,
both in central Yerevan, two young men who had passports before their
prison terms were refused them when they asked for their return. Both have
made official complaints to the military commissariat and the general
prosecutor.

“This is a clear violation of their human dignity – they can’t
do anything without a passport,” Jehovah’s Witness lawyer Rustam
Khachatryan told Forum 18 from Yerevan on 2 August. “They can’t get a
job or even marry. But our clever state does allow people to pay taxes
without a passport.” He said the military commissariats are obliged to
give out these certificates, but said they deliberately refuse to give them
to Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Human rights ombudsman Alaverdyan agreed that the lack of a passport would
create “an awful lot of problems” in Armenia. “People can’t
leave the country, can’t vote, can’t engage in any legal transactions, for
example.” But she said the Jehovah’s Witnesses have not reported the
problem to her and unless they do she can take no action. Yet she insisted
they have to comply with the law and get the required certificates from the
military commissariat like any other young men.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses have been applying for registration as a religious
community since the early 1990s, but their opposition to military service
and what many regard as their aggressive style of proselytism have offended
state officials and the leadership of the dominant Armenian Apostolic
Church.

Their latest application was submitted for the required “expert
assessment” to the government religious affairs department on 16
March, three months after a meeting between state officials and the
Jehovah’s Witnesses organised by the Yerevan office of the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) tried to break the registration
deadlock. The religious affairs department concluded on 24 March that the
Jehovah’s Witness statute was in accordance with the law. “We didn’t
refuse the application – we gave a positive view about
registration,” its head, Hranush Kharatyan, told Forum 18.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses then submitted the application to the State
Registry of Legal Entities at the Ministry of Justice on 18 May, but it
ruled at the end of June that the statute contradicted the religion law and
other laws. Gyurgen Sarkisyan, who maintains the State Registry, had
previously told Forum 18 that “with an expert conclusion signed by the
minister and all documents, they will be registered” (see F18News 4
February 2004 ).
Sarkisyan’s phone was not being answered when Forum 18 tried to speak to
him on 2 August.

Despite having signed the expert assessment approving the application,
Kharatyan of the religious affairs department insisted to Forum 18 that a
provision in the statute describing the Jehovah’s Witness practice of
door-to-door preaching violates the law. “This amounts to proselytism
and the religion law forbids this,” she declared. “They don’t
have the right to do this.”

She flatly rejected suggestions that in a democratic country, believers of
any faith have the right to spread their beliefs by peaceful means.
“We keep getting a mass of complaints that Jehovah’s Witnesses come to
people’s homes every day and bombard them with visits,” she claimed.
Kharatyan also argued that other provisions of their statute violated the
law, although she maintained that the Jehovah’s Witness rejection of
military service was not an issue.

Stefan Buchmayer, human rights officer at the OSCE office in Yerevan,
reported that the denial of registration was for “technical
reasons” which the Justice Ministry did not fully explain. “The
Jehovah’s Witnesses cleared the expert assessment, so registration with the
justice ministry should have been only a formality,” told Forum 18 on
2 August. “One cannot find real legal justification for the
refusal.” He said his office has been closely following this issue.
“Unfortunately it has dragged on for many years.”

Despite its 2001 commitment to the Council of Europe to free all imprisoned
conscientious objectors and introduce civilian alternative service by
January 2004 (see F18News 19 April 2004
), the courts have
continued to jail young male Jehovah’s Witnesses. As late as 26 May 2004,
Ruslan Avetisyan was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and is now being
held in Nubarashen labour camp, Jehovah’s Witnesses told Forum 18. Also
held in the same camp is Mikael Lazarian, sentenced to two years’
imprisonment the same month. The other twelve prisoners are being held in
labour camp in Kosh. Other Jehovah’s Witnesses freed early from prison for
good conduct are required to report regularly to the local police station.
On 1 April 2003, a foreign ministry spokeswoman told Forum 18 that a
“full stop” would be put to the imprisonment of conscientious
objectors by the end of 2003 (see F18News 1 April 2003
).

Parliament’s deputy speaker Tigran Torosyan, who heads the Armenian
delegation to the Council of Europe, told Jehovah’s Witness representatives
at the Council of Europe parliamentary assembly in Strasbourg on 22 June
that all conscientious objector prisoners would be freed once the new law
on alternative service came into force on 1 July.

Alaverdyan, who said she has visited 21 imprisoned Jehovah’s Witnesses
since taking up the post of ombudsman, claimed there is a “new
situation” now that the alternative service law has taken effect.
“The situation has changed completely,” she told Forum 18.
However, the fourteen Jehovah’s Witnesses remain in labour camp.

Moreover, Buchmayer of the OSCE pointed out that, although the alternative
service law theoretically came into force on 1 July, in practice it cannot
be applied until promised amendments are approved by parliament. “This
will not now be until parliament’s autumn session at the earliest,” he
told Forum 18, “unless a special session is called, which is unlikely
for such an issue.”

Buchmeyer categorically stated that the continued imprisonment of
conscientious objectors violates Armenia’s commitments to the Council of
Europe and OSCE commitments, a point rejected by Alaverdyan.

In a new development, eleven Jehovah’s Witnesses called up in recent months
have refused the alternative service offered to them, regarding unspecified
work – perhaps cleaning sewerage systems or working in psychiatric
homes for three and a half years under military supervision – as
excessive punishment for their refusal to do military service. “This
does not meet European norms,” Khachatryan told Forum 18. The length
of the proposed alternative service has been criticised by the Council of
Europe (see F18News 4 February 2004
).

Khachatryan noted that Aram Manukyan, a Jehovah’s Witness from Yerevan
called up in May, is expected to face trial in the next ten days. He said a
further four are awaiting the opening of criminal cases against them, while
six more are likely to face similar cases in the near future.

Both ombudsman Alaverdyan and Kharatyan of the religious affairs department
seemed annoyed at Forum 18’s questions about the Jehovah’s Witnesses’
difficulties. “Why don’t the Jehovah’s Witnesses work with us to
resolve their problems, instead to complaining to people like you?”
Alaverdyan asked Forum 18. “Organisations like yours seem only
interested in having continuing cases to take up rather than resolving them
properly.” Kharatyan echoed these sentiments. “Why don’t the
Jehovah’s Witnesses come to us if they want to resolve these issues?”
she exclaimed. “I absolutely don’t understand why they go running to
others to complain and don’t come to us.” She said her office had
helped other religious communities bring their registration applications
into line with the law.

A printer-friendly map of Armenia is available at
;Rootmap=armeni
(END)

© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved.

You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News

Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

August 2, 2004
___________________

CHURCH LEADERS PUSH FOR ACTION ON CATASTROPHE IN SUDAN

By Jake Goshert

The Armenian Church is taking a leading role in pushing for action to
end the genocide which is beginning in the Sudan.

Bishop Vicken Aykazian, legate and ecumenical officer of the Diocese of
the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), led a protest outside the
Sudanese Embassy in Washington D.C. on Friday, July 23, 2004. He was
joined by religious leaders and supporters from the Armenian Assembly of
America.

“My message was that genocide is not acceptable, especially in the
beginning of the 21st century,” said Bishop Aykazian, who led a prayer
during the protest and also spoke for the group to various media
outlets. “I told them I know what genocide means, because my people
have suffered through genocide. So we ask the authorities and the
people to come together to fight against the genocide.”

Bishop Aykazian, who serves as secretary to the executive committee of
the National Council of Churches (NCC), has talked about the issue with
leaders of that ecumenical body and is one of the organization’s leaders
calling for international action to end the violence in the Sudan, where
the Janjaweed — a government-backed nomadic Arab tribe — has raped,
killed, and burnt the homes of black, non-Arab residents in the nation’s
Darfur region in attempt to get them to leave their lands, which the
Arab government has promised to the mercenaries.

Those able to flee the Sudan have been pouring into neighboring Chad,
where food, water, and shelter are growing scarce. American officials
have unsuccessfully called on Sudan to allow humanitarian aid to flow
into the Darfur area. The Bush administration has already pledged $300
million in aid.

With American pressure, the United Nations Security Council passed a
resolution at the end of July calling for sanctions against Sudan unless
the violence ends. (Sudan was recently elected to a three-year term on
the U.N. Human Rights Commission.)

The violence has already claimed an estimated 50,000 lives and displaced
a million people. During the protest at the Sudanese Embassy, the group
called not only for an end to the violence, but also for humanitarian
aid and financial support for the displaced non-Arab victims.

USING THE RIGHT WORDS

Right now the activists are struggling on two fronts: to gather
humanitarian assistance and to get the violence to be called genocide.

“According to the experts, it is genocide. It really bothers me when
the authorities and the government do not use the word genocide, because
it is genocide. We have to use the word genocide,” Bishop Aykazian
said. “We have no right to use the word ‘massacres’, because other
nations used that word when talking about the Armenian Genocide, and
that bothers us. So we have to use the word ‘genocide’.”

“Genocide goes beyond violence,” Bishop Aykazian added. “It is not only
killing human beings; it is killing the culture of a nation, of a
minority, of a race. Genocide is the destruction of a group of people
and the destruction of their history.”

CONTINUED CALLS FOR ACTION

The NCC’s executive board passed a resolution on Tuesday, May 18, 2004,
urging member churches to push for cessation of the apparent attempt at
ethnic cleansing in the Darfur region of western Sudan.

The first NCC resolution dealing with the Sudan was approved in 2002.
This recent resolution “affirms and extends” the calls to action made in
the earlier statement of the NCC Executive Board — an 80-member body
representing leaders from the NCC’s 36 Protestant, Orthodox, and
Anglican member churches.

The organization is also raising funds to send supplies of food and
clothing to the refugees streaming out of Sudan and into neighboring
Chad.

The Eastern Diocese will be raising funds through its local parishes to
provide aid to the victims in the Sudan through the National Council of
Churches.

“Today it is happening in the Sudan, and tomorrow it can happen in any
part of the world. When you need help, you ask other people to help
you. So make sure when others ask for help you don’t just keep quiet
because you don’t want to put your hands into your pockets,” he said.
“As Armenians especially, we have no right to just keep quiet.”

— 8/2/04

E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News
and Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,

PHOTO CAPTION (1): Bishop Vicken Aykazian, diocesan legate and
ecumenical officer, leads a protest outside the Sudanese Embassy in
Washington, D.C., on Friday, July 23, 2004.

PHOTO CAPTION (2): Dozens of people join Bishop Aykazian in a protest
calling for an end to the genocide in the Sudan.