Author: Kajoyan Gevork

BRITONS AGGRIEVED BY JUDGES’ DECISIONS

Sportinglife.com, UK
July 16 2005

Brian Magee and Howard Eastman vowed they will never fight in Germany
again after controversial point defeats in Nuremberg.

While Londoner Eastman was clearly outworked by up-and-coming Armenian
Arthur Abraham in their WBA Intercontinental title fight, Belfast’s
Magee failed to claim the vacant European super-middleweight crown
following a dubious split decision verdict against Vitali Tsypko.

In a country that is known for notorious home decisions, Magee
was on the front foot from the first bell on. He looked especially
impressive in the sixth and 12th rounds when he thwarted his opponent
with well-timed combinations as well as several shots to the head.

Still, two judges ruled the contest in favour of unbeaten Tsypko
(115-113 and 115-114), who like Abraham boxes out of Germany’s
Sauerland camp. The third judge awarded the contest to Magee (115-114).

“I don’t know what more I could have done,” a heartbroken Magee told
PA International after the fight. “The European title is a big one
and I am very disappointed not to return home as champion. I am very
disappointed for everybody else who worked hard for me.”

In an somewhat awkward clash of two southpaws, Magee stamped his
authority on the bout early. Both fighters kept marching forward in
the first rounds, with Magee a tad more accurate on his combinations.

Things heated up in the fifth round when a bad cut opened up above
Magee’s right eye following an unintentional head butt. Later that
round when Tsypko bombed in a crushing left, further blood poured
down his face but the Belfast fighter comfortably guarded his injury
in the following rounds.

His aggressive mixture of attacking and clinching certainly should
have won him points on the scorecards but not even a successful
final round, when he clobbered Tsypko in a spirited late exchange,
helped persuade the judges.

Asked whether he felt betrayed, Magee replied: “Yeah but that seems
to be the way it is over here. I tried to force the fight the whole
way through and thought I had won clear but in the end I did not get
the decision.

“Maybe I would have had to stop him in the early rounds. He didn’t
seem very confident about his win and if I had gotten the decision
he could not argue about it. That is just the way it is.”

Eastman felt just as aggrieved as up-and-coming Abraham scored a
unanimous – and probably justified – points victory following a
dirty brawl.

“This is like daylight robbery,” a defiant Eastman told PA
International after a 119-110, 116-112 and 115-113 verdict.

“It is ridiculous and a shame to professional fighting. The officials
at ringside were watching a different fight. I really don’t understand
the scoring. It’s like you have to be a German to win decisions here
or you have to kill the guy.”

Abraham got the better of his opponent throughout the full 12 rounds,
landing the more and especially the cleaner shots. To the surprise
of many at ringside, Eastman somehow survived all of the Ukrainian’s
vicious shots to head and body.

“He is raw and strong but not in my league,” Eastman said. “I want
a rematch in London.”

It was not before seconds out in the third round that Abraham picked up
speed. He connected with a fast combination to the head but whenever
in trouble Eastman made good use of his ring smartness to either duck
or clinch into safety.

Abraham looked in complete control during the middle of the fight,
although the Briton was there to connect with occasional counter
punches or combinations of his own.

The Armenian dominated the last third of the fight, which saw several
toe-to-toe exchanges, by continuously attacking the 34-year-old with
thunderous combinations.

“He never hurt me. No fighter has ever hurt me in my life,” Eastman
vowed after only the third loss in his career. “It have always been
the judges who hurt me with wrong decisions at the wrong time.

“I did enough to win the fight. He might be strong and raw but he
is not in my league. In boxing not everything goes according to plan
and this has been a very tricky situation.

“The judges here in Germany are from a different planet.”

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
July 12, 2005 Tuesday 3:54 PM Eastern Time

Food from detained Turkish vessel to be sent to Abkhazia

By Eka Mekhuzla

TBILISI

Foods from the Turkish vessel, which has been detained for an attempt
to trespass the Abkhaz sector of the Georgian sea border, will be
donated to residents of Abkhazia, Georgian State Minister for
Separatist Conflicts Georgy Khaindrava said on Tuesday.

He said that the national laws stipulate the confiscation of food
from the detained vessel, but President Mikhail Saakashvili wants to
donate the foods to residents of Abkhazia.

Saakashvili said on July 10 that Turkish authorities understood the
actions of the Georgian border guards. The vessel, which was detained
on July 3, was taken to the port of Poti. The Poti port sentenced the
captain and eight passengers to three-months custody on July 7.

“The eight crewmembers were not detained or charged, as the captain
is responsible for the vessel,” representatives of the Georgian Coast
Guard said.

The vessel owners will have to pay a fine or the vessel will be sold
at an auction.

Georgian border guards have detained 40 vessels from Turkey, Ukraine,
Greece and other countries for breaching navigation rules and
trespassing the border in the past three years. The majority of
owners paid fines, but some vessels were sold at an auction.

Meanwhile, Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh told a Tuesday press
conference that Georgian border guards’ seizure of Turkish vessels
carrying food in neutral waters on July 2 and 3 “is sheer banditry.”

Tbilisi said the Turkish vessels did not respond to the Georgian
Coast Guard’s demand to stop.

“It is impossible to hold dialog this way,” Bagapsh said. “Georgia
was eager to make us quit [the Abkhaz settlement] negotiations, but
that did not happen.” Negotiations on the resumption of railroad
traffic through Abkhazia are underway on the basis of the 2003 Sochi
agreement, he said. The agreement stipulates the solution of economic
problems, including energy and railroads, and the return of refugees
to the Gali district of Abkhazia.

If Abkhazia quits the negotiations, the problems will not be solved,
Bagapsh said. Resumption of the railroad traffic through Abkhazia is
beneficial for Georgia, Armenia and southern Russia, he added.
Specialists will start evaluating the Abkhaz sector of the railroad
between Psou and Inguri, and Abkhazia will provide for their
security, he said.

A1plus

| 12:25:34 | 09-07-2005 | Politics |

NOT TO YIELD

`All our Mayors were appointed and every time they yielded to the President.
Vano Siradeghyan was the only political figure to have acted more or less
independent. A good Mayor would never yield to the President’, chairman of
National Consent party Aram Harutyunyan says.

He considers that the incumbent leadership wishes to make all the officials,
including the members of the local self-government bodies, subordinate. `In
this case the elected Mayor is the only way out. At that he should be
elected not by the community council but by the people. Aram Harutyunyan
considers that the larger is the territory the elections cover the less is
the possibility of falsifications. He does not share the fear that the
elected Mayor will be uncontrolled. `If the Mayor enlists the support of 1/3
of the population, he can become a serious problem for the President’, he
says.

In the opinion of National Consent chairman the constitutional reform should
not be the means to preserve or seize the power but should contribute to the
development of the country. `It should be the document of common consensus.
It seems today that the authorities are following the right path. But it is
still premature to make any conclusions. The authorities should comprehend
that their power is not eternal but the laws will remain’, he reminds.

Diana Markosyan

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

THE AMBASSADOR OF HUNGARY VISiTS ANTELIAS

His Holiness Aram I received the Ambassador of Hungary to Lebanon Mr. Pale
Fabian on July 8. Mr. Fabian visited Antelias to bid farewell to the
Catholicos as his tenure as Ambassador of Hungary in Lebanon comes to an
end.

Throughout the past few years, Mr. Fabian has often visited His Holiness and
consulted him on political developments in the region.

During this last visit, the Ambassador and His Holiness discussed the
situation in the Middle East and problems the international community faces
in general. His Holiness commended the Ambassador’s service in Lebanon and
wished him good luck in his new mission.

##

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

Minneapolis Star Tribune , MN
July 8 2005

She couldn’t say no to ‘Yes’
Colin Covert, Star Tribune
July 10, 2005 ALLEN0710

On Sept. 12, 2001, English filmmaker Sally Potter began writing
“Yes,” a film about the clash of Middle East and West, man and woman,
rich and poor, passion and politics, science and religion. The movie,
opening Friday in the Twin Cities area, came to her in iambic
pentameter, Shakespeare’s favorite meter. It was a heady concoction
of current and age-old themes, modern and classical artistic forms,
unlike any other screenplay in circulation.

When Joan Allen read it, the willowy three-time Oscar nominee knew
she wanted to play the lead. She has portrayed prim 1950s wives in
“Nixon” and “Pleasantville,” a 17th-century Puritan in “The Crucible”
and a high-ranking CIA official in “The Bourne Supremacy.” Playing a
lusty Irish-American scientist involved in a passionate affair with a
Muslim immigrant promised a challenging midcareer stretch. During her
May visit to Minneapolis to introduce the film at Walker Art Center,
she discussed her wide-ranging résumé, playing nude scenes at 48 and
the challenges of speaking verse onscreen.

You started your career on the stage in Chicago’s Steppenwolf
Theater. Did you have any experience with verse drama?

I’ve never done Shakespeare. When I got the script, I was a little
scared. But as soon as I met Sally, it all dissipated because she
said she wanted it to be very conversational. It shouldn’t be drawing
attention to itself and grand. Think of rap artists, Def Poetry Jam,
not Shakespeare. It was frustrating at times, but exhilarating.

You have a long and accomplished film career. How did it feel to
co-star with Simon Abkarian, who’s a virtual unknown?

It was the first English-language-speaking film he had ever done.
He’s done theater in French. He’s Armenian, lived in Beirut as a
child, then came to America and lives in Paris now. He brought a lot
to the role in terms of personal history. He’s very charming, funny
and passionate. But it was exhausting for him to think and act in
such a verbal piece as this. By the end of the night, I think his
concentration would get a little … [she rolls her eyes, miming
light-headedness].

Your characters have a strained romance that comes to a hopeful but
uncertain ending. Do you think it ends optimistically?

I think it’s hopeful but not completely a walk-off-into-the-sunset
sort of thing. The possibility exists that they could explore it. I
think what’s interesting is that not until the very end of the movie
do the characters actually kiss. There’s nuzzling, they’re in bed
together, there are sex scenes, but they don’t actually kiss until
the finale.

You haven’t done theater in a long time. Why not?

I like having the director right there and consulting. I like the
technology of being able to cut together a section of Take 2 and Take
6, to create the best possible scene.

What’s really acting for you? Is it being silent and projecting your
feelings to the camera or being able to declaim a fine line of
dialogue?

More the nonverbal, getting that message across without the words.

In your past three roles, you spend a lot of time undressed in bed.
Is Hollywood waking up a little bit to roles where people of a
certain age are allowed to enjoy their sexuality?

They’re getting more savvy about showing that. You also see it in
modeling, too, with Susan Sarandon representing Revlon. There’s a
whole big segment out there of women, and I see that more in print
ads, that certain clothing designers will feature a beautiful woman
who’s 55. We don’t all just shrivel up and blow away. In “Upside of
Anger” and “Off the Map” and “Yes,” they’re age-appropriate
relationships, too. Kevin Costner and I are peers. It’s not like he’s
doing it with … some beautiful young ingénue. It makes them closer
to real life. I hope.

What kinds of roles are you looking for now?

Comedies. I’d love to do something with Will Ferrell. When I hosted
“Saturday Night Live” after “Pleasantville,” I got to do three or
four skits with him. It was nerve-wracking to work live, but I
thought he was so good and the nicest guy. I can’t wait to see
“Kicking and Screaming.”

When you make a politically topical film such as this about
Arab-Western tensions and it sits on the distributor’s shelf for a
couple of years awaiting release, do you worry that world events will
pass it by and make it irrelevant?

I wish. Unfortunately, I think it’s all the more topical.

____________________________________________________
Sell on Yahoo! Auctions – no fees. Bid on great items.

Pan Armenian News

LENNMARKER: KARABAKH CONFLICT HAS TO BE SETTLED SOON

05.07.2005 04:30

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `My observations in Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as in
Nagorno Karabakh lead to a conclusion that the Karabakh conflict makes many
people suffer,» stated OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) special
representative for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict Goran Lennmarker, reported
AzerTAj. `Many people lost their relatives, members of their families, wish
to return to their homes. Thus my steadfast opinion is that the conflict has
to be settled in the near future,’ he emphasized.

AZG Armenian Daily #122, 02/07/2005

Healthcare

WHAT TO DO WITH HUMAN REMAINS?

Last year, a woman from Vanadzor submitted a rather strange complaint to the
Consumers’ Union. Amputating her mother’s toe, doctors simply handed it to
her to deal with.

What to do with human remains after a surgery? This is a serious question
today for Armenian hospitals. Having no crematorium, each hospital finds its
own ways of doing away with human limbs. Some of them bury the remnants,
others simply throw them to refuse chute. That is the main reason why there
are always stray dogs roaming in the hospital yards creating conditions for
horrible infections. The third unacceptable way to get rid of the human
remains is, as we mentioned, handing amputated parts to the relatives
without caring for physiological aftereffects.

“Armenia” Medical Center is the only one in Armenia where a crematorium is
functioning. The Center was much praised by American specialists who visited
it recently. Director of the Center, Grigor Grigorian, said that they intend
to further improve it, raising up to European standards.

By Karine Danielian

Armenian paper says US bases to be deployed in Azerbaijan in “coming weeks”

Aravot, Yerevan
2 Jul 05

Excerpt from report by Dmitriy Martirosyan in Armenian newspaper
Aravot on 2 July headlined “Another US ‘outpost’ is being created”

The USA’s military presence in Azerbaijan will become reality in
several months. On 12 April 2005 the US and Azerbaijani governments
made an arrangement on the deployment of the US troops and bases on
the territory of Azerbaijan.

This arrangement between Washington and Baku was made during US
Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s “noiseless” visit to Baku. The US
forces will be deployed for a long period also because the US bases
fighting the Taleban in Central Asia [as given] have obviously become
less effective.

The first US bases will be deployed in Azerbaijan in the coming
weeks. The USA’s predicted military presence is not unexpected. The US
pressure in this sphere has coincided with Baku’s readiness to please
Washington. Fearing Moscow’s retaliatory action, Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev has been doubtful [about the issue].

[Passage omitted: the USA has urged the Azerbaijani government to
agree on the deployment of bases]

Experts think that the following points should be emphasized among the
important strategic purposes of the US troops in Azerbaijan: a) to
finish the process of the geopolitical blockade of Iran which will
give an opportunity for the US arms’ deployment to counter-attack our
neighbours; b) to provide energy resources and establish a strategic
corridor from Europe towards Central Asia, including the
transportation of military units and equipment; c) to get new levers
of pressure on Russia in close proximity to the North Caucasus, where
the situation is unstable because of the war in Chechnya; d) to
support pro-US states in the region and confront pro-Russian Armenia;
e) to fight international Islamist activists [as given].

A1plus

| 12:59:52 | 01-07-2005 | Official |

KOCHARYAN VISITED EVANS

In connection with the national US holiday – the Independence Day Robert
Kocharyan and Mrs. Bella Kocharyan visited today the US Embassy to Armenia.

They congratulated the staff of the Embassy and voiced confidence that the
close links between the two countries will develop successfully.

Turkish Press
July 1 2005

Turkey Calls On European Statesmen To Fulfil Their Duties Regarding
Genocide Committed In Bosnia

ANKARA – Huseyin Kansu, the Chairman of the Turkey-Bosnia-Herzegovina
Interparliamentary Friendship Group, Friday called on European
statesmen to fulfil their responsibilities regarding the genocide
committed in Bosnia.

Holding a press conference in Turkish capital of Ankara on the 10th
anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre, Kansu said that 312,000
people lost their lives in Bosnia-Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995
according to the figures of International Red Cross Organization.

Stating that 200,000 of this 312,000 people were Bosnians, Kansu said
that this nation were subject to a series of massacres before the
eyes of the world.

Kansu recalled that one of the worst massacres were conducted by the
Serbians in Srebrenica, and said, ”Srebrenica and Jepa regions were
declared as security areas under the UN Security Council resolutions
no 819 and 824. This region was taken under the control and
protection of UN from April 1993 till July 1995, when the genocide
was committed. But, the UN did not fulfil its responsibilities.”

”Serbian forces in Bosnia took Srebrenica, declared as a security
area by the UN and protected by Dutch soldiers, under siege between
July 6th and 8th, 1995, and left children, women and elderly people
hungry and thirsty. When the Serbian violence began, Muslim Bosnian
warriors wanted back the weapons they handed over to the Dutch
soldiers in order to respond to the massacre, but the Dutch rejected
it and laid the groundwork for Serbian massacre,” said Kansu.

Kansu stated that the Serbians started mass massacre on July 11th,
and said that the Serbian forces killed 7,800 people. He noted that
the death toll could rise to 13,000 if 30 mass graves were opened.

EU

Noting that he did not know how the crisis the EU was facing today
could be concluded, Kansu said that Europe would have to face its own
past one day.

Stating that no legal procedure had been launched regarding those who
were responsible for the Srebrenica massacre although 10 years
passed, Kansu asked, ”who will ask for an explanation from the
European politicians who stayed silent to the genocide in Bosnia and
indirectly laid the groundwork for this massacre?”

Kansu also drew attention that Europe was staying silent against the
genocide committed in Bosnia as it tried to accuse Turkey of a
so-called Armenian genocide, without basing on serious evidence, but
totally basing on prejudices.

200 intellectuals and representatives of NGOs from Turkey would
attend the ceremony to be held in Srebrenica on July 11th, added
Kansu.