Hrachik Javakhyan wins Armenia’s sixth bronze at Beijing Olympic Games
2008-08-23 10:55:00
ArmInfo. Armenian boxer Hrachik Javakhyan won Armenia’s sixth bronze at
the Beijing Olympic Games. In semifinal 90kg he lost bout to Russian
boxer Aleksey Tischenko.
Straits Times, Singapore
Aug 24 2008
The Olympic passport
The number of foreign-born athletes competing in the Games has raised
eyebrows. But in a borderless world, why shouldn’t sports be just as
globalised?
By Tan Dawn Wei, expat eye
This year’s Olympic table tennis matches will be remembered as much
for some formidable play as a battle amojng the Chinese.
That’s the Chinese-Singaporean, Chinese-French, Chinese-Austrian,
Chinese-American, Chinese-Spaniard, Chinese-Australian, Chinese-
German, Chinese-Polish, Chinese Canadian, Chinese-Korean, Chinese-Hong
Konger, Chinese-Luxembourger, Chinese-Dutch, Chinese- Dominican,
Chinese-Croatian and Chinese-Congolese.
The oft-bandied phrase, ‘the Chinese are everywhere’, is nothing if
not glaringly apparent at the Beijing table tennis games.
Of the 78 women paddlers at this year’s Olympics, 35 are China-
born. Only three wear China’s red and yellow colours.
Past Olympic Games have borne witness to such ironic scenes before,
but quite possibly none more than in the Chinese capital.
And it’s not just at the ping-pong table.
When the members of the press descended on Chaoyang Park for what they
thought would be a politically charged beach volleyball match between
Georgia and Russia after the latter sent tanks into the former’s
territory, they saw none of that from the Brazilian players
representing Georgia.
Then, there were the New Zealand-born triathlete brothers who competed
against each other: one, Shane Reed, doing it for his home country,
the other, Matt, for the United States.
Armenian wrestler Ara Abrahamian won a bronze medal for Sweden (which
he was later stripped of for throwing it on the mat); Jamaican
Germaine Mason gave Great Britain a silver and its first high-jump
medal since 1996; and Moroccan Rashid Ramzi ran to a gold in the
1,500m race for Bahrain.
Of course, the table tennis trio of Li Jiawei, Wang Yuegu and Feng
Tianwei – former Chinese, now Singaporeans – broke this country’s dry
Olympic medal spell of 48 years with a team silver.
The United States also fielded a brigade of migrants – 36 from 28
countries – this year: among them, Lopez Lomong, the Sudanese-born
American flag-bearer at the opening ceremony, plus a South
African-born tennis player, a Georgian archer, a Polish kayaker,
Chinese table tennis players and a world champion Kenyan distance
runner.
All this trading of nationalities has led to much criticism and
derision from purists, stakeholders and even the International Olympic
Committee (IOC).
It is one thing to find a new home as a conventional migrant, but
another to be bought over purely for your athletic talents.
No one raised a stink when Nastia Liukin, a Russian immigrant, won a
gold medal in individual all-round gymnastics for the US a week ago.
She had moved to New Orleans when she was 2 1/2 years old with her
family after the Soviet Union broke up and is as American as apple
pie.
But Americans have been far less kind to two other of its basketball
players who crossed over from the US to Russia.
Becky Hammon and J.R. Holden have had to defend themselves repeatedly
from being labelled ‘traitors’ when they donned Russian colours at
this year’s Games.
Hammon, who wasn’t drafted into the US national team, had said: ‘I
still love my country – it doesn’t really have anything to do with
that. I just want to play basketball.’
The Olympics, it seems, are no longer about patriotism, national
identity or making your motherland proud.
Instead, it has become what The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writer
Jeff Schultz calls ‘an exercise in passport free agency’.
Fingers have been wagging in the direction of rich Middle Eastern
countries, which have thrown wads of cash at poor African athletes in
a bid for national glory.
Former world steeplechase champion Stephen Cherono, who traded his
Kenyan jersey for a Qatari one and adopted a new name, Saif Saaeed
Shaheen, for a lifetime salary of US$1,000 (S$1,400) a month, is just
one of them.
There have been enough cases of Cheronos to make the IOC take action:
It ruled in 2002 that athletes must wait three years from receiving
their new citizenship papers before they can compete for their
adoptive country – unless their home country waives this deadline.
IOC president Jacques Rogge said the committee introduced the rule to
prevent athletes from ‘changing nationality for purely financial
reasons’.
‘It is a worrying situation emerging in sport,’ he had remarked.
Likewise, the International Table Tennis Federation has also put its
foot down. After the Olympics, those over the age of 21 will be banned
from pledging allegiance to another country.
Those between 18 and 20 will have to wait seven years before they can
make the jump.
Other sports federations are also likely to follow suit.
But there is something to be said about this globalisation of sports.
When the world is increasingly becoming a borderless one, why should
the field of sports be any different? When people have traditionally
migrated in search of a better life, more equitable opportunities and
greater challenges, why can’t sportsmen do the same?
Lawyer and economist Ian Ayres argued for flexibility in a New York
Times column last Thursday, citing Article 6 in the Olympic Charter
which states that the Games are competitions between athletes and not
countries.
‘Imagine a world where the best athletes are able to compete. This is
definitely not the current Olympic system. The country quota system
keeps many of the best athletes home,’ he wrote.
‘Letting athletes choose their national teams is a simple way of
fulfilling this powerful idea,’ he said of the Olympic Charter.
If not for Singapore’s Foreign Sports Talent (FST) scheme, introduced
in 1993 to fast-track promising foreign athletes to Singapore
citizenship, the Republic’s three new Olympic silver medallists would
quite likely never have had the opportunity to take part in any Games.
The debate over Singapore’s reliance on these imported athletes has
been going on for the past decade, and the sports fraternity has
reiterated the importance of these achievers to the development of
sports here.
Much cynicism still hangs in the air – at coffee shops and on online
forums – that Singapore didn’t really win at the Olympics since all
three paddlers were China-born.
Nowhere else, it seems, do you witness such disenchantment simply
because the athletes bringing home the medals aren’t native.
Perhaps it is because the table tennis win is Singapore’s only one at
these Games. Elsewhere, there could be less scrutiny when foreign-born
and native athletes both come home with an assortment of medals.
But unlike Hammon, Holden and many others who hold two passports,
Singapore’s lack of a dual citizenship policy means foreign-born
athletes have to give up one for another.
And surely that will qualify them as Singaporeans in more ways than
one. Chinese-Singaporeans.
/Breaking%2BNews/Sport/Story/STIStory_271428.html
WATER SUPPLY OF YEREVAN’S AJAPNIAK COMMUNITY AND DAVITASHEN VILLAGE TO BE CUT OFF ON AUGUST 25
Noyan Tapan
Au g 22, 2008
YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, NOYAN TAPAN. The water supply of the village of
Davitashen, 8th district of Yerevan’s Ajapniak community, Margarian
and Fuchik Streets, the Republican Hospital, "Dermatological and STD
Dispensary" CJSC and "S. Malayan Center of Ophthalmology" CJSC will
be cut off on August 25, from 10 am to 7 pm due to construction work.
RP DRAWS ARMENIA, YIELDS TO INDIA IN U-16 CHESS OLYMPIAD
Inquirer.net
Aug 22 2008
Philippines
Sixth round standing:
17.5 points–Russia; 16–Philippines, India; 15.5– Georgia, England,
Armenia; 15–Azerbaijan, Slovakia; 13.5–Turkey-A; 12.5–Turkey-Mersin;
12–Switzerland-A, Sri Lanka; 11.5– Greece, Syria, Turkey Girls-A,
Turkey-C; 11–South Africa-A; 10.5–Switzerland-B, Turkey-B
MERSIN, TURKEY–The Philippines held its ground against tough
opposition and kept its bid alive in the World Under-16 Chess Olympiad
at the Mersin Great Municipality Sport Hotel Thursday.
Powered by Grandmaster Wesley So, the Philippines drew with seventh
seed Armenia, 2-2, in the fifth round and then yielded to defending
champion India, 1.5-2.5, in the sixth to share second to third places
with its tormentor in the 10-round tournament.
The Filipinos boosted their drive by dumping Turkey-A, 3.5-0.5,
on Wednesday.
So settled for a draw against FIDE Master Samvel Ter-hakyan of Armenia
but crushed International Master B. Adhiban of India to remain as
the Filipinos’ leading scorer with 5.5 points out of a possible six.
But So’s teammates struggled against strong opposition.
National Master Haridas Pascua drew with Vahe Baghdasaryan of Armenia
but bowed to IM S.P. Sethuraman of India the next round.
Jan Emmanuel Garcia provided the Filipinos’ lone victory over Armenia
when he trounced IM Haiz Tamazyan in the fifth round. The Ateneo
standout also split the point with FM Rao Prasanna.
The biggest casualty for the four-man RP team was third board player
Alcon John Datu, who lost to IM Haik Vardanian of Armenia and IM
Sundar Shiyam of India.
Overall, the Philippines is now tied with India with 16 points with
four rounds left in the event which lured 26 teams from 18 countries.
The Filipinos and the Indians trail the top-seeded Russians by
1.5 points.
The Russians dumped No. 8 seed Slovakia, 3-1, in the fifth round
and blanked Armenia, 4-0, in the sixth round to raise their total to
17.5 points
England humbled Switzerland-B, 3.5-.5, and blanked Turkey-C, 4-0; while
No. 6 Georgia drew with Azerbaijan, 2-2, and walloped Switzerland-A,
3.5-.5, to rise to 5.5 points.
RFE BUREAU CHIEF ATTACKED IN ARMENIAN CAPITAL
Voice of America
Aug 20 2008
An unidentified man has assaulted the Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty
bureau chief in the Armenian capital Yerevan, in what appears to be
a politically motivated attack.
The broadcaster, in a statement, says Hrach Melkumian suffered bruises
and broken teeth in Tuesday’s incident. It says the attacker cursed
the radio and denounced its programs.
RFE/RL President Jeffrey Gedmin called the incident "a targeted
attack on our people and our programs." He called for an immediate
investigation into what he said was the first physical attack on the
organization’s Armenian service.
Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty is funded by the U.S. government. It
broadcasts five hours of programming a day to Armenia via satellite
and FM radio.
Untitled DocumentPress Release
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 689-7810
Fax: (212) 689-7168
Email: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: Iris Papazian
CROSSROADS E-NEWSLETTER – August 21, 2008
LINKED IN: A WEEKEND WORKSHOP FOR STUDENTS & PROFESSIONALS
Are you looking for a way to connect with friends and with your church?
Would you like to learn more about your Armenian spiritual heritage?
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Prelacy under the
Catholicosate of Cilicia, a workshop for students and professionals (ages 18
to 35) will take place September 26 to 28, at St. Mary Coptic Orthodox
Retreat Center in Charlton, Massachusetts.
Direct your questions via email to
[email protected]
PLEASE NOTE: The registration form is now on the web page. Don’t delay. Send
in your form right away as space is limited.
ARCHBISHOP OSHAGAN WILL TRAVEL TO PROVIDENCE
Archbishop Oshagan will be in Providence, Rhode Island, this Sunday,
August 24, where he will preside over the Divine Liturgy at Sts. Vartanantz
Church, and deliver the sermon, and consecrate a new wall painting of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
PAN-DIASPORA YOUTH CONFERENCE IN BIKFAYA
The Pan-Diaspora Youth Conference took place last week with more than
100 young Armenians from the Eastern and Western Prelacies of North America,
Istanbul, Cyprus, Kuwait, the Arab Gulf countries, Tehran, Isfahan, Syria
and Lebanon.
The conference was held under the auspices of His Holiness Aram I, who
presided over the opening ceremony and addressed the young delegates. His
Holiness welcomed the young Armenians who had come to Bikfaya from around
the world and he presented a thorough analysis of the difficulties that the
Armenian youth face both at the global and national levels. Referring to the
characteristics relevant to a person’s adolescent life, he underlined the
importance of Christian formation and a purpose-goal life. His Holiness said
that the Church, as a source of morality, is a compass, a path leading to
Christ, an institution that organizes social life based on mutual respect of
the laws governing society.
The conference’s general theme was "The Armenian youth in the face of
the challenges of the 21st century." Lecturers included Rev. Dr. Paul
Haidostian, President of Haigazian College, Dr. Joe Piri, lecturer at the
University of Geneva, historian Garo Hovhannesian, and Very Rev. Fr. Krikor
Chifdjian.
His Holiness presided over the concluding session, which became an
occasion for honest discussion. The young delegates freely addressed His
Holiness with their questions. The Catholicos responded to all questions
with great thought, patience and caring.
"Our church is the reservoir of spiritual and moral values," said His
Holiness talking about the national character of the Armenian Church. "We
cannot separate the spiritual from the nation," referring to those periods
in Armenian history when after the fall of kingdoms the Church had taken up
the task of addressing cultural, educational and political issues. He added:
"Today, however, our Church and particularly the Catholicosate of Cilicia is
trying to reemphasize our church’s religious service."
ANNIVERSARY BANQUET SET FOR OCTOBER 25
The dual anniversaries of the 110th anniversary of the establishment of
the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America and the 50th
anniversary of the Prelacy’s affiliation with the Great House of Cilicia
will be marked with a gala banquet on Saturday, October 25, at the Marriott
at Glenpointe in Teaneck New Jersey. An exhibit about the history of the
Prelacy and a DVD film, "A Journey of Faith" will be on display during the
cocktail hour. We will provide regular updates about this event.
MAJOR RENOVATION UNDERWAY AT ST. ILLUMINATOR CATHEDRAL
Major renovation of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral in New York City has
begun. Until the renovation is completed the Divine Liturgy will be offered
every Sunday at 10:40 a.m. at the Armenian Center, 69-23 47th Street,
Woodside, New York.
DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Bible readings for today, Thursday, August 21 are: Proverbs 11:30-12:4;
Zechariah 2:10-13; 2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1; Luke 1:39-56.
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the
hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted
Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her
womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a
loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your
womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to
me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb
leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a
fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."
And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in
God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One
has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those
who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his
arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has
brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he
has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has
helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the
promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants
forever."
And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her
home.
(Luke 1:39-56)
SAINTS JOACHIM AND ANNA
Next Tuesday, August 26, the Armenian Church commemorates Saints Joachim
and Anna, parents of Mary, the mother of Christ. Very little is known about
them. According to tradition, Joachim and Anna were childless through years
of marriage and were reproached for their barrenness. Joachim fasted forty
days in the desert and both of them prayed for a child, placing their trust
in God’s will, whatever it may be. An angel appeared to each of them telling
them they would be the parents of a child. That child was Mary, the blessed
mother of Christ
60th ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES, 1948-2008
This Saturday, August 23, is the 60th anniversary of the founding of the
World Council of Churches (WCC). As he prepared to leave for a commemorative
event in Amsterdam where the WCC was founded, Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, general
secretary of the WCC noted, "Stating that in seeking Christ they found each
other, the 147 churches that sixty years ago came together in Amsterdam,
Netherlands, committed themselves afresh to Christ and covenanted with one
another in constituting the World Council of Churches. It is significant
that as we gather sixty years later at the same venue we note that the
churches have been faithful to their commitment. Not only have they stayed
together, but they have deepened and broadened the Fellowship."
Tomorrow afternoon the creation of the WCC is to be commemorated by a
select gathering in Amsterdam. At the church where the opening service of
the WCC’s founding assembly took place 60 years earlier, Queen Beatrix of
the Netherlands will receive the first copy of the jubilee book, "The
Ecumenical Movement at a Crossroads."
Today the WCC has 348 member churches from 120 countries.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
September 7-Annual picnic Festival of St. Gregory Church, North Andover,
Massachusetts, at American Legion Grounds, Haverhill, Massachusetts,
beginning at 12 noon.
September 7-St. Stephen’s Church of New Britain-Hartford, Connecticut,
annual picnic, 1 pm to dusk at Quartette Club Grounds, 225 Wooster Street,
New Britain. Rain or shine. Free admission.
September 14-Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey. Celebration of
the Holy Cross and Madagh. For information 201-943-2950.
September 14-50th anniversary of Holy Cross Armenian Church, Troy, New York,
and 50th anniversary of the Prelacy. Badarak will be celebrated by
Archbishop Oshagan, assisted by Rev. Fr. Bedros Shetilian. Dinner will
follow at the Franklin Terrace Ballroom, 126 Campbell Avenue, Troy. $50 per
person; $20 for children 12 and under. For information: 518-283-3515.
September 19-Sts. Vartanantz Church Ladies Guild, Providence, Rhode Island,
present "Remembering the Good Old Days. 8 pm, Aramian Auditorium. For
tickets and information 401-434-4467.
September 20-Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference with Executive Council,
Pastors, Boards of Trustees and Delegates to the National Representative
Assembly, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. Hosted by St. Gregory Church, Philadelphia,
Pa.
September 21-Holy Trinity Armenian Church, Worcester, Massachusetts, annual
church banquet.
September 21-St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York, annual picnic on the
church grounds. Good food, music and supervised activities for children.
September 22-13th annual St. Stephen’s School/ACEC Golf Tournament,
Framingham Country Club, Framingham, MA. For information, Astor Guzelian,
781-326-5764.
September 25-Sixth annual golf outing hosted by Sts. Vartanantz Church,
Ridgefield, New Jersey, at River Vale Country Club, River Vale, New Jersey.
For information contact Richard Krikorian 201-784-2236 or church office
201-943-2950.
September 26-28-National Youth Conference at Holy Virgin Mary Spiritual
Vineyard, Charlton, Massachusetts.
September 29-30-Clergy conference at the Holy Virgin Mary Spiritual
Vineyard, Charlton, Massachusetts.
October 5-St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York, Requiem Service for
benefactor Mrs. Suzanne Hagopian.
October 5-St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York. Lecture by His Grace
Bishop Anoushavan Tanielian.
October 12-St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York, Lecture by Rev. Fr.
Nareg Terterian.
October 17-18-Annual Fall Fair of St. Gregory Church, North Andover,
Massachusetts, Jaffarian Hall.
October 19-St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York, Lecture by Dn. Shant
Kazanjian.
October 19-St. Stephen’s Church of New Britain-Hartford, first Connecticut
performance of "Hello Ellis Island," at Silas Deane Middle School, 551 Silas
Deane Highway, Wethersfield, Connecticut. Program starts at 3 pm; reception
follows. Advance reservation desired. Adults $25; Students $10; Children
under 12 $5. Tickets at door $30. For information: 860-229-8322.
October 25-Gala celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Prelacy of the
Armenian Apostolic Church of America under the jurisdiction of the Great
House of Cilicia and the 110th anniversary of the establishment of the
Armenian Church of America. Marriott at Glenpointe, Teaneck, New Jersey.
October 31, November 1 and 2-Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey,
Annual Bazaar and Food Festival. For information 201-943-2950.
November 1-St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York, International Cuisine
Harvest Night. Enjoy tastes from over 20 countries, prepared by more than 40
cooks. Music and entertainment to help burn the calories. Early reservations
recommended. For information: 718-352-3848.
November 2-St. Stephen’s Church of New Britain-Hartford, Connecticut, 83rd
anniversary banquet at Indian Hill Country Club, 111 Golf Street, Newington,
Connecticut. Reception 1 pm, dinner at 2 pm. For information: 860-229-8322.
November 8 & 9-Sts. Vartanantz Church, Providence, Rhode Island, largest
Armenian Fest in New England. Saturday 12 noon to 10 pm; Sunday 12 noon to 8
pm. Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet, Broad Street, Cranston, Rhode Island. Kebobs and
kufta dinners. Live Armenian music. For information: 401-434-4467.
November 9-38th anniversary of St. Gregory Church, North Andover,
Massachusetts, and 50th anniversary of the Prelacy under the Holy See of
Cilicia, presided over by His Grace Bishop Anoushavan at Jaffarian Hall
following Divine Liturgy.
November 15-St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York, Annual Bazaar and Food
Festival by Ladies Guild.
November 21 and 22-Holy Trinity Armenian Church, Worcester, Massachusetts,
Fall Food Festival.
November 23-William Saroyan Centennial Celebration, co-sponsored by the
Anthropology/Armenian Museum at Queens College and the AGBU, 3 pm at Lefrak
Concert Hall, Queens College, Flushing, New York. Archbishop Oshagan will
participate. The program includes readings and a play by Saroyan. Also
special performance by the Aaron Copeland School of Music students of the
music of composer Arno Babadjanian. For information: 718-428-5650.
February 7-50th anniversary celebration of Sts. Vartanantz Church,
Ridgefield, New Jersey. Dinner Dance at Rockleigh Country Club.
TURKEY CARRIES OUT DIALOGUE WITH RUSSIA ON BALANCE OF ARMED FORCES IN CAUCASUS
arminfo
2008-08-20 14:37:00
ArmInfo-TURAN: Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan will discuss the
idea of the "Caucasian House" in Baku, Geybulla Ramazanoglu, Advisor
of Turkish Premier, said in his interview to Voice of America (VOA).
The main idea of the "Caucasian House" is to safeguard security in
the region. This is political, economic and ethical matter.
"The idea of "Caucasian House" has been first forwarded by Turkish
ex-President Suleyman Demirel, but discussion has not brought
specific results. Now Mr. Erdogan would like to put it into practice,"
Ramazanoglu said.
The Caucasian House is supposed to be comprised of Turkey, Azerbaijan,
Georgia, Armenia and Russia. In the future number of the Caucasus
House’s participants can be expanded, said Ramazanoglu. He also
added that Ankara carries out dialogue with Moscow on balance of
armed forces in the Caucasus.
Hürriyet
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
U.S. presses Turkey to allow NATO forces’ deployment to Black Sea
The United States is expected to pile pressure on Turkey to deploy permanent
NATO navy forces for patrol missions in the organization’s summit which
would start in Brussels. Turkey is concerned that such move would open a
debate on the 1936 Montreux Convention and eventually harm its sovereign
rights on the straits.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan attended the meeting of 26 NATO foreign
ministers that met in Brussels on Tuesday. The members are expected to
reaffirm their support for Georgia and send a strong message to Russia
without freezing out Moscow diplomatically.
Turkey has long opposed to the deployment of NATO navy forces on the Black
Sea, saying the region is safe and the Blackseafor’s, which was formed by
the contribution of the surrounding countries, patrol mission is sufficient.
Diplomatic sources, however, told hurriyet.com.tr that the clashes between
Georgia and Russia had weakened Turkey’s thesis, prompting the U.S. to
relaunch its bid for deployment of NATO forces on the Black Sea.
The deployment of NATO forces in the Black Sea would breach the Montreux
Agreement, which limits the total weight of the warships that a country who
does not have border with the Black Sea can deploy to 45,000 tons.
The Turkish Straits are considered as one of the most strategic waterways of
the world and located within Turkey’s territorial waters. The Montreux
Convention, reinstating its sovereignty over the strategic Turkish Straits,
and regulating navigation through them, was signed in 1936.
FATIH KERIM: OUR TEAM IS GOING TO EXPERIENCE A REAL TRIAL
Panorama.am
14:28 19/08/2008
The coach of the national football team of Turkey, Fatih Kerim says
his players are going to have serious trial in the coming match with
Armenian team.
As known, the World Cup Qualifier match will take place on 6 September
in "Hrazdan" stadium.
"Our national teams are meeting for the first time, and no doubt it
will be a difficult match, because Armenian team is quite powerful,"
said Kerim during his meeting with Turkish journalists. "However,
our players will be on top form by the match," he added.
Note that tomorrow at 21:00 another match between junior teams of
Armenia and Turkey will take place in frames of qualification round
of European Junior Football Championship.
DIPLOMATIC RUBBLE
by Eric Walberg
The People’s Voice
/voices.php/2008/08/19/diplomatic_rubble
Aug 19 2008
TN
Russia’s firm response to the Georgian gamble in Ossetia is being
interpreted in various ways, but the reality is clear.
Analogies of the Ossetia fiasco and its fallout with past events are
coming thick and fast. Condoleezza Rice — bless her heart — says,
"This is no longer 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia." James
Townsend, a former Pentagon official now with the Atlantic Council,
compared the situation to Hungary in 1956. In both cases, the Russians
being, well, the Russians. Neocon Charles Krauthammer says Georgia
needs "the equivalent of the Berlin air lift." The Baltic statelets
and Poland go back further yet, arguing it is a replay of Hitler and
Stalin’s invasions of their territory, prompting Poland to quickly sign
on the dotted line for US missiles (against the Iranians, of course).
But the most telling analogy is with Iraq and its ill-fated invasion
of Kuwait in 1990. Kuwait indeed had been a province administered
from Baghdad for millennia, so Saddam Hussein understandably coveted
it, as Saakashvili does Ossetia. Hussein was convinced that the US
had given him the green light after he had spent 10 years fighting
the US’s latest bete noire, Iran , just as Saakashvili was given a
similar ambivalent go-ahead to invade Ossetia . Even Townsend admits,
"I think they misunderstand our eagerness and enthusiasm and think we
are going to be behind them for anything." Russian Ambassador to the
UN Vitaly Churkin said it best: "It is hard to imagine that Georgian
President Mikheil Saakashvili embarked on this risky venture without
some sort of approval from the side of the United States."
Taking this line of argument to its logical conclusion, perhaps
the Americans encouraged the Georgian president in order to test
the Russian reaction and to observe the preparedness of the Russian
military. Yet another analogy with the present crisis is the 1930s
Japanese occupation of Manchukuo. They made an incursion at Nomonhan
to test the Russians. After General Zhukov destroyed their attacking
force, they decided to leave the Russians alone, despite subsequent
pleas by Hitler.
Saakashvili’s strategy is also reminiscent of the Israeli conquest
of 1948: by bombing the civilians he shows he wanted to have Ossetia
without its native Ossetians. To this end he bombarded the capital,
Tskhinvali, causing half the residents to crossed the mountains to the
Russian side. Fortunate for the Ossetians, and unlike the Palestinians,
they had a reliable patron.
Georgians are noted for their fiery nationalism, but it’s not clear
that this time they are lining up behind their rash president. Former
Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze has said that Georgia
made a "grave mistake" by advancing into South Ossetia. The witty
Shevardnadze, who is also a former Soviet foreign minister, said the
crisis would not cause a new Cold War, as "the new Cold War has long
since been instigated by the USA , through the Americans’ so-called
missile defence shield in the Czech Republic and Poland."
Referring to Russia ‘s incursion into Georgia , President George W
Bush said that invading a sovereign country that poses no threat is
"unacceptable in the 21st century." John McCain echoed this: "In
the 21st century, nations don’t invade other nations," as if this
is all some ghastly 20th century mistake, and as if the last eight
years have witnessed a blossoming of world peace. In fact, the 21st
century has already involved lots of nations invading other nations,
though predominantly by the US and NATO. And given the anti-Russian
policies by the US and its new clients in the recent past, the likely
annexation of South Ossetia to the Russian Federation could well be
followed by Abkhazia and Sevastopol.
It is not inconceivable that Crimea, eastern and southern Ukraine —
all of which are predominantly Russian — could follow suit. None
of these potential annexations would require much force, nor would
they be surprising, and would certainly not be pretexts for the
US launching WWIII. In an interview with Forbes magazine in 1994,
Alexander Solzhenitsyn, eulogised by the West only a few weeks ago
for his fanatical anti-communism, called for "the union of the three
Slavic republics [ Russia , Ukraine , Belarus ] and Kazakhstan ." He
explained that Lenin had given up several Russian provinces to Ukraine
and in 1954, Khrushchev made a "gift" of the Crimea to Ukraine. "But
even he did not manage to make Ukraine a ‘gift’ of Sevastopol ,
which remained a separate city under the jurisdiction of the USSR
central government." Belarus and Kazakhstan are already so close to
Russia they could be considered part of the federation, but Ukraine is
playing Saakashvili’s odious game of cozying up to the US and NATO,
and is thereby creating an atmosphere where Russia will have to do
something to protect itself.
Solzhenitsyn’s prescription included withdrawing all Russians from
Central Asia and the Caucusus, and is impracticable. Despite Prime
Minister Vladimir Putin’s admiration for him, it is unlikely that
Russia will ever abandon the latter or repatriate millions of Russians
from the former. On the contrary, Russia has a residual "imperial"
duty: as the successor of the Soviet Union, it is duty-bound to protect
Russians living throughout the ex-Soviet Union. Nor can Russia allow
Saakashvili to ethnically cleanse the Ossetians, if only for practical
reasons: fifty thousand refugees from South Ossetia would destabilise
the northern Caucasus . But the essential point about the arbitrary
borders under socialism and the migration of nationalities to and fro
for many decades makes a mockery and potential tragedy of treating
the new "republics" in terms familiar to the West.
Ignoring this fundamental reality has caused inestimable suffering
already in the former Yugoslavia, as Solzhenitsyn predicted long
before Srebrenica, Kosovo and now Ossetia . Unfortunately, Bush et
al are operating on autopilot, as even reluctant German Chancellor
Angela Merkel, on her lightning visit to succour Georgian President
Mikheil Saakashvili, defiantly announced, "Georgia will become a
member of NATO if it wants to — and it does want to."
Employing its own perverse logic, Poland quickly finalised an agreement
to host the infamous US missile "defence" shield. The US administration
even dropped its supposed opposition to supplying short-range Patriot
missiles, which are highly mobile and can be redeployed easily to
counter, say, Russian missiles responding to a US strike, a point
which was not lost on Russia. So it should surprise no one that a
senior Russian general said that Poland had just made itself a target
of Russia’s nuclear arsenal.
To add fuel to the nuclear meltdown, NATO wannabee Ukraine announced
on Saturday that the demise of a bilateral Russian-Ukrainian defence
agreement earlier this year "allows Ukraine to establish active
cooperation with European countries" in missile defence. Ukraine’s
Foreign Ministry said Kiev could invite European partners to integrate
their early warning systems against missile attacks. This is yet
another blatant provocation of Russia , which has no intention of
starting a war, but has a nuclear arsenal ready to reply to any first
strike, a policy which the current US administration embraces.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has also ordered commanders of
Russia ‘s Black Sea fleet, based in Sevastopol, to seek permission
before moving warships and aircraft. Moscow said its commanders
would disregard the order as its forces answer solely to the Russian
president.
The current upping-the-ante is both childish and dangerous. Russia is
not weak and in disarray any longer, and could very easily — and with
excellent historical justification — annex Sevastopol and even the
entire Crimean peninsula, where Russians and Tatars constitute 70 per
cent of the population and which was a part of Russia since the time
of Catherine the Great. At the same time, Russia is not belligerent or
warlike, unlike a certain other superpower, and foolish "presidents"
of "republics" would be wise to recognise they must live side-by-side
with this powerful nation, and make the best of it, not the worst. In
case this point is still not clear, if Ukraine stops its provocations,
it need have no worries of any loss of "sovereignty".
The duplicity of the West is everywhere in this current crisis. Even
French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s cease-fire proposal signed by both
Georgian and Russian presidents was a ruse. Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov revealed that the document that Saakashvili approved
did not contain an introduction that had been endorsed by Russia,
South Ossetia and the other breakaway region, Abkhazia. Meanwhile,
US military planes are flying in "aid" and the US has announced it
will henceforth have a permanent presence in Georgia.
Because of the very real threat that Georgian troops, backed by their
American friends, could easily try again to destabilise things, the
Russians are understandably unwilling to abandon the western Georgian
city of Gori, which has a military base.
Tellingly, Bush referred Friday to efforts to resolve the conflict
not with the Group of 8 industrial nations, which includes Russia ,
but with the G-7, using the designation of the group before Russia
joined. Ousting Russia from the G-8 has been a keystone of McCain’s
foreign policy for years.
Bush et al don’t realise that apart from the Baltics, which had
two decades of independence before WWII, these ex-Soviet states are
not really states at all, but fiefdoms of the most odious part of
the former Soviet elite, now trying to play western-style electoral
politics, with disastrous consequences. By pretending otherwise and
threatening Russia for its understandable security interests, the US is
playing with fire. "What worries me about this episode is the United
States is jeopardising Russian cooperation on a number of issues
over a dispute that at most involves limited American interests,"
said Ted Galen Carpenter of the Cato Institute in Washington .
By opening NATO to bits and pieces of the SU and Yugoslavia, by
pushing Russophobic, vengeful Polish and Czech governments into
hosting missiles which can be easily aimed at Russia, the US should
be prepared for the possibility of a greater Russia, just as it should
be resigned to a greater Serbia, which would include Serbian enclaves
in Kosovo. This is what so far defines 21st century realpolitik.
Military defeat may actually be very good for the Georgians. The first
thing the Georgians did when they became independent after the 1917
Russian Revolution was to expel all Armenians and confiscate their
property. After WWII, Georgian Joseph Stalin expelled the Chechens from
the Caucusus and the Germans from Prussia. The Ossetians and Abhkaz
had good cause to distance themselves from Georgian chauvinism. We
can only hope that the fiasco in Ossetia will let the Georgians — and
the Ukrainians — rethink their attitude towards all their neighbours,
including the Russians.