Author: Maghakian Mike

The Toronto Star
November 6, 2004 Saturday

Eastern Turkey is the focus of a spring itinerary

by Catherine George, Toronto Star

There is a well-trodden tourist path through the ancient towns and
cities of western Turkey, but eastern Turkey is relatively
undeveloped as far as tourism goes, obviously because the eastern
region of the country is closer to the conflicts of the Middle East.

Also, eastern Turkey isn’t developed enough to handle mass tourism –
hotels and restaurants are small and unable to accommodate the larger
groups that many tour operators cater to.

However, it is possible to join a group of 10 people on a 24-day
spring tour from Ankara, themed “Ancient Kingdoms.” Departure is May
26 and land cost is $6,000 per person, double, including 23 nights
accommodation, most meals, transportation by coach and ferry,
entrance fees and tolls. Airfare to Ankara costs extra. An extension
in Istanbul can be arranged.

Sightseeing in Ankara includes a visit to the mausoleum of Ataturk,
founder of modern Turkey and the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations
plus an optional tour to Gordion (700 BCE), the city of Midas. Next,
the Hittite capital of Hattusas and the old Ottoman town of Amasya on
the Yesilirmak River.

Day five includes a drive along the Black Sea coast to the legendary
city of Trabzon and village of Macka for an overnight stop.

Excursions take in Sumela Monastery, a major religious centre of the
Byzantines; the frescoes of Aya Sofia; Rize, tea capital of Turkey;
Aydir, famous for its hot springs.

Then it’s south through the mountains to Erzurum with its mosques and
monuments of the Selcuk Turks; the frontier town of Kars; the ruins
of Ani, ancient capital of Armenia, destroyed by the Mongols. The
tour continues along the eastern border of Turkey and Iran, around
Mount Ararat, site of Noah’s Ark.

Mid-journey, you arrive at the city of Van for a two-night stay where
you explore the Castle of Van, with its Urarturian tombs, and the
ancient city of Cavustepe (1000 BCE); the medieval Kurdish Castle of
Hosap with free time to explore the markets and bazaars of the major
carpet centre.

The next portion of the tour takes in the holy island of Akdamar, a
major Armenian religious centre; the valley of the Tigris River and
the ancient city of Diyarbakir, its walls built by Constantine; the
desert city of Mardin with its 5th-century monastery; the town of
Sanli Urfa in Mesopotamia, birthplace of Abraham; the Biblical city
of Harran near the Syrian border, one of the oldest settlements in
the world.

The final part of the tour takes you north to the Euphrates River and
the monuments at Nemut Dag, the modern city of Gaziantep, and Antioch
(Antakya), with its museum and the cave church of St. Peter, the
place where the term “Christian” was first coined. Participants then
continue to Adana, via the Hittite ruin of Karatepe, to catch a
flight to Istanbul with a day to explore the city known as “Gateway
to the East.”

The tour is being run by The Ald Partnership, 805 – 188 Spadina Ave.,
Toronto, Ont. M5T 3A4. Call 416-703-8800, e-mail aldpar @
sympatico.ca. You can also book with Toronto-based Clarke-Way Travel
at 416-364-0903, extension 299, or toll-free 1-800-282-1905. E-mail
Gloria @ cwtclarkeway.com.

GALAPAGOS 2005: The wildlife in the Galapagos islands off Ecuador,
the islands that Charles Darwin made famous, are the focus of a tour
May 5-22 next year. It also includes visits to the Ecuadorian
capital, Quito, the Andes region and the Ecuadorian Amazon. Cost is
$4,980 per person, double, including return airfare.

Another tour is being arranged to Machu Picchu June 8-23. It costs
$4,890 for each of two and includes sightseeing in Lima and Cuzco.

Information: 905-887-5055 or e-mail alohah @ idirect.com. Bookings:
Main Street Travel & Cruises, 43 Main St. N., Markham, Ont., phone
905-471-0056.

HOGWART’S EXPRESS: Alnwick Castle and Gardens, the magical castle of
Harry Potter fame and filming sites from both The Sorcerer’s Stone
and The Chamber of Secrets are among the highlights of a new Rail
Europe one-day unescorted tour.

The rail trip, from King’s Cross Station in London, to Alnmouth takes
just over an hour.

Alnwick Castle, the setting for the films based on J.K. Rowling’s
novels is a rebuilt Norman castle set in a rose and ornamental
garden. Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves and Mary Queen of Scots were
also filmed at the site.

Tours are offered at 8: 30 a.m. daily, except Sundays, now through
Dec. 31. It includes roundtrip rail fare, bus transfer from Alnmouth
rail station to Alnwick Castle and the film site.

Prices are for first and standard class and start at $206 for adults,
$103 for children aged 5-15, under 5 go free. Reservations are
required at least 24 hours prior to departure.

Contact travel agents or Rail Europe at 1-800-361-7245 or log on to

Catherine George is the Star’s associate travel editor. cgeorge @
thestar.ca

Travel

GRAPHIC: Catherine George photo The mausoleum of Ataturk, founder of
modern Turkey, in Ankara, is among the first monuments visited on a
tour that includes the seldom-visited region of eastern Turkey.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan
Nov. 1, 2004

SOUTH CAUCASUS PARLIAMENT SPEAKERS TO MEET IN VERSAILLES
[November 01, 2004, 17:27:41]

A meeting of Heads of the South Caucasus parliaments initiated by
Chairman of the French Senate Christian Poncelet will be held in
Versailles, France on 4 November to discuss current situation in the
region, national heritage, prospects of tourism development and other
issues, press service of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan
told AzerTAj.

Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov accompanied by deputies of the Milli Majlis
Nizami Jafarov and Musa Gouliyev will participate in the meeting.

The Head of the Azerbaijan’s parliament will deliver a report on
maintenance of peace and stability in the region, and finding solution
to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem and express the country’s position with
respect to the issue in hand. The Speaker is also expected to meet with
representatives of the Paris public to enlighten them on the issues of
their interest.

The visit ends on 6 November.

VISIT TO NKR

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
29 Oct 04

The public organization “Project on Transitional Democracies” and
the German Foundation of Marshal implement a joint program aiming,
according to the chairman of organization Bruce Jackson, to convey
the importance of the South Caucasian countries and urgency for
a rapid settlement of the conflicts to the leaders of the Atlantic
countries. On October 26 the delegation formed of influential statesmen
and diplomats of a number of European countries, the chairman of
NATO Parliamentary Assembly, a member of the French parliament,
the former foreign minister of Spain, the former advisor to the
president of Greece, representatives of the newspapers “Financial
Times”, “Figaro” and “Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung” arrived in
Stepanakert. The delegation was headed by Bruce Jackson who is the
representative of the USA Committee on NATO. Speaking about the aims
of the project, Bruce Jackson mentioned that each delegate has his
goals, and they will present their impression from the visit and
their suggestions to the leaders of their countries. Bruce Jackson
said all of them share the opinion that promotion of democracy
in the South Caucasus is becoming increasingly important for the
security of Europe. He mentioned that it is especially important in
the context of involvement of the South Caucasian countries in the
program “Wider Europe: New Neighbourhood” and recognition of the
South Caucasus as the chief factor for stability in Europe by NATO
at the summit in Istanbul. This speaks for the necessity of a rapid
settlement of the Karabakh and other South Caucasian conflicts. Bruce
Jackson also mentioned that this necessity is dictated by the changes
(related to the elections) which may take place in the government of
the USA, as well as the European structures in the near future. The
visit of the delegation began at Baku, continued in Yerevan and
Stepanakert and will end in Tbilisi, South Osia and Abkhazia. The
members of the delegation meet with the top officials, presidents and
defence ministers of these countries, as well as representatives of
public organizations. In Karabakh the delegation visited the border
area and witnessed the ravage there. The head of the delegation
mentioned that their impression from the visit to the borderline
will be another argument for the rapid settlement of the issue,
which they will convey to their governments. Bruce Jackson refused to
answer the questions referring to his personal attitude towards the
settlement of the Karabakh conflict saying that it is not within the
competence of the delegation. He pointed out that they will try to
cut the red tape on the problem of the Karabakh conflict among other
South Caucasian issues, and have it included among the priorities of
the American and European leaders. Besides, the aim of the program is
to prepare the international community for the possible settlement of
the conflict. In reference to the question of participation of Nagorni
Karabakh in talks Bruce Jackson said he could not see why Karabakh was
left out of the talks and pointed out that the settlement will be more
effective if the opinion of the people is taken into account. The visit
of this delegation to the South Caucasian region means much. Obviously
the USA and Europe have decided to attend to the issues of the region
seriously and expedite the peacemaking processes there. It is not known
yet whether the Karabakh conflict sides will have to make compromises,
they will be offered to create a South Caucasian federation after the
example of the European Union or there will be other solutions. One
thing is clear that the imposed settlement is not too far. And God
forbid that the settlement be like that in Kosovo or Cyprus.

AA. 29-10-2004

PRESS RELEASE
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia
Contact: Information Desk
Tel: (374-1) 52-35-31
Email: [email protected]
Web:

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hamlet Gasparian responds to a Question by the
Armenian Daily, Hayastani Hanrapetutyun, on Azerbaijan¹s UN Initiative

Question: Today, the UN General Assembly voted on Azerbaijan¹s initiative
to include a resolution on ³The Status of Occupied Territories in
Azerbaijan² during the UN General Assembly 59th session. The initiative did
in fact enter the agenda. What is your comment?

Answer: Yes, there was a vote today on whether to include the issue on the
agenda and of the UN¹s 191 member countries, only 43 countries voted in
favor of Azerbaijan¹s initiative. The remainder abstained. The Netherlands,
on behalf of the European Union, spoke against Azerbaijan¹s initiative, and
France did as well, on behalf of the OSCE Minsk Group. The vote showed that
this initiative does not enjoy the broad support of the international
community.

The overwhelming majority of those who voted with Azerbaijan are members of
the Organization of Islamic Countries, which is currently chaired by Turkey.
This means that, unfortunately, Azerbaijan is attempting to give the
conflict a different color by recruiting the Islamic countries and
exploiting the prevailing solidarity within that organization. We believe
such actions will definitely have a negative effect on the peace process.
Nevertheless, I want to also stress that exactly 40% of the OIC membership
did not succumb to Turkey¹s and Azerbaijan¹s pressure and did not support
the Azerbaijani initiative.

I¹d like to point out a few other important facts. No permanent members of
the UN Security Council voted in favor of Azerbaijan¹s initiative. Nor did
any non-permanent members of the Security Council either, except for
Pakistan. No European Union member country supported the initiative nor did
any OSCE Minsk Group country with the exception of Turkey.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia states one more
time that through such steps Azerbaijan is attempting to divert the
international community from the actual core of the NK conflict, which is
the status of Nagorno Karabakh.

We have said and will repeat again that if Azerbaijan removes individual
issues from the comprehensive discussion of Nagorno Karabakh¹s status to
attract or divert international attention, then they must negotiate those
issues directly with Nagorno Karabakh.

–Boundary_(ID_O2z8nmO/i7UjMBSVWn13dg)–

Political analysis and ideology

Editorial

Yerkir/am
October 22, 2004

Political, geopolitical and ideological considerations come to
dominate social sciences today. Should political analysis be based
on ideological considerations?

At first sight, it might seem that it should not because analysis
requires neutrality, objectivity and reasoning independent of
any ideological and especially party affiliation. However, such
objectivity very often serves as a cover for absence of political
will and a specific political line, and pure reasoning often hides
the absence of a political ideal and political idealism.

The mask of objectivity often hides individuals, organizations,
elites or systems deprived of any goals of their own. The powerful
states and the political research institutes at their service do
not shun subjectivity presenting their interests and their positions
as universal.

Meanwhile, the intellectual elites suffering from provincial
inferiority complex feel ashamed for the conservatism of their national
ideals and resort to â~@~ objectivismâ~@~] and determinism. In
reality, they find themselves servicing the interests of some powerful
actors.

Assessment and analysis of domestic and internal political processes
and realities is subconsciously ideologized in Armenia. However, this
ideologization is dangerous because it derives from the pro-Russian
or pro-Western position of certain individuals thus imitating the
assessment of political realities presented by Russian or Western
sources respectively. The analysis of domestic, regional or global
issues is thus based on concepts and scenarios developed by others.

You can research thousands of sources, be very well aware of various
facts. But if you do not have your own analytical mind, your own ideal
you will not be able to analyze the situation from a perspective that
specifically suits your interests. Before any analysis is possible in
Armenia, we first of all need to develop our own position on things
and situations to be analyzed; we have to develop the ability to have
our own perspective on different things.

This can happen if we have our own vision of the future, a vision that
will be Armenian and not Russian, European or American. The vision
of the future must be based not on objective calculations but on our
will to pursue the future we want to have. Facts are objective only
for those who lack will. The future must be shaped in a way favorable
for Armenia. Facts must be analyzed only from the perspective of
Armeniaâ~@~Ys interests.

Armeniaâ~@~Ys interests cannot be completely identical with the
interests of any strategic partners or allies. The ideological factor
must be analyzed consciously. Today, the ideological factor does exist,
but is either a product of subconscious imitation or is a conscious
service paid to some external forces.

–Boundary_(ID_UXN5A62ve3moD3WV9swF9w)–

seattletimes.com

Thursday, October 21, 2004, 12:00 A.M.
Jerry Large / Times staff columnist

U.S. takes on new sensible approach to tackle poverty

We’re still trying to figure out how best to relate to the rest of the
world. For most of my life, our foreign relations were all about countering
the communists.

In the aftermath of 9/11 we’ve been fighting mad, striking out with our
military power and offending much of the world community in the process.

But something else has been going on in the background that makes more sense
for us and for the world. It’s a new approach, embodied in a new federal
agency, the Millennium Challenge Corporation.

Specifically it is about reducing poverty, but more generally it is about
bringing the best of ourselves to our relationships with other countries.

Inside and outside of government, influential people are talking about
development aid as a way to make a safer world for ourselves while we help
the world’s poorest people move up. This is not about foreign aid as it
existed during the Cold War, which often meant writing checks to any
dictator who’d promise to be anti-communist.

And it isn’t the kind of aid in which the donor country decides what is best
for the recipient without understanding local needs. Or at least it isn’t
supposed to be.

Paul Applegarth, the chief executive officer of the Millennium Challenge
Corporation, was in Seattle last week speaking to local business and
political leaders who are championing some of the same ideas MCC represents.

He told me the idea for MCC grew out of the Monterrey International
Conference on Financing for Development in 2002. The Bush administration
proposed a Millennium Challenge Account to help developing countries, and
Congress created the MCC to administer it.

The MCC opened for business in January. Business is the key word. The
expectation is that business is what will change the status of poor
countries, and toward that end the MCC seeks to reward countries that create
the right climate for economic growth.

“Our mission is poverty reduction in the poorest countries. Our technique is
growth,” Applegarth said.

Here’s how it works.

Seventy-five of the poorest countries were eligible for the first step, in
which they are graded based on report cards from several international
organizations. MCC uses 16 indicators to measure how each country is doing
in three areas, “ruling justly, investing in their people, and encouraging
economic freedom.”

Countries aren’t expected to be perfect, but better than most.

Sixteen countries made the cut this first time: Honduras, Nicaragua,
Bolivia, Mongolia, Georgia, Armenia, Sri Lanka, Vanuatu, Mozambique,
Madagascar, Lesotho, Mali, Benin, Senegal, Ghana and Cape Verde.

They don’t get money yet. There’s a second phase in which the countries tell
MCC their priorities. They present MCC with proposals that are judged on
whether they will work, how success will be measured, how the priorities
were picked (who all had a say), and what additional improvements will be
made in governance, education and so on.

The successful ones will enter a three- to five-year development partnership
with MCC.

In this arrangement, Applegarth said, “the country has to take
responsibility for its own growth, policies matter, and the focus is on
results.”

If the program is ever fully funded – Bush called for $5 billion a year
beginning in 2006 – it would be huge for a foreign-aid program.

It would be money well spent.

The Seattle group that invited Applegarth to speak here last week, the
Initiative for Global Development (founded by William H. Gates Sr., Dan
Evans, Bill Ruckelshaus and Bill Clapp) came together to push the idea that
eliminating extreme poverty is in America’s best interest, “a safer, more
humane and more prosperous world for all.”

Applegarth says no one imagined the United States would take the lead on
something like this, but he says the administration and people in both
parties in Congress recognized something was missing from our national
security strategy, which was based on two D’s: defense and diplomacy. There
needed to be a third D: development.

“Fundamentally, this is the way people want America to be in the world,” he
said, “This is the U.S. going out and trying to do something good for the
world, reduce poverty, but do it in a way that is very American.”

Jerry Large: 206-464-3346 or [email protected].

Mideast Mirror
October 18, 2004

U.S. Anti-Semitism law

The aim of this law is to exempt the state which presents itself as
the ‘Jewish state’ from any questioning of the crimes it
commits-Al-Rai
There are U.S. Jews who have been persecuted and boycotted by the
mainstream U.S. media because they criticized Israel-Asharq al-Awsat
Anti-Semitism is a pretext used to blackmail the world’s countries
and to extract from them certain political positions-as has been the
case with the alleged holocaust that Israel has been using for
decades to politically and financially blackmail European
countries-al-Rayah
AFP reports that U.S. President George Bush on Saturday signed into
law a bill requiring the State Department to monitor global
anti-Semitism and design strategies to combat it, rating countries
annually on their treatment of Jews. The US State Department had
opposed this new legislation, saying it was unnecessary as the
department already compiles such data in its annual reports on human
rights and religious freedom. Bush signed the Global Anti-Semitism
Review Act of 2004 on a flight to Florida, a key battleground state
in the November 2 presidential elections and one in which the
Republicans hope to make inroads into the traditional Jewish vote for
the Democrats, AFP says. Florida’s Jewish population is the third
largest in the world after Israel and New York, according to AFP .

Arab commentators have reacted strongly to Bush’s announcement that
he had signed into law new legislation on monitoring anti-Semitism
worldwide. The critics concur that the law’s real aim is to prevent
criticism of Israel, in an attempt by the Republicans to curry favour
with traditionally pro-Democratic U.S. Jewish voters, and that it
shows total disregard for Israel’s racist policies against the
Palestinians.

ILLOGICAL: “There is nothing new in this law drafted by the U.S.
Congress and signed by President Bush” requiring the State Department
to specifically monitor anti-Semitism in each country, writes Mahmoud
al-Rimawi in Monday’s Jordanian daily, al-Rai.
“Its real aim is to promote a sympathetic view of the ‘Jewish state’
no matter how this state behaves. The law is not concerned with the
Jews as followers of a religion. These have never had it so good
around the world. If the aim were to protect the followers of a
particular religion, a law would have been adopted banning
discrimination against any religion whatsoever. It is illogical that
there should be positive discrimination in favour of the followers of
one particular religion while excluding others.
The basic aim of this law is therefore to exempt the state which
presents itself as the ‘Jewish state’ from any of the consequences or
the questioning that follows the crimes it commits. Any who question
its actions will risk being accused of discrimination and
anti-Semitism.
There is nothing new in this law. The Republican administration’s
Middle East policy has been based on defending the interests of the
Israeli military and its colonial occupation for four years now. The
new law tries to use religious and ideological ammunition as a cover
for the unholy alliance between this administration and the enemies
of peace who rule in Tel Aviv.
The U.S. election campaign is of course the main reason why this law
has been approved at this particular time. The incumbent president is
trying to win over the votes of U.S. Jews in his battle to remain in
the White House. It is well-known that the majority of U.S. Jews vote
for the Democratic Party because this party has traditionally been
more respectful of minorities and religious and cultural diversity
than have the Republicans. This is why the incumbent president
announced his decision in Florida, with its large ‘Jewish weighting’.
It will be easy for this law to be exploited in such a way as to
portray any criticism of Sharon-style policies as a brand of
anti-Semitism, thereby rendering such criticism taboo.
This irrational move, based on a deliberate confusion between
religion and politics, is just one sign of the path chosen by the
current Republican administration. This is a path that has foiled the
language of dialogue, while the Arab world has been turned into a
theatre for two wars waged by the two most conservative and extremist
powers in the world today.
The response to this law should not be limited to showing how
mistaken it is in setting up discrimination between religions. There
should also be continued firm and courageous criticism of ‘Sharonism’
as a policy opposed to peace and coexistence and openly hostile to
other nations and peoples. A strict distinction must be made between
the advocates of this policy and the followers of the Jewish
religion.
“After all,” concludes al-Rimawi, “Our struggle is with occupation,
expansionism, and racism. It is in no way a struggle against the
followers of any particular religion.”

HYPOCRISY: “The anti-Semitism law signed by President Bush is a
paradigm of political opportunism and bare-faced hypocrisy”, writes
Ahmad al-Rab’i in Monday’s Saudi daily, Asharq al-Awsat. “President
Bush made the announcement that he had signed the law in the city of
Miami, Florida, where a considerable number of Jews live.”
The legislation shows a clear disregard for reason and history.
‘Semitic’ is an expression applying to many nations. The Jews are
Semitic, but so are their Palestinian victims. If there is to be an
anti-Semitic law, then the first to be prosecuted under it should be
Ariel Sharon, who commits crimes against the Semitic Palestinians,
wallows in their killing, and imposes collective punishment on them.
Nor does the law aim at defending the Jews. There are many Jews, both
inside and outside Israel, who oppose the Israeli government’s
policy. And there are U.S. Jews who have been persecuted and
boycotted by the mainstream U.S. media because they criticized
Israel.
The law really aims at protecting Israel, though it has been passed
under the name of combating anti-Semitism. Therefore, we, like many
other political writers and analysts, would be honored to join the
U.S. State Department’s list of ‘anti-Semites’, if ‘Semite’ in
President Bush’s dictionary means ‘Israeli’.
How can a particular state or group be chosen, have conferences
devoted to it, and have the president of the world’s leading country
issue a special law that prevents its criticism? The effect of this
law is to make the Israelis God’s bewildered people, and the rest of
the world’s nations, colors, and races God’s chosen peoples as
persecuted peoples . Israel is the only state in the world that
engages in colonialism, refuses to implement the resolutions that
represent international legitimacy, builds a racist Separation Wall,
carries out collective punishment, and is creative in emulating the
Nazi state that committed so many crimes against the Jews, only for
Israel to play the same role against the Palestinians.
“No sympathy has been expressed in the U.S. legislation for the Arabs
and the Africans. No mention was made of the crimes committed against
the Armenians and the Kurds. All you have to do is wait for the State
Department’s annual report to find out for sure that no one is to
dare criticize Israel,” concludes al-Rab’i.

ELECTORAL RACE: “At a time when the Palestinians have started to
inspect the effects of the terrible destruction, count their victims,
and assess their enormous losses resulting from the Israeli
aggression on the Northern Gaza Strip amidst international silence
and unlimited U.S. support, Israel-and behind it the world’s
Jews-have obtained a new and unprecedented privilege, offered to them
by U.S. President George Bush in the context of his race with this
Democratic rival John Kerry to win the approval of U.S. Jews”, writes
the Qatari daily, al-Rayah. “This is a race whose results will
inevitably be at the expense of the Palestinians and the Arabs”.
With great pride, President Bush announced before an electoral rally
in Florida that he has promulgated a new law to protect the Jews in
all countries of the world. It requires State Department to gather
statistics regarding anti-Semitic acts around the world and to assess
the positions of various states on this issue. It also requires the
establishment of a special bureau within the State Department whose
job it would be to prepare an annual report and to lay down
strategies for fighting anti-Semitic acts around the world. It is
evident that this racist law has been ratified as a result of clear
Jewish pressures. Congress approved it a few days ago on the
suggestion of Democratic Representative Tom Lantos, the congressman
who has been most enthusiastic in supporting Israeli policies.
Moreover, President Bush chose the state of Florida to sign this bill
into law because it contains the third largest Jewish community in
the world after Israel and the New York area.
This law constitutes a dangerous precedent, to be added to the U.S.
foreign policy that has adopted an extremist path in imposing U.S.
will on the world during President Bush’s term in office. Israel
seems to be the only state in the world to be benefiting from this
policy. The new law allows Washington to interfere in the domestic
affairs of countries around the world and to impose its supervision,
demanding they answer its questions concerning the way the Jewish
communities in these countries are treated. As a result, this law
encourages Israel to intervene in the domestic affairs of countries
around the world.
We believe that this law’s targets are primarily the Arab and Islamic
countries that include Jews among their people, or those states whose
policies are disapproved of by Washington and Tel Aviv. Anti-Semitism
is a pretext used by Israel, with U.S. support, to pressure and
blackmail the world’s countries in order to extract from them certain
political positions-as has been the case with the alleged holocaust
that Israel has been using for decades to politically and financially
blackmail European countries.
Discriminating between people on the basis of their colour, religion,
or race is unacceptable. It contradicts the UN’s Convention on Human
Rights. However, it is unfortunate that the U.S. adopts double
standards in this regard. It provides special attention to ensure
safety for Israel and the Jews, based on illusions, while it pays no
attention to the massacres that Israel is committing against the
Palestinians.
“In fact, it provides military, political, and economic support for
these massacres and adds to this by accusing the Palestinians of
terrorism. And herein lies one of the weakest points in U.S. policy,
a weakness that is costing it the world’s trust,” concludes the paper.

STATEMENT

A1 Plus | 19:26:11 | 14-10-2004 | Politics |

Yerevan Press Club, Journalists Union of Armenia and Committee
to Protect Freedom of Speech came up Thursday with the following
statement.

“On October 13, 2004 in the city of Kapan violence was committed
against the Chief Editor of “Syunyats Yerkir” newspaper Samvel
Aleksanian.

Apparently, the lack of punishment in a number of recent incidents of
violence against media representatives or else the mild punishments
imposed on their executors leave an impression that it is possible
to intimidate journalists, contrary to the provision of the RA Law
“On Mass Communication” that “a journalist engaged in legitimate
professional activities is protected by the legislation of the Republic
of Armenia as an individual on public duty”.

The Yerevan Press Club, Journalists Union of Armenia and Committee to
Protect Freedom of Expression demand that the law enforcement bodies
conduct an objective investigation of the incident and to hold the
people guilty of assaulting the journalist accountable.”

EUROTERM STARTS PRODUCTION OF GAS WATER HEATER

ArmenPress
Oct 13 2004

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 13, ARMENPRESS: Armenian prime minister Andranik
Margarian paid a visit on Tuesday to Euroterm company that has launched
production of gas water heaters together with a South Korean Lote
company. A company representative said water heaters will be first sold
at domestic markets and later to CIS and Middle East countries. The
South Korean company has invested $500,000 in the manufacturing of
heaters and a little more was invested by the Armenian company.

The deal followed a 12 month sale of South Korean company’s products
in Armenia by Euroterm. The company assembles daily 50 heaters from
parts brought from Korea, later they will be manufactured here.

Armenia economic forum to solve long-term tasks of country development

ITAR-TASS, Russia
Oct 13 2004

YEREVAN, October 12 (Itar-Tass) — The international Armenian
economic forum is designed to help resolve long-term strategic tasks
of Armenia’s development, president of the World Armenian Congress and
the Union of Russian Armenians Ara Abramyan told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.

At the forum that will open on Wednesday concrete business projects
will be worked out and implemented in order to promote the social
and economic development of Armenia and use the existing political
and economic potential of the diaspora more effectively, Abramyan
emphasized. He is confident that “serious successes can not be achieved
in the solution of national tasks, the just solution of the Karabakh
problem cannot also be achieved, if the Armenian people does not
manage to pool its efforts and provide conditions for the effective
social and economic development of the country.”

According to Abramyan, on one hand, for this it is necessary to
consolidate efforts of business circles of the diaspora and Armenia,
strengthen involvement of businessmen of the diaspora in the republic’s
economy. On another hand, there is a persistent need to involve the
Armenian economy and businessmen in international business structures.

“Armenian economy and business should find its place in the
international economic community,” Abramyan pointed out. According
to him, the goal of the World Armenian Congress is to try to raise
Armenian business to a new level of foreign economic relations that
corresponds more to the current stage of globalization.