Author: Nahapetian Boris

Pan Armenian News

ACTING GOVERNOR OF RUSSIAN PERM REGION ARRIVING IN ARMENIA APRIL 18

14.04.2005 08:31

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Acting Governor of the Perm region of Russia Oleg
Chirkunov will pay a formal call to Armenia on 18-20 April, Novy Companion
news agency reported. The visit was already planned in February in the
course of the arrival of the Armenian delegation headed by Ambassador to
Russia Armen Smbatian in Perm. The Armenian party showed interest toward the
development of tourism in Prikamie, agriculture and chemical industry.
Within the framework of the visit the head of the region will meet with
Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margarian, President Robert Kocharian, His
Holiness Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II, Governor of
Gegharkunik region Stepan Barseghian. The visit program also includes visits
to the Commercial and Industrial Chamber of Armenia, Armenian State
Architectural University, Wine, vodka and brandy factory, Holy Echmiadzin.
The delegation will include Perm businessmen, among them Chairman of the
Committee of Directors of Metafrax JSC Armen Gharslian. A number of
agreements, including those with the Commercial and Industrial Chamber of
Armenia, are expected to be signed in the course of the visit.

National Post, Canada
April 14 2005

Dubiously convicted prisoners may starve: amnesty group

MADRID – At least 70 prisoners risk starving to death in a prison in
Equatorial Guinea, where rations have been cut from a daily cup of
rice to almost nothing, Amnesty International said yesterday. The
human rights group said those most at risk included six Armenians and
five South Africans convicted last year of plotting a coup in the
tiny, oil-rich West African country, in a trial Amnesty described as
“grossly unfair.”

“Unless immediate action is taken, many of those detained at Black
Beach prison will die,” said Kolawole Olaniyan, director of Amnesty’s
Africa program, in a statement. Amnesty said the Armenians and South
Africans jailed at Black Beach for their part in the plot had their
wrists and ankles chained together at all times, and all the
prisoners were confined to their cells 24 hours a day. Equatorial
Guinea, a former Spanish colony, said the allegations were untrue and
accused Amnesty of seeking to tarnish its image.

EastSide Boxing
April 13 2005

Soviet Legends: The Tale of Vyacheslav Lemeshev – Part 1

13.04.05 – By Izyaslav `Slava’ Koza and Andrei `The Shark’ Nikolaev:
Unfortunately, human memory cannot compete with a good photograph or
video on which we record the most wonderful moments of our lives.
That is why when we read about some obscure Olympic boxer or athlete,
we open our mouth and say `Yeah, he was some guy……,’ and move on with
our business and our lives. Today, we ask everybody to take a moment
and think and read about a 20 year old boxer, with a funny looking
mustache, seen in photographs in so many Russian and Soviet
newspapers, who although gone from our lives, unquestionably deserves
a moment of your time.

Vyacheslav Ivanovich Lemeshev

It is sad to think that we cannot ask the hero of this article
anything about his career anymore. Vyacheslav Lemeshev, Olympic
champion of the 1972 Munich games, left us nine years ago on January
27, 1996. However, we still have the thoughts and memories of his
friends, former teammates, and his wife Zinaida, as well as articles
from newspapers, aiding us in remembering who he was and what he
meant to the world of boxing. His four gold medals, claimed on the
Olympic, European and Soviet rings, as well as endless numbers of
trophies, prizes, and awards for boxing, remind us what he was able
to accomplish in his abruptly shortened life. There is a hope among
his fans, boxing writers and other boxers themselves, that somewhere
in an old dusty archive room, there exists a collection of videos
that have captured his most memorable victories at the Olympics, the
European championships, as well as boxing meets between the United
States and the Soviet Union. Tapes that show his dominance over
future professional champions like Marvin Johnson and the legendary
Micheal Spinks.

It would mean so much to so many to one day turn on the TV and see a
boxing documentary about V. Lemeshev with footage of his bouts.

However, until such a day, the only things we have to go on in
remembering the youngest Soviet Olympic champion, and two time
European champion, are old newspaper cutouts, interviews with people
who knew him, and information from books that don’t know whether they
want to talk about Vyacheslav or some other unrelated and unimportant
topic.

Vyacheslav’s friend, and first Soviet champion of the World (1974),
lightweight Vasili Anatolivich Solomin (now deceased):

“Lemeshev’s manner of fighting was impossible to compare to anybody
else’s. None of his opponents could understand anything. Everyone
knew he would finish with his right, and still nobody could avoid
getting hit by it.”

This was not surprising. Vyacheslav’s second trainer, Armenian, Yuri
Radonyak, remembers that on the Senior National team, there was
constant testing done on the initial speed of a punch. Lemeshev’s
punch was always the fastest. That is why the speed and strength of
Lemeshev’s right hand allowed him to overcome any attack his opponent
threw at him, often sending the hapless victim to the ring apron in
short order.

In 1966, at the Moscow city championships, 14 year old Slava Lemeshev
didn’t only win the tournament in his section, taking the prize for
best technical boxer, but gained the attention of Wladimir Kon’kov,
Internationational referee, and trainer of the legendary European
champ Victor Ageev. Even before the result was announced, Kon’kov
nodded towards Slava, and said to his future trainer Lev Segalovich:
`That is a future Olympic champion.’

Nikolai Puchkov, candidate of Master of sports in boxing,
International judge, and Sports commentator, remembers:

“Slava almost never jabbed. He was not really powerful; Just tall and
lean, and often worked on countering. He didn’t like to train
seriously and that is why he didn’t have enough stamina, it seemed.
Often, he is losing a fight, time is running out, his opponent,
feeling victory at his fingertips, relaxes a bit, lowers his hands a
bit, and BAM! He used to estimate distance flawlessly! His opponent
confused, tries again, and this time its over! What always amazed me
was that after his counter right landed, Slavik never even looked to
see what happened, and walked away to his corner. He was always sure
of the result.”

After two years, 16 year old Lemeshev again takes first place and
prize for the best technicals skills at the Spartak Junior
Championships in Yerevan (Armenia). In 1970, at the European Junior
Championships, the great 3 time Olympic champion Laslo Papp, speaking
about Lemeshev after his protégé was defeated by him, stated, `This
kid has a bright future.’ At that time, Vycheslav was the first
winner of the Emil Gremo Cup (formerly the European cup), named after
the former president of the International Assocation of Amateur
boxing, and awarded to the best boxer of the tournament. Lemeshev
captured this honor a second time in 1972 in Belgrade, before
stepping up to go to the Olympics. In April of 1972, he was only 20
years old and in August he was already at the Olympics.

Try to imagine yourself at the age of 20 and already among the
greatest amateur fighters in the world, and right before your first
match you have a high fever. These obstacles had little affect on the
young Lemeshev, who dismissed the idea of being taken out of the
competition, and they also didn’t save an Indonesian kid by the name
of Gomez from being knocked out in the first round. In dealing with
his limited victim, it was as if Slava was dispatching with the fever
that was preventing him from attaining this, the highest of amateur
successes. The rest of the tournament went like this: The German,
Brauske was able to withstand all three rounds and was sent home with
the score of 60-54. While the Turk, Kuran and old friend Marvin
Johnson, were each taken out in the second. In the final, Finn Reima
Virtanen was knocked out after two minutes and 17 seconds of the
first round. Vyacheslav Lemeshev was now an Olympic Gold medallist.

Puchkov: “Slava had many serious opponents. For instance the Finn
Virtanen was tough, nobody even pretended Slava could win, but he
went ahead and did it anway.’

For Slava this was a triumph. Just imagine what is to win an Olympic
gold medal at 20?

In June of 1973, competing in the European championships in Belgrade,
Slava seriously damaged his powerful right hand. A few years later,
he remembered the ordeal with a smile on his face: “I couldn’t just
get used to the pain, but hey, different things like that happen.
Somehow, I fought with the broken hand. They jabbed at it with
needles from all angles, and I went for the check up before the
fight. So the official is examining me and carefully pressing on my
bones and wrist. Just imagine me standing there with a mallet instead
of a fist. I had no clue as to how I will force it into the glove. So
the official is telling me `You can’t go out like that.’ I say `Don’t
worry about it, I’m fine, its nothing,’ and smile from ear to ear. So
he starts to examine the mallet, and from one of the places where
they gave me a shot, a stream of liquid hits him straight in the
face. All I could do was smile again. He gently lowers my arm, and
says “It’s ok,” but doesn’t look me in the face.’

So Slava had to defend his hand until the final, and practically
fight with only his left,against the previous year’s silver medallist
and future Olympic bronze medallist at the Montreal games, Romanian,
Alex Nestak. However, if he was able to get to the final without any
real hardships, the fight with the Romanian changed all that, and
forced Vycheslav to show his true character. After getting knocked
down in the first, Vycheslav didn’t let himself falter, and found his
wits, timed his opponent and let loose with a single, crowning,
signature counter, with his broken hand. He didn’t have to do more-
it was a knockout.

In March of 1974, in Izhevsk at the USSR championships, Vycheslav
competed in the category under 81 kilograms and took the gold, but
after jumping back down to his original weight, took on a very
awkward opponent in Rufat Riskiev from Tashkent (Uzbekistan).
Lemeshev lost to him in the final, but nevertheless, it was him and
not Risakev who would be competing at the world championships in
Katovtzi, Poland. There, 23 year old, Vycheslav took another gold
medal, in the final defeating a German by the name of Vittenburg.
However, regardless of this victory, this is about the time where he
started to decline as a boxer. In the internal boxing tournaments of
the USSR, Vycheslav could not get past Riskiev, who won the
Tournament of Nations in the USSR, and was basically champion from
1971 onwards, even though he was the one, and not the junior
Lemeshev, who the soviet trainers did not take to the Olympics. Now
was Riskiev’s time, two years in a row, winning at the USSR
championships in 1975 and 1976, and with them a place on the National
team, knocking out the European champ Lemeshev.

Aleksander Vasushkin: `You know what kind of sparring sessions he was
having at the time? Sometimes he was dragged out of the ring by his
hands and feet. When he and Riskiev sparred, Rufat used to knock him
around so hard they used to drag him out unconscious. He was getting
hit with a lot of punches at that time.’

Nevertheless, as with every great fighter, there was one great fight
left deep down within him. In the USSR-USA Match Meet, Vycheslav beat
American Micheal Spinks, thus claiming his final real achievement. He
lost the USSR championships in March of that year, only taking third,
and in June, Riskiev was the one flying to Montreal. He fought
magnificently, but fate is inescapable, as the same Micheal Spinks,
denied Riskiev the gold in the final. What could have been is a long
debate and one without a single answer, but the truth is Vycheslav
could not find his way back to the national team. It was then, at 24,
that Vycheslav is rumored to have started drinking, but who knows
which rumors are true and which story tellers have it right?

In 1978 at the USSR championships in Tbilisi (Georgia), Vycheslav
lost his very first fight.

Vasili Solomin: `I lived in the same room with him, and I knew that
before that tournament he was sick or poisoned. Usually before a
tournament, he would have to drop some weight, but this time there
was no need, he weighed only 72 kg. Instead of the 75 kg. I told
Radonyak, the trainer, `Take him out,’ and he went and asked Slava if
he should remove him, but Slava didn’t want to hear of it. We
wouldn’t have even asked another boxer; we would just take him out
and that’s it. Vycheslav was an Olympic champion, however, a European
champ, and the trainers believed in him. What if everything turns out
fine, and he forces his way out of this situation? However, that all
evaporated, when his opponent hit him so hard that he spun around
like a top. He was not even a shadow of his former self, green, and
weak. They stopped it in the second round. It was a hard thing to
watch. It was painful to look at Slava.’

TO Be Concluded………….

2005 EXPECTED TO BE A BREAK THROUGH

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
12 April 05

The break through mentioned in the title is expected in the social and
economic sphere, building and reconstruction works, in education and
culture, as well as other spheres of life. The Armenians living in all
parts of the world realize the necessity of fundamental reconstruction
of the Armenian fortress Shushi and the adjacent villages freed from
captivity lasting for over 70 years. Trying to find out what plans
were brought into being in the year 2004 we talked to the head of the
regional administration of Shushi Vladimir Kassian. Nikolay
Baghdassarian: `Mr. Kassian, at our last meeting which tookplace about
a year ago you cited the saying from the past century `The one who
will rule Shushi will rule entire Karabakh’. However, you immediately
added that ruling is not enough; one must nurture it by all
means. Then you expressed anxiety about the slow rate of
reconstruction of Shushi.’ Vladimir Kassian: `You know, in any case it
is more useful to give a realistic picture of the state of things.
Well, would you believe me if I had told you (or tell you now) that
everything is excellent? On the other hand, everything is not so very
bad. Let us casta glance in retrospect. We all remember how Shushi was
destroyed after the liberation. We also remember that due to bad
control the people who settledin Shushi in a disorderly manner added
to the destruction. Not a single house had remained intact in the
village of Karin Tak, closely situated to Shushi. The same sad picture
was in all the other places of the region. Now very few houses remain
which need reconstruction. And this is the result of large-scale
building, construction of new high voltage electric conduits and other
infrastructures in the region on state budget, as well as charity
means. Atpresent almost all the communities (except Kirsavan) are
supplied with gas, the densely populated center of the town has been
gasified too. In the region special attention is paid to the problem
of housing of the families of killed azatamartiks, the disabled of
war, the veterans of war and families having many children. Detached
houses are built for the families of the mentioned categories, as well
as the new settlers. In 2004 the organization `Country and Culture’
reconstructed the surgical department of the regional hospital. The
obstetric, surgical, therapeutic, paediatric departments, the
policlinic and the emergency department operated normally. The medical
staff has a new therapist and obstetrician. The dental clinic also
operated effectively; despite work overload it satisfies the demands
of the population. Unfortunately, the question of repairing the
buildings of medical stations and maternity wards in villages still
remainson the agenda.’ N.B.: `You gave general information. Would
yougive numbers characterizing the social and economic situation in
the region in 2004?’ V.K.: ` First of all, I would like to mention
that the year was significant for thefact that all the payments were
done in time, all the institutions, organizations received the
additional payments from the state budget by 100 per cent. Last year
we provided 122 per cent of income of the budget of the community.
However, the consolidated budget was implemented by 95.3 per cent, the
state budget – by 89.7 per cent. The reasons are both subjective and
objective. In particular, the building companies working in the
region, being registered in other places of the republic, accordingly
pay taxes the community where they are registered. This is a problem,
and already steps are taken at solving it. In 2004 190.8 million drams
was provided from the state budget for the repair of Ghazanchetsots
Street, central heating of the building of the regional
administration, repair of the plumbing in Ghondaghsazian Street,
construction of the new cultural center in the village of Lisagor,
housing, sanitation, gasifying, etc. Means were provided for
preparing all the schools for winter, the heating installations of the
schools after Abovian and Muratsan were repaired enabling the normal
operation of the central heating. The reconstruction of the former
high-rise hotel is carried out. Roadworks on Ghazanchetsots Street
will be completed very soon.’ N. B.: `Mr. Kassian, the implementation
of the programme of social security and resettlement in the region
and, particularly, the considerable progress in small business in the
town of Shushi mark progress, positive tendencies. What is the picture
like in these spheres?’ V.K.: `Before answering the question I would
like to point out a reassuring fact: against the previous years the
number of people who wish to have flats in Shushi rose considerably in
2004. This is the thing we had long waited for. Some peoplesay, prices
for realty rose in the capital, and Shushi is within reach of hand and
therefore people face towards Shushi. Well, let it be so. However, as
a result the regional center will be inhabited very quickly, the
ruined buildings will be reconstructed and the town will look like a
town. Besides, some inhabitantsof Shushi, who seemed to be passive in
the course of privatization of houses, recently have become more
active; some people reconstruct buildings on their own means, others
expect the government to cover at least part of expenses. In 2004 the
relevant department of the regional administration received 61
applications for privatization of flats, 63 for repair of roofs of
detached houses, 25 applications for re-settling, 4 applications for
loans, 57 applications requesting for land. These facts are
encouraging. On the other hand, they ascertain that day by day the
region and especially the regional center expect more means for
building and reconstruction. In 2005 300 million drams were provided
from the state budget for building, more than to any other region in
the republic. Besides, 25 million drams was provided from the state
budget for gasification of flats and construction of two
medium-pressure gas pipelines, 118 million drams for preservation of
schools, 12 million drams for building three houses for the programmes
of the department of migration, refugees and re-settlement. Against
2005 state subsidies to budget-financed institutions grew
significantly (according to the data on 2004, in the region there are
47 budget-financed institutions, 9 industrial cooperative societies,
25 limited and 5 state closed joint stock companies, 24 sole
proprietors, etc.). The realty market is developing. In 2004 117
persons received license for ownership, 38 persons took out a
lease. The state registration in the communities of Hin Shen, Mets
Shen, Karin Tak has been completed. This comes to prove that there is
progress, and the subsidies from the state budget in the current year
reassure that the year 2005 to be a break through.’ N.B.: `And the
last question. It refers to the main branch of economy – agriculture.’
V.K.: `The question is clear. I should add that it refers to the
everyday anxieties of the villagers. As well as the problems the
solution of which is impossible without government intervention, and
their postponement may be fatal. There is always much work to do in
the villages. The total area of farming land is 923 hectares: 828
hectares of grain, 62 hectares of potatoes, and 33 hectares of
vegetable. However, year by year the crop yield declines. There are no
means for fertilizers. By the way, in 2005 800 million drams were
provided to the fund for development of small business. The loans
provided on these means will be aimed at developing business in the
villages. However, the farmer has nothing to pawn. This question must
be solved immediately in order to direct the loans to the villagers
mainly.’

NIKOLAY BAGHDASSARIAN.
12-04-2005

Report: Russian Orthodox Patriarch hopes new pope will improve ties between
churches
AP Worldstream
Apr 13, 2005

The patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church said he hopes the new
pope will seek to improve relations between the two churches after
centuries of division, according to an interview with an Italian
newspaper published Wednesday.

Relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox
Church have been strained, with the Russians accusing the Holy See of
using Eastern Rite congregations to win converts on its traditional
territory. The Vatican rejects the accusation, but the tension
prevented Pope John Paul II from fulfilling his desire to visit
Russia.

Eastern Rite churches follow many Orthodox traditions, but are loyal
to the Vatican.

“I regret the fact that serious problems remain between our two
churches,” Patriarch Alexy II told Corriere della Sera, when asked if
he regretted the fact that the pope never made the trip. Alexy was
strongly opposed to the visit.

He told Corriere that a meeting between the two churches’ leaders
should only occur once mutual relations were bolstered.

“Instead, in the case of the dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church,
there is no such positive dynamics, unfortunately,” he said.

The Polish John Paul, the first Slavic pope, saw a visit to Russia as
a chance to promote greater Christian unity, a millennium after the
Great Schism divided Christianity between eastern and western
branches. He visited several ex-Soviet republics including Kazakhstan,
Georgia, Armenia and Ukraine.

Alexy expressed his “most sincere respect” for the late pope and
praised him for reinvigorating the Catholic church at a difficult
time. He said that while many problems between the two churches
emerged when John Paul was elected, “it would be a mistake to reduce
all the differences exclusively to the personality or the nationality
of the pontiff.”

He called on the new pope, who will be elected in a conclave starting
Monday, to change the Vatican’s stance.

“I believe that the Catholic side must show the will to begin the not
easy and detailed work to radically change its policy in Russia and
the Commonwealth of Independent States,” a loose alliance of several
former Soviet Republics, he said.

“First of all, it must give up proselytizing,” Alexy was quoted as
saying.

The Vatican rejects accusations that it seeks converts among the
Orthodox, but Catholics have sought to recover properties that
belonged to them before the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.

“I sincerely hope the next Holy Father of the Roman Catholic Church
will contribute to developing relations with the Russian Orthodox
Church in a positive direction, will prove it has wisdom and the
necessary tact,” Alexy told the newspaper.

Armenian deputy defence minister vows to free Azeri POWs

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
9 Apr 05

[Presenter] The three Azerbaijani POWs held in Armenia will be released
and sent to Azerbaijan. Armenian Deputy Defence Minister Lt-Gen Mikael
Grigoryan said that the whereabouts of the Armenian soldier who went
missing recently are still not known.

Armenian soldier Zograb Tamayan, who served at a military unit
in Armenia’s Noyemberyan District, recently went missing from the
military unit. There is information that he is in Azerbaijan. The
Azerbaijani side promised that it will report about the whereabouts
of the soldier or the possibility of releasing him in the near future.

Grigoryan also said that there are still POWs left in Nagornyy Karabakh
from the Karabakh war [1988-94]. The sides reached an agreement to
discuss all issues, and an opportunity will be created to visit the
territories where the POWs can be held.

ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN, NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT CREATES SERIOUS OBSTACLES FOR INTEGRATION OF AZERBAIJAN INTO EUROPE

AzerTag
[April 06, 2005, 23:25:54]

The Azerbaijan presidency of the parliamentary initiative of Southern
Caucasus and the organization Links have carried out in Baku a seminar
on the topic â”The Policy of the neighborhoodâ” of Azerbaijan and
Europeâ”. Members of Parliament, representatives of diplomatic corps
functioning in the country, representatives of NGOs, heads of some
opposition parties have taken part in the seminar.

The president of group of the parliamentary initiative of Southern
Caucasus, deputy of Milli Majlis Siyavush Novruzov has noted value
of the seminar.

Ambassador of the Great Britain in Azerbaijan Lawrence Bristow in his
statement on behalf of the management of the European Union has noted,
that would be inappropriate to think of rendering to Azerbaijan,
which itself has defined the way of integration to Europe, any
pressure. Simply, European Union gives recommendations on this
question.

Vice-speaker of Milli Majlis Ziyafet Askerov, having stopped on
cooperation of the country with the international organizations, has
emphasized, that development of democracy, protection of human rights,
maintenance of freedom of speech and press, carrying out of free,
transparent and fair elections, integration into Europe and other
questions make a basis of policy carried out by our state, and has
told: â”The Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict creates
serious obstacles for integration of our country to Europe. The
aggressive policy of Armenia, free activity of terrorist groups on
territories of the aggressive state, cultivation on the occupied
Azerbaijan lands of narcotics and use of the given territories as
a transit with a view of narcotic business represent serious threat
for all Europe.

Speakers at the action dwelt on the problems, which have arisen
in our country as a result of aggressive policy of Armenia, and
double standards existing in the international community. They have
emphasized, that Azerbaijan is interested in integration into Europe
and pursues the policy of good neighborhood with all states. At the
same time, Armenia, continuing its aggressive policy, creates serious
problems for establishment of pace and calmness in region. With
feeling of regret it has been marked, that double standards existing
in the international community still interfere with fair settlement
of the conflict.

–Boundary_(ID_PdWTbBSovox/iL2LmvkSVw)–

DISCUSSIONS ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN MEJLIS WITH TURKISH-ARMENIANS’ PARTICIPATION

Azg/arm
7 April 05

A special session of the Turkish Commission on Harmonic Relations
of the National Assembly and EU was held on April 5 to discuss the
issue of “Armenian allegations of genocide”. Daily Azg has previously
informed that Etienne Mahchupian, columnist at Zaman daily, and
Hrant Dinq, editor-in-chief of Akos weekly, were also invited to
the session. Hurriyet newspaper confirms daily Azg’s information
in April 6 issue adding that Armenian writer from Constantinople,
Levon Debaghian, also participated.

According to Hurriyet, Mahchupian said concerning Justine McCarthy’s
negation of Armenian Genocide’s historicity that he is not accepted by
historians worldwide and hinted at his love for money. Syuqur Eleqdag,
deputy of People’s Republican Party, stood up for McCarthy calling
Mahchupian’s statement slander. Afterwards, Mahchupian drew a parallel
between the Kurdish and Armenian issues to which Inji Ozdemir from
Justice and Prosperity Party opposed saying, “The situation in case
of Armenians is that of war but in Kurd’s case it is not; we have no
intention to force Kurds out”.

As soon as Dinq said that, “While you built monuments, hold
arrangements I am deprived of opportunity to commemorate April
the 24th”, Ozdemir replied saying, “How else could you mark the
anniversary? You have built memorials worldwide”.

Hurriyet writes that only Levon Debaghian backed the Turkish views in
the dispute. Despite Dinq’s attempts to silent Debaghian, the latter
noted that the events of 1915 were not a genocide but deportation,
external powers tried to involve Turkey in civil war and added, “We
are Turkish-Armenians, Turkey’s citizens first of all and connected
with Turkey. They are playing a trick on us; we should not give
in to swindle. Those were Armenians from Russia who carried out
massacres. Let’s put aside all kind of allegations and be proud of
being Turkish-Armenians”.

By Hakob Chakrian

Nagornyy Karabakh Republic [NKR] doctors set up union to help develop health system

Arminfo, Yerevan
5 Apr 05

Stepanakert, 5 April: A new public organization called the Karabakh
union of medical workers has been established in the Nagornyy Karabakh
Republic [NKR], Arminfo’s special correspondent in Stepanakert reports.

The chairman of the organization, the republic’s chief traumatologist
Ashot Adamyan, said that the purpose of the union is to assist a
complex solution to the problems of the Nagornyy Karabakh health
system, the development of this sphere and to increase the professional
level of Karabakh medical workers.

Speaking about the condition of the republic’s health system in the
last 10 years, Ashot Adamyan noted that there was certain progress,
but a lot still needs to be done.

He said that they had held consultations with their Armenian
colleagues, official and unofficial structures before the establishment
of the organization.

Georgia rejects Russian demand for compensation over Soviet-era base closures
By MISHA DZHINDZHIKHASHVILII

The Associated Press
04/05/05 11:17 EDT

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) – Georgia on Tuesday flatly rejected Russian
demands that it pay several hundred million dollars (euros) in
compensation for Moscow withdrawing from two Soviet-era military
bases in the Caucasus country.

Already strained relations between the two former Soviet republics
soured further Tuesday when Moscow protested Tbilisi’s refusal to
allow a Russian radar plane into its airspace, saying it violated
Georgia’s commitments under a regional air defense system.

“Georgia has no intention of paying any form of compensation for the
withdrawal of the Russian military bases,” Georgian Prime Minister
Zurab Nogaideli told reporters.

Georgia, where a pro-West leadership took power last year, is keen
to assert its independence and has been pushing Moscow to hand back
the bases within two years.

Russia has said it needs at least three years, perhaps even a decade,
to complete the pullout and is also demanding compensation. Russian
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said last month the cost of withdrawing
would be as much as US$300 million (euro234 million).

The head of Russia’s main air force headquarters, Col. Gen. Boris
Cheltsov, complained that Georgia had refused permission for a flight
by a Russian radar plane through its territory.

“Unfortunately, we wanted to fly it to Armenia but the Georgians
wouldn’t let us through their airspace,” Cheltsov said in remarks
broadcast on Russian state television.

The aircraft was to have performed reconnaissance missions during
maneuvers by the CIS, or Commonwealth of Independent States, joint
air defense system.

Russian observers have said that Moscow is concerned that pulling out
all its forces from Georgia could jeopardize its base in neighboring
Armenia, one of Moscow’s closest allies in the region. Armenia does
not share a border with Russia, and all Russian equipment and personnel
have to transit Georgian territory to get there.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said later Tuesday that he
had approved the order barring the Russian plane from traveling to
Armenia. He also firmly reiterated Georgia’s position toward the
Russian bases.

“We are a country of laws…. We are not a ‘Land of Bandits’ in which
one or two people make decisions,” Saakashvili said. “We have had
civilized decisions with Russia on withdrawing the bases. We have
proposed that the bases … be withdrawn stage by stage. We have
offered various transit privileges.”