Author: Nahapetian Boris

Armenian passenger bus still trapped on South Ossetia border – agency

Mediamax news agency
19 Oct 04

YEREVAN

The Armenian embassy in Georgia is taking all the necessary steps to
rescue Armenians trapped at the Ergneti checkpoint on the Georgia –
South Ossetia border, the Foreign Ministry press service told our
agency today.

Armenian ambassador to Georgia Georgiy Khosroyev is keeping in touch
with representatives of the Georgian authorities, the ministry
said. The embassy’s staff and representatives of the Georgian eparchy
of the Armenian church went to the Ergneti village today to help
Armenian citizens.

Owing to the efforts of the Armenian embassy in Georgia, three
children and a woman have already been taken to Yerevan from Ergneti,
the Foreign Ministry press service said.

The embassy’s representatives are also taking measures to ensure the
security of Armenian citizens.

[The Georgian border authorities detained a Yerevan-bound Armenian
passenger bus at the Ergneti checkpoint on 8 October.]

A LETTER OF CONCERN ABOUT THE FUTURE

A1 Plus | 21:40:55 | 15-10-2004 | Politics |

“During the session of PACE Monitoring Commission a young man was
spreading leaflets in the doorway, by the way, the ones printed in
Armenia. It is disgraceful. Chechens can spread such leaflets against
Russia”. Tigran Torosyan, Armenian Delegation head in PACE made such
a statement a few days ago.

Michael Danielyan, Chairman of Helsinki Association, commenting on
the words of Torosyan said it was an open letter and not a leaflet. “I
wrote an open letter to all the sides interested. I have written that
Jaskernia’s report runs counter to the reality. There are shortcomings,
which can harm the future of Armenia. As a citizen, I am alarmed at
the development of our state and for the future of my children. I
have never hidden that I wrote a letter and there is nothing bad in
that. Our social organizations are set for such activity, but they
don’t do their job. They just pretend to be devoted to the nation. I
love my homeland more and I am anxious for the future of my state”.

We asked Danielyan how he treated the comparison with the Chechens. “It
is good. If the Chechens write such letters, it means they worry for
the future of their country, too”.

STATE REGISTRATION TO HELP CONTROL RELIGIOUS SECTS – ARMENIAN PM

A1+ web site
14 Oct 04

13 October: At today’s question time in parliament, MP Agasi Arshakyan
from the opposition National Unity bloc expressed his concern about
the registration of the Jehovah’s Witnesses religious sect.

“Prostitution, drug addiction and now sectarianism” are on the increase
in Armenia after the country became a member of the Council of Europe,
Arshakyan said. ”Are we more Europeans than the French, who outlawed
the Jehovah’s Witnesses?” Arshakyan said.

Before Justice Minister David Arutyunyan reached the platform, Prime
Minister Andranik Markaryan said that he shared the MP’s criticism,
adding that ”we proved to be truly democratic and consented to
its registration”. Explaining the reasons for the registration, he
said: ”The fight against them should be within the law. Registering
Jehovah’s Witnesses, we have given them an opportunity to operate in
line with the law, and their registration would be scrapped if they
were to act illegally. We could end their activities by registering
them.”

The prime minister said that apart from Jehovah’s Witnesses, 30 other
religious sects had been registered. The appropriate bodies should
keep their eyes open and follow their activities very closely, he
said. Their registration should be scrapped if they act illegally.

The prime minister urged MPs to support the government on this. To
recap, he highlighted the importance of bringing ties closer with
the church and enhancing its role.

Interior Minister denounces incidents of Jews spitting at Christian clergy

AP Worldstream
Oct 12, 2004

ADAM REYNOLDS

Israel’s interior minister reacted with “revulsion” Tuesday to
incidents of Jews spitting at Christian clergy in the Old City of
Jerusalem.

In the most recent case, a Jewish seminary student spat at an
Armenian archbishop carrying a cross in a procession on Sunday,
police said. A fistfight broke out, and the cross was damaged. The
student was arrested.

Tensions are always high in the walled Old City, divided among
Christians, Jews and Muslims. The Old City contains important holy
sites of all three religions, and some are contested among competing
religions and denominations.

Israeli media quoted the student as saying he spat at the Armenian
cleric as a protest against “idol worship.”

Police spokesman Gil Kleiman said that last such case handled by
police was more than two years ago, but Christian clergy complain of
frequent harassment.

In a strongly worded statement, Interior Minister Avraham Poraz
expressed “revulsion at repeated incidents of harassment by Jews
against Christian clergy in Jerusalem,” mentioning the Sunday incident.

Poraz said that such behavior by ultra-Orthodox Jewish students is
“intolerable.” He added, “We must take all the necessary steps to
prevent this,” and asked the internal security minister, in charge
of police, to take action.

Armenian officials charged that Israeli authorities were not doing
enough.

“When there is an attack against Jews anywhere in the world, the
Israeli government is incensed, so why when our religion and pride
are hurt, don’t they take harsher measures?” said Archbishop Nourhan
Manougian to the Haaretz daily.

Christian clergy have also complained about their treatment by Israeli
authorities. Catholic officials said in April that visa requests for
138 clergy had been held up, and Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah said
it was an issue of survival for the church.

Most of the affected clergy were from Arab countries, church officials
said. Israeli officials explained the delays by citing security.

CII inks MoU with Armenian chamber

The Hindu, India
Oct 12 2004

New Delhi, Oct 12. (PTI): As part of efforts to expand bilateral ties
with Central Asian nations, Industry body CII has signed a memorandum
of understanding (MoU) with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of
the Republic of Armenia.

The MoU was signed in Yerevan, Armenia during CII’s ongoing ‘Enterprise
India 2004’ show, which has been organised to promote awareness about
Indian industry in the region, a CII release said here today.

The MoU aimed at fostering mutual understanding between business
communities of the two nations and to promote trade, investment and
technological cooperation, it said.

India’s trade with Armenia has remained insignificant despite a
trade agreement, CII said, adding bilateral trade in 2001 was only
5.3 million dollar as per National Statistical Service of Armenia.

The central Asian nation has sought India’s assistance in small and
medium industries, information technology, science and technology and
agriculture, it said, adding the show aimed to showcase the country’s
potential in these specific areas.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian National Committee
Eastern Region
69-23 47th Avenue
Woodside, NY 11377
Contact: Doug Geogerian
Tel: 917-428-1918
Fax: 123-456-7890
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

Boston – National Book Award winning author and professor Dr. Robert Jay
Lifton will give a public lecture on the psychology behind the atrocities at
Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, October 14, at 7:30pm, Gutman Conference Center
of Harvard University. 6 Appian Way. Dr. Lifton will look back to historical
precedents by discussing Turkish resistance to his comparison of the
Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust, while taking a critical look at the war
in Iraq. Professor Henry Theriault of Worcester State College will
introduce Dr. Lifton.

As a scholar, Dr. Lifton has spoken out against Turkish denial of the
Armenian Genocide on numerous occasions. In his book The Nazi Doctors:
Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide, Dr. Lifton referred to the
Turkish doctors who participated in the Armenian Genocide. This prompted
the Turkish Ambassador to send a letter criticizing Lifton for his
indictment of Turkish perpetration. Accidentally enclosed with the letter
was a memo written by Professor Heath Lowry to the Turkish Ambassador
explaining an inside strategy for denying the Armenian Genocide in general,
showing that Lowry was nothing more than an arm for the Turkish government.
Dr. Lifton with Roger Smith and Eric Markusen wrote an article analyzing the
letter and exposing how the Turkish government had exploited academic
corruption to deny the Armenian Genocide. They were key in the Armenian
National Committee’s campaign to try and get Princeton to revoke Lowry’s
position as Ataturk Chair of Turkish Studies at Princeton.

In his talk, Dr. Lifton will draw on psychological studies to explain
America’s excessive response to the apocalyptic violence of Al-Qaeda. He
will examine how America’s “Superpower Syndrome” influenced the war in Iraq
and led to the psychological environment that produced the Abu Ghraib
scandal. Finally, he will argue that a change in the Administration is
necessary for America to overcome this syndrome, resume old alliances, and
assume a more peaceful stance in the world. Dr. Lifton is the author most
recently of Superpower Syndrome: America’s Apocalyptic Confrontation with
the World, from Nation Books, which describes two competing visions –
Islamist and American – each aimed at massive destruction in the name of
global purification and renewal.

Dr. Lifton is the visiting professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical
School. From 1995 he has been conducting psychological research on the
problem of apocalyptic violence, focusing on Aum Shinrikyo, the extremist
Japanese cult that released poison gas on Tokyo subways. He is the author of
many books including Destroying the World to Save It: Aum Shinrikyo,
Apocalyptic Violence and the New Global Terrorism and The Nazi Doctors:
Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide. Dr. Lifton has also written
on the Armenian genocide, drawing comparisons with the Jewish holocaust.

A book signing with Dr. Lifton will follow the event. Doors open at 7 PM.
Please call to reserve camera positions and to receive media credentials.

Christians in Jerusalem want Jews to stop spitting on them
By Amiram Barkat

Ha’aretz
Oct 12 2004

A few weeks ago, a senior Greek Orthodox clergyman in Israel attended
a meeting at a government office in Jerusalem’s Givat Shaul quarter.
When he returned to his car, an elderly man wearing a skullcap came
and knocked on the window. When the clergyman let the window down,
the passerby spat in his face.

The clergyman prefered not to lodge a complaint with the police and
told an acquaintance that he was used to being spat at by Jews. Many
Jerusalem clergy have been subjected to abuse of this kind. For the
most part, they ignore it but sometimes they cannot.

On Sunday, a fracas developed when a yeshiva student spat at the
cross being carried by the Armenian Archbishop during a procession
near the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City. The archbishop’s
17th-century cross was broken during the brawl and he slapped the
yeshiva student.

Both were questioned by police and the yeshiva student will be
brought to trial. The Jerusalem District Court has meanwhile banned
the student from approaching the Old City for 75 days.

But the Armenians are far from satisfied by the police action and say
this sort of thing has been going on for years. Archbishop Nourhan
Manougian says he expects the education minister to say something.

“When there is an attack against Jews anywhere in the world, the
Israeli government is incensed, so why when our religion and pride
are hurt, don’t they take harsher measures?” he asks.

According to Daniel Rossing, former adviser to the Religious Affairs
Ministry on Christian affairs and director of a Jerusalem center for
Christian-Jewish dialogue, there has been an increase in the number
of such incidents recently, “as part of a general atmosphere of lack
of tolerance in the country.”

Rossing says there are certain common characeristics from the point
of view of time and location to the incidents. He points to the fact
that there are more incidents in areas where Jews and Christians
mingle, such as the Jewish and Armenian quarters of the Old City and
the Jaffa Gate.

There are an increased number at certain times of year, such as
during the Purim holiday.”I know Christians who lock themselves
indoors during the entire Purim holiday,” he says.

Former adviser to the mayor on Christian affairs, Shmuel Evyatar,
describes the situation as “a huge disgrace.” He says most of the
instigators are yeshiva students studying in the Old City who view
the Christian religion with disdain.

“I’m sure the phenomenon would end as soon as rabbis and well-known
educators denounce it. In practice, rabbis of yeshivas ignore or even
encourage it,” he says.

Evyatar says he himself was spat at while walking with a Serbian
bishop in the Jewish quarter, near his home. “A group of yeshiva
students spat at us and their teacher just stood by and watched.”

Jerusalem municipal officials said they are aware of the problem but
it has to be dealt with by the police. Shmuel Ben-Ruby, the police
spokesman, said they had only two complaints from Christians in the
past two years. He said that, in both cases, the culprits were caught
and punished.

He said the police deploy an inordinately high number of patrols and
special technology in the Old City and its surroundings in an attempt
to keep order.

Arafat condemns Israeli settlers’ attack on Armenian archbishop

Palestinian news agency Wafa web site, Gaza
10 Oct 04

to inquire about his health following an attack on him by Israeli
settlers” published by Palestinian news agency Wafa web site

Ramallah, 10 October: Yasir Arafat, PLO Executive Committee chairman
and Palestinian National Authority president, this evening held
a telephone conversation with Deputy Armenian Patriarch Archbishop
Nurhan to inquire about his health following a sinful attack on him by
a group of Israeli settlers this morning. The archbishop was assailed
as he was leading the religious procession of the Orthodox Armenians.

During the telephone conversation, the president stressed his
condemnation of this act, which is in violation of all traditions
and conventions and is a serious infringement upon the freedom of
worship and a continuation of the Israeli policy of encroaching upon
the freedom of worship and the Christian and Islamic shrines.

A group of settlers assailed the religious procession of the Orthodox
Armenians this morning. The procession set off from the Armenian
Patriarchate and passed through Hebron Gate and Suwayqiyat Allun to
reach the Christian neighbourhood where a mass was to be held at the
Church of Holy Sepulchre in the holy city of Jerusalem. They ripped
the cross off the archbishop’s chest, slapped him and threw his mitre
on the ground in an extremely aggressive way that showed disrespect
for men of religion.

F1 raises profile of Russian-born businessman

Reuters
October 08, 2004

By Alan Baldwin

LONDON, Oct 8 (Reuters) – Russia stepped closer to a starring role in
Formula One on Friday with the announcement of a new team to compete
from 2006.

But while the cars will be built by Italian manufacturer Dallara,
frequent winners of the landmark Indy 500 in the United States, the
backers of Midland F1 are unfamiliar faces new to motorsport.

Few people in Formula One, with the exception of the sport’s commercial
supremo Bernie Ecclestone, have heard of 36-year-old Russian-born
businessman Alexander Shnaider.

His privately-owned Midland Group is little known even to ordinary
Russians. A company statement said the chairman and co-founder was a
naturalised Canadian citizen, who moved to the West as a child after
being born in St. Petersburg.

The venture is likely to cost his company at least $100 million a year,
not including the $48 million bond that any new team has to lodge with
the sport’s governing body, but he accepted that.

“Midland is prepared to fund the development of the team entirely, but
our unique position will help us attract sponsors,” said Shnaider.

“Of course the team will have a Russian flavour and in time we hope to
bring a Russian driver into Formula One,” he said.

“Russia would get very positive exposure from staging a Formula One race
and it would be a pleasure for me to be instrumental in making that
happen,” he added.

ABRAMOVICH COMPARISONS

Shnaider’s move will inevitably draw comparisons with Roman Abramovich,
the Russian billionaire who has ploughed more than $450 million into
football through his purchase of English Premier League club Chelsea.

Abramovich, 37, has however steered clear of a direct involvement in
Formula One, despite being a guest of Ecclestone at grands prix.

The sport, fuelled by an incessant thirst for money, has been making
overtures to Russia since the post-Soviet era made overnight
billionaires of businessmen able to acquire state companies on the cheap.

Midland is registered in Guernsey and headquartered in Toronto, where
the company recently joined forces with U.S. casino magnate Donald Trump
in building a luxury hotel and residential complex in the business district.

There is little glamour to be found elsewhere in their business empire,
however.

Midland’s extensive interests across Russia, the former Soviet Union and
Eastern Europe are mainly in old-fashioned heavy industries,
manufacturing, construction, agriculture and scrap metal dealing.

The group’s core business is iron and steel but they bought Armenia’s
state electricity distributor in 2002 and also have a plant in Serbia
making rubber and plastic seals for the automotive industry.

“The group’s core business is the global trade and distribution of
ferrous products,” the company says on its website.

“Diversification is limited to businesses which provide basic
essentials, or are deemed to be largely unaffected by economic cycles.
These include food and agriculture, construction, shipping and
electricity distribution.”

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
Oct 7 2004

AZERBAIJANI DEPUTY ADDRESSED THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS
[October 07, 2004, 13:55:16]

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway Ian Peterson completing in
November the powers as Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the
Council of Europe has acted with a report on activity of structure
supervised by him for a relevant period.

As was reported by AzerTAj correspondent, in the report, Ian Peterson
has mentioned the moments concerning the Republic of Azerbaijan. He
has especially noted last Decree of President Ilham Aliyev on amnesty
and has noted that this decision of the head of Azerbaijan state is
serious step in the direction of even greater development of
relations between the Council of Europe and Azerbaijan. Speaking
about the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh conflict, chairman of
committee highly has estimated renewal between the heads of the
states of the negotiations directed on peace settlement of the
problem.

After completion of report, Mr. Ian Peterson, according to rules of
the Council of Europe, has answered fifteen questions, addressed to
him by deputies.

In the question of Azerbaijan deputy Rafael Huseynov, it is stated
that one of Ian Peterson’s main ideas during his activity as Chairman
was the problem concerning links between cultures and religions. The
question was: What contacts can adjust the Council of Europe with the
Organization of Islamic Conference for development of relations
between cultures and religions, achievements of real results and how
it is going to develop them?

Answering this question, I. Petersen has noted that relations between
the Organization of Islamic Conference and the Council of Europe are
available, and that there are serious prospects for cooperation in
this direction.

R. Huseynov, taking the opportunity to ask an additional question,
has addressed the Chairman of Committee with the second question:
What help of Azerbaijan, as the OIC member, you can shortly take
advantage during your visit to the countries of Southern Caucasus as
Chairman of Committee from the point of view of development of
intercultural and inter-religious links between the Organization of
Islamic Conference and the Council of Europe?

Ian Peterson has answered that the fact that Azerbaijan is a member
of the Organization of Islamic Conference, and a member of the
Council of Europe, is the factor which can render serious influence
on development of relations between these two organizations, and
during the visit to Azerbaijan he would carry on negotiations in this
direction, would apply maximum efforts for use of his potential
opportunities.