Author: Nanian Karen

A1 Plus | 21:28:57 | 02-04-2004 | Politics |

THE ORDINARY CRIMINAL CASE AGAINST OPPOSITION

Armenian General Office of Prosecutor instituted the ordinary criminal case
against Opposition activists. The trial for Tigran Naghdalyan’s murder case
was the tool for a trumped-up charge.

“Republic” Party political board members Aramazd Zakaryan, Smbat Ayvazyan
and Lyova Eghiazaryan were called to Office of Prosecutor.

The reason is senseless. They are accused of having insulted Court or
sitting during announcing the verdict of Naghdalyan’s murder trial on
January 20.

Aramazd Zakaryan informed Office of Prosecutor that they didn’t outrage
Court: “Attitude was equivalent to the verdict reached. One left the Court
hall, others left the building, too, having lost belief in justice”.

MP Smbat Ayvazyan introduced explanations in written over the fact and said
Court performed the order of Authorities instead of administering justice.
“Justice was once again violated”.

—

ArmeniaNow.com, 2 April 2004

Human Rights Activist Beaten: Attack comes as oppositional parties begin
anti-governmental campaign

By Julia Hakobyan ArmeniaNow reporter

A well-known Armenian human rights activist remains in hospital, suffering
wounds inflicted when he was attacked Tuesday morning in Yerevan.

Mikael Danielyan, 45, Chairman of the Armenian Office of Vienna based
Helsinki Association was attacked by four unknown men outside his home on
Papazyan Street, while walking his dog. His assailants attacked Danielyan
from behind, knocked him down, then kicked him until he lost consciousness.

Petsos Babayan, doctor of neurological surgery department of Republican
hospital where Danielyan was delivered says Danielyan’s condition now is
“generally stable.”

The physician says Danielyan did not suffer a concussion, however his blood
pressure is dangerously high and doctors say such a shock could provoke a
stroke.

The Yerevan police has launched a criminal proceeding on the case, however
so far there are no suspected. Detectives spoke with Danielyan on Thursday.

Danielyan, one of the most active human rights defenders in Armenia believes
that the attack was planned and organized by authorities in response to his
criticism of human rights abuse in Armenia at the hands of officials. He
qualified the violence against him as “state terror” and says that the
authorities intended to frighten him.

“Authorities might have hundreds of reasons to organize the attack on me,”
Danielyan says. “I investigate many crimes, defend people who are persecuted
by authorities, make reports for a number of Western human rights
organizations.”

While Danielyan says it is still unclear for him what exactly of his
activity, recent publications or statements might provoke the attack, the
local media community gave the following versions of the attack trigger.

Some say the attack on Danielyan was the aftermath of his recent remarks to
the Azerbaijani newspaper “Echo”, where he criticized President Robert
Kocharyan and the Minister of Defense Serzh Sargsyan for their efforts to
stop the opposition movement which has intensified in recent weeks.

In answering the Azeri newspaper question of whether military exercises
within the Armenian regular army mean that Armenia is preparing for another
war with Azerbaijan, Danielyan reportedly said: “I think the exercises are
connected with the ongoing rallies and protest of opposition. But if
Kocharyan sees that taking harsh methods does not help he might make this
step (to start the war) to make the opposition silent somehow.”

Some journalists speculate that the attack was organized by authorities to
at least temporarily suspend Danielyan from his human rights activity in the
period when the authorities will start mass arrests of opposition activists.

Several members of the oppositional parties have already been arrested
following the disorder at rallies in Gyumri last week.

Danielyan does not rule out the possibility that the beating was meant to
silence him. Danielyan’s wife Anna Hakobyan says she is convinced that her
husband’s activity disturbs authorities and he was beaten for his criticism
of the authorities human rights records.

“I foresaw that something like that could happen,” says Hakobyan, the head
of the Armenian office of London based PEN organization for writers.

“The pro-governmental media has recently intensified their dirty quibbless
on Mikael. Based on it one can guess of authorities’ attitude towards
Danielyan.”

Hakobyan recalled the 2002 attack on journalist Mark Grigoryan who was
seriously injured by a pipe bomb. Some say the attack was in response to
articles Grigoryan wrote that were not pro-government. No arrests were made
in the incident and Grigoryan has since moved abroad.

“Danielyan became another victim of authorities’ disfavor,” Hakobyan says.
“How many people should suffer to make clear that it all is ordered?”

President Kocharyan commissioned the General Prosecutor to study the
circumstances of the incident and undertake all possible steps to reveal the
guilty.

Meanwhile a number of journalists’ organizations released a statement
condemning the assault on Danielyan:

“We consider that such violence is a consequence of an atmosphere of
intolerance in the republic,” the statement reads. “We hope that that the
law enforcement bodies will break the sad traditions of the recent years and
will find the organizers of the crime, since only punishment of the
criminals can prevent further violence.”

—

Glendale News Press
LATimes.com
March 26 2004

Glendale carnival for peace planned

Peace It Together event to promote diversity in south Glendale with
food and dancing.

By Josh Kleinbaum, News-Press

SOUTHWEST GLENDALE – Charged with organizing a community event at the
Pacific Community Center, Community Services Coordinator Onnig
Bulanikian dipped into his past experiences.

At Pierce College, Bulanikian participated in a weeklong cultural
event that showcased the school’s diversity. Modeled after that
event, Bulanikian developed Peace It Together, a daylong event to
showcase the cultural diversity in south Glendale.

The event, which includes cultural dance groups, carnival games and a
variety of food, will be at the Pacific Community Center, 501 S.
Pacific Ave., from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

“It’s very important to educate the community about cultural
diversity,” Bulanikian said. “Southern Glendale is mainly populated
with Hispanics, Armenians and Filipinos. I’m trying to get them
together, to be united and work as one. The main thing is education.”

Saturday’s event focuses on education through exposure. A handful of
dance groups, including Quetzal Folklorico, Flamenco Dancers,
Hawaiian Hula Dancers and Hamazkayin Armenian Dancers, will
demonstrate dances native to their cultures. All of the dancers
volunteered their time.

“It’s always fun to see what other people do in their cultures –
dancing-wise, food-wise, language-wise, look-wise, it’s always neat,”
said Ari Libaridian, an instructor with the Hamazkayin Armenian
Dancers. “And you always make new friends.”

Youth outreach and other city divisions will have booths during the
day, and the Pacific Branch Library will present World of Stories, a
cultural story time, at 3:30 p.m.

If successful, Bulanikian said Peace It Together could become an
annual event. The event is free, with lunch prices ranging from $3 to
$5 per entrée. For more information, call the Pacific Community
Center at 548-4098.

FACTBOX-Some key facts about Georgia

TBILISI, March 25 (Reuters) – Here are some basic facts about the
former Soviet republic of Georgia, which holds a parliamentary
election on Sunday:

POPULATION – Estimated at 4,489,000 as of January 2001 by the state
statistics department. According to Central Election Commission
estimates, there are more than 2.3 million eligible voters excluding
the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which are
boycotting the poll.

BREAKAWAY REGIONS – Abkhazia and South Ossetia have long wanted full
independence from Georgia, while the Adzhara province has refused to
acknowledge Tbilisi’s authority for years. Abkhazia has run itself as
a de facto independent state since a 1992-93 war, which left thousands
dead.

ETHNIC COMPOSITION – As of 1997, 69 percent of the population is
Georgian, 9.0 percent Armenian, 7.4 percent Russian and five percent
Azeri. Other indigenous minorities, including Ossetians and Abkhazians
make up a small fraction of the population.

AREA – 69,700 square km (26,900 square miles). Georgia, occupying the
western part of the Caucasus mountains, borders Russia to the north,
Azerbaijan and Armenia to the east and southwest, and Turkey to the
south. Its western border runs along the Black Sea. Its frontier with
Russia includes a mountainous stretch bordering the rebel region of
Chechnya.

RELIGION – Most Georgians belong to the Orthodox Church of Georgia,
dating back to the year 337. There are small communities of Muslims,
Catholics and other faiths.

ECONOMY – Traditionally agricultural, producing fruit, wine, oils,
tobacco and spices. Industries include manganese and coal mines, crude
oil and gas production and food processing.

Privatisation began after independence in 1991 and large-scale
sell-offs of communications and manufacturing enterprises are
continuing.

The state statistics department says GDP per capita is $700. GDP
growth was 8.6 percent in 2003 and is projected to be 6.0 percent in
2004.

CURRENCY – Lari. The exchange rate was 2.0 lari to one U.S. dollar on
March 24.

GOVERNMENT – Georgia is defined as a democratic republic under the
1995 constitution. The president is directly elected for a five-year
term and cannot serve more than two terms.

03/25/04 07:27 ET

Russian politician urges Armenia, Azerbaijan to make deal

Mediamax news agency, Yerevan
22 Mar 04

The Russian president’s former special representative for the Nagornyy
Karabakh settlement has called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to “weed out
the harmful seeds of propaganda”. In an article, headlined “Opium for
its own people” and published by Mediamax on 22 March, Vladimir
Kazimirov called on the mediators to help the conflicting parties make
compromises. Mediamax quoted the envoy as saying that “manipulation of
public opinion deepens mutual distrust” which hinders the settlement
of the conflict. The following is the text of the report in English by
the Armenian news agency Mediamax headlined “Armenia-Azerbaijan:
Former mediator’s view on the sides’ propaganda”; subheadings have
been inserted editorially:

A month has passed since Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan’s brutal
murder committed by Azerbaijani serviceman Ramil Safarov in Budapest
on 19 February.

This crime has not only aroused a new wave of mutual hostility in
Armenia and Azerbaijan but has also become a motive for discussing the
role of propaganda in the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict.

In this connection, we find it expedient to present in our regular
Weekly Review excerpts from the article entitled “Opium for its own
people” by the Russian president’s former special representative for
the Karabakh conflict settlement and deputy chairman of the Russian
Diplomats’ Association Council, Ambassador Vladimir Kazimirov. The
article was presented to Mediamax by Vladimir Kazimirov personally.

Weed out harmful seeds of propaganda

There is a direct link between talks on the settlement of a conflict
and propaganda around it. The less is the progress in the negotiating
process, the more the sides need verbal cover-up “to compensate”
it. But, as a matter of fact, there is a lack not only of progress but
also of negotiations. Shifts in them would demand from the authorities
and professional propagandists quite another approach to the public.

One of the main tasks of the settlement is to prepare the sides’
public opinion for inevitable mutual compromises. And it is necessary
to weed out the harmful seeds of propaganda right where they spring
up: to expose the Azerbaijani propaganda in Azerbaijan and the
Armenian in Armenia and Nagornyy Karabakh. Each side is not at all
impeccable in this conflict, that is why the parties to the conflict
must be shown that they should make compromises, suffer some
inevitable losses in order to achieve a peace agreement.

The role of the media and international mediators is also of great
importance here. But for the fear of going “against the current” the
media could greatly contribute to the settlement [sentence as
published]. The power of inertia is great, but after destroying false
theses not every propagandist will dare to again sow the same
seeds. The mediators can help the sides take a more realistic approach
to vexed issues, help them get rid of the illusions that their
propaganda creates and is about to give dividends. A common reader
should know as well that he is being brainwashed by their authorities
and their subordinate propagandists. Let us look at some concrete
examples.

Propaganda in Armenia and Nagornyy Karabakh

1. Armenia and Nagornyy Karabakh take great pains to hush up a
widely-known secret – the Armenian regular army participated in the
hostilities of 1991-94, and they are still stationed in Nagornyy
Karabakh and the territories occupied outside it. The result is the
derivative propaganda cliche, as for instance in the very name of the
conflict and in the description of Armenia’s role in the conflict and
its settlement.

2. The name of the conflict has for years been a matter of dispute. In
purely ethnic sense, the words “Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict” would
be correct. But this way Baku is trying to turn the conflict into a
matter between two states – Armenia and Azerbaijan, making Nagornyy
Karabakh just a subject of controversy, removing the Nagornyy Karabakh
problem as such and ousting the Karabakh people from the
talks. International organizations, particularly the UN and the OSCE,
prefer the most correct and natural name “Nagornyy Karabakh conflict”.

Yerevan and Stepanakert [Xankandi] have been trying recently to rename
it “Karabakh-Azerbaijan [conflict]”, obscuring Armenia’s role and
saying that it is not a party to the conflict but only a guarantor of
Nagornyy Karabakh’s security. The Russian diplomacy tried its best to
persuade Yerevan not to hide behind Stepanakert’s back but to
recognize itself a party to the conflict. Propaganda tricks cannot
mislead the mediators and international organizations, they are
obliged to proceed from the realities of life and not from artificial
schemes.

3. Zealously and even obsessively, Armenians call “liberated” the
Azerbaijani territories occupied by them outside Nagornyy Karabakh. If
the word “occupied” grates, let us call them seized. These territories
were captured by Armenian troops during the hostilities of
1992-94. The occupation was the result of the war, its severe
logic. However, Armenians alter the term not only because they are
ashamed to be called occupants. This is a claim to represent these
territories as originally Armenian, which were earlier annexed to
Azerbaijan. Even if there is some truth in this, there is no need to
revive the dispute of old ages in the 21st century, to give the
impression of the desire to rebuild Greater Armenia, which is often
used by Azerbaijani propaganda.

4. The common quirk of propaganda has become an attempt to present the
territorial claims to Azerbaijan as punishment for its attempts to
settle the conflict by force (like the territorial losses of Germany
and Japan as a result of aggression in the World War II). It is very
naive to expect that these arguments will be taken into account during
the settlement and will help gain territories. The real result of such
propaganda is increased tension and further difficulties in settling
the conflict.

Propaganda in Azerbaijan

1. Everybody is being convinced that 20 per cent of Azerbaijani
territory have been occupied, that the country has a million
refugees. But let us make some calculations: the Nagornyy Karabakh
Autonomous Region occupied about 5 per cent of the Azerbaijani Soviet
Socialist Republic, but it is not fully under the Armenians’
control. Outside it, Armenians have occupied only 9 per cent of
Azerbaijani territory. Thus, even if we take Nagornyy Karabakh into
account we cannot get 14 per cent (even in round figures, 15 per cent
and even 10 per cent is closer to the truth than 20 per
cent). However, Nagornyy Karabakh’s “occupation” is not at all
indisputable.

There are indeed many displaced people, 750,000 to 800,000, because of
the conflict in Azerbaijan. But in order to be more persuasive, these
figures are rounded to a million – to all appearances, counting upon
compassion and sympathy for the victim party in the conflict. But they
do not understand that by regularly overstating those already
impressive figures, they undermine confidence and everything happening
in Baku will be considered as exaggeration.

2. Baku often insists on the fulfillment of UN Security Council
resolutions with the aim to liberate the occupied territories. This is
an important demand of four resolutions, but only one of them
[sentence as published]. How can one expect others to fulfil
resolutions, if he did not fulfil them himself? The main demand of all
the resolutions adopted in the heat of the hostilities in 1993 was a
cease-fire. And who violated it, not once or twice? We must not forget
that Azerbaijani leaders either rejected a cease-fire or violated it
hoping to achieve a turning point in the war. Those who did not stop
the hostilities are also to blame for the expansion of occupation and
displacement of civilians. Very few people know the truth about the
end of 1993 and the beginning of 1994. I know for sure that there were
chances to achieve a truce earlier, thus reducing losses of all the
sides. That is why the fuss around the UN Security Council resolutions
can “persuade” only those who do not have more complete and true
information, i.e. “own people” inside the country.

3. Baku insists that international organizations declare Armenia an
aggressor. Moreover, it intentionally “confuses” occupation with
aggression though these are not the same thing. (Germany’s occupation
lasted for many years, and was the USSR an aggressor?) The Karabakh
conflict is a complicated problem, Armenia is its direct participant,
as well as Azerbaijan and Nagornyy Karabakh. Curiosity would suggest
searching for precedents: how many countries has the UN Security
Council accused of aggression? The OSCE and other international bodies
do not count here at all. There are hardly one or two such
cases. Sanctions were imposed on Iraq not depending on the percentage
of Kuwait territories it occupied and the duration of occupation but
because it assaulted it. The things are more complicated in
Karabakh. Such distorted propaganda only causes disappointment and an
inferiority complex inside the country: like, everybody is unfair
towards us, the Azerbaijanis.

4. Finding itself in an uncomfortable situation, Baku has practically
disposed itself to a “cold war” against Armenians. Both economic
“shock-absorbers” and any contacts with Armenians (even public ones)
are denied; those who support these contacts are persecuted. In the
civilized society, someone would be glad to implant something like
fundamentalism, revanchism and Armenophobia, which prevent the
elimination of both the reasons and consequences of the conflict.
There are more and more manifestations of fanaticism and extremism
even at the level of public organizations.

5. But the biggest “achievement” of the Azerbaijani propaganda is the
bluff of military revenge. The threats do not have even a real
material basis, not to mention legal and moral ones. Azerbaijan has
assumed commitments to solve disputes peacefully without resorting to
force and threats to use force when joining the OSCE. When joining the
Council of Europe, Azerbaijan (like Armenia) assumed an obligation to
settle the Karabakh conflict peacefully. The truce treaty is of
unlimited duration. And who has miscounted the consequences of
resuming hostilities, their outcome for the parties, losses suffered
by the people, international reaction, etc? Irrational hysteria
undermines the young state’s authority, puts it in a disadvantageous
and inconvenient position, and when uttered by officials in a position
that is ridiculous and humiliating for their country.

Conclusion

The result is doubtless: manipulation of public opinion deepens mutual
distrust, which has already become the main obstacle on the path of
settling the Karabakh conflict. In order to move the conflict
settlement from the deadlock, it is very important to show the
falseness of these manipulators from every side, their detrimental
role.

Los Angeles Daily News
March 18 2004

Police release sketch of killer
Suspect is sought in freeway shooting

By City News Service

Los Angeles police released a composite drawing Wednesday of a
suspect in a fatal freeway shooting.

The shooting occurred in the early hours of March 9 when Garen
Ketikyan, 20, was driving a black 1999 Mercury Marquis north on the
Hollywood (170) Freeway in North Hollywood, Los Angeles police
Officer Jason Lee said.

Ketikyan died at the scene.

The suspect car was driven next to Ketikyan’s car near the Sherman
Way exit, and a passenger leaned out the window and fired several
gunshots, fatally wounding the victim, Lee said.

The suspect car was a newer white Ford Mustang with low-profile
tires, chrome rims and xenon headlights that gave off a blue tint,
Lee said. After the shooting, it was driven north, and merged onto
the northbound Golden State Freeway.

The shooting suspect was described as an Armenian man in his early
20s with a muscular build, Lee said.

At the time, police said the shooting may have been the result of
road rage.

Police officers who were nearby heard 10 to 15 shots ring out, and
investigators later recovered several shell casings on the freeway,
Detective Mike Coffey said.

Ketikyan, who was driving home after visiting a friend in Glendale,
was shot once in the head, Coffey said.

A 20-year-old passenger in the Mercury said they had gotten into a
brief confrontation 10 minutes earlier at a stoplight at Oxnard
Street and Victory Boulevard with two men on motorcycles, Coffey
said.

The victim honked at the motorcyclists when they failed to move when
the stoplight turned green, the detective said.

“This caused the two Armenian males on motorcycles to get off their
motorcycles, take their helmets off and walk back aggressively
towards Garen and (the passenger) in the car,” Coffey said. “Nothing
transpired. No words were spoken, but they just felt intimidated.”

Afterward, on the freeway, a newer white Mustang with chrome wheels
and dealer plates pulled up alongside the Mercury and someone inside
opened fire, he said.

The passenger told police he believes the motorcyclists could have
gotten into the Mustang and chased after them, and investigators are
trying to determine if that happened, Coffey said.

The victim’s brother, Harut Ketikyan, said that his brother was hard-
working, stayed out of trouble and did everything he could for his
family.

Their mother was crushed by the news, as was he, Ketikyan said.

“She’s not doing well,” he said, his voice breaking. “When I left the
house, she was holding his baby picture and crying, so she’s not
taking his death too well.”

He said his brother “worked hard day and night to be helpful to his
family. He was going to school, trying to get his degree to go
forward, get a nice job.”

Anyone with further information on the case was asked to call police
homicide detectives at (818) 623-4075.

Azat Artsakh – Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (NKR)
12-03-2004

THE DANGEROUS MARSH OF KARABAKH

Soon it will be ten years since bloodshed was stopped in Karabakh but
the conflict remains unsettled. The month of February of this year
“dragged” the quest for peace from the deadlock to a real marsh. The
situation with the conflict has never been so disorderly. Today
everybody knows that the delay in the process of negotiations was not
related to the presidential elections in Armenia and Azerbaijan, and
Heidar Aliev’s retreat from power. It is obviously the consistent
crisis: Baku and Yerevan suffer from maximalism and are not willing
for compromises, and Stepanakert does not participate in negotiations
yet. The new president of Azerbaijan Heidar Aliev has realized that
he has no power to admit the loss of Karabakh (his father was almost
going to take that step), and therefore prefers not continuing (on
the acquired basis) the negotiations with Robert Kocharian started
three years ago in Key West and Paris. Foreign minister of Azerbaijan
even proposed starting the negotiations from “zero” but nobody knows
where this zero is. Robert Kocharian does not agree to give up what
has been achieved. But if they propose starting negotiations from
zero Robert Kocharian suggested starting them with Nagorni Karabakh.
Baku appeared in a controversial situation. If they formerly
emphasized that Azerbaijan’s patience is not limitless, and they
would liberate the territories occupied by Armenians at any cost
(even by violating all their obligations of settling the conflict in
a peaceful way) today they are of the opinion that time works for
them and there is no need to hurry. It is known that the parties and
the international organizations have always been absolutely for a
rapid peaceful settlement. Baku also reminds regularly that the life
of the Azerbaijani refugees in tents is unbearable any more. And
suddenly such slowness. Moreover, I. Aliev is categorically against
compromises, which even his father did not dare to make. Perhaps he
has discovered another “possibility” of regulation, that of
unilateral dictate. Formerly they blamed Robert Kocharian for not
being concessive and tolerable, for the syndrome of the winner.
Whereas today, I. Aliev has gone further ahead of Armenians assuming
the bearing of a virtual winner in the economic and military
competition. We may only welcome the fact that he has been supporting
peaceful settlement of the conflict more often, yielding only to the
announcements of the defence minister about revenge by force. We
shall ascribe these zigzags to the fact that the head of state
adjusts to his role in hard conditions, and come back to the hard
fate of the Karabakh settlement. Despite the disorderly situation,
one thing is clear: Baku and Yerevan cannot impose on each other
their favourable variants of solution neither in respect to the cause
of the conflict (the status of Nagorni Karabakh) or elimination of
the consequences (occupation of territories outside the border of
NK), nor the methods of problem settlement (package or false stage by
stage variant). The approaches of the parties in many respects were
very different in the past too but they have never been that
polarized. The doubts concerning the effectiveness of the meeting of
the two presidents today are becoming clearer. It is high time to
reconsider the “lazy” process of negotiations for Nagorni Karabakh
but never to start from “zero”. It is necessary to return to the
stable mechanism of regular negotiations between the accredited
delegations of all the parties within the framework of international
mediation, with an open agenda to achieve agreements in any question
(no matter if those are insignificant in the beginning). A true
alternative to the deadlock in the negotiations is the ancient saying
“Slow and steady wins the race”; it will be favourable for all the
parties. Patiently proceeding “from the simple to the complicated” is
more effective than any attempt at solving the problems immediately.
If seeking for the settlement is to go on within the framework of the
OSCE (otherwise there are a lot of candidates) there is no more exact
calculation than the resolutions of the December 6, 1994 summit of
Budapest. Those were passed by consensus, on the highest level, and
what is more, not before the peak of military actions (as the
Helsinki resolution of March 1992) but after the cease-fire. It is
more substantial than the other processes for the mechanism of the
negotiations. The later created forms of relationships (meetings of
presidents, missions of the co-chairmen) were some additional forms
never brought into being outside the mandate of Budapest. This was
the result of inconsistency of the parties and the departure of the
co-chairmen from the OSCE resolutions under the pressure of the
parties. By the way the Budapest summit had set an aim to conduct
negotiations without delay and open the Minsk consultation. The OSCE
and the co-chairmen could have revealed more clearly to what extent
the parties needed international mediation in conflict settlement.
How can the parties demand activity and new suggestions from the
mediators if they do not hurry at all (some quietly, others
announcing to the world). The efforts of the parties for finding
peace should not be weaker than those of the mediators. There are
already many ideas on resumption of the negotiation process, there is
also a variety of new suggestions. But this will have meaning only in
case of more serious approach to the problem by the parties which
have brought the long-lasting deadlock situation to a dangerous
marsh.

VLADIMIR KAZIMIROV

Edicom, Swiss
15 Mars 2004

Charles Aznavour fait son entrée à Grévin

PARIS (AP) – «Je m’voyais déjà en haut de l’affiche»: cette célèbre
ritournelle de Charles Aznavour a une fois de plus été plus vraie que
jamais lundi soir, où le chanteur, compositeur, acteur et scénariste
a intronisé son double de cire au Musée Grévin.
»Charles, je te dis merci pour tout ce que tu nous as apporté, mais
surtout pour tout ce que tu va nous apporter», a rappelé Eve
Ruggieri, membre de l’Académie Grévin, au nom de Bernard Pivot,
absent. Elle a rappelé la carrière aux débuts difficiles de Charles
Aznavour à qui Edith Piaf, rencontrée en 1946, conseilla de partir en
Amérique avant qu’il ne soit enfin reconnu en France.
Eve Ruggieri a aussi souligné l’action humanitaire continue de
Charles Aznavour pour son pays, notamment son rôle d’ambassadeur
permanent de l’Arménie en France. «Mon grand-père fut aussi le
cuisinier du gouverneur géorgien d’Arménie», a précisé Charles
Aznavour.
Mimie Mathy, dernière impétrante, a selon la coutume intronisé
Charles Aznavour en récitant sur scène une courte allocution qui
reprenait des vers écrits ou chantés par Charles Aznavour au cours de
sa carrière aux 750 chansons.
Charles Aznavour a alors découvert son double de cire revêtu d’un
complet gris, assis dans un siège de théâtre. «Il est beau, enfin
nous sommes beaux. Je me demande s’il sait chanter. Mais je le trouve
d’une tristesse, moi qui aime tellement rire», a-t-il plaisanté,
s’adressant au sculpteur, Eric de Saint Chaffrais.
»Il est peut-être triste, mais c’est l’émotion que nous avons voulu
reproduire», a expliqué le sculpteur sous une salve
d’applaudissements.
Son personnage figurera dans la scénographie du théâtre à
l’italienne, à deux pas de Gérard Depardieu, Alain Delon et Bernard
Kouchner.
Plus vert que jamais, Charles Aznavour a récemment a publié, en plus
de ses mémoires, «Le temps des avants» (Ed. Flammarion), et son
dernier album «Je voyage» (Capitol/Emi Music France) en décembre
dernier, sur lequel figure un duo -éponyme-, avec sa fille Katia.
Quoi de plus normal, «je suis né d’un père chanteur et d’une mère
actrice», aime-t-il rappeler, autant que ses origines arméniennes.
Côté télévision, Charles Aznavour a récemment tourné à Bucarest
(Hongrie) dans une adaptation pour France-2 de roman de Balzac «Le
Père Goriot» dont il tient le rôle titre. Le téléfilm est mis en
scène par Jean-Daniel Veraeghe et Aznavour y joue aux côtés de
Marushka Detmers et Tcheky Karyo.
Enfin, Charles Aznavour fera son grand retour en chansons au Palais
des Congrès à partir du 16 avril, là même où il fêtera ses 80 ans, le
22 mai, soit le soir de la dernière. Mais sans doute pas de la
dernière émotion. AP
rao/cre/JmC

Soviet program can protect computers against viruses

09.03.2004, 15.37

MOSCOW, March 9 (Itar-Tass) – Russian scientists believe that the
Security Programme for computers, created in Soviet times, can protect
computers against viruses almost totally, Boris Babayan, corresponding
member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, director of the Institute
of Microprocessor Computer Systems, told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.

According to Babayan, most of the computer viruses existing today
attack the ` weak areas’ of the software and penetrate the computers
through so-called ` holes’ in the operational systems. In the opinion
of Babayan, `the principle on which the Security Programme is based is
rather simple.’ When the programme detects the virus-infected file and
establishes the type of the virus, it blocks at once the whole of the
file. So, Babayan continued, `the virus can no longer spread inside
the computer, much less penetrate Internet.’ At the same time, `the
Security Programme neither reduces the working speed of the computer,
nor overloads its memory.’

Babayan believes the effective introduction of the Security Programme
is impossible without its adaptation to the modern operational
systems, like Windows, Mackintosh etc. `Some ten billion dollars are
needed for its introduction, but the expenditures are a trifle in
comparison with the damage, inflicted by numerous viruses spread in
Internet,’ he said.

Experts are of the opinion, that some 700 types of viruses are now
spread in Internet. Each virus has several versions. Some 20 viruses
are especially dangerous, including MyDoom, Bagle and
Nelsky. According to the estimates, the damage inflicted by MyDoom
alone has reached 36 billion dollars.

© ITAR-TASS.

ARBEITSGRUPPE ANERKENNUNG – Gegen Genozid, Für Völkerverständigung e.V.

WORKING GROUP RECOGNITION – AGAINST GENOCIDE, FOR INTERNATIONAL
UNDERSTANDING

Dr. Tessa Hofmann
Mainauer Str. 9, II
D- 12161 Berlin
Phone: 0049/30/83854208
Fax: 851 79 74
Email: [email protected]

Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
– Jack Straw –

King Charles Street
London SW1A 2AH

March 11, 2004

– Interview with UK Ambassador Mrs Thorda Abbott-Watt

Sir,

it has been brought to our attention that the UK Ambassador to the
Republic of Armenia, Mrs. Thorda Abbott-Watt has repeatedly denied the
genocide of 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during the years
1915/16.

Mrs Abbott Watt mentioned `mass killings` and `brutality`, but
ignored
that half of the victims died during death marches or exile in desert
areas from starvation, exhaustion and epidemics. The UN Convention on
Genocide describes such circumstances as `deliberately inflicting on
the
group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical
destruction in whole or in part.’ (Art. 2, c)

Mrs Abbott Watt is wrong in publicly doubting that the case of the
Armenian Genocide did not correspond with the definition and categories
of the UN Genocide Convention. She may not know that the author of this
convention, Mr Raphael Lemkin, drafted it on the empirical base of both
the Armenian and the Jewish Genocide as case studies during WW1 and WW2.

Mrs Abbott Watt may also be ignorant of the joint statement of May 27,
1915, in with the governments of Britain, France and Russia warned the
Ottoman government to held its members personally responsible for the
crimes committed on the Armenian citizens of the Ottoman Empire. In this
statement the killings of the Armenian population were categorised,
under the terms of contemporary law, as a crime against humanity and
civilization.[1]

Mrs Abbott Watt is obviously not qualified as a scholar of genocide
research. Otherwise she would know that the denial of genocide is
considered as an integral part of the crime and its final stage. Sadly,
Mrs Abbott Watt herself contributes to the crime of denial, thus keeping
painfully alive the trauma of the Armenian nation and upsetting all
others others, who are aware of the consequences of genocide denial.

As an international NGO, which is focusing on the recognition of denied
genocide crimes, we urge you to re-consider whether it is advisable
that Mrs Abbott Watt, who is ignorant of basic facts of legal history
and international relations and who makes repeated incompetent and
offensive statements, may continue her diplomatic career in a country,
where half of the population descends from survivors of genocide.

Sincerely,

Dr. Tessa Hofmann
Chairperson

_____

[1] The full text reads: `For about a month the Kurd and Turkish
populations of Armenia has been massacring Armenians with the connivance
and often assistance of Ottoman authorities. Such massacres took place
in middle April (new style) at Erzerum, Dertchun, Eguine, Akn, Bitlis,
Mush, Sassun, Zeitun, and throughout Cilicia. Inhabitants of about one
hundred villages near Van were all murdered. In that city Armenian
quarter is besieged by Kurds. At the same time in Constantinople Ottoman
Government ill-treats inoffensive Armenian population. In view of those
new crimes of Turkey against humanity and civilization, the Allied
governments announce publicly to the Sublime-Porte that they will hold
personally responsible [for] these crimes all members of the Ottoman
government and those of their agents who are implicated in such
massacres.’

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