Author: Tashjian Arbi

Glendale News Press
26 Feb 2005

Judge rejects lawsuit
Ruling clears way for project, but city officials expect General Growth to
appeal. Judge also lifts injunctions.
By Josh Kleinbaum, News-Press and Leader
Superior Court Judge Robert O’Brien rejected a lawsuit filed by Glendale
Galleria owner General Growth Properties for the second time in five weeks,
making way for a controversial outdoor shopping center in downtown Glendale.
O’Brien’s final ruling rejected General Growth’s lawsuit, which challenged
city approvals for the Americana at Brand, a proposed retail and residential
complex. The decision mimics a tentative ruling O’Brien issued in January.
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The judge also ordered an injunction preventing the city from demolishing
two buildings on the site to be lifted on March 10. In the next two weeks,
General Growth can ask an appellate court to extend the injunction pending a
possible appeal.
“The staff, the city and the [Redevelopment] Agency have been criticized for
not doing the right thing, not doing it properly, not with full disclosure,”
said Philip Lanzafame, interim director of development services. “What this
ruling means to me, it says that we’re validated in what we’re trying to
accomplish.”
General Growth spokesman Arthur Sohikian did not return messages seeking
comment, but city officials expect General Growth to appeal O’Brien’s
decision.
“We’ve spent a lot of time and money defending what we did as right, and the
court agrees that it is correct,” Assistant City Atty. Gillian Van Muyden
said. “If they decide to take us to appellate court, we’ll continue to wage
our battle that what we did was legal and correct.”
Critics of the Americana said that O’Brien’s decision does not affirm that
the Americana is a good project, only that the judge does not have
jurisdiction to revert it.
“I figured that was going to happen,” said Albert Hofmann, a vocal Americana
critic. “He can’t bail out the City Council because [the council] screwed
up.”
The city is in the process of clearing the 15.5-acre project site now, and
developer Rick Caruso said he expects a groundbreaking sometime in March.
Caruso hopes the Americana will open in late 2006 or early 2007.
The Americana will include 475,000 square feet of retail space, 338
residential units, a 1.85-acre park and an 18-screen movie theater. The
city’s Redevelopment Agency approved the project’s final design Tuesday.
In the ruling, O’Brien also ordered General Growth to reimburse the city and
Caruso for court costs associated with the case, but not attorney fees. The
city spent $1.2 million defending the case, but officials expect the court
costs to cover only a small fraction of that.
“I don’t want their money,” Caruso said. “I just want them out of my life
and out of my hair, and to have them go back to their miserable little mall
and do what they do.”
* JOSH KLEINBAUM covers City Hall. He may be reached at (818) 637-3235 or by
e-mail at [email protected].

2005-02-25 10:59

HOW SAFE ARE RUSSIAN BORDERS?

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti commentator Vyacheslav Lashkul) – The Federal
Frontier Service was terminated a year ago, with its functions transferred
to the FSB. RIA asked Colonel General Vladimir Pronichev, first deputy
director of the FSB responsible for the border guards, about the reason for
this.

Vladimir Pronichev: It was not just a change of name. Our tasks
include the struggle against transborder crime, primarily drugs, and
international terrorism, which calls for security operations rather than
army methods. Border guards have become an integral part of the FSB, which
allows us to create joint databanks and collect and process information
about persons, above all terrorists, who pose a threat to the state.

Vyacheslav Lashkul: How many stations guard the border?

V.P.: Over 11,000 border patrols, dozens of coast guard ships, boats,
aircraft and helicopters guard Russia’s borders every day. Of the more than
61,000km of the state border, about 14,500km is marked on dry land.

V.L.: The state border commission has approved a concept of a new
system of protecting and defending the border. What are its new elements:

V.P.: It was created by researchers with the assistance of modern
industries and technologies. The key task now is to use modern equipment,
promptly transfer information and take adequate measures to guard the
border.

V.L.: Does this mean that border units will not guard the whole length
of the border?

V.P.: The old and tested methods will be used at the endangered parts
of the border, mostly in the North Caucasus. The Russian-Kazakh border will
be the responsibility of special representatives and their teams, who will
ensure close contacts with the local population. They will also monitor the
situation on the border, so that when they get information that a certain
(smuggled) cargo is moving towards the border, they would dispatch a unit
there to detail the violators.

Our border guards will be equipped with modern technologies, which are
being used to monitor the border on the Black and Azov seas. These
technologies entail permanent monitoring of the situation (in time and
space) with the help of modern surveillance equipment. When an unidentified
vessel enters our territorial waters, the signal is transmitted to the
control center, which orders the aircraft or coast guards to detain the
trespasser. We are using the same principle on land.

We plan to build, jointly with the Communications Ministry, a digital
transmission line in the North Caucasus. The new digital system will be
complemented with other technologies; we are working to create special
systems for this. The projects have been approved and factories are
implementing them.

V.L.: Will the ordinary recruits have the intelligence and skills to
use these technologies?

V.P.: In principle, we plan to abolish conscription to the border
guards. There are no conscripts on some parts of the western and
Russia-Kazakhstan borders, and we will not send conscripts to Kamchatka. The
crucial task now is to man stations on the northwestern borders with
contract servicemen, who will rely on intelligence projects and contacts
with the local population.

We also hope to revive the family tradition, when the border will be
protected by dynasties of guards. We have examples of this positive
innovation.

Border units will be formed comprehensively, so that career officers
will preclude attempts to turn the border into somebody’s gold mine.
Contract service will become the priority form; we plan to recruit only
contract servicemen to border units by 2010.

V.L.: Will you recruit also citizens from the CIS countries?

V.P.: We have not pondered the idea yet. The only units employing CIS
citizens are the border groups deployed in Armenia and Tajikistan, where
citizens of these two countries can serve. Over 40,000 Tajiks have served in
the Russian border units in Tajikistan, and over 80% of personnel of
thecurrent border department are local servicemen.

Tajikistan has expressed readiness to protect the border without
Russians, which does not mean that they will leave the republic. But the
form of our cooperation will change. We want the Tajik border to be tightly
sealed, as the drug barons are acting increasingly brazenly in the region,
often with the use of weapons. In fact, we are fighting a real war against
the international drug Mafia there. In the past two years, Russian border
patrols held nearly 200 battles. Last year, they detained over 5 tons of
drugs on the Tajik-Afghan border.

Now that the North Caucasian border is being reinforced, we will
redirect our attention to the Russo-Kazakh border. We must erect an
insurmountable barrier to drugs, illegal migration and smuggling there.

We are finishing the elaboration of a target federal program of border
development, which stipulates the construction of border settlements, above
all on the new, undeveloped parts of the border in 2005-2010.

GALOUST SAHAKIAN: IF GEORGIAN OR UKRAINIAN SCENARIOS OF CHANGE OF
POWER IMPLEMENTED IN ARMENIA, THEN WE SHALL LOSE ARMENIA

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23. ARMINFO. The statements of the opposition on the
intention to hold a revolution in Armenia this spring is simply an
absurd, Head of the faction of the Republican Party of Armenia Galoust
Sahakian told ARMINFO.

Galoust Sahakian forecasts that no revolution, change of power,
overturn will take place in the republic. He also considered
improbable the assistance of the West to one or another opposition
forces of Armenia in implementation of revolution, as it took place in
the Ukraine and in Georgia. “And, nevertheless, if such a scenario is
implemented, then we shall lose Armenia”, Galoust Sahakian
mentioned. It should be noted that recently three opposition forces –
the bloc Justice, the parties National Unity and New Times declared
about the intention to hold three revolutions in Armenia this spring.

ArmenPress
Feb 23 2005

KLO ACCUSES AZERI JOURNALISTS OF ADVERTISING KARABAGH ARMENIANS

BAKU, FEBRUARY 23, ARMENPRESS: The Karabagh Liberation
Organization (KLO), an extremist group in Azerbaijan, has accused a
leading journalists Eynulla Fatullayev of advertising in favor of
Karabagh separatists. The KLO criticism followed an interview by
Fatullayev to Azerbaijani newspaper Yeni Musavat on 22 February.
Eynulla Fatullayev, editor of the Monitor magazine and prominent
journalist, spent 11 days in Nagorno Karabagh, visiting places in the
occupied districts of Nagorno Karabagh, talking to Armenians and even
Azerbaijanis there. She said to the daily she came back with pleasant
impressions.
She traveled to Karabagh from Yerevan on February 12 , visiting
Stepanakert, Shushi, Lachin and Agdam and actually was the first
Azerbaijani to visit Agdam after the truce. “I was treated well in
Agdam and Shushi , but the attitude towards me was aggressive in
Lachin. The Armenians living there attacked me, saying that this is
their land and wondered about the aim of my visit. However, my
security was arranged very well. I asked them who they are and they
said they are refugees from villages of Agdara District, which is
under Azerbaijani control. There are also Armenians from Yevlakh and
Baku in Lachin,” she said.
She also interviewed Karabagh leader Arkady Ghukasian and the
mayor of Stepanakert and met met some Azerbaijanis in Askeran, where
a dozen of them are still living.
She said Armenian journalists were keen on her views about the
ongoing processes in Karabagh. “I said that the switch from the
police regime to a semi-civil society had taken place in Karabagh and
free polls were held, the opposition won, the media was free and
there was political rivalry. Political freedom is stronger there than
in Armenia. At all meetings, they wondered about public opinion in
Azerbaijan. My impression of the meetings with the Karabagh political
leadership is that they are ready for horizontal relations with
Azerbaijan,” she said. “My observation is that they (Karabagh people)
hate the Azerbaijani authorities, not our people,” she said.

BESIDES NEGATIVE POINTS, PACE RESOLUTION ON NAGORNY KARABAKH CONTAINS
POSITIVE MOMENT FOR NKR: FOREIGN MINISTER OF NKR

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22. ARMINFO. Besides negative points, PACE
Resolution on Nagorny Karabakh contained a positive moment for NKR,
Foreign Minister of NKR Arman Melikyan said at a press conference,
Tuesday.

At the same time, the minister pointed out the existence of a new
view, that is, a call to Azerbaijani authorities for starting dialogue
directly with NKR authorities. <It to some extent proves that our
point of view is right – bilateral negotiations of Azerbaijan and
Karabakh may really be effective,> the minister said.

As regards the visit of OSCE mission to the territories under control
of NKR, the minister said that the visit was useful as representatives
of that international organization could get first hand view of the
real situation. He said that the mission had visited all the regions
and made sure that the document provided by Azerbaijan did not
correspond to reality. He said that Karabakh had enough resources to
settle Lachin and Lachin region and this policy would continue, as it
was a strategic issue. As regards the possivilisi of the mission’s
visit to Getashen and Shahumanyan regions occupied by Azerbaijan, the
minister said, this issue was under discussion and the visit was not
ruled out.

RUSSIA’S NEGLIGENCE TURNING ARMENIAN OPPOSITION TOWARDS WEST

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22. ARMINFO. People in Armenia are getting
increasingly displeased with the policy of Robert Kocharyan, Armenia’s
president and Russia’s good ally. Meanwhile lack of attention from
Russia is turning Armenia’s traditionally pro-Russian opposition
towards th West, says Russian politician Irina Khakamada in her
article “Seducing Lover and Impotent Rapist: Russia and West on the
Post Soviet Stage.”

Russia’s relations with the CIS are quite complicated. At the initial
stage of CIS history Russia was mediator and peace-maker for many
post-Soviet conflicts. This role is not generally accepted as positive
but was rather effective in some cases like Transdniestria. Some even
hoped that Russia would become a kind of exporter of
liberal-democratic values in the post-Soviet area. But in reality
Russia has turned into an exporter of authoritarianism for the CIS
countries except for those having one in abundance (Turkmenistan,
Belarus and Uzbekistan). Ukraine was a vivid example of such
export. Similar situations are ripening in Armenia, Moldova,
Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

Khakamada forecasts collapse of Russia’s influence in the post-Soviet
republics in the coming years. This will not impact economy as Russian
business and Russian politics are oftentimes moving in different
directions. Business in Russia needs state protection but not finding
one will start contacting directly with post-Soviet governments
despite and in spite of their own authorities.

But this is not good for Russia. This country has two ways: either to
become an authoritarian mutant or to start large-scale political,
social and administrative reforms.

Karabakh army guarantor of regional stability – NKR Defence ministry

Mediamax news agency
21 Feb 05

YEREVAN

“The Nagornyy Karabakh Republic [NKR] defence army is an important
guarantor of regional stability and carries out the role of a
deterrent while international peacekeeping forces are absent from the
conflict zone,” a statement of the NKR Defence Ministry to mark the
anniversary of Armenian Senior Lt Gurgen Markaryan’s murder
reads. Markaryan was hacked to death in his sleep by Azerbaijani
officer Ramil Safarov [at NATO English course in Budapest in 2004].

“Azerbaijan did not condemn this monstrous crime. On the contrary, the
murderer became a national hero and the Azerbaijani authorities did
not even think to apologize for this crime. The NKR Defence Ministry
regards the committed brutality and similar position of the
Azerbaijani authorities as a result of Azerbaijan’s consistent
anti-Armenian and militarist propaganda. A policy of this kind creates
an atmosphere of intolerance which undermines the peaceful settlement
of the Karabakh conflict and endangers regional peace and security,”
the statement said.

The document noted that “Azerbaijan’s this behaviour and its desire to
turn the murderer into a hero once again testifies to the fact that
Nagornyy Karabakh’s independence is not only an issue of people’s
self-determination but the NKR people’s existence as well”.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT RECEIVES RUSSIAN FM

ArmenPress
Feb 17 2005

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 17, ARMENPRESS: Armenian President Robert Kocharian
received today Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov who is
in Armenia on an official visit.

According to the President press services, the Foreign Affairs
Minister conveyed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warm greetings
to the Armenian President.

Robert Kocharian said he is pleased with the level of development
of Russian-Armenian relations. In his turn, Sergey Lavrov said that
the cooperation between the leaders of both countries resulted in
achieving great progress in all the spheres.

The sides also referred to the works of the Armenia-Russian
Intergovernmental Commission. Sergey Lavrov informed that the Russian
side is willing to solve the issues concerning the functioning of
the Armenian enterprises.

During the meeting the sides discussed the opportunities of expanding
the regional communication which will give an opportunity to develop
economic cooperation in the region. They also expressed assurance that
the large-scaled economic cooperation will promote the resolution of
the regional conflicts.

The sides also discussed the present pace of the Karabagh conflict
negotiations and its possible developments. They also exchanged
viewpoints concerning bilateral and multilateral cooperation within
the international organizations.

Armenia: Challenges and responses
Serj Sargsian

Yerkir/arm

Defense Minister and Secretary of Armenian President’s National Security
Council
Dear readers,

Between January 31 and February 5, 2005, you had an opportunity to
address your questions on the Yerkir’s website to SERJ SARGSIAN,
Defense Minister and Secretary of Armenian President’s National
Security Council. Below are the answers to your questions. See the
full version of the interview in Armenian.

Thank you for your active participation: Spartak Seyranian,
editor-in-chief of “Yerkir” Weekly.

Partev Kolanjian, USA – Mr. Minister, could the Karabakh war resume?

Serj Sargsian – A risk of resuming the war should never be ruled
out, and generally a defense minister should never rule out such
a risk. But I think that the risk of war would be more realistic
should the Azerbaijani army be more capable than the Armenian army,
and also if the Azeris think that the international community will
consider their step as positive.

Suren Soghomonyan – As the Chairman of The National Security Council,
what is your attitude to the centralization of one-third of population
in Yerevan. What practical solutions could you suggest?

Serj Sargsian – I am concerned over the current situation and I
think it does not contribute to the country’s security and normal
development. Under the present situation it is hard to suggest
practical solutions for redistributing the population of the country.

I don’t want to comment on the previous mistakes of Soviet
Armeniaâ~@~Ys Leadership which resulted to concentration of more then
the third of our population in the Capital. But, I also think that
the world urbanization trends have played their role in this. Now
distributing our population within the country evenly should be
our goal.

It should be noted also that due to social and economic development
in most countries the world urbanization trends are decreasing, and
since we are determined to develop our country, we hope that this
process will take place here too, so eventually the population will
be distributed adequately for the good of our nation.

Gevork – Do you think the Diaspora would eventually participate,
to the defense of Armenia? This question is naturally leading to the
issue of dual citizenship, what are your thoughts on this?

Serj Sargsian – I have always supported the idea of dual citizenship. A
country that has a Diaspora should have such an institution. I am
for the dual citizenship but I am also for the equality of rights
and obligations for all citizens. I believe that any Armenian has
the right to become a citizen of the Republic of Armenia by equally
sharing the rights and obligations its citizenship.

This is important: the parity principle of rights and obligations
stemming from the Constitution should be maintained in all cases. These
issues can be regulated by a law on dual citizenship. However, I must
say that this issue does not depend only on us. It also depends on
countries where our compatriots live. There are countries which do
not allow dual citizenship. As a statesman, I am interested in this
issue and would do everything to find a solution.

See the full version of the interview in Armenian.

–Boundary_(ID_xsCrNs2EbXXqlqPZxLwO4A)–

Genocide Edited Out After Turkish Pressure
by: Clare Chapman

The Times Educational Supplement
February 11, 2005

Hundreds of history books have been recalled from German schools
after the state of Brandenburg agreed to remove a reference to the
“Armenian genocide” of 1915 following pressure from Turkey, which
refuses to acknowledge that it took place.

A reference to the genocide, in which 1.5 million Armenians were
deported and murdered by the government of the Young Turks in
1915-1916, was included in history books in the east German state
in 2002.

Brandenburg was the first state to refer to this lesser-known genocide.

Turkey, which, until human rights reforms two years ago, threatened
to imprison anyone who said the genocide took place, has fought to
have the passage removed.

The cause of the dispute was the following sentence: “Disengagement
from war; extermination and genocide (for example the genocide against
the Armenian population of Asia Minor)”.

Thomas Hainz, regional education ministry spokesman, admitted the
ministry had removed the line from textbooks because of “international
diplomatic resentment”.

But he said that it had been “an independent decision”. He said
reducing the discussion of genocide to just one sentence involving
just one case “does not do the topic justice”.

The education ministry is now working on a new chapter that covers
genocide in a more “comprehensive context”.

Necmettin Altuntas, the Turkish embassy spokesman in Berlin, denied
any pressure had been put on the education ministry. “We wanted the
reference to be taken out of the school books because it was stated
as fact.”

He said many historians believe using the term genocide to des-cribe
what happened is incorrect. “Turkey does not deny that something
happened, but we have not been able to come to the conclusion that
it was a massacre.”

The move has angered historians. Micha Brumlik, director of the
Frankfurt Fritz Bauer Institute that deals with Holocaust history,
condemned the decision, saying there are “two political scandals”
involved.

One concerned Turkey, which for years refused to accept general human
rights standards and continued to deny responsibility for the genocide
of 1915. But the second concerned Germany and was far more serious.

“The authorities in Brandenburg have bowed to pressure from
diplomats. I find that shocking for our country,” Brumlik said.

Sven Petke, Christian Democratic Union general secretary, said he
now fears that “the propaganda ministry in Ankara” is dictating the
local curriculum.