Author: Tashjian Arbi

[Congressional Record: July 19, 2004 (Extensions)]
[Page E1413-E1414]
>From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr19jy04-20]

CELEBRATING THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

______

HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY

of massachusetts

in the house of representatives

Monday, July 19, 2004

Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a treasured
institution in the Armenian-American community and in my Congressional
District, the “Armenian Weekly Newspaper” which is celebrating its
70th Anniversary of publication this year.
Since 1934, the English-language Armenian Weekly has been published
by the Hairenik Association of Watertown, Massachusetts, located in my
district. The Association also publishes the Armenian Weekly’s parent
publication, “The Hairenik,” which is the longest running Armenian-
language newspaper in the world.
Mr. Speaker, this past April we gathered to commemorate the Armenian
Genocide, one of the darkest chapters of World War I, and what is
sometimes called the “Forgotten Genocide.” The Armenian Weekly plays
an invaluable role in helping all of us to remember that tragic period,
but more importantly, to celebrate the lives of the survivors and their
wonderful and enduring culture.
In September of 1919, President Woodrow Wilson spoke of his vision of
a future Armenia. He said, “Armenia is to be redeemed . . . So that at
last this great people, struggling through night after night of terror,
knowing not when they may come out into a time when they can enjoy
their rights as free people that they never dreamed they would be able
to exercise.” Since the rebirth of the Armenian national following the
collapse of the former Soviet Union, the Armenian Weekly has run
numerous stories on issues and events affecting the politics and
economy of the Republic of Armenia, and the efforts of the Armenian-
American community to support its struggle to survive and prosper.
Mr. Speaker, two of our most cherished freedoms in the United States
are freedom of speech and freedom of the press. For seventy years now,
Armenian-Americans have been

[[Page E1414]]

celebrating those freedoms through the Armenian Weekly Newspaper. In
addition to its extensive coverage of news events of interest to the
Armenian-American community, over the years, the paper has printed
numerous short stories, essays and poems. For example, the stories that
initially brought noted Armenian-American writer and playwright William
Saroyan to national attention were first published in the Armenian
Weekly.
I congratulate Editor Jason Sohigian and everyone associated with
this remarkable publication and I wish the Armenian Weekly Newspaper
many more years of service and success.

“VERATSNUND” NEWLY-ESTABLISHED PUBLIC ORGANIZATION UNITES VETERANS OF
SPECIAL DETACHMENTS OF POLICE

YEREVAN, July 20 (Noyan Tapan). “The main goal of the organization
established by us is to assist to strengthening of the power of the
Armed Forces of Armenia by means of preparation and education of the
young generation,” Yuri Hovhannisian, a representative of the
organization, declared at the July 20 press conference dedicated to
presentation of the “Veratsnund” (“Revival”) new public organization.
At the press conference it was mentioned that the new organization
united the veterans of special detachments of police. There are many
participants of 1990-94 military operations on the Armenian-Azeri
border among the veterans of the organization. Y.Hovhannisian told the
journalists that “Veratsnund” is a centrical pro-governmental
organization: “We don’t conceal this.”

Assistance to social condition of the veterans of special detachments
of police, as well as provision of stability in the home political
life of the country are among the top priority tasks of the
organization. Answering a question of Noyan Tapan, how does the
organization intend to provide stability, Yuri Hovhannisian said that
the organization plans to render assistance to the state in
preparation of military cadres. In particular, the corresponding
program was worked out, which includes a number of arrangements on
preparation of young men for army. He assured that soon these
arrangements will be held in a number of schools.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH(LONDON)
July 20, 2004, Tuesday

Short raises hopes of return to form

By Malcolm Pein

NIGEL Short grabbed an early lead in the Sanjin Hotel Cup at Taiyuan
in China after taking full advantage of two games with the white
pieces in the first two rounds.

Last year and early this year Short had a tremendous run of form
which took his rating over 2700, but poor performances in the French
and Bosnian leagues and at the Sarajevo Super Tournament were
followed by a disastrous exit from the Fide World Championship
Knock-Out at Tripoli, when he put a rook en prise after outplaying
the Polish Grandmaster Michal Krasenkow.

The tournament in China may well herald a change in fortunes for the
England number two, although he was certainly lucky to win his first
game against Xu Jun. However, round two saw a typically heavyweight
positional victory over Smbat Lputian of Armenia (see below).

With one round to play of the 111th Scottish Championship at New
Douglas Park in Hamilton, defending champion and Scottish number one
GM Jonathan Rowson joined the guest player IM Jacob Aagaard in the
lead.

Rowson reached 6.5/8 with victory over Douglas Bryson while Aagaard
had a solid draw with Steve Mannion and looks to be coasting towards
the GM norm of 7/9.

White’s strategy in the Winawer is always to open lines for the
bishop pair and Short gradually manages to achieve this.

The line 7.h4 9.h5 and 10.h6 seems to transgress most opening
principles, but Black’s main weakness is on the dark squares and
White does have control of the kingside with his bishops and so pawn
to h6 undermines Black further on the dark squares. Sometimes the Rh1
comes to h4 and then swings across. Black’s fatal error was to allow
24.a6!

Short lost a very drastic game on the black side of the Winawer as a
junior to John Littlewood when he allowed the same thrust with his
king castled on the queenside.

Lputian’s 11Ng8!? was an attempt to improve on the main line of
110-0-0 12.Bd3 which was Short-Psakhis, Isle of Man 1999. 14Nxe5
15.Bc3!; 22a6 was unclear. 30Qc6 31.Bf4+ Nxf4 32.Qxf4+ Qc7 33.Qxc7+
Rxc7 34.Rxh4 is strong and if 32f5 33.Ra3.

Near the end 34a5 35.Ra6 wins. Of course not 37.Bxe1 Qxb1; but the
queen sacrifice cleans up. In the final position 40Nxd4 41.Ra6

N. Short – S. Lputian

Sanjin Hotel Cup Taiyuan (2)

French Defence

Winawer Variation

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e5 c5 5 a3 Bxc3+ 6 bxc3 Ne7 7 h4 Qa5 8
Bd2 Nbc6 9 h5 Bd7 10 h6 gxh6 11 Nf3 Ng8!? 12 c4! Qc7 13 cxd5 exd5 14
dxc5 0-0-0 15 Be2 Bg4 16 Kf1 h5 17 Rb1 f6 18 e6 Nge7 19 Ne1! Ne5 20
Nd3 N7g6 21 a4 Rhe8 22 a5 Rxe6? 23 f3 Bf5 24 a6! Nxd3 25 axb7+ Kb8 26
Bxd3 Bxd3+ 27 cxd3 h4 28 d4 Rde8 29 Rb2 R8e7 30 Qc1 a6 31 Rh3 Re8 32
f4 Ne7 33 Qb1 Nc6 34 f5 Re4 35 Rb6 Qd7 36 Rxa6 Qxf5+ 37 Rf3 Re1+ 38
Qxe1 Rxe1+ 39 Bxe1 Qd7 40 Rxf6 1-0

Lputian
e p p p p b p Y p p c * p a p 6 p p n c p p p n p o p p p p p p p b p
p p 8 X p

Short

Final position after 40.Rxf6

The Times (London)
July 17, 2004, Saturday

Legends of little men

by Maureen Freely

BIRDS WITHOUT WINGS
BY LOUIS DE BERNIERES
Secker & Warburg
£17.99; 640pp
ISBN 0 436 20549 1
£14.39 (p&p £2.25)
0870 1608080

During the Ottoman Empire -before the Turks called themselves Turks
-Istanbul and the Aegean coast of Anatolia were as Christian as they
were Muslim. The populations of Crete, the Aegean Islands, and large
parts of the Greek mainland were similarly mixed. The Treaty of
Laus-anne changed all that: almost overnight, the Christians of
Anatolia and most Muslim Greeks were forced from their homes and
dispatched across the border.

On paper, the population exchange made sense. It came at the end of a
war that had seen the Greeks invade Anatolia and the Turks push them
into the sea. There was a strong desire to prevent a sequel -and to
end the massacres, death marches and mass expulsions that had ravaged
both Christian and Muslim communities throughout the region for many
decades. On the ground, though, the story was rather different.
Thousands of peaceful fishing and farming communities were abruptly
ripped asunder and millions made homeless. Eighty years later, their
descendants still carry the memory of what Louis de Bernieres (below)
calls their “absolute destitution and sense of injustice” -as anyone
familiar with the area will know.

He dedicates Birds Without Wings to these forgotten millions and also
to his maternal grandfather, who was wounded at Gallipoli. It is, in
effect, two novels for the price of one. The first is a long and
meandering tale set in a village in hills behind the town now known
as Fethiye. Floating above it and swooping down at brutally regular
intervals to destroy its peace is a second, leaner tale about Mustafa
Kemal, the intrepid Salonica-born soldier-hero who went on to found
the Turkish Republic.

Holding it all together is the mournful, all-knowing narrator that
won this author’s previous books so many devoted readers. His
characters do not just speak: they asseverate. When they asseverate
out of turn, he is quick to put them in their place. Thus, when
Leonidas the schoolteacher attends a meeting of a clandestine society
aiming to restore to Greece all the lands lost to the Ottomans, de
Bernieres is quick to remind us that his dreams are “predicated on
the absolute belief” that his own people are superior to all others
and that “such people, even those as insignificant as Leonidas, are
the motor of history, which is finally nothing but a sorry edifice
constructed from hacked flesh in the name of great ideas”.

He’s right, of couse. Which is why he gets away with it. Well, we’ll
see. It is never clear where the truth about Mustafa Kemal ends and
the embroidery begins.

His Turkish spelling is eccentric and makes you wonder how carefully
he’s checked his facts. Although his account of the Great Game seems
judicious and even handed (he saves his most righteous rage for Lloyd
George), he deviates from both Greek and Turkish official history in
ways that could be controversial. If he’s thinking of visiting either
country in the near future, he should pack dark glasses.

Although his account of Gallipoli is inspired -rarely has the ugly
face of war been so lovingly described -his heart belongs to the
smaller canvas, and his portrayal of sleepy, multi-ethnic village
life before, during, and after the First World War is a magnificent
achievement. Here the sonorous narrator pulls back for long stretches
to let the characters describe the complex web of friendships,
passions, betrayals and heroic acts that bind together its
inhabitants.

They judge themselves by their own standards, which means we must
suspend ours. So the first time we meet Rustem Bey, the village
landlord, he is saving a Greek woman from the town gossips. The
second time we meet him, he is inviting a crowd to stone Tamara, his
unfaithful wife, to death. It may be the penalty laid down by Sharia,
but it is the imam who stops the stoning, shames Rustem Bey, and
saves Tamara’s life. In a village that serves more than one god,
there is always more than one right way of doing things.

That life without blind faith is difficult is clear from the
chequered careers of Levon the Armenian apothecary, Ali the
Snowbringer, Leyla the concubine, Ibrahim the Mad, and Iskandar the
Potter and his son Karatavuk, who ends up fighting with Mustafa Kemal
at Gallipoli. All make terrible mistakes and some are driven by
bigotry. But because they know each other first as neighbours, they
sometimes rise above themselves, and their most generous acts are on
behalf of those marked as enemies. Until one day, when a group of
statesmen gather together to sign a peace treaty. If you’re going to
a beach anywhere on the Aegean this summer, and want to know a bit
more about the local history, read this book and weep.

Armenian police improve efficiency in combating human trafficking

Arminfo
13 Jul 04

YEREVAN

The Armenian law-enforcement agencies have lately improved their
efficiency in combating human trafficking, the public relations
department of the Armenian police says in a report forwarded to
Arminfo news agency.

Last year alone, the law-enforcement agencies instituted 19 criminal
proceedings on charges of pimping. Nine cases were linked to pimping
outside the country and human trafficking. Article 132 of the Criminal
Code adopted in August 2003 stipulates four to eight years in prison
as a punishment for trafficking. The report says that the Armenian
government in January 2004 endorsed a national programme of struggle
against international trafficking for 2004-06. A total of 11,000
dollars were allocated from the state budget for the implementation of
the programme. The remaining funds will be allocated by foreign donor
organizations.

[Passage omitted: Armenia ratified UN conventions on transnational
organized crime and human trafficking in 2003]

ARKADY GHUKASIAN CONTROLS SITUATION

Azg/AM
16 July 2004

Co-Chairs State in Stepanakert

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs arrived in Stepanakert on July 13. After a
break of six months this visit could hardly be a new step for the
settlement of the problem. The fact that the Co-Chairs met with NGO
representatives as well was the news about this visit.

After the meeting with Ashot Ghulian, NKR Foreign Minister, the
Co-Chairs met with NGO representatives. Hery Jackolin, French
Co-Chair, stated that the probability of a war is bigger, unless the
problem of the occupied territories exists.

Touching upon “New Neighbours” program, he said that if Armenia and
Azerbaijan fail to find the mutually acceptable settlement, they
wouldnâ=80=99t be included in that program. Minsk Group doesn’t have
the power to settle the conflict, so their goal is to contribute to
achieving the settlement that will be in the interests of both
sides. According to him, this can be achieved as a resultof mutual
concessions. The observation made by the head of NKR Refugee
Committee, that said that the status of the Armenians fled from
Azerbaijan and dwelling in NKR is always forgotten.

The Co-Chairs met with NKR President Arkady Ghukasian. During the
press conference after the meeting with the president the Co- Chairs
expressed satisfaction, emphasizing that Arkady Ghukasian controls the
situation verywell and the discussion with him was very fruitful. The
Co-Chairs said that Armenia and Azerbaijan becoming CE members have
undertaken certain commitments and the interest of the European
countries can be considered only within these frameworks. They said
that the EU has no special mission in the settlement issue, except
assisting Armenia and Azerbaijan, unless they miss the “New Neighbors”
program. As for the OSCE, the Minsk Group was founded under its
support and, naturally, it is interested in the settlement.

The journalist asked Stiven Mann about the reason of his appointment
as Co-Chair. He said that though he was engaged in the Caspian issues,
it doesn’t mean that the U.S. emphasizes the importance of oil factor
in the context of the settlement. Besides, he worked as a diplomat in
the USSR and Armenia and this experience conditioned his appointment
as a Co- Chair. The Co- Chairs said that there are no separate
American, Russian and French position and they act unanimously and all
the ideas are achieved by them all.

Yuri Merzliakov answered the question about NKR’s participation in the
negotiation process that there is a point in the OSCE decision that
allows the parties that ave signed the cease-fire agreement to
participate in the negotiations. On this ground NKR participated in
the negotiations till1997.The fact that NKR was left aside from the
negotiation process is not the fault of the Minsk group.

BY Kim Gabrielian, Stepanakert

Opposition daily speculates on Russia’s latent interests in Azerbaijan

Yeni Musavat, Baku
13 Jul 04

One of the issues topping the political agenda of the day is the
frequent visits by different Russian officials to Baku. While analysts
have been putting forward various theories as to the objectives of
such visits, their common belief is that our northern neighbour is
interested in returning to Azerbaijan and at least partly restoring
its lost clout. At stake are primarily geo-economic and
military-political interests.

It is noteworthy that most of the Russian officials who have visited
Baku recently are either former or current secret agents. Yevgeniy
Primakov, Sergey Stepashin and now Vladimir Rushaylo all come from the
same field. This shows the level of the Russian administration’s
interest (President Vladimir Putin himself is a former KGB agent) in
our country.

As for Rushaylo’s visit in the capacity of a CIS official, as he
himself put it, well this can be explained by Russia’s plans to
strengthen its positions on the entire territory of the CIS, including
Azerbaijan. Rushaylo is Moscow’s man, isn’t he?

But what is the Kremlin looking for in Azerbaijan? What is it
concerned about?

First of all, Russia is one of the countries extremely interested in a
dynastic regime in Azerbaijan, because it is much easier to get along
with a “family” regime than with a democratic government. This is
particularly obvious in the example of Georgia and its [president]
Mikheil Saakashvili, as Georgia’s democratic leader has been causing
Russia a real headache of late. Therefore, the “family” regime in
Azerbaijan is becoming even twice as important for Moscow.

[Passage omitted: minor details]

Another interesting aspect is that Moscow has become more active since
the European Union announced the launch of its European Neighbourhood
Policy for the three South Caucasus republics and NATO declared that
post-Soviet republics are in the sphere of its interests. The Kremlin
is smart enough to understand that if such programmes and strategies
are implemented, it will have to pack up and leave not only the
Ukraine and the Caucasus but even Central Asia.

[Passage omitted: Russia’s relations with Georgia]

Let’s return to Azerbaijan, however. One of the factors preconditioning
Russia’s stepped up activity in Azerbaijan is the personality of the
heir. The thing is that while the Kremlin is coming to terms with the
loss of Saakashvili (Moscow is no longer pinning hopes on him),
[Azerbaijani President] Ilham [Aliyev] is clearly Moscow’s
man. Saakashvili is the man of the West and the heir is the man of the
East. In all respects. Obviously, the Kremlin can get along with the
latter much more easily.

Also, it is common knowledge that while the Georgian leader has
enthusiastically embarked on reforms and the protection of the
country’s territorial integrity, the heir can’t stand the word
“reform”, does not fidget with conflicts and instead curtsies to the
North as soon as the opportunity presents itself.

In other words, the visits by the Kremlin officials are in Aliyev’s
interests as well. At the same time, if Russia is not doing very well
in Georgia, then why not make up for that at the expense of
Azerbaijan?

[Passage omitted: repetition]

But it is so good that Azerbaijan consists not only of the regime and
the New Azerbaijan Party. There are strong and influential enough
political forces here which see the country’s successes through
integration with the West. They are highly unlikely to remain
tight-lipped over Russia’s return to Azerbaijan.

If Russia is serious about its intention to return to Azerbaijan, let
it first think about ways of winning back public confidence. This
could be done by showing Armenia its place in the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict, helping Azerbaijan liberate its lands without any
preconditions and making Armenia abandon its territorial claims. As
far as we can see, Moscow is not preparing to do that. Therefore,
being a friend of the regime does not mean being a friend of
Azerbaijan.

Saakashvili tells Ossetian rally Georgia committed to peace

Rustavi-2 TV, Tbilisi
11 Jul 04

[Presenter] Some 300 ethnic Ossetians have been rallying outside the
State Chancellery since this morning. Speakers have been attacking
[South Ossetian separatist leader Eduard] Kokoiti’s government and
calling for peace.

The Georgian president came out of his office to meet the
demonstrators. Mikheil Saakashvili promised the ethnic Ossetians to
do his utmost to preserve peace.

He said that full reintegration of Samachablo [South Ossetia] into
Georgia would take a year at most. [Passage omitted]

[Saakashvili, speaking to demonstrators] If the Georgian government
had wanted to start a war, it has had more than enough grounds to do
so. Our soldiers have been forced to go down on their knees, people
have been kidnapped, people have been wounded, and roads have been
attacked. What other grounds would have been needed if we had really
wanted to start a war? We have been doing everything possible for it
not to happen, we have been swallowing everything. What other country
would have put up with seeing all that on television? Why are we doing
it? Because I want to fight for peace every day and because I am sure
that, within a year at most, both Tskhinvali and Java
[separatist-controlled areas in South Ossetia] will simply integrate
into Georgia peacefully. They know it all too well, and so do we.

Everyone has left Tskhinvali except 7,000 people. Only several dozen
children and women have been unable to leave because they have nowhere
to go. They no longer have anyone to stay with even in Vladikavkaz
[capital of Russia’s North Ossetia] or in villages. As long as these
people are there, I will do everything possible to stop even a single
bullet being fired and even a single grenade exploding because the
spilling of innocent blood is totally unacceptable to me. [Applause]

[Female demonstrator, to Saakashvili] No-one is going to flee
Georgia. We are staying here.

[Saakashvili] Ossetians should not go anywhere from here. Those who
want Ossetians to go should leave themselves.

Some people have been saying that I am Ossetian, others that I am
Armenian, yet others that I am Azerbaijani. I have told them all that
those who hate Armenians can count me as Armenian, those who hate
Azerbaijanis can count me as Azerbaijani, and those who hate Ossetians
can count me as Ossetian through and through, because I believe that
that is the position of a Georgian patriot. [Passage omitted]

Actress Tori Spelling Gets Married

Associated Press
July 6, 2004

LOS ANGELES – Actress Tori Spelling, best known for her role as Donna
on TV’s “Beverly Hills 90210”, has married, her publicist said Monday.

Spelling, 31, and actor-writer Charlie Shanian got married Saturday at
her parents’ home in Holmby Hills, publicist Cece Yorke said. It is
the first marriage for both.

Spelling, the daughter of television producer Aaron Spelling, spent 10
years on his hit series “Beverly Hills 90210.” She also has appeared
in the films “Scary Movie 2,” “Scream 2,” and “Troop Beverly Hills.”

The couple met on stage in 2002 during the Los Angeles production of
the romantic comedy, “Maybe, Baby It’s You,” co-written by Shanian,
35. The two actors were in 11 vignettes about couples in search of
love.

;u=/ap/20040706/ap_en_ot/tori_spelling_5

Azer Tag
July 2, 2004

FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS PACE SECRETARY GENERAL

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov met
Secretary General of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Bruno
Haller.

Minister Mammadyarov described Mr. Haller’s the visit to Azerbaijan as
a positive event, which would give additional impetus to development of
active cooperation between the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan and PACE in
the sphere of integration of the country into the European structures.

The PACE Secretary General in his turn emphasized the importance of to
Azerbaijan of establishment of the country’s close cooperation with
PACE. The guest remembered the meeting between heads of South Caucasian
parliaments held in Strasbourg in May and pointed to political
significance of such events. He expressed satisfaction with fulfillment
by Azerbaijan of its commitments and obligations to the Council of
Europe.

Touching upon the measures for peaceful resolution of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, Minister E.
Mammadyarov said in particular that the fact that the conflict remains
unsolved so far has a negative impact on development of the region, and
causes economic and humanitarian problems not only for Azerbaijan but
also Armenia itself.

Bruno Haller noted that PACE would be actively cooperating with the
Milli Majlis and other governmental structures of Azerbaijan in future,
and stressed as a Secretary General he would do his best in this
direction.

During the meeting, the parties have also exchanged views on a number
of other issues of mutual interest.