Author: Tashjian Arbi

Karabakh talks should be based on compromise – Armenian defence boss

ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow
3 Apr 04

YEREVAN

“The main thing is to prevent a resumption of hostilities” in the zone
of the Karabakh conflict, Armenian Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan
said at a meeting with a group of Russian journalists in Yerevan
today. “There will be no winner,” Sarkisyan said.

“We still think that the Karabakh problem should be resolved in a
peaceful and political way. This requires talks that are based on a
compromise,” he stressed.

The San Francisco Chronicle
MARCH 30, 2004, TUESDAY, FINAL EDITION

Seattle Rep finds the lyrical heart of Saroyan’s epochal ‘Time of
Your Life’

by Robert Hurwitt

RATING: (WILD APPLAUSE)

The Time of Your Life: Drama. By William Saroyan. Directed by Tina
Landau. (Through April 25. Steppenwolf Theatre Company at American
Conservatory Theater, Geary Theater, 415 Geary St., San Francisco.
Two hours, 40 minutes. Tickets $20-$73. Call (415) 749-2228 or visit
).

———————————

“In the time of your life, live — so that in that wondrous time you
shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but shall smile
to the infinite delight and mystery of it.”

William Saroyan could be pompous to an irritating degree. But that
final commandment from his Credo for “The Time of Your Life” — the
whole text printed on a placard that looms above the action at the
Geary Theater — sums up the glory of Tina Landau’s exquisite
Steppenwolf Theatre Company production.

Life spills from the stage and out across the house. The ugly beauty
of wasted lives and tawdry dreams, the compelling poetry of
commonplace cruelties and kindnesses, missteps, hollow boasts, lies
and tiny leaps of faith fill the theater in an exhilaratingly chaotic
concoction of the real and the theatrical.

Landau’s vibrant revival attracted national attention when it opened
at Chicago’s Steppenwolf in 2002, and it’s easy to see why. Her
remounted version, which opened Sunday at the Geary, is a
co-production between the American Conservatory Theater and Seattle
Repertory (where it played earlier this year) with the same design
team and a cast made up of actors from all three cities.

It’s a vision right out of a 1930s Thomas Hart Benton mural — with
all its intercut shards of scenes vying for attention — but alive
with song, dance, drinking and chatter. Saroyan’s San Francisco
waterfront dive spreads across the stage as both a real location and
a theatrical construct in G.W. Mercier’s stunning set. A giant I-beam
girder extends out from the scaffolds in front of the bare rear wall
to the edge of a balcony. A crane rises from center stage, and box
seats have been turned into a brothel.

There’s action everywhere, starting a half hour before curtain time
and running throughout the play and the intermission — with single
and multiple scenes creatively isolated in Scott Zielinski’s complex,
dynamic lighting. There’s even a mural in progress, a little more to
be filled in at each performance during the run. And there’s music, a
constant accompaniment of period (and not) songs and original music
by Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen emanating from the upright piano
and stopping the action for a solo or ensemble number.

Written in six days and dedicated to theater critic George Jean
Nathan (who helped get it produced), “Life” confounded critics and
audiences in ’39 but has remained popular ever since. (It was, as
Saroyan wrote of his first play, a “landmark or turning-point in the
American theater, and it doesn’t matter very much that I was the
first to say so.”)

Its central action is almost an old-fashioned melodrama: Boy loves
girl. Evil villain threatens heroine. True love triumphs. In “Life,”
though, the hero is the goodhearted, simple-minded errand boy Tom
(the beaming, vital Patrick New). His beloved is the sweet, sad,
luckless hooker Kitty Duval (an achingly poignant Mariann Mayberry).
And the villain is the vice squad cop, Blick (Lawrence MacGowan as a
thoroughgoing petty bully).

Saroyan twists the tale by making the central character its guardian
angel, Joe, the barroom philosopher who spends his days drinking as
he tries to understand life, forget his money (all wealth, he
explains, is theft) and help anyone he can. As played by Steppenwolf
co-founder Jeff Perry, he’s a magnetic, gimlet-eyed dreamer, rapt in
faraway musings, awkwardly peremptory and endlessly fascinated by
every lonely soul he meets. He provides an irresistible focal point
that radiates attention on every other character.

That’s essential because the beating heart of Saroyan’s play is its
rich trove of comic and affecting saloon denizens. Every one is
expertly depicted by Landau’s large ensemble in the period-perfect
costumes by James Schuette.

Some are major players: Yasen Peyankov’s crisp, no-nonsense friendly
Nick, the Greek owner; Don Shell’s gentle, sweet-voiced black piano
player; Guy Adkins’ comically eccentric dancer and unfunny would-be
comedian (a role originally played by Gene Kelly); the superb Howard
Witt as the buckskin-clad, gravel-voiced spinner of hilariously
surreal tall tales called Kit Carson.

Others are minor roles that shine in bright cameos: Robert Ernst’s
sonorous, morose Armenian; Andy Murray’s polemical longshoreman; Guy
Van Swearingen’s conscience-stricken cop; Rod Gnapp’s cagey drunk;
the blithely mismatched lovers of the manically smitten, overexcited
Darragh Kennan and cynical-practical Kyra Himmelbaum.

The performances alone would make this a first-rate “Life.” Landau
enhances their effect with the uneasy stillnesses and abrupt
eruptions in her inspired orchestration of the action. She enlarges
and elevates it with the interplay of subsidiary scenes in the
brothel, on the scaffolds or in the street beyond Nick’s bar —
bringing to life Saroyan’s suggested exterior world of street fights,
Salvation Army rallies and a tense dock strike.

Her “Life” is as sweetly humanitarian, bracingly skeptical, richly
comic and poignantly uplifting as Saroyan could wish. But it’s also
an exciting and energizing, multi-splendor affirmation of life.

E-mail Robert Hurwitt at [email protected].

GRAPHIC: PHOTO, Barroom philosopher Joe (Jeff Perry, seated)
affectionately touches bartender Nick (Yasen Peyankov) in “The Time
of Your Life.” / Brant Ward / The Chronicle

Zaman, Turkey
March 29 2004

‘Jewish-Christian Fighting Cannot be Good, Especially for the Middle
East’

Sir, last evening I went to see “Passion of Christ”. It describes
the last 12 hours of the Prophet Jesus. To me, it was extremely
provocative. It tells, in a strikingly impressive way, how Jews and
Romans tormented Jesus. If I were a Christian, I would have left the
movie with animosity for Jews and wanted to slap a few Jews. In your
opinion, could such a film serve for peace?

No matter how much the ways of peace are searched for in the world,
basically the same things have been done since the old days. I have
seen many different versions of the film. As a matter of fact,
Ben-Hur runs in a similar vein. In that film, the Prophet Jesus is
treated very roughly. There is also a film done by Belgians.

An actor that fit the mold of the Western type played the Prophet
Jesus. That is, a man with green eyes and blond hair. Generally, [an
actor] who resembles the Middle Eastern type is cast in the role of
Jesus. But, it was not the case [with this Belgian film]. In that
film, Jesus is treated very poorly as well. Of course, the betrayers
were still Jews and the torturers were Romans. I did not see [Mel
Gibson’s] ‘Passion’ movie. They talked about it. The same things are
in it. It is the type of film that could elicit from the response
from Jewish people that, “anti-Semitism has returned from the dead.”

This is, in fact, in the souls of some Christians. The existence of
Islam essentially brings some Christians and Jews together. They are
getting along because Islam exists. They enunciated it as a European
civilization, a Judeo-Christian civilization. Now this is perhaps
alarming in a way, because their foil happens to be Muslims.

It is mainly in the human soul. It is in America as well. There are
people who feel that they are Americans and feel that they are the
natives of America. There are people who accept the first group as
immigrants– refugees. Just like, Jews living in Turkey who had come
from Spain… There are people who think this way about those who took
shelter with the Ottomans; it is the same here with Americans. Even
more so. In some cities we traveled to, people said, “This
neighborhood is like this, that neighborhood is like that.” There is
a serious attitude against each other harbored in these two
neighborhoods. Some people feel they are American and in addition
some people feel they are Jewish. Here [in America], there is
certainly a serious Jewish power. I believe it was former Malaysian
President, Mahathir Muhammed, that said, “Jewish power is dominant in
the world.” Such words were considered anti-Semitic. A considerable
attitude formed against it.

So, as far as I understand, you find fault with the film’s approach?

In a word, people seek peace. So, in my opinion, this film was
inappropriate. It is even so between Jews and Christians. In America,
the present administration and the Democrats vastly act together in
different ways. Jews are among them. However, Jewish-Christian
fighting is especially bad for the Middle East. At the very least, an
island of peace must be formed somewhere and the problems in other
places must be solved in this way. But, if there is no place that you
feel safe and fighting is all around you, you cannot achieve peace in
the world.

After September 11, Muslims became the “outsiders” of the world. With
this film, could the concept of “outsider” be changed? It cost US$30
million and it paid for itself with ticket sales from opening day.
Could it be the case now that Muslims might think, “Ahh, this is
great. Let them pick on each other, we will slip away”?

There could be Muslims who think such thoughts. When the matter is
looked at on the surface, they might even be right. It could be said,
“Good, let Christians and Jews pick on each other, we will slip
away.” In a way, this is logical. But, it is the logic of one level.
Accepting this as is is a different issue. To presume that it could
be and to say, “That could be thought”, are two completely different
issues. I mean what I say. Many people who think like this might
appear in America as well, because they [Muslims in America] are also
very disturbed in America. They [the American government] keep track
records on them. One who says, “I am a Muslim,” is perceived as a
radical and terrorist. They [Muslims] experience the anxiety of being
monitored while they are on the way to mosque. When it is the case,
they might say, “Let them pick on each other.” But when it is looked
at worldwide, it is not the case.

If you were the director, what kind of a movie would you have made
about Jesus? How would you present those final 12 hours?

There is no such thing in the Koran and sunnah as the last 12 hours
of the Messiah. There are the final minutes. It is mentioned in the
hadith. It is in the Koran in brief. It [the Koran] gives it in many
verses but particularly in surahs about Meryem [Virgin Mary], Al-i
Imran, and En’am. A fair amount of space is allocated to both the
Messiah and to Meryem.

Here, Mu’mins [believers of Allah] read these verses of the Koran
while they are in contact with various spiritual leaders. They convey
the words of our Master Prophet (peace be upon him) in that
direction. This is both a means for reconciliation and agreement.
Islam’s view of the Messiah is very glorifying in nature. Since it
takes him in his real position, there is no exaggeration. Since there
is no exaggeration [ifrat], it does not give birth to an
understatement [tefrit]. That is who the Messiah is. He is a noble
servant of Allah. He is created by the soul of Allah and the breath
of Allah. He does not have a father. His mother is a holy woman. She
is the only woman mentioned in the Koran by name. With this side,
wherever Islam puts forth its considerations about the Messiah, it
gives rise to pleasure, I believe.

There are the things in sunnah about the Messiah’s last moments. He
advises his companions. “One of you will betray me,” he says. It is
to be Judas. Christians accept him too. There was a time that this
had been argued. And later, with the coming of Islam, they had said,
“Let’s not make these kinds of things a topic of discussion for now.
There is such a situation based on logic and peace. I mean, this
isn’t emotional. There is bitterness inside; however, there are such
things as logic and peace. They had passed over it lightly.

In the past, there were always inter-religious problems. Moreover,
even with the Buddhists who are thought to be the least problematic,
problems occurred in recent times. There were problems between
Christians and Jews. At one period, some Christians did the same
things to the Jews as they had done to the Muslims in the Crusaders.
This is a wound that bleeds inside. And it is talked of all the time.
In particular, in the churches of the East. At that time, the Eastern
Church opposed the Crusaders. Now, when these incidents had taken
place in the past, Muslims had also to wage wars for defense. There
was war when their camps were attacked; there were wars to protect
their countries. For us to resist against the Crusades and form a
front is nothing to be ashamed of. Neither the battle of Alpaslan
[chieftain of the Seljuks], nor Kilicarslan’s [a Seljuk Sultan]
coming to close quarters against the Crusaders at the Nigde Plain,
nor Nureddin Zengi’s [Seljukian sultan] wars, nor Selahaddin
[Eyyubi]’s [first sultan of the Eyyubi dynasty] fight against them
are nothing to be shamed of… They were very just. The attitude of the
Caliph Omer had been displayed. But, it did not finish there, but
continued up to the Ottoman Era. Istanbul had been invaded. The
commander of the invading force said, “Now, the Crusade is over.”
These are the cases. And they have been considered; they have turned
out to be provocative elements inside the people. Breakups occur.
Those who were broken try to take strength from someplace else when
they do not have enough strength. New factions have come into
existence. It used to be that there was a Democrat side and a
Communist side. Now, there are many sides. One should not do the
things, which caused conflict in the past, a means to make new
conflicts today by carrying over old ones into the present. They must
be buried in the past and forgotten. From now on, we should think
good things for the sake of humanity. “The past was ruined, let’s
pursue revenge and ruin today,” in my humble opinion this has no
meaning and logic.

One group says collaborator, the other says pro-Shariyah [Islamic
law]. What a conflict…

A group in Turkey claimed that you are a missionary of Christianity.
Would you like to say anything about that?

Out of jealously, one group says, “Americanist,” and the other says,
“Collaborator”. Yet another says, very oddly, “He is pro-Shariya. He
will bring religion and make it dominant in life.” These are such
opposite things to one another that if all are claimed about me, then
these attacks could conjure up many different thoughts; therefore,
many things are still up in the air. Another group views approaching
Christians as supporting their free and comfortable travel,
propaganda, church institutions and activities. In my humble opinion,
there is jealousy and grudge. They [those groups] cannot stomach
these things.

I did not invent tolerance and dialogue. Its meetings have been held
in different places of the world for a long time. Muslims were also
invited. These [meetings] were held in the Arab World, in the Far
East, the Vatican, Europe and America. Scientists from Turkey were
also coming [to these meetings]. But, they were producing the
scenario themselves.

They were fabricating those, walking around in comfort; they were
even performing missionary works. Muslims are not involved in this
line of work. They were not able to speak their thoughts, to say,
“Let’s do this.” They would not say, “let’s hold it in Abant or
Harran.” You have to have a thought; you have to be involved in the
planning in order to have an influence on the planning. As much as
they benefit from tolerance and dialogue in their thoughts, you have
to benefit from your religion and be religious. They either cannot
see or do not know this. Jealousy made some blind.

I don’t know of any person that, with the start of this tolerance and
dialogue process, converted to Christianity. There are people in
Turkey who convert to Christianity. A friend of ours told me about a
book. It is a book written in the 14th-15th century. He mentioned
that at that time the Christian institution said to the Armenian and
Assyrian minorities that were living under state protection, “Stay
where you are, as you are; conceal your opinions, act as if you are
one of them; one day, everything will change and we will come there.”

The ones who were previously Christians did not convert. Now, among
us there are many who manage this. And with Turkey’s philosophy
nowadays, they are comfortable. There is something related to Sabiha
Gokcen that a commander once talked about. According to [Mustafa
Kemal] Ataturk, whoever feels himself/herself to be a Turk is a Turk.
Now, we do not talk about this. The Jews said, “You are the real
child of this land.” I said, “Honestly, I would not know.” My
ancestors came from Ahlat [a county of Bitlis, an eastern Anatolian
city] two or three centuries ago. You came here 500 years ago. Now,
it should be talked who is from Istanbul?

TOMORROW: Has the Messiah come?

Day 7: ‘I am Searching for a Troubled Heart’

Day 6: ‘High-Ranking People Used the Cassette Incident as a Tool for
Blackmail’

Day 5: ‘I Bury My Yearning for Turkey in My Chest’

Day 4: ‘I will not Deny that a Religious Reactionary Exists in
Turkey, but It is Being Over Exaggerated’

Day 3: ‘I Find the Government’s E.U. Efforts to be Sincere’

Day 2: ‘A Real Muslim cannot be a Terrorist’

Day 1: No Islamic World Exists Today

Azat Artsakh – Repubic of Nagorno Karabakh
March 24, 2004

NEW PIECE ON POLITICAL CHESSBOARD OF AZERBAIJAN

Among the `129 lucky people’ granted amnesty by president Ilham Aliev
on March 17 the former prime minister of Azerbaijan Suret Huseynov was
released from the prison of Gobustan. After being released S.
Huseynov prayed over the tomb of Heidar Aliev and then laid flowers on
the monument to the victims of the Karabakh war. In his interview to
the newspaper `Zerkalo’ Huseynov mentioned that he read a lot during
the 7 years of imprisonment. `I had a lot of time to analyze
thoroughly how it is possible to achieve the development of Azerbaijan
and overcome the economic crisis in the country,’ he said. He
mentioned that his isolation from the society was predetermined by
Allah. `For this reason I do not condemn Heidar Aliev and I think that
every Mohammedan must well realize the rules of Islam. Accursed be
those who defy Allah,’ said the former prime minister mentioned that
if the society demands, he will go into politics. `Don’t you believe
in carrying out reforms with the former team of government” Huseinov
was asked. `The former team is unable to undertake anything. There is
need for another team with new thinking, a new perception of human
rights. A society must be formed where the public opinion will be
respected. The parliament must be legitimate in order for the society
to believe and trust it. I am well-aware of the past elections and I
think that if the upcoming parliamentary election is held in
accordance with democratic methods, a society will be formed in
Azerbaijan about which I mentioned,’ said Huseinov. And added, `Before
taking part in the election I must be announced innocent. To realize
my innocence common logic is enough. Why should the prime minister
need to organize a coup d’etat in a town which is 360 km far from the
capital. A prime minister planning a coup could do it in Baku. I spoke
about this to all the foreign representatives with whom I met,’
mentioned Huseinov. The former prime minister also spoke about
Karabakh. `The problem of Nagorni Karabakh is difficult but also
easy. Personally under my direction 220 settlements were liberated in
Karabakh. After these actions the honourable title of national hero
was conferred on me. The question occurs why our troops approached
within 17 km from Khankendi and could not advance any more. At that
time we read in Russian newspapers that Azerbaijan was going to attack
in the direction of Aghdam. This is what happened. But it turns out
that it was a maneuver and the real opposition started from the region
of Shahoumian to Khachinchay. 220 settlements were liberated under my
commandment. While we had success in Karabakh, the agreement of Alma
Ata was signed. The OSCE Minsk Group was founded to defend the
Armenians in Karabakh whereas we had attacked them. The minister of
foreign affairs then Tofik Gasimov signed the agreement of Alma Ata on
July 17 and at three o’clock in the morning with Panah Huseinov they
came to me in Yevlakh. They informed that Azerbaijan had signed the
cease-fire and the war was over. I was angry and turned them out. They
started creating outposts together with the Armenians from Ghazakh to
Dashkesan. I wanted them to realize that the international community
today is occupied with other affairs and if we liberate our
territories we shall take a revenge on the Armenians for ousting our
300 thousand compatriots,’ said Huseinov emotionally. `I have never
sought for power and did not even want to become a prime minister,’
finished his speech the former prime minister of Azerbaijan, to whom
the country authorities have ascribed many blames. We did not just
quote this big passage from the interview of Huseinov. Analyzing these
sensitive questions which he dwelled on in his first interview we may
be sure to state that the international community is preparing an
opponent, or even an heir to Ilham Aliev. First of all because
Huseinov was released under the pressure of the Western
organizations. Second, at the exit of the prison he already spoke
about the legitimacy of the government in Azerbaijan and
democratization, as if following someone’s instruction. Apart from
everything he sets forth radical Islamic ideas. Forth, in opposite to
the present authorities he states that the Azerbaijani refugees from
Armenia counted 300 thousand and not 800 thousand; for this one has to
have a strong back. And finally, he openly speaks out that his primary
task is the liberation of Karabakh. Obviously a new piece has appeared
on the political chessboard of Azerbaijan who is now in a strong
position and through which someone is going to checkmate somebody. The
interesting thing is how the grand maters of chess are going to use
Huseinov, as a victim perhaps, because the radical Islamic
announcements of Huseinov do not at all fit into the anti-terrorist
campaign of the `liberators’, the big players of the West.

NAIRA HAYRUMIAN

Armenia starts large-scale military exercises

ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow,
23 Mar 04

YEREVAN

The command and staff exercises of the Armenian armed forces started
on the entire territory of Armenia today.

Seyran Shakhsuvaryan, press secretary of the Armenian Defence
Ministry, told ITAR-TASS that the exercises will continue until
Saturday [27 March]. They are being held within the framework of
preparing the army for 2004. The exercises are led by the chief of the
General Staff and first deputy defence minister of Armenia, Col-Gen
Mikayel Arutyunyan.

In accordance with the plan of the exercises, mobilization reserves
are being called up to increase the number of troops. This is one of
the objectives for the first stage of the exercises, Shakhsuvaryan
said.

World Armenian Congress urges British envoy’s expulsion over genocide remarks

Azg, Yerevan
23 Mar 04

Text of unattributed report by Armenian newspaper Azg on 23 March
headlined “The World Armenian Congress criticizes the British
ambassador”

The World Armenian Congress resolutely condemns the statement of the
British ambassador to Armenia, Miss Thorda Abbott-Watt, regarding the
Armenian genocide in Turkey, which insults the entire Armenian
nation. Refusing to give an appropriate international legal evaluation
of the premeditated massacre of 1.5m Armenians in Turkey at the
beginning of the 20th century, the British ambassador thought it
expedient to describe the events as an “atrocity”. Miss Abbott-Watt
explained her position by saying that the recognition of the events as
genocide would “not be very useful”.

The ambassador’s position is absolutely different from Britain’s
official stance on the Armenian genocide. The British government was
one of the pioneers in giving a clear political and international
assessment of the 1915 attempt to exterminate the Armenian population
(in Ottoman Turkey). The British government stated that those events
were a “crime against humanity and civilization”. On behalf of Lloyd
George, Lord Kerson, Winston Churchill and other leading British
officials, Britain described the Armenian genocide as the killing of
an entire nation, for which the Turkish government should bear full
political and international legal responsibility.

The international community has recognized the fact of genocide and
the Turkish state should have borne political responsibility for it
when the crime was being committed. The position of Britain’s official
representative in Armenia is not only an insult to the historical
memory of the entire Armenian nation, but can and should be viewed as
incitement to the crime of genocide under the UN Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Approved and
proposed for signature and ratification or accession by General
Assembly resolution 260 A (III) of 9 December 1948; entry into force
12 January 1951; Article 3).

The ambassador’s opinion that the recognition of the genocide will not
promote Turkish-Armenian relations is not only false, but also
politically harmful. This stance actually suggests committing new
acts of genocide. It is difficult to imagine that the British
ambassador would risk to come up with a similar declaration regarding
the Jewish Holocaust. Apparently, the British government finds that
similar offensive declarations are tolerable in Armenia and that the
Armenian authorities would not dare to protect their legal rights and
interests.

The Armenians all over the world regard the British diplomat’s
behaviour as intolerable. It deserves an appropriate moral, legal and
political assessment. We demand that Miss Abbott-Watt’s behaviour be
qualified as incompatible with the status of Britain’s official
representative in Armenia. We demand that the Armenian government
declares her persona non grata in the country and immediately expels
her from Armenia. Miss Abbott-Watt cannot represent the interests of
her state in the country as she has insulted the feelings of its
people. We hope that the government of Armenia will not give way to
political terrorism and will display its willpower and act in line
with its principles. This is what the independent rights and interests
of the Armenian nation require. At the same time, this demand fully
corresponds to international legal norms. The World Armenian Congress
believes that the condemnation of the Armenian genocide in line with
international law will only help prevent similar crimes from recurring
and will promote the establishment of new relations between the two
neighbouring nations and states [Armenia and Turkey].

[Signed] Ara Abramyan, chairman of the World Armenian Congress, 22
March 2004.

Daily Times, Pakistan
March 21 2004

Economic factors in Pakistan Movement
– Ishtiaq Ahmed

In the final stages of the Partition drama, large sections of the
Muslim community had been successfully mobilised in favour of the
argument that the creation of Pakistan would bring them economic
relief and prosperity

Most serious research on the Pakistan movement shows that neither the
primordialist standpoint, which views the creation of Pakistan simply
as the culmination of a natural process of mutual hostility and
rejection between Hindus and Muslims, nor the instrumentalist
approach, which attributes the establishment of the country to the
skilful manipulation of emotive symbols by the leaders of the Muslim
League in their competition for power with their counterparts in the
Congress Party, is satisfactory.

Rather, the peculiar materialist factors that obtained from the 1920s
onwards played a crucial role in fomenting group competitiveness
which became intense and fierce over time. It is a common observance
that competition among communities for power, resources and jobs
almost invariably leads to an emphasis on differences and cleavages
rather than commonalities. Matters are aggravated in the absence of a
strong state authority, or, much worse, when the state machinery
itself adopts a partisan role. This is exactly what happened in the
last few months before the division of India.

Consequently, the factors contributing to the economic backwardness
of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent are complex in both structural
as well as cultural terms. We notice a dramatic decline in the
fortunes of the Muslim aristocracy during the colonial period; from a
privileged group, they made the transition to a relatively less
developed and depressed one. For example, during the Mughal period,
86 per cent of the imperial services were manned by Muslims – 70 per
cent by the foreign-born and their descendants and 16 per cent by the
much larger group of indigenous converts (Naureen Talha, Economic
Factors in the Making of Pakistan 1921-1947, Karachi: Oxford
University Press, 2000).

However, the Muslims did not use their dominance over state power to
establish a strong productive sector. Even state finances remained
primarily dependent on conquest or revenue from land. It is
interesting to note that the revenue department of the Mughals was
managed mostly by Hindus; Raja Todar Mal’s revenue system lasted
until the time of the British takeover.

A similar situation obtained in the Ottoman Empire. Trade and
commerce were almost entirely in the hands of the Armenian, Greek,
Jews and other non-Muslim millets. The Quranic aversion to usury was
extended to all subsequent developments in banking.

However, it should be noted that the British were not particularly
hostile to Indian Muslims, except for the years immediately after the
1857 Uprising. Most British administrators favoured an even-handed
treatment of the Hindus and Muslims. In fact from the beginning of
the 20th century, colonial policy even favoured some sort of quota
system enabling Muslims to gain greater representation in educational
centres and government employment.

But by and large mainstream Muslims were reluctant to adopt the
modern English-language based education. It was only after Sir Syed
Ahmed Khan and his band of reformers made strong and persistent pleas
for change in attitudes that the Muslim community began establishing
schools and colleges. However, the head-start enjoyed by the Hindus
and Sikhs meant that they dominated the capitalist economy as well as
education and government employment.

But, the situation was not bleak for Muslims in all the state
sectors. In fact in some services Muslims were overly represented.
For example in Punjab and Sindh some 70 per cent of the police force
was Muslim. Also on an overall basis, there was a Muslim
preponderance in the police in many other provinces. In UP, Muslims
constituted 50 per cent of the police force even when they were
barely 13-15 per cent of the total population of that province. In
the army too Muslims were overly represented, especially from the
Punjab and NWFP, from where most recruitment of north-western India
took place.

It is well-known that after the Union Party came to power in Punjab,
Muslim representation in civilian government services increased
sharply. Similarly in Sindh and the North Western Frontier Province
Muslim representation increased from the 1930 onwards although
non-Muslims were still ahead of them.

But in so far as the productive economy is concerned, orthodox Sunnis
as well as Ithna Ashari Shias remained opposed to capitalism-oriented
commerce, trade and industry. It was mainly the sectarian and ethnic
minorities of Ismaili and Bohra Shias as well as Sunni Memons –
converts from Hindu trading castes of the coastal areas of western
India – who adapted to the requirements of the emerging capitalist
economy.

In the Punjab, Chinioti sheikhs, recent converts from various Khatri
and Arora castes, also ventured into modern business. Later Kashmiri
Muslims also took to production because as economic migrants they
were neither owners of land nor agricultural workers. They settled in
the main towns of Punjab and specialised in the shawl trade, while
some of them took to small-scale production of other goods.

It is interesting to note that as regards government jobs and
admission to educational centres, Hindus emphasised merit while
Muslims demanded a share in proportion to their ratio of the total
population of India. However, after the Lahore Resolution of March
23, 1940 the Muslim League did not aim simply at `concessions from
the government or the Hindu majority under the appellation of a
minority but as a nation, distinct and different from the Hindus,
which deserved a country of their own.’ (Naureen Talha, Economic
Factors in the Making of Pakistan 1921-1947)

Several committees and commissions were set up by the Muslim League
to make proposals for economic reconstruction and reform. Muslim
entrepreneurs (mainly from the minor sects and ethnic groups) became
very active in supporting the demand for Pakistan and some of them
shifted their headquarters to Karachi before independence in 1947.

In the final stages of the Partition drama, large sections of the
Muslim community had been successfully mobilised in favour of the
argument that the creation of Pakistan would bring them economic
relief and prosperity as well as an escape from the indignities of
the caste system. That hope has been only partially realised as
economic inequalities continue to be reproduced on a massive scale
within the Muslim community, while caste-type oppression is practised
by `respectable Muslims’ against so-called kammis (artisans)
primarily in the rural areas and untouchability by everyone against
Pakistani Dalits; an anonymous category in public debates.

The author is an associate professor of Political Science at
Stockholm University. He is the author of two books. His email
address is [email protected]

ARKA News Agency
March 17-18 2004

RA President releases Aram Tamazian from the position of RA Chief
Prosecutor

Armenia expresses regret that OSCE did not condemn murder of Armenian
officer in Budapest

Acting OSCE Chairman condemns the murder of Armenian officer in
Budapest

RA MFA does not see alternative to peaceful settlement of Karabakh
conflict

RA President Robert Kocharian welcomes the idea `Expanded Europe: New
Neighbors’

*********************************************************************

RA PRESIDENT RELEASES ARAM TAMAZIAN FROM THE POSITION OF RA CHIEF
PROSECUTOR

YEREVAN, March 18. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharian released
Aram Tamazian from the position of RA Chief Prosecutor, President’s
press service told ARKA.
The other president’s decree appointed on this position Aghvan
Ovsepian. L.D. –0–

*********************************************************************

ARMENIA EXPRESSES REGRET THAT OSCE DID NOT CONDEMN MURDER OF ARMENIAN
OFFICER IN BUDAPEST

YEREVAN, March 18. /ARKA/. Armenia expresses regret that OSCE did not
condemn murder of Armenian officer in Budapest, RA Government PR
Department told ARKA. It was stated by RA Prime Minister of Armenia
Andranik Margarian during the meeting with Acting OSCE Chairman
Solomon Passi.
On February 19, at 5:30 a.m. Gourgen Margaryan, the Lieutenant of
Armenian Armed Forces, who was in Budapest on business, namely for
learning English in the framework of `Partnership for Peace’ program,
was cruelly massacred when sleeping with an axe by an Azerbaijani
officer, who was there on the same program.
According to Hungarian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
to Armenia Ferenz Contra told ARKA earlier that the murderer of
Armenian officer Ramil Safarov will not be surrendered to Azerbaijan.
Safarov committed crime on Hungarian land and will be kept in
Hungarian prison. L.D. –0–

*********************************************************************

ACTING OSCE CHAIRMAN CONDEMNS THE MURDER OF ARMENIAN OFFICER IN
BUDAPEST

YEREVAN, March 18. /ARKA/. Acting Osce Chairman Solomon Passi
condemns the murder of Armenian officer in Budapest, he stated this
at the briefing in Yerevan. He also added that `didn’t heard in
Azerbaijan voices in support of the murderer’.
RA Prime Minister Andranik Margarian expressed pity that Regular OSCE
Council did not condemn brutal murder of Armenian officer.
On February 19, at 5:30 a.m. Gourgen Margaryan, the Lieutenant of
Armenian Armed Forces, who was in Budapest on business, namely for
learning English in the framework of `Partnership for Peace’ program,
was cruelly massacred when sleeping with an axe by an Azerbaijani
officer, who was there on the same program. L.D. -0–

*********************************************************************

RA MFA DOES NOT SEE ALTERNATIVE TO PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF KARABAKH
CONFLICT

YEREVAN, March 17. /ARKA/. RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian does
not see alternative to peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict, he
stated this at the meeting with acting OSCE Chairman, Foreign
Minister of Bulgaria Solomon Passi, RA MFA told ARKA. Foreign
Ministers expressed solidarity in this issue and noted that time
works not in the favor of any parties.
During the meeting Oskanian represented Armenian actions on
attraction of countries of the region in the program `Expanded
Europe: New Neighbors’. He said that European context will be useful
for softening the atmosphere around regional conflicts and their
settlement. Passi in his turn agreed with given position and
expressed readiness to provide assistance in given issues.
The parties also discussed programs of OSCE Yerevan Office on
strengthening of democratic institutes, human right protection, fight
against corruption.
Acting OSCE Chairman, Foreign Minister of Bulgaria Solomon Passi
arrived in Armenia on March 16 in the frames of regional visit. L.D.
–0–

*********************************************************************

RA PRESIDENT ROBERT KOCHARIAN WELCOMES THE IDEA `EXPANDED EUROPE: NEW
NEIGHBORS’

YEREVAN, March 17. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharian welcomes the
idea `Expanded Europe: New Neighbors’, President’s Press Office told
ARKA. Kocharian stated this during the meeting with EU delegation
headed with Co-Chairman of Interparliametary Cooperation EU-Armenia
Ursula Shleicher. Kocharian once again stressed the readiness of
Armenia in expanding and deepening of relations with EU. According to
him, Armenian cooperation with EU, particularly in the sphere of
economy is especially businesslike. `Expanded Europe: New Neighbors’
will become new stimuli for bringing all reforms in the country and
Armenian legislation in correspondence to international standards’,
Kocharian said. The President also represented his position
considering Karabakh conflict settlement and situation in South
Caucasus. Talking about economic priorities of Armenia, Kocharian
said that the Government set up a goal of provision of sustainable
economic development at the whole territory of the republic. L.D.
–0–

Schwarzenegger names Deukmejian to head prison reform panel

The Associated Press
March 5, 2004, Friday, BC cycle

By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer

SACRAMENTO

Former Gov. George Deukmejian will chair an independent review panel
charged with finding ways to “turn around the crisis of confidence” in
California’s youth and adult correctional systems, Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger said Friday.

Panel members said they plan a report by June, including
recommendations on prison closures and the future of San Quentin, the
state’s oldest prison that sits on prime development land.

Critics noted “Iron Duke” Deukmejian, who held office from 1983-91,
helped build the state’s prison system into the nation’s largest
during a law-and-order administration.

That system has become Schwarzenegger’s biggest unexpected policy
crisis since he took office after October’s recall election, diverting
attention from his attempts to rein in the state’s massive budget
crisis.

A federal court-appointed monitor found that a prison employee “code
of silence” protects wrongdoers and punishes whistleblowers, and
recommended the Department of Corrections’ former director be charged
with contempt of court.

A series of scathing national experts’ reports criticized the
California Youth Authority as a cruel version of the adult prison
system, unable to meet its responsibility to rehabilitate children
before it’s too late.

And the system’s spending is out of control, routinely exceeding its
budget by hundreds of millions of dollars. A lucrative labor contract
with the powerful California Correctional Peace Officers Association
was the focus of the latest in a series of state Senate oversight
hearings Thursday.

Friday’s announcement came the same day as a sentencing reform group,
the Justice Policy Institute, released a study panning California’s
decade-old “three strikes” law, championed by Schwarzenegger adviser
and former Gov. Pete Wilson, as ineffective and unfair to minorities
and nonviolent offenders.

There are no boundaries on the panel’s recommendations, including
sentencing changes, said Joseph Gunn, who was named the panel’s
executive director. Gunn was executive director of the Los Angeles
Board of Police Commissioners and co-chaired the independent review
panel that investigated the city’s Rampart police corruption case.

He said Schwarzenegger is concerned the youth authority is “set up for
the 1950s and not the 2000s, and maybe they have to be brought up to
modern times.”

When it comes to breaking the alleged “code of silence,” Gunn said,
“This is not something you’re going to change overnight. This goes
back to a whole ethics and culture issue” that may involve wholesale
retraining.

Panel consultants are Robin Dezember, Deukmejian’s former
undersecretary of the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency and Wilson’s
former chief deputy finance director; and George Camp, a former
administrator in the federal, New York and Missouri prison systems,
now with the Criminal Justice Institute in Middletown, Conn.

Schwarzenegger said Deukmejian’s experience as a legislator, state
attorney general and governor makes him the ideal chairman.

“George Deukmejian presided over one of the biggest prison-building
programs in the history of the world, and that’s no exaggeration. His
record on prison reform is not good,” countered Rose Braz of the
sentencing and prison reform groups Critical Resistance and a new
coalition called Californians United for A Responsible Budget.

“We know what kind of reforms are needed” after years of audits,
investigations and reports by experts and blue ribbon panels, Braz
said. “What we need now is the political will to do it.”

Panel members said their charge is to tell Schwarzenegger quickly
which of those recommendations should be accepted, and how they can be
accomplished.

The panel will examine the corrections system’s “ethics and culture;”
organization and operations; safety practices for inmates, employees
and the public; and personnel and training programs.

The panel will report directly to Schwarzenegger as part of the larger
“performance review” his administration is conducting to increase
efficiency and accountability in state government. In that light, the
corrections panel also will look at cutting the system’s costs,
including shuttering prisons.

Braz’ coalition of 36 prison and sentencing reform groups said
Schwarzenegger should close at least three prisons and cancel plans
for a new maximum security facility at Delano if he wants to see cost
savings from the Corrections Department’s plan to trim 15,000 inmates.

That plan relies mainly on returning fewer parole violators to
prison. Department spokeswoman Margot Bach said the training academy
will produce no new classes of correctional officers this year as a
result, concentrating instead on training more parole officers.

On the Net:
California Department of Corrections:
California Youth Authority:
Critical Resistance:

Armenian, Georgian leaders sign joint statement

Noyan Tapan news agency, Yerevan
12 Mar 04

Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and visiting Georgian President
Mikheil Saakashvili have signed a joint statement in Yerevan, the
Armenian news agency Noyan Tapan said on 12 March.

Noting the “high level of relations between Armenia and Georgia”, the
statement said that “the sound legal basis between the countries would
help develop cooperation on a whole range of issues of bilateral
relations”, including cooperation in the sphere of security.

In the statement, the sides also noted the “need to continue work to
complete the delimitation of the state borders” between Armenia and
Georgia, the agency said.