Author: Topchian Jane

PARUYR HAYRIKIAN: RUSSIA DECLARES POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC WAR ON ARMENIA

YEREVAN, October 15 (Noyan Tapan). Russia has declared a political
and economic war on Armenia, so the Armenian_Russian relations
need to be reviewed. Paruyr Hayrikian, Chairman of the “National
Self_Determination” Union, made this statement at the October 15 press
conference. According to him, the blockade policy against Armenia
implemented by Russia now does not differ at all from the continuing
blockade by Turkey. Hayrikian believes that thousands of Armenia’s
citizens are subjected to terrorism in Russia under the pretext of
fighting terrorism. “Even morbid Russophiles must confess that Russia
demonstrates an undisguised hostile attitude towards Armenia,” he
noted. Accoding to the Chairman of the “National Self-Determination”
Union, this measure taken by Russia is conditioned by the fact that
the Armenian nation’s potential is starting to manifest itself, and
Russia has for centuries implemented the “We need Armenia without
Armenians” strategical program. In Hayeikian’s view, Armenia should
have given adequate responses to the Russian “audacious challenges”:
during the first three days the Foreign Ministry, Prime Minister and
finally President should have tried to settle the antagonism in a
friendly way, but then Russia should have received an ultimatum. The
Ministry of Finance should have calculated and presented to Russia
the material damage caused to Armenia. And finally, the Armenian
ambassador to Russia should have been called back, while the Russian
ambassador to Armenia should have been asked to “pack his things”,
and the RA President should have invited the OSCE ambassadors and,
after informing them about his intention to freeze the relations with
Russia, he should have asked support from their governments. Hayrikian
also considers it necessary to publish decrees to start the process of
nationalizing the national property provided to Russia in return for
debts, as well as to stop the Russian symbolic military presence, etc.

Retailers Finding A Market Downtown
By Michael Barbaro, Washington Post Staff Writer

washingtonpost.com
Oct 13, 2004

In downtown Washington, once synonymous with the demise of urban
retail, upscale men’s clothier Jos. A. Bank has beaten internal sales
predictions by 15 percent one year after opening. Hecht’s is completing
$15 million in renovations to its Metro Center department store. And
developers are putting the final touches on a 275,000-square-foot
shopping complex with five national chains.

After a series of false starts, the old downtown shopping district
east of the White House is experiencing what store owners, retail
brokers and city leaders describe as a retail revival, one that is
slowly transforming a landscape dominated by restaurants, banks and
cell phone stores.

In the past five years, nine national retailers — including H&M,
Jos. A. Bank, Barnes & Noble, and Borders — have opened stores
downtown, more than twice the number in the preceding five years,
records show.

Developers and brokers credit the surge to pent-up demand for downtown
shopping, a growing population of private-sector employees and an
aggressive effort by city leaders to court retailers. “The retail tide
is coming back in,” said John Asadoorian, a retail broker in the city.

City leaders say there is still much work to be done, but the
retail growth has begun to chip away at the perception of downtown
as a sterile home for law firms and federal agencies that closes for
business at 5 p.m. Gradually, Washington area residents are beginning
to regard it as a worthwhile place to shop.

Downtown worker Gloria Gaskins, 43, lives in Lanham. But instead of
darting for the suburban malls after work, Gaskins asks her 17-year-old
daughter to take the Metro into the city to browse the aisles at
Hecht’s and H&M, the Swedish apparel retailer, which opened a store in
the old Woodward & Lothrop building at 11th and F streets NW in 2003.

Retailers “put better stuff downtown,” Gaskins said after leaving
H&M with her daughter on a recent shopping trip.

Now comes the biggest test yet of downtown’s ability to sustain a
major shopping center. In early November, developers will celebrate the
grand opening of the 275,000-square-foot Gallery Place in Chinatown,
the largest investment in downtown retail in two decades.

The complex, at 7th and H streets NW next to the MCI Center, features
a United Colors of Benetton, Ann Taylor Loft, City Sports, Urban
Outfitters and an Aveda store and spa on the street level. Above them
will be a 14-screen Regal Cinema movie theater, downtown’s first
major-release theater. Just east of downtown, in Union Station,
is a nine-screen major-release theater.

“You are always a little nervous about a new retail project,
but this is one where you are definitely nervous,” said Michael
L. Pratt, a retail broker at District-based Madison Retail Group,
which represented several of the tenants inside Gallery Place. He
said he thinks the complex will prove successful but said Chinatown
“is not yet a proven area.”

When it comes to retail, the same can be said for much of
downtown. There are only 13 major national retailers downtown, an area
bordered by 15th and 6th streets and Massachusetts and Pennsylvania
avenues NW. In all, they occupy about 410,000 square feet, or about
one-fifth the amount of space inside Tysons Corner Center in McLean.

Throughout downtown, there are pockets of run-down storefronts in
what brokers say should be prime retail real estate and renovated
spaces still waiting for retail tenants — a fact developers blame
on the slow process of signing stores to tight urban sites, which
are more complex to operate in than larger suburban shopping centers.

Douglas Development Corp., which owns the former Woodies building,
finished renovating the building’s first-floor retail space a year ago,
but only one tenant, H&M, has moved in. Two others, shoe retailer DSW
Shoe Warehouse and discount clothing chain Ross Dress for Less, have
signed letters suggesting they intend to, and a third, home-furnishings
store Crate & Barrel, has expressed interest.

“These things do take time,” said Douglas Development President
Douglas Jemal. Recalling that downtown was a vibrant shopping center
decades ago, he said: “It took 40 years of abandonment for F Street
not to be considered a shopping district. It will take a few years
to return it to one.”

Some of the holes will soon be plugged. Three large sites are either
under construction — or about to be under construction — in the
10-block area bordered on the north end by the old Convention Center
and to the south by the FBI building. Developers say that when they
are finished, by 2008, about 60,000 square feet of new retail space
will become available.

On the site of the old convention center, at New York Avenue and 9th
Street NW, there are plans to create 300,000 square feet of retail
space by 2009, where several developers advocate building a small,
upscale department store, such as Saks Fifth Avenue or Bloomingdale’s.

Developers say a high-end department store — which city leaders have
pursued, unsuccessfully, for years — would create the equivalent of
a mall anchor, a retail attraction big enough to lure shoppers into
the city’s core. Downtown has just one department store, mid-priced
Hecht’s. “It would add enormous stability to the market,” said Gallery
Place developer Herb Miller.

The city will offer up to $30 million to lure retailers downtown, which
should help landlords fill up the new space. The money is earmarked
for high-attraction retailers — as determined by a committee —
and is designed to be repaid through the retailers’ sales taxes.

What’s more, several tourist attractions are set to open downtown
over the next few years. Now under renovation, the National Portrait
Gallery, at 8th and F streets NW, will reopen in 2006. Seven blocks
away, the former National Bank of Washington building at 14th and G
streets NW, which once housed Hahn’s shoe store, may become a museum
memorializing the Armenian genocide of 1915. Supporters are raising
money for the project.

But until these various efforts are completed, the center of
downtown will remain — and, most importantly for retailers, feel —
disconnected and unfinished. “It is definitely a work in progress,”
said Gerry Widdicombe, director of economic development for the
Downtown DC Business Improvement District, a group of property owners
that promotes development. “There is no critical mass yet, but the
tipping point could be any day now.”

Or, as Andre Turman, an 18-year-old District college student said of
downtown shopping, “It’s not like a mall. It’s pretty limited.”

The District is following a well-worn path for cities recovering
from blighted urban cores: First come the restaurants, which cater
to office workers and tourists, next a smattering of apartments,
whose residents can support small shops and drug stores, and finally
major retailers, national chains with the size and name recognition
to attract large numbers of shoppers.

“Retailers are always tentative,” said Anita Kramer, director of
retail development at the Urban Land Institute, a District-based
think tank. “They need to have their customer base.”

Slowing the growth is the small size of downtown’s residential
population. Much has been made of the city’s success in attracting new
apartments and condominiums, but as of 2003, downtown had only 8,000
residents, an unpersuasive figure for retailers used to plopping down
stores in, say, Bethesda, with a population of 55,000, city leaders
and retail brokers say.

The steadily gentrifying neighborhoods north of downtown, such as
Logan Circle and the U Street corridor, have triggered their own
retail revivals, but for now they remain largely disconnected from
the traditional downtown, retail brokers said.

So what is driving retail growth? Downtown workers.

As of last year, there were 379,000 employees downtown, according
to the Downtown DC Business Improvement District group, up about
23 percent from 1996. Within the 110 blocks covered by the group,
the fastest job growth is not among government workers, but in the
business and legal services sector. The average employee in that
zone earned a salary of $62,000 last year, making downtown’s daytime
population a lucrative market for retailers.

Lisa Branco, a 33-year-old consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. who
works in the District, says she “hates the mall.” During her lunch
hour, she stops at the new Ann Taylor Loft on 7th Street NW. “This
is much better than driving an hour, parking the car in a garage and
battling the teenagers,” she said.

Wendy Elsasser, an Alexandria resident who works downtown for
the federal government, said walking the streets there “used to be
scary.” Now “it’s turning around,” she said as she finished browsing
inside Hecht’s downtown store. Today she does about 40 percent of
her shopping downtown at lunch and after work.

“There are just more shopping offerings now,” said Elsasser, 52.

One of them is Jos. A. Bank, which moved into 11th and F streets NW,
a block it still shares with a vacant storefront and a variety store
selling cigarettes, candy and adult videos.

Fine men’s clothing stores have thrived on retail-rich Connecticut
Avenue and Friendship Heights. But downtown represented untested —
and risky — waters for a company that sells $1,000 suits.

“We worried we were a little ahead of our time,” said Robert
B. Hensley, Jos. A Bank Clothiers Inc.’s executive vice president
for stores and operations.

They don’t worry anymore. The downtown location has become one of the
chain’s best performing in the Washington area. Its biggest customer:
affluent men who work in the area and would rather buy their suits,
ties and cufflinks a few blocks away at lunch than at a crowded
suburban mall after work.

What they buy says much about demand for high-end goods downtown. When
it opened, Jos. A. Bank stocked much of the store with a line of
mid-priced suits that sell for between $400 and $500. But brisk sales
of the store’s higher-end suits prompted the company to make more
room for lines that sell for $700 to $1,600, said Gary W. Cejka,
senior vice president of store operations.

Downtown’s only remaining department store, Hecht’s, has discovered the
same demand for higher-end merchandise. Responding to repeated requests
for better merchandise in its Metro Center location at 12th and G
streets NW, the department store has introduced three new clothing
designers — Michael Kors, Marc Ecko and Emanuel Ungaro — upgraded
its cosmetics section and expanded its women’s handbag department.

In all, Hecht’s is pumping $15 million into its downtown store, an
investment its parent company, May Department Stores Co., originally
resisted when executives analyzed the store’s small nearby residential
population.

“The way demographic data is compiled, they could not appreciate what
was happening downtown,” said outgoing Hecht’s president and chief
executive Frank J. Guzzetta, who argued the city’s growing office
and residential population could sustain a higher-end store.

Retailers across the country are looking at the same numbers, and
so far, most are not ready to take a bet on downtown Washington. But
the early success of Jos. A. Bank and H&M, coupled with the opening
of Gallery Place, is viewed as strong evidence that downtown retail
is on the rebound.

“I don’t know of another downtown area of 12 or 13 blocks that seen
this much investment over the past five years,” said Eric W. Price, the
District’s deputy mayor for planning and economic development. “It’s
happening slowly, but it’s happening.”

Minister Challenged over Turks’ Rights If Country Joins EU
By Joe Churcher, Chief Parliamentary Reporter, PA News

The Scotsman, UK
Oct 12 2004

No limit should be placed on Turkish immigrants seeking work in the
UK when their country joins the European Union, Europe Minister Denis
MacShane suggested today.

He told the Commons Turks should enjoy the same freedom of movement
rights as any other EU citizen and attacked the Tories for seeking to
impose quotas.

The European Commission last week recommended that accession talks
for the nation of 71 million, that lies mainly in Asia, should go
ahead.

Tory spokesman Graham Brady questioned whether the UK would set
limits for immigrants as some EU member states did earlier this year
when several Eastern European nations joined.

“Is it your view that Turkish accession should give Turkish citizens
of all ethnic groups immediate right to free movement within the EU
and the UK or will the Government seek a derogation with regard to
Turkey just as France, Germany and others did for the countries of
Eastern Europe which joined the EU this year?” he asked.

Mr MacShane replied: “When Turkey finally enters the EU, and that
frankly is a matter of some years of negotiation, then we expect that
Turkey will have the same rights as other countries.

“I regret and deplore the campaign against Poles, Hungarians and
Czechs led by the party opposite and the isolationist right-wing
press in the winter and I hope that when Turkey finally does enter
the EU the party opposite will have changed its spots and support our
partners in Europe instead of campaigning against them being allowed
to work in the UK.”

The Commission has cautioned that the talks, which could last up to a
decade and do not guarantee future membership, could be suspended if
Turkey backtracked on human rights or other reforms.

Mr MacShane said the rights of minority Kurds were “improving
steadily” as EU membership was increasingly used as a tool to secure
advances.

“For example, new laws allowing Kurdish people to study, broadcast
and register their own name,” he said.

But he was less forthcoming when pressed on what efforts Turkey
should take to address historic problems with Armenia.

“I’m a Foreign Office Minister not an historian and there are times
when history perhaps should be left to history,” he told the Scottish
National Party’s Angus Robertson (Moray).

“Turkey wants to look to a better future in the European Union. That
will require, as it requires of all EU states, to look with tolerance
and sensitivity at some of the problems of the past but sometimes the
past is best dealt by not excessively raking it up.”

CENN — OCTOBER 11, 2004 DAILY DIGEST
Table of Contents:
1. GMO Threat to Poland — ICPPC Calls for Help
2. Villa Man Tried For Assaulting Journalist
3. Inter-regional volunteer action “Days of Good Will, Good Deeds and
Good Results” will be Held in Capital and Regions of Armenia
4. International Training Program “Influence of Conflicts on
Environment” Starts in Armenia
5. MDGs Survey We the Peoples Report and Survey

1. GMO THREAT TO POLAND — ICPPC CALLS FOR HELP

On September 8, 2004 the European Commission decided to allow seventeen
varieties of a genetically modified (GM) maize onto the European common
catalogue of seeds. This is an unprecedented action as, up until now, no
GM seeds have been allowed on the common catalogue. It opens the door
for GM crops to be grown on a large scale throughout Europe. ICPPC has
sent a protest letter to the Polish Government condemning this action
and proposing instead to create a GMO free Poland.

The situation is very urgent, as there are real fears that Monsanto and
other multinational GM seed corporations will target the Polish
countryside. The Polish government is not willing to act independently
to block the sale and planting of these seeds and Polish consumers and
farmers remain largely unaware of the threat posed by GM foods and food
production. Much of the media appears to be constrained from actively
reporting or researching issues surrounding GM products and many Polish
farmers are, as yet, unfamiliar with the arguments commonly aired in
other countries.

ICPPC therefore decided, in July, to launch a national campaign to
highlight the dangers of GMO’s in the Polish countryside and to press
for as many areas of Poland as possible to be declared GMO Free Zones
(). So far we have 60 farms around Poland and one
Province, Podkarpackie, with a population of just over 2 million (Polish
total 39 million) declaring themselves to be GMO free zones. There is
growing interest in many parts of the country but far more needs to be
done. Much of the Polish countryside is exceptionally rich in
biodiversity – a virtual seed bank in its own right – and it is crucial
that this rich source should not be contaminated. It is equally crucial
that farmers and consumers should be aware of the threat to both the
environment and human health that GMO’s carry.

Because the first GMO seeds can be planted on Polish fields already this
spring, ICPPC is urgently calling for help to prevent this happening –
in our common interest.

You can lend vital support to this campaign by sending:

1. Financial support: which will be used by us to continue our anti-GMO
campaign. To be sent direct to ICPPC’s account 37 1160 2202 0000 0000
2382 9934, SWIFT code: BIGBPLPWXXX, account owner: Fundacja ICPPC,
34-146 Stryszow. Or you can send us money by , but
first send us an e-mail with the amount you wish to support our campaign
to [email protected].
2. A letter of congratulation and support to the first GMO Province on
the name of the local authorities of Podkarpackie Province, Senator
Kazimierz Jaworski and ICPPC. Please send letter by: fax ++48 33 8797114
or e-mail: [email protected]
3. A letter expressing readiness to cooperate with Podkarpackie Province
. Podkarpackie is located in Southeast Poland and is a very beautiful
and traditional agricultural area. Please send letter by: fax ++48 33
8797114 or e-mail: [email protected]

Thank you for any help you can provide,

With kind regards,
Jadwiga Lopata and Julian Rose,

ICPPC Directors

=================
ICPPC – International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside,
Mi?dzynarodowa Koalicja dla Ochrony Polskiej Wsi
34-146 Strysz?w 156, Poland tel./fax +48 33 8797114 [email protected],
,

2. VILLA MAN TRIED FOR ASSAULTING JOURNALIST

Source: RFE/RL Armenia Report, October 7, 2004

A man reportedly linked to a wealthy pro-government parliamentarian went
on trial Thursday, accused of assaulting a photojournalist who took
pictures of luxury villas belonging to high-level Armenian officials and
government-connected businessmen.

The incident took place in the resort town of Tsaghkadzor in central
Armenia on August 24, 2004. The photographer, Mkhitar Khachatrian,
visited it with a correspondent for the `Aravot’ daily, Anna Israelian,
to assess damage caused to local forests by expensive housing
construction. The reporters say Khachatrian was forced to surrender the
photo storage card of his digital camera after being beaten by one of
several well-built men that guarded the villas.

One of them, Gagik Stepanian, was arrested on August 26, 2004 and has
since been kept in detention on charges of `hooliganism’ and
`obstruction of journalists’ work.’ He is the sole defendant at the
trial that began in the court of first instance of Hrazdan, the
administrative center of the central Kotayk region. The 43-year-old
father of two faces up to two years in prison if found guilty. He has
already had two criminal convictions in the past.

Stepanian, 43, only partly pleaded guilty to the charges at the start of
the court hearings, denying that he hit and swore at Khachatrian. He
claimed that he simply `jostled’ the photographer and took away the
digital chip after being photographed with his girlfriend in the woods.
He also said that he did not know that they were journalists.

The claims were denied by Israelian and an `Aravot’ driver who drove the
reporters to Tsaghkadzor from Yerevan. She insisted that Khachatrian
only took images of the expensive houses.

The photographer, who works for the private Photolur agency, is not
attending the trial. He is expected to ask prosecutors to read out his
pre-trial testimony in the court and avoid cross-examination. He has
already been paid $250 compensation by the suspect.

The reporters believe the attack was provoked by a man who guarded the
villa of Armen Yeritsian, the deputy chief of the Armenian police, in
Tsaghkadzor’s new exclusive neighborhood. They say he told Khachatrian
to stop photographing it before ordering Stepanian and several other men
to attack him.

Stepanian is widely believed to work as a bodyguard for Levon Sargsian,
a wealthy parliamentarian notorious for punching an opposition colleague
on the parliament floor in 2002. Sargsian, who is better known to the
public as `Alraghatsi Lyov,’ has denied any connection with the suspect,
however. He was not questioned during the pre-trial investigation and
will not appear before the Hrazdan court.

The Tsaghkadzor incident has been strongly condemned by Armenian media
associations. They said it was made possible by the authorities’ failure
to prosecute the perpetrators of previous attacks on the local
journalists. Western media watchdogs have also expressed concern at the
violence.

3. INTER-REGIONAL VOLUNTEER ACTION “DAYS OF GOOD WILL, GOOD DEEDS AND
GOOD RESULTS” WILL BE HELD IN CAPITAL AND REGIONS OF ARMENIA

Source: Arminfo, October 6, 2004

>>From October 28, to October 29 the Inter-Regional Volunteer Action “Days
of Good Will, Good Deeds and Good Results” will be held in Aragatsotn,
Armavir, Gegharkunik, Kotayk, Lori, Shirak and Syunik as well as in
Yerevan.

The press-service of Center for Community Dialogues and Initiatives told
ARMINFO that the goal of the action, initiated by (CCDI), IFES, NGOs,
local and regional authorities, is to encourage the volunteer movement
and NGOs’ activities as effective means for bringing communities
together to solve local problems. Participating in the “Days of Good
Will, Good Deeds and Good Results”, Armenians will have an excellent
opportunity to be active citizens and to make their contribution to the
community development process, united by the principle of volunteerism.

This year is the fourth annual “Days of Good Will, Good Deeds and Good
Results” action in Armenia. The previous three actions were held in
autumn of 2001, 2002 and 2003. All of these actions, supported by
different groups of the society, were highly successful: In total, 2,899
events were held, with 278,924 participants. The number of events and
participants increased by over 50% from 2001 to 2003.

The following events are planned for this year’s “Days of Good Will,
Good Deeds and Good Results” action: Visits to schools, museums,
scientific institutions, libraries and cinemas; Aid distribution and
book gathering for schools, museums, and libraries; Visits to the
disabled, refugees, orphanages, homes for the elderly, and hospitals;
Providing free professional consultation and services, such as Internet
access, haircuts, medical exams, and shoe repair; Gathering and
distribution of cloths, shoes, food, books and toys; Sports events;
Meetings with artists, writers and other well-known local persons;
“Round-table” discussions on local problems and how to solve them;
Various cultural events, such as free concerts, exhibitions, puppet
shows, chalk drawings on the street, storytelling to children, and
contests; Visits to state officials; Clean-up efforts at schools,
courtyards, monuments, riverbanks, and the lake shore; Community
improvement initiatives

Events have been conducted by local NGOs, city and regional authorities,
small and medium businesses, schools and universities, libraries,
museums, condominiums, sports clubs, and international organizations, as
well as by individuals and groups of individuals. Organization
committees, composed of representatives of NGOs, local authorities, mass
media, and interested individuals, are created to lead the works. Each
region has from one to five committees.

All participation or assistance is welcome. It is possible, for example,
to organize events or take part personally in a good deed or volunteer
effort. There are sponsorship opportunities as well. During the 2003
“Days of Good Will, Good Deeds and Good Results” action, the organizing
committees managed to involve 315 sponsors. Events conducted within the
framework of the action do not necessarily require a large investment.
Many types of sponsorship are possible: in the past, the action has
received not only financial support but also the donation of resources.
In 2002, for instance, a private company in Abovyan donated a special
vehicle for cleaning monuments. In Sevan, one stationery shop presented
stationery supplies for first grade children, and polyclinics in Lori
offered free dental treatment for kids from local homes for children.
Last year a municipality provided free transportation for those who
wanted to participate in the volunteer actions in the regional center.
Some factories provided candies and juiced to kindergartens. The action
encourages all forms of involvement and assistance.

4. INTERNATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM “INFLUENCE OF CONFLICTS ON
ENVIRONMENT” STARTS IN ARMENIA
Source: Arminfo, October 7, 2004

An international training program “Influence of the conflicts on the
environment” started in Armenia Wednesday.

Director of the Federation of youth clubs of Armenia (FYCA) Atom
Mkhitarian, the arrangement was organized by the FYCA jointly with the
European youth foundation of the European Union. Atom Mkhitarian
informed that 20 specialists engaged in the problems of peaceful
settlement of conflicts and environment have arrived in Armenia to take
part in the program, including representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Georgia, Russia, Moldova, Malta, Denmark, Germany, France, Czechia and
Spain. “In the course of the work of the training program we want to
unite two global tasks – elaboration of formulas of consequences of the
conflicts on the environment, and determination of the spectrum of
actions of the youth to prevent or minimize these phenomena”, Atom
Mkhitarian said.

Atom Mkhitarian mentioned that the participation of Azerbaijani
representatives in the seminar is important with the demonstration to
European structures the potentiality of Armenia in the country’s
becoming a strategic center of youth policy in the region, which, in its
turn, supposes holding of numerous youth programs, conferences, forums,
etc.

In their turn, representatives of NGOs of Azerbaijan – Director of the
Center of public Diplomacy Hamlet Izmailov and representative of the
analytic center “Peace, Democracy, Culture” Roman Temnikov mentioned
that the Karabakh conflict has caused a big damage to the environment.
In particular, an enormous damage has been caused to the agricultural
lands in the conflict zone and around it because of their mining. Till
now peasants cannot cultivate land, the mines blow up and people die.
“It is our second visit to Armenia”, the guests from Azerbaijan say.
Speaking about the negative reaction of the authorities of Azerbaijan to
the visits of Armenian citizens, Roman Temnikov and Hamlet Izmailov
informed that public figures, representatives of the youth and
intellectuals may visit Azerbaijan freely, but the issue of arrival of
people in uniforms is determined at high state level.

5. MDGS SURVEY WE THE PEOPLES REPORT AND SURVEY

Dear Colleagues,

We the peoples… 2004 was successfully launched on September 8 at the NGO
conference of the UN Department of Public Information, with 2600 people
from 90 countries in attendance. We offer heartfelt thanks to each of
you who participated in our 2004 survey. Your views and insightful
comments on civil society’s engagement with the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) helped to build this report.

We are equally grateful to all the civil society networks that helped us
distribute the information about our survey. We could not have done it
without you.

We are also writing to inform civil society organizations around the
world of a major new survey, in which you can participate in the coming
weeks. This survey will be the springboard to a significant report to be
launched in March 2005. We the peoples…2005 will take a deeper look at
the state of progress in each of the MDGs, including the key Goal 8 and
the role of affluent nations. We hope very much that you will take part
in this survey, and add your organization’s voice to the growing body of
civil society opinion on the MDGs. We would be grateful if you could
also pass on this information to all your network members, partner
organizations and all groups interested in sharing their views. We will
solicit not only your analysis and policy insights, but also your
recommendations (see note below) for the future.

In a few weeks, we will send you a follow up e-mail with full details of
the survey, and information on how you can participate. We look forward
to your response and your recommendations for the reform of policies and
structures, and for new initiatives on the road to the achievement of
the MDGs and beyond.

In the meantime, we invite you to read we the peoples…2004. It is
available in English on the web site of The North-South Institute at
and the World Federation of
United Nations Associations (WFUNA) at Please send us
your suggestions and comments regarding the report at [email protected].
Versions in Arabic, French and Spanish will be posted later this month.

WFUNA and The North-South Institute have also set up an online forum for
discussion on the MDGs, where all civil society organizations can put
forward their thoughts and suggestions. To get involved, simply go to
, and click on
“polls”. We hope you will participate in this discussion.

Thank you again for your time and your input. Check out the report on
the web-sites, and watch out for another e-mail soon about the next
survey. We look forward to continued collaboration.

Sincerely,

John W. Foster
Principal Researcher
The North-South Institute
and
Pera Wells
Deputy Secretary-General
WFUNA

SAME AZERBAIJAN WHICH PROMISED SOVEREIGNTY TO KARABAKH

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
08 Oct 04

Azerbaijan demands applying sanctions against the foreign companies
working in the territory of Nagorni Karabakh. They will not be allowed
to do business in Azerbaijan. This is what the Azerbaijani newspapers
have been writing about recently. The vice foreign minister of
Azerbaijan Araz Azimov mentioned,` Azerbaijan cannot overlook the
illegal use of the natural resources in the` occupied
territories’. Among the companies on the black list of theforeign
ministry of Azerbaijan may appear as well the Lithuanian company which
prints the postal stamps of the Republic of Nagorni Karabakh. The
state company â=80=9CAzermarka’ of the Azerbaijani Ministry of
Communication and Information Technologies managed to make the Postal
Union warn all over the world that the stamps of Karabakh are not
legal and valid. The Baku newspaper Day.Az writes, â=80=9CSoso
Pavliashvili who took part in the celebration of independence of `NKR’
announced about his peacemaking mission and although the Ministry of
Culture of Azerbaijan boycotted him, he is going to visit Baku again.’
Member of parliament of the Milli Mejlis Anar Mamedkhanov said in this
reference, `Peacemaking is a good thing. But first I would like Soso
Pavliashvili to conciliate the Georgianswith the Osetians and
Abkhazians. Let him start his peacemaking activities with this. I
would like to advise him to sing in the concert in Sukhumi devoted to
the day of Abkhazian independence from Georgia to prove that for him
his nationis above everything.’ At the same time, the Conference of
Non-Governmental Organizations of Azerbaijan appealed to the
international organizations to cancel the consultation `The activity
of the youth in the areas of confrontation: human rights, democracy
and cooperation’ which will take place in NagorniKarabakh on November
15-19. The consultation is organized by the International Panarmenian
Fund. The statement of the Conference points out `the illegality of
holding this undertaking in the territories of Azerbaijan occupied by
the Karabakh separatists.’ The Conference of Non-Governmental
Organizations of Azerbaijan involves more than 400 organizations of
the country. They even threaten to take legal action against the youth
organizations which wanted to visit Karabakh. And the leader of the
so-called Committee for Liberation of Karabakh Akif Naghi
characterized the upcoming visit of the Armenian parliamentarians to
Baku as the essential problem of Azerbaijan. According to him, before
the settlement of the Karabakh problem they will not stop struggling
against the visit of the citizens of the aggressor country of
Armenia. In particular, the Committee is going to start a new campaign
of protest against the Armenian parliamentarians who intend to
participate in the seminar of the NATO parliamentary assembly in
Baku. At the same time, A. Naghi characterized the consistent wish of
the Armenians to visit Baku as a provocation. According to him,
similar actionsare dictated by their aim to involve Azerbaijan in a
conflict with international organizations, thereby causing
tensions. Baku also reacted to our information on adopting the law on
ombudsman by the Karabakh parliament. The head of the press centre of
the Azerbaijani foreign ministry M. Mirza told the Baku newspaper
`Echo’, `The following can be said in this situation: generally, all
the institutions created and to be created in NKR have no legal basis
for factual existence. That is to say, in fact they do not exist as
either they, or their ` state’ have not been recognized by anyone in
the world.’ Extremism in Azerbaijan is already practised on the level
of the president. This statement was made by the vice speaker of the
National Assembly of Armenia Vahan Hovhannissian during his press
conference. The vice speaker is worried by the anti-Armenian moods in
Azerbaijan. `Quite recently the road Kirants – Voskepar has been
bombed. I do not think that Mr. Aliev would dare to make a direct
order to start war, but an uncontrolled spark may cause fire.’
According to Vahan Hovhannissian, the diplomatic task of Armenia today
is `to prove that we recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan
but it has no relation to the problem of Nagorni Karabakh.’ The
president of Azerbaijan stated at the UN that NKR is a persisting
source of threat for peace and security in the region. Ignoring the
four resolutions of the UN Council for Security, trying to maintain
the results of the military aggression and remaining unpunished,
Armenia actually fulfilled a policy of illegal mass settlement of
Armenian population in the occupied Azerbaijani territories. According
to him, the situation is aggravated by using these territories for
illegal circulation of drugs, transportation of weapon, illegal
economic activities, smuggling, terrorism. He stated that the
aggressors of Armenia and the Karabakh separatists try to involve
foreign companies in illegal business thereby exploiting the natural
resources of the occupied Azerbaijani territories. The president of
Azerbaijan appealed to the UN members to make their citizens and
companies respect international law and stop their illegal activity in
the territory of our country. He also mentioned that Armenia falsifies
the history of the Azerbaijani region of Nagorni Karabakh,
appropriates its cultural and architectural heritage. According to
him, Thereligious and historical monuments of Azerbaijan were ruined,
plundered and the ancient manuscripts, as well as other valuable
objects were stolen. In his address at the 59th session of the General
Assembly of the UN the foreign minister of Armenia Vardan Oskanian
stated that we would like to deal with an Azerbaijan which recognizes
its place and acts according to the international law, andnot with the
country whose policies, actions and statements threaten the fragile
peace and stability in the region. In the post-Soviet territory
Azerbaijan was the first to introduce the practice of torturing people
for their nationality, to involve mercenaries and international
terrorists in the army, and to ignore the international law, mentioned
Vardan Oskanian. Azerbaijan managed to get rid of Armenians in
Nakhijevan who formed more than the half of the local
population. There is not a single Armenian there. In the Soviet years
more than 400 thousand Armenians lived in Baku, Sumgait and at other
places in Azerbaijan. Today there is not a single Armenian there. The
Azerbaijani attempt of extermination of a nation was a success,
continued the foreign minister of Armenia. According to him, ten
years ago Azerbaijan used mercenaries and international terrorists to
`fight’ against the Armenian men and women defending their land. The
terrorists were defeated and the Armenians won. Mentioning that the
Armenians overcame the confrontation with a victory after their
peaceful claims for self-determination had been met with swords,
Vardan Oskanian emphasized that the Armenians had occupied those
territories 2000 years ago and not in the recent ten years, as the
Azerbaijani president insists. Azerbaijan excludesthe mediation of the
international community directed at blocking drug businessrun in its
territory. Azerbaijan also nullifies the efforts of the EC and other
monitoring groups which try to visit the region and see themselves
thousands of ruined historical and cultural monuments, said the
minister. If in the past century Armenians and Azerbaijanis were
obliged to live side by side, in this century we obtained the right to
decide our fate and thereby we may decide ourselves to coexist
peacefully, said the foreign minister of Armenia.

NAIRA HAYRUMIAN.
08-10-2004

PRESS RELEASE

October 8, 2004

American University of Armenia Corporation
300 Lakeside Drive, 4th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Telephone: (510) 987-9452
Fax: (510) 208-3576

Contact: Gohar Momjian
E-mail: [email protected]

AUA GRADUATION: A NEW BEGINNING FOR A NEW GENERATION

A New Beginning for a New Generation was the fitting theme as the American
University of Armenia (AUA) celebrated its 11th graduation and commencement
ceremonies during the first week of October. One hundred and thirty three
motivated and ambitious men and women walked down the aisle to receive their
Master’s Degrees. They reminisced about the challenges they faced as
graduate students and pondered their future accomplishments. These new
graduates join AUA’s 1,136 alumni who now occupy important leadership
positions, such as the Deputy Minister of Privatization, Deputy Minister of
Health, Directors, Program Officers, Chief Business Officers and Country
Directors in private and international organizations. That same week, AUA
honored founding members, the late Dr. Stepan Karamardian and Dr. Mihran
Agbabian, with ribbon cutting ceremonies for the Stepan Karamardian
Conference Hall in the AUA Business and Conference Center and the newly
furnished Mihran and Elizabeth Agbabian Hall in the AUA Baghramian building.

Festivities began on Friday, October 1st with the traditional annual alumni
dinner, whereby AUA alumni and faculty congratulated the Class of 2004.
With a sense of great camaraderie and University pride, the AUA Alumni
Association bestowed hoods and diplomas naming AUA President Haroutune
Armenian, Mr. Edward Avedisian, and Dr. Krikor Soghikian `Honorary Alumni.’
The following day, AUA held its Baccalaureate Service for the AUA graduates,
families, faculty, and staff to reflect upon their accomplishments in a
spiritual setting. Mr. Edvard Avedisian, Trustee of the AUAC Board,
addressed those present. This year, the St. Gayane Church Choir of
Echmiadzin and the `Speghani’ Children’s Choir performed several inspiring
sharakans and other spiritual music.

On Sunday, October 3, AUA held its annual Commencement exercises. Parents
and spouses of the graduates, many distinguished guests from the government,
foreign embassies, local and international organizations and more then 350
guests from the AGBU, who were in Armenia to attend the AGBU General
Assembly, were present. After Bishop Navasard Kjoyan`s invocation, AUA
President Haroutune Armenian and Dr. Marianne Celce-Murcia, Dean of AUA’s
Department of English Programs, welcomed the graduating class, followed by
greetings from Mr. Sam Simonian, AUAC Trustee and EPYGI Technologies
Chairman, and Mr. Ruben Vardanian, President and CEO of Troika Dialog.

In his address, President Haroutune Armenian noted the generosity of many
AUA supporters and the number of new named scholarships and contributions to
AUA’s student loan program. He announced two new awards established by Mr.
Arthur Baghdasaryan, Speaker of Armenia’s National Assembly. The first of
these awards, established for several other universities as well, carries a
cash prize of $250 from the Speaker of the National Assembly, and is granted
to two graduating students in recognition of their academic excellence and
potential to support Armenia’s development. The second award granted two
outstanding first-year students with stipends of 25,000 Armenian Drams per
month during their second year of study. The graduates concluded the
exercises by throwing their caps in the air. Warm words of congratulations
were exchanged during an open reception.

During graduation week, AUA dedicated the Stepan Karamardian Conference Hall
and the Mihran and Elizabeth Agbabian Hall. The late Dr. Stepan
Karamardian, along with Dr. Mihran Agbabian and Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian are
AUA’s founding members. The events provided opportunity for the deans,
staff, faculty and students to remember the obstacles which were overcome to
establish AUA, and the determined vision of AUA’s founders.

At the Stepan Karamardian Conference Hall dedication, AUA President and Dean
of the College of Health Sciences, Dr. Haroutune Armenian, welcomed guests
and noted, `Being a true academic, Stepan Karamardian was the ultimate
entrepreneur of knowledge – a person who could plan, manage and deliver
knowledge.’ President Emeritus, Dr. Mihran Agbabian, said, `Nothing comes
such a long way, unless it has a strong foundation. We gave our best to
ensure that together with Stepan.’ Mrs. Seta Karamardian expressed her
gratefulness to the faculty, staff and students, as well as to the
administration of AUA for naming a room after her husband. `For decades it
was a dream of ours to create the American University of Armenia. He was
blessed to see it become a reality,’ she said. On this occasion, Mrs.
Karamardian announced that the Karamardian family would establish an annual
scholarship in Dr. Stepan Karamardian’s name to assist a deserving student
in AUA’s School of Business and Administration.

At the Mihran and Elizabeth Agbabian Hall dedication, the AUA community
expressed their appreciation for Dr. and Mrs. Mihran Agbabian’s many
contributions. The remodeled hall, funded by Dr. and Mrs. Mihran Agbabian,
has changed the open entry hall of the AUA into a place of welcome and will
enable students and faculty, visitors to the library and guests, the
opportunity to meet in an informal way, conduct group discussions, rest
during breaks and spend social time together. Dr. Yuri Sargisyan, former
President of the Yerevan State Engineering University, and member of the AUA
Fund, noted, `Mihran and Elizabeth Agbabian helped create AUA when Armenia
was facing a period of re-establishment in the early 1990s. Today we are
witness that they both will do their best to maintain and develop what they
created a decade ago.’ Babken Ararktsyan, former Speaker of Armenia’s
National Assembly, and AUA Founding Board Member, underscored the importance
of launching AUA when Armenia was at the beginning of developing the
principles of an independent state.

****

The American University of Armenia is registered as a non-profit educational
organization in both Armenia and the United States and is affiliated with
the Regents of the University of California. Receiving major support from
the AGBU, AUA offers instruction leading to the Masters Degree in eight
graduate programs. For more information about AUA, visit

Pictures:
#1 – AUA President Haroutune Armenian and President Emeritus Mihran Agbabian
lead ceremonial procession.
#2 – Over 1,000 guests attend AUA Graduation.
#3 – Congratulations are exchanged in the newly dedicated Mihran & Elizabeth
Agbabian Hall.
#4 – Speghani Children’s Choir performs during Baccalaureate Services.
#5 – President Haroutune Armenian, Mr. Edward Avedisian, and Dr. Krikor
Soghikian named Honorary AUA Alumni. Mrs. Caline Soghikian accepts on Dr.
Soghikian’s behalf.
#6 – Dr. and Mrs. Mihran and Elizabeth Agbabian in ribbon cutting ceremony
of the hall named after them.
#7 – Mrs. Elizabeth Agbabian greets those present.
#8 – AUA Founding Members Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian and Dr. Mihran Agbabian
with his wife, Elizabeth, Mrs. Seta Karamardian, President Haroutune
Armenian with his wife, Sona, dedicate AUA Founding Member Stepan
Karamardian Conference Hall.
#9 – Dr. Stepan Karamardian plaque reads, `This room is dedicated to the
memory of Stepan Karamardian, Ph.d., 1933-1994, Co-Founder of the American
University of Armenia, An educator, a visionary and a proud Armenian, The
creation of the American University of Armenia was the culmination of a
lifetime devoted to creating opportunities for others through education.
Dedicated 2004.’

Bulgarian president pleased with effort to resolve Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Khorizont Radio, Sofia
5 Oct 04

[Announcer] The presidents of Bulgaria and Armenia – Georgi Purvanov
and Robert Kocharyan – expressed their satisfaction at the activation
of the negotiating process to find a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.

After their meeting in Yerevan the Armenian president especially
stressed the merit of our country, as OSCE chairman, and role of
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Pasi and his special envoy to
Nagorno-Karabakh, former Prime Minister Filip Dimitrov.

For his part President Georgi Purvanov said:

[Purvanov] We are inspired with hope at the activation of the talks on
Nagorno-Karabakh at the level of both Armenia and Azerbaijan
presidents and foreign ministers. We will continue to support such
efforts, as well as the activities of other groups involved in the
conflict. We hope that by the end of the Bulgarian chairmanship of
OSCE, or even afterward, a relatively lasting political solution to
this problem will be found, because, there is no substitute for a
political solution.

[Announcer] Bilateral relations and developing transportation links
were another topic of the Purvanov-Kocharyan talks. According to the
assurance of the cochairmen of the joint Bulgarian-Armenian
commission, a direct Sofia-Yerevan flight will be launched in the
coming months.

>From the statements of the two presidents it became clear that work
is being done to create a ferry-boat link between the two countries
with the participation of Russia.

Iran-Armenia gas pipeline to kick off soon

Sunday, October 03, 2004
IranMania.com

LONDON, Oct 3 (IranMania) – Official in charge of a gas pipeline to
Armenia noted that the project will kick off within two months after
announcement of tender winner, Petroenergy Information Network (PIN)
reported.

Mohammad Reza Lorzadeh added that the project is a major enterprise
launched by the National Iranian Gas Company and 14 major Iranian
contractors have been qualified for it.

“The Armenian gas pipeline will be constructed as EPC (engineering,
procurement, construction) and contractors should hand in their
proposals within next two months,” he noted.

The official said the winner will be announced after quoted prices are
studied by transactions commission of the National Iranian Gas Company
and its implementation will follow.

“The Iranian part of the pipeline is 110-120 km long and the pipeline
will carry 10 mln cu. m. gas to the northern neighbor per day. After
installing compression stations, the figure can be increased to more
than 15 mln cu. m.,” he noted.

POLICE BLAMED FOR INACTION

A1plus
01-10-2004

Chair of Cooperation for the Sake of DemocracyStepan Danelyan, head of
Armenia ‘s Helsinki Committee Avetik Ishkhanyan, chair of Yerevan
Press Club Boris Navasardyan and head of Civil Community Institute
Artak Kirakossyan came upwith joint statement on Friday.

The statement came as reaction to the police inaction in investigation
launched into attack on apartment of chair of International Union for
Lawyers Tigran Ter-Yesayan by a group of unidentified gunmen on July
30.

Two months have already passed since the incident. However, nothing
has been done to track down and prosecute the attackers, the statement
says.

The statement authors say some events that happened within the
two-month period give grounds for concern about strange inertness
shown by the investigators toward the case.

They say it isn’t ruled out that either the crime committed or the
feet-dragging stance taken by investigating team is connected with
Tigran Ter-Yesayan’s professional activity and his views.

RELATIONS WITH COMPATRIOTS LIVING IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND STRENGTHENING

Azer Tag
September 30, 2004

Employees of the State Committee on Work with the Azerbaijanis living
in foreign countries have visited Australia and New Zealand.

As was told AzerTAj from the State Committee, at the meetings
carried out within the framework of visit with chairman of the
Azerbaijan Association of Australia Mikayil Oyta, and also members
of the organization, the consul of Turkey in Sydney Nihat Ershen,
discussed were problems of our compatriots living in this country, and
underlined the importance of consolidation of efforts in bringing into
the notice the realities about Azerbaijan and Turkey is underlined.

At the general session of the organizations of the Azerbaijan, Turkish
and Turkmen Diasporas, discussed were prospects of joint activity.

At the meeting in Canberra with chairman of International festival
committee Dominick Miko, it was decided to provide participation of
the Azerbaijan masters of art in forthcoming international festival
in February next year and also carrying out during same time in three
cities of Australia of Days of Culture of Azerbaijan.

At the press conference for local mass media, was presented information
on the economic situation in Azerbaijan, its position in region,
the Nagorny Karabakh conflict and occupation by Armenians of the
Azerbaijan lands.

A number of other important meetings also have been carried in New
Zealand.