Author: Tumanian Talar

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V. Rev. Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

HIS HOLINESS ARAM I WISHES

THE QUICK RECOVERY OF POPE JOHN PAUL II

His Holiness Aram I contacted Vatican officials from the headquarters of the
World Council of Churches in Geneva and expressed his wishes for the quick
recovery of His Holiness Pope John Paul II. The Pope had been hospitalized
because of health problems. His Holiness wished full recovery to the Pope in
the name of the Catholicosate of Cilicia as well as personally.

During his stay in Geneva the Catholicos held a meeting with Vatican
representatives and discussed inter church affairs with them. The two sides
talked about the theological dialogue between the Oriental Orthodox churches
and the Roman Catholic Church. The first session of this dialogue had been
held in the Vatican last month. His Holiness and the Vatican representatives
discussed the phases of this dialogue’s development and the agenda of future
meetings.

##

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-7810
Fax: 212-689-7168
e-mail: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: Iris Papazian

CROSSROADS E-NEWSLETTER – February 24, 2005

JOINT COMMEMORATION OF 90th ANNIVERSARY OF GENOCIDE
WILL TAKE PLACE IN NEW YORK ON APRIL 24
A joint commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
of 1915 will take place in New York City on Sunday, April 24. Armenian
Americans from the eastern United States will gather at Times Square
beginning at noon for a program, followed by Ecumenical and Requiem Services
at St. Patrick Cathedral beginning at 2 pm. Details will follow.
The Joint Commemorative Committee is composed of: Diocese of the
Armenian Church of America (Eastern); Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian
Apostolic Church of America; Armenian Assembly of America; Armenian
Democratic Liberal Party; Apostolic Exarchate for Armenian Catholics in the
U.S.; Armenian General Benevolent Union; Armenian Missionary Association of
America; Armenian National Committee of America; Armenian Relief Society;
Armenian Revolutionary Federation; Armenian Social Democratic Hunchakian
Party; Knights and Daughters of Vartan.

PRELATE IN LEBANON AND ARMENIA
Archbishop Oshagan departed this week for Lebanon and Armenia. In
Lebanon the Prelate will confer with His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the
Great House of Cilicia. From Lebanon the Prelate will go to Armenia where he
will represent the Catholicate of Cilicia in dialogues between the Holy Sees
of Cilicia and Etchmiadzin.

SEMINAR FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS
IN NEW ENGLAND AREA
A seminar for Sunday School teachers in the New England region will take
place Saturday, April 9, at St. Stephen Church in Watertown, Massachusetts.
The seminar is sponsored by St. Stephen Church and the Armenian Religious
Education Council (AREC). The seminar will be led by Deacon Shant Kazanjian,
Director of AREC. The main topic is The Bible and the Sacraments of
Christian Initiation: Baptism, Chrismation and Eucharist.
For registration and/or information contact the church office,
617-924-7562 or the AREC office, 212-689-7810.

WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES CALLS FOR
RECOGNITION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
The World Council of Churches (WCC) called for the recognition of the
Armenian Church, during the meeting of the Central Committee of the WCC,
which took place in Geneva February 15 to 23. The statement says in part:
Sunday, April 24, 2005 will be the 90 years commemoration of the
Armenian Genocide, the tragic massacre of one-and-a-half million Armenians
in Turkey and the deportation of another million from their homeland. The
World Council of Churches has on different occasions addressed the need for
public recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the necessity of Turkey to
deal with this dark part of its history. The importance of evaluating its
history has recently also been addressed by the Conference of European
Churches relating to Turkey’s relation to the European Union.
From the Christian perspective, the path towards justice and
reconciliation requires the recognition of the crimes committed as a sine
qua non condition for the healing of memories and the possibility of
forgiveness. Forgiveness does not mean forgetting but to look back with the
intention to restore justice, respect for Human Rights and relationships
between perpetrators and victims.
The Public Committee recommended that the General Secretary and staff
propose to all member churches to make Sunday, April 24, a day of memorial
of the Armenian Genocide and to consider further appropriate events related
to the commemoration.
One hundred sixty-four voting members participated in the meeting of the
Central Committee together with more than 100 advisors, consultants and
representatives from the Vatican and international organizations. His
Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, has served as the
Moderator of the Central Committee since 1991.
In his closing remarks Aram I expressed his deep appreciation to the
members of the Central Committee for their active and responsible
participation in the reflection and action of the Central Committee in the
past eight years. He said: The sea in which the ecumenical boat is sailing
is more stormy today than ever before. Being ecumenical means having the
courage of faith and the vision to move together towards the ecumenical
goals which bind us together as one fellowship.

LENTEN PROGRAM CONTINUES
Yesterday the third in a series of Prelacy Lenten Bible studies
continued in the exploration of the Passion Narratives, conducted by Deacon
Shant Kazanjian, Director of the Armenian Religious Education Council. Last
night the lecture/discussion focused on the trial and betrayal, as told in
Matthew 27, verses 1 through 44.
Next Wednesday, March 2, the lesson will center on the Crucifixion.
The lectures take place at St. Illuminator Cathedral, 221 E. 27th
Street, New York City, with a Lenten Service at 7:30 and Bible study at 8
p.m., followed by a Lenten meal and fellowship. The Lenten program is
jointly sponsored by AREC and the Prelacy Ladies Guild. All are welcome. For
information contact the AREC office, 212-689-7810.

BEAST ON THE MOON IS COMING TO OFF-BROADWAY
Beast on the Moon, a play by Richard Kalinoski, is preparing to open at
the Century Center for the Performing Arts on East 15th Street in New York
City. Previews begin April 12, and opening night is April 27.
The play tells the story of the Armenian Genocide through the eyes of
two survivors who are trying to make a new life in the United States. David
Grillo, the producer of this production, describes it as a universal tale of
love as a healing tool in the aftermath of loss.
Beast on the Moon has been telling the story of the Armenian Genocide
for the past 12 years. The play has been performed in 17 countries,
translated into 12 languages and has received accolades and more than 40
awards.
This New York premiere is expected to attract a wide audience. It has
already received a great deal of press coverage in trade magazines and
newspapers and most recently in the New York Times.
Watch future issues of Crossroads for ticket information.

SUBMISSIONS BY ARTISTS SOUGHT FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE SHOW
Gallery Z of Providence, Rhode Island, has informed us that it is
looking for submissions for an exhibition honoring the 90th anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide. Work should be a reflection or expression of the
Armenian Genocide, with a focus on themes such as rebirth, regeneration,
transformation, rekindling of the spirit, and reclamation of identity.
All mediums are accepted. Deadline is March 5. There is a modest
submission fee. For information contact Maryellen at [email protected].

DER NAREG ARRIVES IN NEW YORK
Rev. Fr. Nareg and Yeretzgeen Ani Terterian arrived in New York recently
where they will establish their home. Der Nareg was ordained in Antelias,
Lebanon, in October. For the next six month he will serve as assistant to V.
Rev. Fr. Anoushavan Tanielian at St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York.
Subsequently he will assume the pastorship of St. Sarkis.
Prior to his ordination, Deacon Serop Terterian served at the Prelacy
office from January 2002 to January 2004. During that time he furthered his
studies at the General Theological Seminary.

SAINTS REMEMBERED THIS SATURDAY
This Saturday, February 26, the Armenian Church commemorates the memory
of Hovhan Odznetsi, Hovhan Vorodnetsi, and Krikor Datevatsi.
Hovhan Odznetsi (St. John of Otzoon), was catholicos between 717 and 728
which was a period when Armenia was under Arab rule. He defended Armenians
from forced conversion and was successful in securing the right of worship
for Armenian Christians. He was also successful in receiving tax-exempt
status for the church. He was highly admired and respected by the people.
Hovhan Vorodnetsi (St. John of Orotni) was born in 1315. Following his
ordination he served at the monasteries of Kailitzor and Datev. He dedicated
most of his efforts toward the preservation of the orthodox faith, and
against the attempt to merge the Armenian Church with the Latin Church. He
wrote commentaries on the Gospel of John and the epistles of St. Paul.
Krikor Datevatsi, perhaps the best known of the three, was a student of
John of Orotni, and a great defender of the character of the Armenian
Church. He was born in 1346. He was a brilliant scholar; he knew Latin
fluently and had studied the Greek philosophers extensively. He is regarded
to be the greatest teacher of the Armenian Church. His most famous work is
the Book of Questions (Kirk Hartsmants), which examines questions of faith.
He is also credited with setting a new standard for preaching.

SUNDAY OF THE STEWARD
This Sunday, February 27, the fourth Sunday of Lent, is Sunday of the
Steward (Tntesi Kiraki). The reading on this day is from the Gospel of St.
Luke, chapter 16, verses 1 to 8, which relate the parable of The Unrighteous
Steward. This parable is about a rich man and his steward. The steward was
one who looked out for his own personal benefit and through his cunning
arrangements made deals with those who were in debt to his master. Jesus
used this parable not to condone the behavior of the steward but rather as
an illustration of qualities that have a necessary place in the life of true
disciples. Since we are stewards of this world, we are accountable to our
Lord for the talents we have and the things that have been entrusted to our
care.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus used parables as a teaching method. His
parables were common stories, usually short and always interesting.
Generally, the stories were used to convey important moral and ethical
messages. Some of the parables were simple and easy to comprehend. Others
were complex and more challenging.

NEXT WEDNESDAY IS MEDIAN DAY OF LENT
Next Wednesday, March 2, is the median day of Lent (Meechink). It is the
24th day of Lent and it occurs on the Wednesday of the fourth week. Although
it does not have any specific religious significance, this mid-point day has
been traditionally marked as a special day, an occasion for celebration. It
is generally marked with conviviality and fellowship while sharing a table
filled with Lenten foods.

O Lord, You who have created the heavenly world of angels and established
the princes of the fiery spirits as stewards there; we bless Your
inconceivable powers. You who have created in a lordly manner the second
world and placed the first man as a steward in the Garden of Eden; You who
have built Your Church highest of all in mystery and have ordained in it the
preacher of the word of truth as steward.
(from sharagan sung on the Fourth Sunday of Lent)

Visit our website at

YEREVAN PRESS CLUB WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

FEBRUARY 18-24, 2005

HIGHLIGHTS:

2004: YEAR OF ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS

THIRTEENTH “PRESS CLUB” SHOW

“HAIKAKAN ZHAMANAK” CHALLENGED THE RULING ON DISCONTINUING THE INVESTIGATION
ON THE IGNITION OF EDITORIAL CAR

PRIZES FOR THE COVERAGE OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS

TEAM REPORTING PROJECT OF ARMENIAN AND GEORGIAN JOURNALISTS IN
SAMTSKHE-JAVAKHETIA

PRESS-SECRETARY OF THE PRESIDENT NOW AN AMBASSADOR

2004: YEAR OF ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS

On the web site of Yerevan Press Club () in “Studies” section the
Annual Report of Yerevan Press Club and Committee to Protect Freedom of
Expression on freedom of speech in Armenia in 2004 is placed. The report
lists chronologically the cases of violating the rights of journalists and
media (various forms of pressure, impeding the professional activities),
litigations, the legislative initiatives and changes, affecting the media
sphere. The freedom of expression and media situation in 2004 is
characterized primarily by attacks on representatives of “the fourth estate”
to impede their professional activities.

THIRTEENTH “PRESS CLUB” SHOW

On February 21 on the evening air of the Second Armenian TV Channel the
thirteenth “Press Club” show was issued. The cycle is organized by Yerevan
Press Club under a homonymous project, supported by the OSI Network Media
Program.

The heads of leading media and journalistic associations of Armenia
discussed the relations between Armenia and Turkey. The program participants
expect the following themes to be central for the Armenian media next week:
the 17th anniversary of Armenian pogroms in Sumgait; the European tour of
the US President George Bush, in particular his Bratislava meeting with the
Russian President Vladimir Putin; events in the countries of Middle East.

“HAIKAKAN ZHAMANAK” CHALLENGED THE RULING ON DISCONTINUING THE INVESTIGATION
ON THE IGNITION OF EDITORIAL CAR

On February 24 “Haikakan Zhamanak” daily reported that on February 23 it
addressed the Prosecutor of Yerevan Hrachia Badalian with a petition to
abolish the ruling on stopping the investigation on the criminal case on the
ignition of the car, owned by “Haikakan Zhamanak” and used by its Chief
Editor. As it has been reported, the resolution on stopping the
investigation was made in early February by an employee of the Yerevan
Investigation Department of the RA Police Ashot Kostanian (see YPC Weekly
Newsletter, February 4-10, 2005). The ignition of the editorial car occurred
on November 22, 2004 and, according to the conclusion of the forensic fire
examination, it was caused by an open fire source.

In the same piece of February 24 “Haikakan Zhamanak” published quotes from
the ruling mentioned above. According to them, the ruling of stopping the
investigation is grounded by Ashot Kostanian on that no one was identified
to be charged with the case. At the same time, the investigator thought it
necessary to direct a copy of the ruling to Center Department of the Yerevan
Police “to continue the operative inquiry to determine the person who
committed the crime”.

PRIZES FOR THE COVERAGE OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS

On February 23 in Yerevan the Center of Public Dialogue and Development
rewarded the winners of the journalistic competition “Armenia-Turkey: Open
Conversation”, held by this public organization. The prize for the best TV
program was awarded to Vahram Martirosian, the author and the host of
“Revolution” cycle, aired on “Kentron” TV channel in 2004. The prize for the
best TV piece was granted to Haikaram Nahapetian, the correspondent of the
Public Television of Armenia. The prize for the best article in print media
was conferred on Narineh Stepanian, the correspondent of Armenian “Aragast”
newspaper, published in Los Angeles, USA. A special prize was awarded to
Marineh Mkrtchian, the correspondent of the regional “Noemi” TV company
(Shirak region). In the course of the award ceremony a collection of
articles “Armenia -Turkey: Open Conversation”, published by the Center of
Public Dialogue and Development.

TEAM REPORTING PROJECT OF ARMENIAN AND GEORGIAN JOURNALISTS IN
SAMTSKHE-JAVAKHETIA

On February 8-18 a group of eight representatives of Armenian and Georgian
media implemented a team reporting project on covering the lives of ethnic
and religious minorities, residing in the Samtskhe-Javakhetia region of
Georgia. The event was held by the London-based Media Diversity Institute
under its South Caucasus program “Minority Empowerment and Development of
Media”, supported by the European Commission and the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of the Netherlands.

The trainers of the team reporting project were Alistair Crighton (media
consultant, UK), Tatul Hakobian (observer of “Azg” daily, Armenia) and Tiko
Tsomaya (Caucasus School of Journalism and Media Management, Georgia). After
a trip to Samtskhe-Javakhetia Armenian and Georgian journalists will produce
a number of articles to be published as an eight-page supplement to
newspapers of the two countries. A special issue will be published in three
languages – Armenian, Georgian and English.

PRESS-SECRETARY OF THE PRESIDENT NOW AN AMBASSADOR

On February 18 by decrees of the RA President Robert Kocharian Ashot
Kocharian was discharged from the position of the press-secretary of the
head of the state and appointed the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia in India. Ashot Kocharian had been
appointed to the spokesman’s position on May 5, 2003 (see YPC Weekly
Newsletter, May 2-8, 2003).

When reprinting or using the information above, reference to the Yerevan
Press Club is required.

You are welcome to send any comment and feedback about the Newsletter to:
[email protected]

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this mailing list, please send a message to: [email protected]

Editor of YPC Newsletter – Elina POGHOSBEKIAN
____________________________________________
Yerevan Press Club
9B, Ghazar Parpetsi str.
375007, Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+ 374 1) 53 00 67; 53 35 41; 53 76 62
Fax: (+374 1) 53 56 61
E-mail: [email protected]
Web Site:

Armenian minister lays wreaths at war tomb

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
23 Feb 05

[Presenter] Russia and some other CIS countries celebrate 23 February
as Defender of the Fatherland Day. In Soviet times 23 February was
celebrated as Red Army Day.

Defender of the Fatherland Day or Red Army Day is not celebrated
officially in Armenia. Armenia celebrates the establishment of the
Army Day on 28 January.

Every year Armenian and Russian servicemen and high-ranking officers
come to Victory Park in the Armenian capital Yerevan to lay wreaths
and flowers at the Unknown Soldier Tomb. Representatives of the
Armenian army said that not to celebrate 23 February, means to forget
the past. But it is impossible to forget it. The Armenian army was
established on the basis of the Soviet army.

[Armenian Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan, captioned, shown in
Victory Park] I came here, first of all, because our army was
established on the basis of the Soviet army, second, we all came from
and grew up in that country and third, as you all saw on 28 January
our Russian colleagues had played an active part in our army’s
anniversary celebrations.

The Silent Cancer We Must Fight – Tooth and Nail

The Yerevan Times (weekly)
Monday, February 21, 2005, No. 6 (50)

By Hasmik Grigoryan

“An Anthology of International Anti-Corruption Experience: Selected
Studies” is a book recently published by the Campaign against
“Corruption-Friendly” Legal and Social Settings in Armenia under the
auspices of the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights. It
was presented on February 14 at the Yerevan offices of the European
Commission Delegation to Georgia and Armenia.

As Armen Aivazian, the Team Leader of the Campaign, compiler and
editor of the Anthology explained, “We are not so naïve as to believe
that a book on anti-corruption will put an end to it in Armenia. The
effective fight against corruption will only be possible when both the
government and the civil society start to jointly fight corruption.”
The book gives examples of international practice including that of
Singapore, which showed that it is possible for a very corrupted
country, as Singapore was in the 1960s, to turn into a one that is
among the least corrupt today.

Q: Why does Singapore appear as a key case story in your Anthology?

True, the book sets out anti-corruption experience in the fields of
justice, education, energy, the private sector, agriculture and public
finance, and specifically includes a chapter by Lee Kuan Yew,
Singapore’s legendary former prime minister, on the fight against
corruption in his country. The reason is that in the late 1950s-early
1960s Singapore shared many important similarities with Armenia such
as: painful nation-building process in a difficult geopolitical
environment, corrupt civil service, extremely tense relations between
the government and opposition. Things were made even more complicated
by the fact that, unlike Armenia, Singapore was a multi-ethnic
society. Singapore is a good model for Armenia to study and, in my
opinion, adjust its certain components to local needs and conditions.

Q: Is this project the first of its type to be carried out by the
Centre for Counter-Terrorism Assistance? Yes, this is our first major
project. The CCTA was established only recently – during
2003. Although it has other programmes and intentions, we decided to
start with a comprehensive anti-corruption project, having in mind
terrorism’s direct and indirect relationships with corruption.

Q: I gather that you have completed seven of the 16 TV programmes as
part of the project. Have you had any feedback from this?

Yes, a lot of people have called and visited us, voicing their support
as well as presenting their problems stemming, in their view, directly
from corruption. We feel rewarded that the message gets across. Since
one of ourgoals is to revive the resolve of society to fight
corruption and to create an atmosphere of zero-tolerance toward it. Of
course, achieving this will not be easy. It will require dozens of
other active and independent groups to engage in the fight against
corruption as well as, most importantly, the constructive
collaboration between groups from civil society and state bodies.

Q: What are the preliminary conclusions of the study? Will it have any
impact on combating corruption in Armenia – and how can this be
measured?

The success and effectiveness of any social technology depends on how
well it fits with the attitudes and expectations of any given
society. We intend to conduct a survey in Yerevan to measure the
impact of the Campaign and to create a mathematical model for the
generation of anti-corruption strategies. The survey is aimed to
measure to what extent the anti-corruption strategies meet the demands
and expectations of Yerevan’s population. It is well known that
Yerevan is the vanguard of social changes in Armenia. The survey will
also indicate how successfully the objectives of this programme are
achieved. 200 copies of the survey results will be published. The
government has still to prove that it really is intent on fighting
corruption, and society has to get rid of the belief that fighting
corruption is an exclusive function of the state.

Q: And what does Armen Aivazian feels about all this?

Members of the Campaign are often asked whether they believe that by
publishing a book on anti-corruption experience and organizing a
series of TV-programmes they will be able to defeat corruption. The
question itself shows how deeply sceptical people are of any positive
movement – and how wrongly they perceive their own place in the fight
against corruption. I believe in Armenian society’s capacity to
improve its governance and to reduce drastically the shadow economy
and levels of corruption. This belief is based, not the least, on
recognition of Armenia’s perilous geopolitical situation: to put it
bluntly, we have no other choice!

The Anthology of International Anti-Corruption Experience was compiled
and introduced by Armen Aivazian, a Doctor of Political Sciences and
the project’s Team Leader. His other studies include “Essential
Elements for Armenia’s National Security Doctrine”, “The History of
Armenia as Presented in American Historiography: A Critical Survey”,
“Mother Tongue and The Origins of Nationalism: A Comparative Study of
the Armenian and European Primary Sources”, “The Code of Honour of the
Armenian Military, 4-5th centuries”, “The Armenian Rebellion of the
1720s and the Threat of Genocidal Reprisal” and others. For his
articles and interviews visit

Corruption in Armenia

Many consider corruption in Armenia as being ubiquitous. It is an
increasingly pressing issue – and one that has to be addressed in a
time when accountability and transparency are prerequisites for proper
governance andbusiness ethics.

Organisations such as Transparency International monitor country
performance worldwide and, as The Yerevan Times has pointed out,
Armenia’s record leaves room for improvement. Transparency
International (which rated Armenia 82nd out of 146 countries in 2004)
notes that since the establishment of a state anti-corruption
commission in 2004, progress on the development of a national
anti-corruption programme has been slow – and less than
transparent. Opposition politicians have voiced similar sentiments, as
well. True, Armenia lies above neighbouring Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran
as well as Russia in the Transparency International’s rating index,
but it clearly has some room to make up.

It is in this context that the European Commission’s Initiative for
Democracy and Human Rights in Armenia supported a Campaign against
“Corruption-Friendly” Legal and Social Settings in order to generate
publicintolerance and provide methodological frameworks for the fight
against corruption. An Armenian NGO, the Centre for Counter-Terrorism
Assistance (CCTA), proposed the Campaign.

The CCTA identifies the major causes for corruption in Armenia and the
main difficulties in the fight against it as follows:

” The alienation of civil society from the policy-forming,
decision-making and decision-implementing activities in governance or,
in other words, the absence of popular participation in governance; ”
Armenian society’s disbelief in the possibilities for real and
effective participation in governance; ” Armenian society’s
inclination to see and relegate the fight against corruption as the
exclusive responsibility of state structures; ” The Armenian law’s
nominal stipulation for public participation in governance, when the
ostensibly democratic provisions concerning the exercise of public
authority are not supported by working and effective mechanisms; ”
Particular Armenian laws are directly copied from European or CIS
analogues, placed without their adequate/required localization to
Armenian co nditions, and applied with disregard to the national
mind-set. ” The specific “corruption-friendly” elements that exist
in the relationships between state officials and citizens, which
hamper the supremacy of law.

The Campaign’s main purpose is to strengthen society’s resistance to
corruption and to provide frameworks for combating it. Its principal
target groups include the ruling elite, civil society (NGOs,
professionals, students, etc.), as well as the public at large.

The campaign was conducted in two interrelated formats. First, An
Anthology of International Anti-Corruption Experience has been
published in Armenian, with an introduction and commentary by Armen
Aivazian.

Secondly, an anti-corruption campaign is being conducted in the media,
especially the TV, as well as in the press and the Internet.

Eventually, the project envisages the analysis of the Campaign results
so as to provide for an alternative concept for the anti-corruption
programme in Armenia. A survey is to be conducted in Yerevan to
measure the impact of the Campaign and to create a mathematical model
for the generation of anti-corruption strategies.

L’Equipe, France
19 février 2005

” C’était New York ou rien “;
YOURI DJORKAEFF a signé avec les MetroStars et part jouer aux
Etats-Unis.

Comme nous l’annoncions dès hier, Youri Djorkaeff part jouer aux USA.
Il a signé avec les New York MetroStars. Hier après-midi, dans les
salons du Hilton Arc de Triomphe, en compagnie de son nouveau
président Nick Sakiewicz, fou de joie, il a raconté avec délectation,
l’histoire de son dernier transfert. Puis, dans l’intimité du bar, il
a fait partager son bonheur de vivre une dernière et merveilleuse
aventure.

” COMMENT VIVEZ-VOUS ce transfert à New York ?

– Maintenant, il va falloir traverser l’Atlantique pour venir me
voir. Vous n’avez pas fini de me supporter, d’écrire pour vous
demander si je suis un neuf, un dix ou un neuf et demi. Partir là-bas
me tenait tellement à coeur. Et pas seulement pour le foot. Je suis
au début de ma carrière ! Je me remets d’ailleurs à la disposition du
sélectionneur (Il rit.).

C’est l’aboutissement d’une collaboration qui dure depuis trois ans.
C’est une destination qui me va bien, un choix de vie, une drôle
d’aventure. Et je suis assez jeune, je dis ça entre guillemets, pour
pouvoir le faire.

– Quand partez-vous ?

– Je pars dimanche rejoindre l’équipe en stage en Équateur et le 2
avril, je débuterai le Championnat au Giant Stadium (contre les Rio
Salt Lake). C’est un stade mythique de 82 000 places. Celui des
Yankees. Le club n’a jamais remporté le Championnat (la Major League
Soccer). Ça serait bien de le gagner pour une première année.

– On avait entendu parler de Saint-Gratien, du Qatar. Qu’en était-il
?

– Pour moi, c’était New York ou rien d’autre. C’est un choix sportif
mais c’est surtout un choix de vie. J’étais prêt à arrêter du jour au
lendemain parce que j’avais fait le tour.

– Comment votre famille a-t-elle réagi ?

– C’est la première fois en vingt ans de carrière que je leur
demandais leur avis. Ils sont tous partants. Pourtant, ce n’est pas
évident pour mes enfants. Ils sont bien à Monaco.

– Que savez-vous de la MLS ?

– Bob Bradley, l’entraîneur est venu passer trois-quatre jours avec
moi à Manchester en décembre. Sur ce qu’il m’a dit, c’est très,
disons, enthousiaste. Ça court de partout. La mentalité est très
américaine. Parfois le jeu va trop vite. Ils ont besoin d’un joueur
d’expérience, qui sente le jeu. Et puis, l’esprit est neuf là-bas, il
n’y a pas d’affaires. Aujourd’hui, nous sommes dans un système où
tout est beau quand ça va bien. Mais il n’y a plus de respect dans la
profession.

” Je termine avec le 10, la boucle est bouclée ”

– Vous êtes-vous déjà rendu sur place ?

– Je suis allé voir par moi-même en décembre. Ils m’ont tout montré.
Le stade, les bureaux. J’ai rencontré tout le monde, de l’entraîneur
à la secrétaire. Le tour du propriétaire, quoi. J’ai été reçu par la
Ligue. C’est un Championnat qui n’a que dix ans d’existence et qui
est encore dans les starting-blocks. Il y avait dix équipes l’année
dernière, douze cette saison, quatorze la prochaine. On peut compter
sur vingt millions de pratiquants dans le pays ce qui constitue un
potentiel énorme. Après la Coupe du monde 1994 (aux États-Unis), tout
le monde pensait que ça allait démarrer mais ça s’est mal passé et il
y a eu quelques expériences malheureuses comme avec Matthäus. Mais
j’ai pu discuter avec un gars comme Klinsmann qui a joué au Los
Angeles Galaxy et qui a eu un discours très positif.

– Ça ne va pas vous faire drôle de jouer dans un stade clairsemé ?

– Le club est en train de construire son propre stade. Il sera prêt
dans deux ans. C’est à la Ligue d’aller vers les gens pour leur
donner envie d’aller au stade. Et puis, il y a une grosse communauté
française et une grosse communauté arménienne.

– Est-ce à cause de ce contact avec New York que vous n’avez signé
que trois mois avec Blackburn ?

– Il fallait que je reste en forme.

– La Major League Soccer a-t-elle prévue de communiquer sur votre
image ?

– Avant de parler d’image, j’essaie déjà, pour l’instant, d’avoir mes
papiers d’immigration.

– Vous imaginiez terminer ainsi ?

– Pour ceux qui ont l’habitude de me côtoyer, ça ne doit pas être si
surprenant.

– Vous allez habiter en centre-ville, comme d’habitude ?

– J’ai trouvé de beaux endroits à Manchester, à Kaiserslautern.
Alors, à New York, je ne me fais pas trop de souci. On va s’installer
près de Central Park. Pour quelqu’un qui aime la ville, ça fait
“kiffer”.

– Vous allez jouer avec le numéro 10 alors que vous portiez depuis de
longues années le 6. Y a-t-il une raison ?

– C’est symbolique. J’ai commencé avec le 10. Je termine avec le 10.
La boucle sera bouclée. ”

–Boundary_(ID_pRYmv4mcds+Vr6Gy1bnETw)–

The Messenger, Georgia
Feb 18 2005

Refusal to lay wreath clouds Lavrov visit
Russian foreign minister angers Tbilisi on eve of Russian-Georgian
negotiations

By Anna Arzanova

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov
expressed his hope on February 17 that his refusal to lay a wreath at
the Memorial on Heroes Square in Tbilisi for Georgians who died
fighting for the territorial integrity of Georgia will not create any
further strain in Georgian-Russian relations.

“We hope that this will not create artificial problems for the
fruitful negotiations in Tbilisi on key points of Russian-Georgian
relations,” said Lavrov, who arrives in Tbilisi on a working visit on
Friday.

“I hope that my forthcoming visit to Georgia will help clarify some
issues and make progress in our relationship,” Lavrov added.

The Russian minister’s announcement on Wednesday that he would not
lay a wreath as planned, after he had laid a wreath at the Armenian
Genocide Memorial, led Georgian officials to downgrade his visit from
an official to a working visit.

Lavrov explained that the proposal to visit the memorial was made
less than a day before his visit. Speaking with Armenian reporters on
February 16, Lavrov said that his refusal to lay a wreath at the
memorial is a result of Russia’s status as a mediator in the process
of resolving the South Ossetian and Abkhaz conflicts.

“Such a public event is hardly capable of creating a proper
atmosphere for the resumption of negotiations on resolution of the
conflicts,” he added.

The Russian minister of foreign affairs is coming to Tbilisi to
discuss the framework agreement currently being negotiated between
the two countries.

But although he noted that a lot of preliminary work had been put in
that “I hope will yet bear fruit,” Lavrov stated that Georgia is not
yet ready for such negotiations.

“Three rounds of negotiations have already taken place recently but
there are some important issues on which we cannot find a common
language. As a result we can say that the Georgian side is not ready
for negotiations,” he said.

Lavrov explained that during his meetings in Tbilisi the two sides
will have to discuss problems in the relations of the two countries,
including the process of preparing the “major” framework agreement,
the prospects for cooperation in the fight against terrorism,
military problems, the situation in the conflict zones, and so on.

“We are ready to listen to the standpoint of the Georgian side and
share our problems. I would like to believe that the coming
negotiations will be a starting point for resolving these problems,”
he added.

Officials at the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to
Lavrov’s decision not to lay a wreath at the Georgian Memorial by
saying that the wreath-laying had been included in the schedule of
the visit from the beginning and had been cancelled at the request of
the Russian authorities.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Salome Zourabichvili responded to
Lavrov’s statement at a briefing on February 16 by saying that
Georgia would not escalate the situation, despite her Russian
counterpart’s “lack of diplomatic manners.”

“We do not know what Russia wants, or what this country which comes
to us on a neighborly visit to normalize the situation needs. He does
not even have enough elementary upbringing to go to the memorial and
bow his head before the monument to those who have died,”
Zourabichvili expressed her indignation.

Zourabichvili said that during her entire diplomatic career she could
not remember such an incident when a diplomat officially invited to a
foreign country ignored the rules of diplomatic norms accepted all
over the world.

“This refusal has its meaning and we won’t forget it, but because
dialogue needs to be continued, we will receive Lavrov on a working
visit, not an official one as was planned before,” Zourabichvili
added. “This is a non-neighborly and inappropriate sign by the
Russian side.”

Commenting on this issue, leader of the parliamentarian majority MP
Maia Nadiradze positively assessed the conduct of the Georgian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adding that Lavrov’s decision could only
damage Russia itself.

“This is not and cannot be only Lavrov’s initiative. It is really an
expression of those politics which saturates Russia’s policy toward
Georgia. However, the most important thing in this case is how
Georgia responded to this statement,” Nadiradze said, adding that
such an incident had never before taken place in the history of
Georgia.

Chair of the parliamentarian committee for foreign affairs Kote
Gabashvili also thinks that Lavrov’s decision was a major
embarrassment to Russian diplomacy. “This is not the way diplomats
should conduct themselves. The change of the format of the visit will
affect the issues which must be discussed at the meetings,”
Gabashvili told journalists.

MP Giga Bokeria sees behind this statement the trace of ordinary
Russian politics, the basic part of which relates to the Russian
military bases located in Georgia.

“We will not take bilateral duty in our relations with Russia when we
talk about the framework agreement regarding the non-location of
bases of a third country in Georgia,” he said, referring to the
Russian demand that the agreement include a clause stating that no
other country will be permitted to deploy military bases on Georgian
soil.

About 80 veterans of the Abkhaz and the South Ossetian conflicts as
well as veterans of World War II gathered in front of the Russian
Embassy on February 17 in order to express their protest at the
decision of the Russian minister. The protesters brought wreaths to
the Embassy.

“Lavrov’s behavior was an insult to our heroes. He went to Armenia
and laid a wreath at the genocide memorial there and refused to do
the same in Georgia. That is why we came here to express our
condolences at the death of their diplomacy,” demonstrator Alexander
Tsiklauri told journalists.

According to another participant of the demonstration Andro
Cheishvili, Lavrov buried Russian diplomacy on February 16. “There is
a slogan here-we give our condolences to the death of Russian
diplomacy,” he said.

According to Black Sea Press, during his visit to Georgia, Lavrov is
going to lay a wreath to the grave of the former Georgian prime
minister Zurab Zhvania. Russian Foreign Ministry official Alexander
Yakovenko said to journalists that Zurab Zhvania had done a lot to
prevent escalation in the conflict zones in Georgia standing for
their peaceful resolution.

This demarche of the Russian minister follows an exchange of comments
between the two countries, after talks over the withdrawal of Russian
military bases from Georgia and a framework agreement failed on
February 11. After the collapsed talks, Russian Minister Lavrov
accused Georgia, on February 15, of the strain which currently exist
in bilateral relations between Georgia and Russia.

“During the talks in Tbilisi on February 10-11, [held between Russian
Foreign Ministry official Igor Savolski and Deputy Foreign Minister
Merab Antadze] we understood that Georgia was not ready to discuss
some issues and has even make concessions on some others,” the news
agency RIA Novosti reports Lavrov as saying on February 15.

“Not only the Foreign Ministries of the two countries but also the
Georgian and Russian Security
Councils have joined the process. I believe that there was a chance
to achieve mutually acceptable formulas on the provisions of the key
Agreement that had not been agreed yet,” he noted.

Negotiations on the issue held on Friday, February 11 were intended
as preparation for further talks during Lavrov’s visit, when the
creation of a joint antiterrorist center in Georgia will also be
discussed, but the negotiations fell through, and the two sides are
still unable to agree the main aspects of a framework agreement.

The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs accuses the Russian
delegation of causing the negotiations to fail, while the Russian
side for its part accuses Georgia of side-stepping the issue of
setting up anti-terrorism centers.

“We tried to find all compromise formulations, but finally there was
a situation where variants were offered which put under doubt the
possibility of the creation of the anti-terrorist centers,” Russian
Foreign Ministry official Igor Savolski stated.

Deputy Foreign Minister of Georgia Merab Antadze issued a similar
message, telling journalists after the negotiations that
unfortunately, despite the serious efforts and compromises of the
Georgia side, the Russian side was not prepared to reach an
agreement, because of which the negotiations failed.

GEORGIA PUSHING FOR SPEEDIEST POSSIBLE PULLOUT OF RUSSIAN MILITARY BASES

RIA Novosti
Feb 18 2005

TBILISI, February 18 (RIA Novosti) – The timeframe for the withdrawal
of the Russian military bases from Georgia is likely to be set within
the next couple of months, Georgian Parliament Speaker Nino Burjanadze
announced Friday.

“Putting a timeframe on the pullout of the Russian bases from Georgian
territory is a key issue to us,” Ms Burjanadze pointed out as she
met with Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, in the capital of
Tbilisi today. Russia has two military bases in Georgia, one in Batumi
(in the Ajarian autonomy) and the other at Akhalkalaki, on the border
with Armenia.

As she said, Georgia seeks a settlement in its relations with Russia.
“Georgia is mindful of Russia’s legitimate national security concerns,
but seeks such good-neighborly cooperation that would meet the needs
of both nations,” the Parliament Speaker said.

According to the Novosti Georgia news agency, both she and
the visiting Russian minister hailed the idea to set up joint
Russo-Georgian counter-terrorism centers, drawing from the military
bases’ resources. They hope these centers will help prevent acts of
terrorism in the two countries.

Ms Burjanadze brought up the issue of bringing the Roki Tunnel under
the control of Georgian and Russian forces. Presently, the tunnel
is being controlled by paramilitary groups of South Ossetia, one of
Georgia’s breakaway autonomies. Mr Lavrov pointed out in his connection
that the Ossetian people’s opinion should be taken into account.

Elias II, head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, who also met with Mr
Lavrov today, emphasized that Russia should help to restore Georgia’s
territorial integrity. “The main problem in Georgian-Russian relations
is [the controversy over the breakaway provinces] Abkhazia and South
Ossetia,” the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia argued.

The two men met behind closed doors. Their delegations included Russian
Ambassador Vladimir Chkhikvishvili and members of the Georgian Orthodox
Church’s Holy Synod. At the end of the meeting, Lavrov and Elias II
presented each other with remembrances.

Armenian businessman claims abuse of power by TV and Radio boss

Arminfo
15 Feb 05

Yerevan, 15 February: “I shall not be a victim of corruption or
be under chairman of the Armenian National Commission for TV and
Radio [NCTR] Grigor Amalyan’s thumb or pay a fine demanded by the
commission,” the president of the company Grand Holding has told an
Arminfo correspondent. Grant Vardanyan is financing Armenia’s only
non-commercial children TV channel.

In this connection the entrepreneur did not rule out the possibility of
some extreme measures, including the closure of Hayrenik TV, fined by
the commission. At the same time he stressed that he has no intention
to stop rebroadcasting of French Mezzo musical TV channel. Vardanyan
noted that the management of French TV channel is aware of the fact
that Hayrenik TV is rebroadcasting its programmes and has no claims
in this connection.

The interlocutor said that Hayrenik TV is being fully financed by
Grand Holding and the company annually spends about 250,000 dollars
on its upkeep. Vardanyan also noted that the chairman of the NCTR
took under his control the sale of the licensed films in the country
and by lobbying for his personal economic interests and by forcing
the TV channels to abandon the rebroadcasting of foreign programmes,
he abuses power.

“Let Amalyan improve control over the implementation of the law
on advertising, violated by almost all domestic TV channels,” the
entrepreneur said.

To recap, the NCTR imposed the fine on Hayrenik TV to the tune of
200 minimum salaries for the unlicensed rebroadcasting programmes of
France’s Mezzo TV. The chairman of the commission said he intends
to appeal against the decision.

All American Patriots (press release), Sweden
Feb 15 2005

U.S. Sponsors Programs for Women in Europe and Eurasia
Fact sheet cites economic, sports, anti-trafficking, health care
programs
14 February 2005

Following is a U.S. State Department fact sheet issued February 14
providing an outline of U.S. programs for women in Europe and
Eurasia:

(begin fact sheet)

U.S. Department of State

Office of the Senior Coordinator for International Women’s Issues

Washington, DC

February 14, 2005

FACT SHEET

U.S. COMMITMENT TO WOMEN IN EUROPE AND EURASIA

“I believe with all my power, when I go back to Kosovo, I will make a
change in my government.”

— Kosovar woman working in the municipal government after completing
a U.S.-supported Hope Fellowship training program on government.

The United States carries out and/or sponsors programs for women in
the region’s new and emerging democracies in the following key areas:
political participation and leadership training; promoting economic
opportunity through entrepreneurial training, microenterprise
development and access to credit; reducing domestic violence and
human trafficking by educating law enforcement officials, teachers,
social workers and the general public; and supporting healthcare with
training of healthcare workers and increasing women’s access to
health education and athletics. Some of the projects the U.S. has
implemented for women in the region include:

Political Participation and Civil Society Leadership Training. The
Hope Fellowship Program, funded by USAID, fosters leadership skills
for qualified women from Kosovo and offers women internships in the
United States. In November-December 2004, eight Hope Fellows
participated in a two-month program at U.S. governmental
organizations to gain leadership, technical and practical skills to
apply to their own work in rebuilding Kosovo. To date, a total of 70
women from Kosovo have graduated from the Hope Fellowship program. In
Georgia, women participated in a women’s leadership program funded by
the Freedom Support Act. In 2004, the Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs (ECA) awarded a grant to Kent State University to
conduct a women’s leadership exchange program between the United
States and Southeastern Turkey. The project includes seminars in Ohio
and Turkey on leadership skill-building, decision-making and conflict
resolution.

Legal Reform. With U.S. support, the Women’s Consortium of
Non-Governmental Associations (made up of more than 110 organizations
from 42 regions of Russia) worked in close collaboration with the
State Duma Committees to develop the draft law “On State Guarantees
of Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in the
Russian Federation,” which had its first reading in the Duma in April
2003.

Women in Politics. Three women parliamentarians from Turkey
participated in a three week International Visitor Leadership Program
on “Women in U.S. Politics,” September 2004. The program was designed
to broaden their understanding of 1) how women can enter politics
from the business sector, education, grassroots organizations, and
volunteerism; and 2) the role of women’s organizations in shaping
political dialogue and developing and electing candidates.

Networking. In 2003, with help from the United States, more than 100
women in the Radusa community of The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia organized their own first-ever meeting to voice their
concerns and identify priorities for their community. Their efforts
resulted in an agreement to reconstruct a pedestrian bridge leading
to the village’s only elementary school.

Economic Opportunity

Public-Private Partnerships. Fifty women business owners from small-
and medium-sized enterprises from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia,
Finland, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus joined 50 U.S. women business
leaders at the Riga Women Business Leaders Summit in Riga, Latvia
September 2004. The Summit’s aim was to help build economic
relationships between the Baltic States, their neighbors, and the
United States. The U.S. Embassy in Riga and the Latvian President
Vaira Vike-Freiberga hosted the Summit, a successor to the 2002
Helsinki Women Business Leaders Summit that former U.S. Ambassador to
Finland Bonnie McElveen-Hunter and U.S. businesswoman founded
( /PageServer?Page=hwbls/hwbls.html).
For the second portion of the Riga Summit, the women traveled to the
United States in December 2004 to attend a conference at Georgetown
University to continue their partnerships, exchange business best
practices and build management skills.

Entrepreneurial Training. With U.S. funding, the Public Organization
on Support of Entrepreneurship, Women of Vision, and the
Non-Commercial Partnership Siberian Educational Consulting Center are
building a network of women across the Russian Far East to advocate
for women’s rights. The project will create awareness of women’s
issues, develop leadership skills, and foster regional,
inter-cultural, and international exchanges. In October 2003, the
United States made it possible for eight women from the Women’s
Training Center in Estonia to attend an international conference in
St. Petersburg that helped women formulate strategies for achieving
equality in practice. In Bulgaria, the United States funded 8 courses
in shoe-making and sewing for 80 socially disadvantaged Roma women
from the town of Dupnitsa and the suburb of Krainitsi. Each graduate
will receive job placement in local factories.

Microenterprise Development. For several decades, the United States
has been helping the poor — who depend on microenterprises for their
survival — to gain access to capital, information, inputs,
technologies, and markets. Women are major beneficiaries of
microloans. In Azerbaijan, Mercy Corps is raising the incomes of
rural women microentrepreneurs by making available high quality and
reasonably priced veterinary and animal husbandry services for
livestock and poultry. Such programs also help veterinarians expand
their client base and improve their ability to diagnose and treat.

Credit Access. Sponsored by ECA, Elmir Ismayilov of Azerbaijan is a
“Contemporary Issues Fellow” at the University of Michigan. In
Azerbaijan, he helped develop local credit mechanisms for women.
Today, in his work as a community development officer with a
nonprofit agency, Ismayilov has helped financial institutions to
revise lending methodologies, conduct outreach to women, and
implement post loan trainings to minimize delinquency and business
failure among women. The establishment of creditworthiness among
women has laid a foundation for future access to funding and services
from commercial financial institutions.

Business Development. Eight women business leaders and entrepreneurs
from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Latvia, Norway, Romania, and
Switzerland participated in a 3-week European Regional International
Visitor Leadership Program on “Business Development Issues for Women
Business Leaders” in June 2004. Their program provided practical
insights into initiatives that promote the development of women
business owners; introduced federal, state, and local policies
designed to advance women’s prominence in business leadership; and
provided opportunities for visitors to meet with women business
leaders and owners in a variety of contexts throughout the United
States, and who shared personal success stories and challenges.

Combating Domestic Violence

Training and Crisis Centers. A United States-sponsored program for
2003-04 trained between roughly 150 civil servants, medical workers,
educators, and law-enforcement officers on how to combat domestic
violence in Russia. The project promotes cooperation among NGOs and
Russian state agencies on the prevention of family violence. The
United States also is assisting one of Russia’s oldest crisis centers
to update and improve its statistical database on domestic violence.
Access to this resource by lawyers and legal aid clinics will improve
legal services for victims of domestic violence. Twelve women’s
organizations and crisis centers will receive a user’s manual with a
description of typical cases and recommended courses of action. Four
centers will be trained directly on how to use and update the
information.

Anti-Trafficking Efforts

Raising Awareness of Trafficking. In Estonia, the United States has
provided resources to the public library at the Estonian Women’s
Studies and Resource Center to educate police and border guard
officials, youth workers, social workers, teachers, and vocational
counselors about the causes and consequences of prostitution and
trafficking in women. In Albania, the U.S. Embassy Tirana’s Democracy
Commission Small Grants Program supported the production of a short
drama by high school students depicting the tragedy of human
trafficking. Written by a prominent Albanian author, the play
addressed a range of issues associated with trafficking in persons.

Trafficking Prevention Centers. In Ukraine, the United States funded
seven women’s trafficking prevention centers (TPC). The TPCs have
hotlines and offer referral services for health, legal, and
psychological counseling. The Trafficking Prevention Program works
with Ukrainian women’s NGOs to provide job skills training, legal
consulting services, and a public education campaign. Since 1998,
44,850 women have received consultations or job skills training;
5,040 women have found work or received a promotion due to the
training program; 176 businesses have been created; and 26,149 women
completed trafficking prevention or domestic violence awareness
training.

Law Enforcement/Training. With U.S. support, the Women’s Rights
Center in Yerevan, Armenia, conducted 16 training sessions on
domestic violence and 14 sessions on trafficking in women for 225
professionals from law-enforcement, government, NGOs, teachers,
doctors, journalists, and psychologists between October 2002 and June
2003. The Center publishes a newsletter on women’s issues and
broadcasts TV and radio programs on the prevention of trafficking in
persons and domestic violence against women. Two members of the
Armenian Government’s Interagency Group To Combat Trafficking visited
the United States for further training; they had an opportunity to
develop concrete approaches to combating trafficking. In Romania, the
Regional Anti-Trafficking Best Practice Manual is the culmination of
an intensive 2-year cooperation among the U.S., the UN Development
Program (UNDP), and Romania’s Ministry of Administration and the
Interior. Written for border police officers, specialized police
units, and prosecutors, the manual was officially adopted by the UN
Office on Drugs and Crime at the regional law enforcement senior
officials meeting in Vienna in December 2003.

Legal Reform. In July 2004, five representatives from the Finnish
Parliament, Ministries, and NGO’s participated in a 1-week Voluntary
Visitor Program in Washington, DC, and Atlanta, Georgia, focusing on
U.S. Governmental and non-governmental efforts in combating
trafficking and assisting victims. The program gave the participants
the opportunity to learn about U.S. legislation and strategies and
NGOs’ efforts in victim identification and assistance. It prepared
them with models and ideas to help implement Finland’s new
anti-trafficking program. ECA also awarded grants in FY 2003 for
anti-trafficking programs in Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania, and Serbia and Montenegro. These
exchanges targeted representatives from NGOs and government agencies
and their efforts to draft new laws and legislation to address
anti-trafficking efforts in their countries.

Healthcare

New Medical Equipment. The U.S. Government donated $500,000 in
equipment and supplies to Uzbekistan to help continue to improve
healthcare for women and children. New medical equipment will help
twelve central hospitals, two maternity houses and selected rural
medical points in the regions of Kashkadarya and Surkhandarya to
Training programs on the new equipment will ensure that maternity
wards and pediatric departments provide better care for their
patients.

Training. In 2003, the United States brought maternal and child
healthcare experts from Russia to demonstrate how the U.S. healthcare
system in works to assure a healthy pregnancies, deliveries, and
early childhoods. Participants became familiar with models of healthy
lifestyles, childbirth education, and family-centered maternity care.
The United States also helped train volunteers from the blind female
community in Vladivostok, so they could provide psychological support
to other visually impaired women and programs aimed at integrating
blind women into community life. In addition, the project worked to
create networks between organizations serving the blind and other
women’s NGOs in Vladivostok.

Education and Information. As part of a series of events on breast
cancer, Kathy Pardew, wife of the U.S. Ambassador, hosted a book
launch at the U.S. Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria, in October 2003. The
book, “Ask the Doctor: Breast Cancer” by Dr. V. Friedewald and Dr.
A.U. Buzdar, was translated into Bulgarian by the embassy. Several
dozen Bulgarian physicians, breast cancer survivors, and breast
cancer activists attended the event, which was covered by the
Bulgarian press. Speakers highlighted the changing public attitudes
toward cancer and the importance of building networks among patient
groups, women leaders, journalists, and doctors.

Athletics/Sports

Management Training. In April 2003, a delegation from the Ministry of
Youth and Sports of Kosovo undertook a week-long Voluntary Visitor
program in New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. on how to
organize, recruit, fund, and manage girls/women’s sports teams —
specifically soccer — and the role that government, business, and
private citizens play in managing and funding sports leagues. With
very few organized sports teams for youth and none for girls, the
officials hope to promote sports as a beneficial activity for girls.
The development of sports programs for women and girls can have a
positive effect on women’s lives.

(end fact sheet)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs,
U.S. Department of State. Web site: )