Author: Varosian Antranik

The Moscow Times
Monday, October 25, 2004. Page 16.

Safin Masters Madrid, Sharapova Loses

The Associated Press

Alvaro Hernandez / AP

Safin enjoying a shower of champagne courtesy of models at the ATP Masters
Series tournament in Madrid on Sunday. In the final, Safin beat David
Nalbandian 6-2, 6-4, 6-3.

MADRID — Playing some overpowering tennis, Marat Safin ground down David
Nalbandian of Argentina, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 Sunday to win the $3 million Madrid
Masters.

In Zurich, fellow Russian Maria Sharapova had less luck, losing to underdog
Alicia Molik of Australia in the final of the Swisscom Challenge 4-6, 6-2,
6-3.

The Madrid final pitted players ranked ninth (Safin) and 10th in the world,
but the day belonged to the Russian, whose win edges him closer to a berth
in the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Houston next month.

Safin had 14 aces in the match that lasted 1 hour, 52 minutes. Nalbandian,
who didn’t lose a single set en route to the finals, had just one.

Of his first nine service games, Nalbandian lost four. When he did break
Safin, once in each of the first two sets, a determined Safin broke back
almost immediately.

The winner pocketed $534,000 and 100 points in the Race and Entry Rankings.

Safin overtook Tim Henman of Britain for sixth place. Of the eight
invitations, four are locked up, leaving four to be decided in the next few
weeks.

Nalbandian, the 2002 losing Wimbledon finalist, stayed in 10th spot.

Some of the biggest names in tennis were absent due to injury or other
reasons, notably the top three players in the world — Roger Federer, Andy
Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt.

In Zurich, Olympic bronze medalist Molik ended Wimbledon champion
Sharapova’s 12-match winning streak, inflicted the 17-year-old Russian’s
first defeat in a final, dashed Sharapova’s attempt to take three successive
trophies after wins in Seoul and Tokyo, and denied her a seventh career
title.

“Bad luck,” Molik said, addressing Sharapova during the prize ceremony at
Zurich’s Schluefweg Stadium. “We had a good match. I’m looking forward to
more of these battles in the future.”

Molik, 23, also avenged her straight sets defeat by Sharapova in the
quarterfinals of June’s DFS Classic in Birmingham, England — the pair’s
only previous meeting — and captured a third WTA trophy for her collection,
after victories last year in Hobart, Australia, and in August in Stockholm,
Sweden.

Molik felled two of Sharapova’s compatriots — Vera Zvonareva and Nadia
Petrova — on her way to the final of the $1.3 million Swisscom Challenge.

Molik said she was unfazed after she dropped the first set Sunday.

She likewise bounced back in her semi Saturday against champion Patty
Schnyder of Switzerland, defeating the home favorite 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

“That’s something I’ve been doing all week,” Molik said. “I’ve been keeping
my cool.”

No. 4 seed Sharapova knocked out Venus Williams in straight sets in Friday’s
quarterfinals. In her all-Russian semi Saturday, she beat Yelena Dementyeva
4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

The Michigan Daily, MI
Oct 22 2004

Conference seeks peace in former Soviet republics

Photo: Vitaly Naumkian, the director of the International Center for
Strategic and Political Studies in Russia, speaks at the panel
discussion “Evolving International Relations and the South Caucasus”
yesterday at the Alumni Center. (Alexander dziadosz/Daily)

By Margaret Havemann, Daily Staff Reporter

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Georgia have seen their influence in the world increase due to
their strategic location north of the Middle East and their easy
access to trade routes on the Caspian Sea.

However, with this increase in responsibility has come an increase in
military conflicts, as all three of the former republics of the
Soviet Union are engaged in wars.

In order to re-examine the region’s problems and discuss what has
gone wrong in the region in the past decade, the University is
hosting the International Armenian Conference this weekend. The
conference on Armenian politics that began yesterday and will end
Sunday will bring together some 35 scholars, diplomats and
negotiators from more than 10 countries, including nations in Europe
and the Middle East.

`We want to see if the trust between this very diverse group of
people can be strengthened, so that progress can be made,’ Gerard
Libaridian, a professor of modern Armenian history at the University,
said during the conference’s opening yesterday.

For the first time in years, diplomats and scholars directly involved
in creating policies for conflict resolution in the region will come
together, he said.

`This is an event that I’m sure many Armenian academics have
considered organizing, but because of my personal connections, we
were able to make it happen here at the University of Michigan,’ said
Libaridian, who spent seven years as the senior advisor to Armenia’s
president.

After almost eight months of planning, Kevork Bardakjian, a
co-organizer of the conference and the director of the University’s
Academic Programs in Armenian Studies, said many discussions will
take place that anyone interested in Armenian or Middle East politics
will find fascinating.

Members of the Armenian Studies Program, one of the groups hosting
the conference, hope that it will facilitate a discussion among
powerful people who will reflect on and perhaps examine the mistakes
in policy decisions made in the 1990s that led to bloody conflicts
and unstable governments.

A civil wars is currently taking place in Georgia, while Armenia and
Azerbaijan have long been engaged in conflict. Additionally,
elections in Armenia have been deemed unfair by analysts.

LSA sophomore Alex Sarkesian considers himself 100 percent Armenian
although he was born in the United States, and he said on a recent
visit to the country `I saw the graves of the people who have died
fighting in the conflicts.’

`I am attending this conference because, not only is it very
important for students and the community to become better informed
about what is going on, but this is an exciting opportunity for
change.’

Participants in the panel discussions include Terhi Hakala, Finland’s
ambassador to Armenia; John Evans, the U.S. ambassador to Armenia;
and Prof. Hossein Seifzadeh of Tehran University in Iran.

The conference also offers the opportunity for students to meet
diplomats and scholars and talk with the people whom they have read
about in textbooks. `This will bring the politics of Armenia to
life,’ Libaridian said.

Following Libaridian’s speech was a panel discussion titled `Evolving
International Relations and the South Caucaus.’ The panel included
sociology Prof. Michael Kennedy from the University of Michigan,
Vitaly Naumkin, the director of the International Center for
Strategic and Political Studies in Russia and international relations
Prof. Hadi Semati from Tehran University.

Today’s events include a panel discussion titled `The World as Seen
by the South Caucasus,’ from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and one titled
`The South Caucasus As Seen by the Regional Powers,’ from 2 to 3:30
p.m. All sessions are free, open to the public and take place at the
Alumni Center, near the Michigan League.

ArmenPress
Oct 22 2004

MINISTER OSKANIAN VISITED MKHITARIAN CONGREGATION OF VENICE

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 22, ARMENPRESS: Armenian foreign minister Vartan
Oskanian made a greeting speech at Let’s Save the Book scientific
conference in Saint Lazarus island of Venice. According to foreign
ministry press services, being the joint effort of Mkhitarian
Congregation of Venice and local authorities, the conference hosts
state officials, a representative of Austrian culture and science
ministry, prominent scientists, experts in Armenian identity and
university faculty and students.
The Mkhitarian Congregation was founded by Abbot Mkhitar,
prominent Armenian scholar and theologian, who converted to the Roman
Catholicism. In 1717, Abbot Mkhitar founded the renowned Congregation
of scholar monks in Venice, on St. Lazarus Island. The monastery of
Mkhitar developed a worldwide famous academy.
The purpose of the conference is to present features of Mkhitarian
rich library, recovery projects of unique publications and books and
prospects for opening a new library by the Veneto region.
The “Let’s Save the Book” project has spent $150,000 thus far to
properly preserve about 200,000 books kept in the Mkhitarian library.

Today, minister Oskanian visited also Venice Center for Armenian
Studies and Documentation which is located in Loggia del Temanza
Palazzo, founded in 1777. The center conducts important work in
Armenian medieval history, literature and art studies. Lectures are
organized and works are conducted for the recovery and preservation
of Armenian monuments. Part of this is funded by foreign ministry of
Italy.
Minister Oskanian and the center authorities exchanged ideas on
Armenian studies and protection of cultural values in Venice and
agreed to attract the attention of international community to the
issue.
Armenian foreign minister was hosted also at Murad Rafaelian
College in Venice which was established in 1836 and has been located
in Ka Zenobir famous palace since 50s of the same century. Prominent
figures of Armenian culture, including Daniel Varujan, Petros
Adamian, Vahram Papazian, Edgar Shahin and others studied in this
school.
In the evening, an exhibition dedicated to 300 year long history
of relations between Mkhitarian Congregation and Venice authorities
opened which will run by the end of January, 2005.
These days, Armenian ship Cilicia also reached the coast of Saint
Lazarus island closing the first stage of the journey. Minister
Oskanian visited the ship and talked with the crew handing them
souvenirs and medals of Armenian foreign ministry.
In the course of the whole visit to Italy, minister Oskanian was
accompanies by Italian Ambassador to Armenia Marco Clemente.

Skagit Valley Herald,
Oct 21 2004

Skagit Symphony director to make debut
By ISOLDE RAFTERY Staff Writer

Roupen Shakarian, interim conductor of the Skagit Symphony, leads
local concerts Saturday and Sunday.

The first time he heard recordings of Mendelssohn and Bach on the
radio, Roupen Shakarian was a 4-year-old boy living in Egypt. He
later took piano lessons in Cairo, but pursuing Western music would
have been in vain at the time because his family, which had no
running water or phone, didn’t have the money to finance that sort of
education.

But the Western classical music resonated with the son of Armenian
parents, so much so that 15 years later, after his family had
emigrated to the United States because of growing religious tension
in his homeland, he abandoned his engineering courses at the
University of Washington to follow the chord that touched him so long
ago.

He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of
Washington. Later, he traveled to London and Yale University to study
conducting. Now he teaches every morning at North Seattle Community
College, composes music, and serves as music director to Philharmonia
Northwest.

Shakarian is the interim music director of the Skagit Symphony. The
public will have the opportunity to see him wield the baton this
weekend at concerts in Mount Vernon and Anacortes.

He replaces Kathleen Ash Barraclough, who was with the symphony for
around a decade.

Shakarian has tread slowly into the job. He refused, for example, to
assume the title of full director until the members of the orchestra
determined whether he was right for the job.

“It’s not just a board decision,” he said. “They need to decide – I
didn’t feel it was a healthy thing, to have a director. They need an
interim.”
Relaxed, often smiling broadly, Shakarian chose his words carefully
while chatting about the symphony over tea at one of his favorite
haunts, Skagit Valley Food Co-op.

Music and his commitment to the symphony are foremost in his
thoughts.

“This is a family of like-minded souls,” he said. “We’re working on
simple things, like a symphony roster that includes both the board
members and the orchestra members.”

The orchestra is made up of volunteers, some of whom have full-time
jobs in other fields, and others who are musicians with their own
studios.

Shakarian’s gentle approach to the Skagit Symphony resembles his
music philosophy, which comes from a twist on a bumper sticker adage:
“Think locally, compose globally.”

Globally, because he has lived that way.

He is Armenian, Egyptian – and a little bit Skagitonian, not solely
because of the symphony, but because of his love for the area’s
scenic qualities and his longtime dream of relocating here with his
wife Shirley.

But he cannot commit to any one place. It would seem that the West
Coast would be the place he calls home, given the time he has spent
in the Pacific Northwest. He arrived in 1962, just as the Space
Needle was being built in Seattle for the World’s Fair. But despite
his polar fleece vest and enterprising sense, Shakarian may not
consider himself entirely American. He returns to what has been a
constant theme with him since he was a small boy – classical music.

“My roots are steeped in Western classical music tradition,” he said.
“There are no other connections quite so strong.”

Tuesday, October 19, 2004 ESPN Soccer Pyunik clinch fourth
straight title YEREVAN, Oct 19 (Reuters) – Pyunik Yerevan hammered
lowly Shirak Gyumri 6-1 on Tuesday to clinch their fourth consecutive
Armenian league title with four rounds of matches to spare.

The win gave Pyunik an insurmountable 16-point lead over second-placed
Mika Ashtarak, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Kotaik Abovyan. It also
secured them a league and cup double this season, their second such
feat in the last three years.

It was Pyunik’s sixth league win since 1992 when the small Caucasus
country began conducting their own independent championship following
the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Oct 20 2004

European Azeris protest Armenian congress’s convention

About one thousand Azerbaijani and Turkish Turks residing in the
Netherlands and Belgium marched from the Luxembourg Square of
Brussels to the building of the European Parliament on Tuesday.
Papers on Armenian atrocities were distributed among residents of
Brussels during the protest action, the European Azerbaijanis
Congress told AssA-Irada.
The march came as a protest against European Armenians’ intention to
put pressure on international organizations with a view to achieving
determination of the status of the self-proclaimed Upper Garabagh
Republic and its recognition at the congress held in the Belgium
capital on the same day.
The international congress of European Armenians discussed the issue
of opening the Turkish-Armenian borders as well.*

ArmenPress
Oct 18 2004

NATO SECRETARY GENERAL TO VISIT SOUTH CAUCASUS IN EARLY NOVEMBER

BAKU, OCTOBER 18, ARMENPRESS: Robert Simons, a special
representative of NATO’s Secretary General Jap de Hoop Scheffer to
Central Asia and South Caucasus was quoted by Azerbaijani Turan news
agency as saying that Scheffer plans to visit Azerbaijan, Georgia and
Armenia in early November.
In response to a question whether NATO was going to open a
representation office in the Caucasus Simons said a recent NATO
summit in Istanbul adopted two major decisions on the Caucasus and
Central Asia. According to the first one, two NATO senior officers
will be making frequent trips to these regions to monitor the
situation and work with their governments within the frameworks of
Partnership for Peace program. According to the second decision, NATO
appointed its special representatives for these two regions.
Robert Simons also commented on Azerbaijan’s discontent with NATO
and accusations that it supports Armenia’s “aggressive” policy. “NATO
advocates for resolution of problems among its partner countries on
the basis of independence, sovereignty and their territorial
integrity, hoping that all conflicts will be resolved soon through
peaceful ways, ” he was quoted as saying. He also added that NATO’s
decision to cancel Cooperative Best Efforts-2004 maneuvers in
Azerbaijan was not an attempt to defend Armenia. “Our goal is to
develop partnership with all interested countries and provide them
all with equal opportunities,” he said.

Library given 700 Armenian-language books
By Alex Dobuzinskis, Staff Writer

Los Angeles Daily News, CA
Oct 15 2004

BURBANK — About 700 Armenian-language books from the estate of
a local teacher have been donated to the Burbank Public Library,
nearly doubling its collection of works related to that culture. The
books were donated by the family of Khatchik Araradian of Hollywood,
who died last year at age 90. They should appear on library shelves
within three months.

“There’s a lot of older people in Burbank, older Armenians, who don’t
necessarily have the money to buy these books brand-new, so they
could go in and check it out and read it,” said Bedig Araradian, 45,
of Burbank, a nephew of the teacher.

The volumes include a translation of P.L. Travers’ “Mary Poppins”
and a translation of plays by William Saroyan. There are also books
by famous Armenian authors, such as Avetik Isahakyan, Silva Kaputikyan
and Hakob Oshakan.

There are also textbooks and other nonfiction in the donation.

Librarian Isabelle Kotikian said she expects nearly all the books to
be added to the library’s collection.

The Burbank library has about 400,000 books — about 8,663 of them
in non-English languages including Spanish, French and Japanese.

Araradian taught children about plays and theater at local Armenian
schools, including Holy Martyrs Armenian Elementary in Encino. His
interest in theater shows up in the donated collection, which has
many plays and books about the dramatic arts.

“He loved reading. Every time he went out, he saw a book that he liked
(and) bought it,” said Alec Araradian, 40, of Burbank, another nephew.

Khatchik Araradian bought the books in local Armenian bookstores
after he settled in the United States in 1977 from Lebanon.

The books are among 1,000 donated books in Armenian or about Armenia
or Armenians that the library has received this year. The library
system had about 500 Armenian books before the donations.

In March the library received about 150 books about the Armenian
Genocide and Armenian history and put those books into circulation.
An additional 100 books for children in Armenian were donated over
the summer and put into circulation.

A group called Books for Burbank organized the donations with
involvement by the local chapter of the Armenian National Committee.

“The reason we reached out to the community was we realized we weren’t
meeting the needs of the Armenian community, and our book budget didn’t
really give us a lot of money to go out and purchase what we needed,”
said Sharon Cohen, director of library services.

Christians urge crackdown on spitting Jews
By Inigo Gilmore, LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH

Washington Times, DC
Oct 14 2004

JERUSALEM – Christian leaders in Jerusalem have attacked what they say
is the increasingly common phenomenon of spitting by ultra-Orthodox
Jews on members of their faith.

The statement followed a brawl between an Orthodox Jewish student
and an Armenian archbishop. The two men clashed in Jerusalem’s Old
City after a Yeshiva (religious school) student spat at a cross being
carried by the clergyman during a procession near the Holy Sepulcher,
the revered site of Jesus’ Crucifixion.

Archbishop Nourhan Manougian then slapped the Yeshiva student and in
the ensuing scuffle, his 17th century ceremonial medallion was broken.

Both were questioned by police and the Yeshiva student is facing
charges. He has been banned from approaching the Old City for 75 days.

The Armenians have branded the police action inadequate and say this
sort of thing has been going on for years. In an interview with an
Israeli newspaper Monday, Archbishop Manougian demanded that Israeli
leaders speak out about the abuse.

“When there is an attack against Jews anywhere in the world, the
Israeli government is incensed, so why, when our religion and pride
are hurt, don’t they take harsher measures?” he asked, adding that
officials “are not interested when we are humiliated on a daily basis.”

His strongly worded critique has encouraged other Christian leaders
to speak out, including a senior Greek Orthodox clergyman who has
revealed how he was approached by an elderly man wearing a skullcap
who spat in his face.

The clergyman preferred not to lodge a complaint with the police and
told an acquaintance that he was used to Jews spitting at him.

Daniel Rossing, a former adviser to Israel’s Religious Affairs
Ministry on Christian affairs and the director of a Jerusalem center
for Christian-Jewish dialogue, said there has been an increase in
the number of such incidents, particularly in parts of the Old City,
“as part of a general atmosphere of lack of tolerance in the country.”

Azeri MP throws “bus” remark back at US presidential hopeful Kerry

Ekho, Baku
12 Oct 04

Test of report by R. Orucov in Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho on 12 October
headlined ” Azerbaijani MP exposes the US presidential candidate”,
subheaded “Mais Safarli is displeased with John Kerry’s statements”

A statement made by US presidential hopeful Senator John Kerry
last week that Azerbaijan “should be thrown under a bus” has caused
political uproar in Baku (Ekho has already reported on this).

MP Mais Safarli answered Kerry from the rostrum of [the Azerbaijani]
parliament. As is known, the senator enjoys much support from the
Armenian diaspora in the USA. Ekho got in touch with Safarli,
requesting him to comment on the attitude to the issue that he
expressed in parliament.

“America is the cradle of democracy, or at least, it aspires to this
status. Of course, all election processes should proceed in this
country within the framework of democracy and the law,” the MP said.

“However, some candidates standing for the US presidency behave
immorally towards certain peoples and states. John Kerry made very
critical remarks about Azerbaijan. Of course, this is all down to
pressure from the Armenian lobby in the USA,” he said.

Safarli dwelt specifically on Kerry’s offensive remarks that Azerbaijan
“should be thrown under a bus”. I had something very sharp to say
about this. I said that these offensive remarks against Azerbaijan
were was just the sort of thing that one could expect from someone
from whose face one can tell that they themselves have been under the
wheels of a bus and now can’t think straight. Apart from that I said
that such speeches do not become a citizen of America – a country
which aspires to the title of bulwark of lawfulness and democracy.

Safarli also said he thought that one could expect something like this
only from Kerry because “this person is living on the dirty money of
Armenian terrorists and separatists”.

Meanwhile, all this is very sad and offensive since Azerbaijan is
an ally of the USA in the region. All the interests of the USA,
specifically its economic interests have been actually protected in
Azerbaijan. We are closely cooperating with the USA in the fight
against international terrorism. We feel insulted and therefore,
I decided to have a strong go at Kerry, the MP said.