Author: Zaminian Bedik

Yerkir Media’s policy receives an award

Yerkir/arm
July 22, 2005

By Hovhannes Yeranian

On July 10 the Yerevan Press Club celebrated its 10th
anniversary. During the celebration ceremony annual prizes were
awarded to journalists from different media.

Yerkir Media TV channel was awarded the prize for the best political
analytical programs. Committee for Protection of the Freedom of Speech
awarded Yerkir Media a prize in the same nomination. It is no doubt an
honor for a TV company to receive such an award especially that this
TV company is only one year old. We asked director of Yerkir Media
Gegham Manukian to share with our readers the future plans of the
company.

Q: Mr. Manukian, let me congratulate you for getting the two
prizes. These prizes are of special importance in the context of the
conventional opinionthat people expect only entertaining programs and
talk shows from the TV companies. A: The development of Yerkir Media
was our first priority from the very beginning. In our proposal we
paid much attention to cultural, scientific, analytical and news
programs. When our company started working we saw that we could air
interesting international political and analytical programs. There are
two trends of development in the Armenian TV market. The first one is
to adjustto the taste of the mainstream TV audience and air light
programs paying no attention to news, politics and analysis. The
second one, which became the main principle for our company, is to
avoid becoming hostage to such low-quality demand. Our principle is to
be objective. When presenting news we do our best to present the
positions of all parties concerned. The award we received todayis an
appreciation of our work in this direction.

Q: In other words, the prize you received was awarded not to a
specific program but to the overall policy of your TV company? A:
Yes. I should also add a couple of words about our news programs. It
has been important for us to be at the center of events and today our
reporters present information on developments in different parts of
the world.

Q: A professional team and a team of experts are necessary to have a
serious political analytical program. Are there such experts on our
television? Are there political analysts in our country that can bring
interesting and new approaches to the television? A: Very often we
lack such people. The scope of guests we can invite is rather
limited. Nevertheless, there are people, international relations
specialists, political analysts and political leaders that
professionally analyze various topics. In addition to them, we have
our experts. A professional team dealing with the region currently
works with Yerkir Media. They know different languages. Graduates of
international relations or oriental studies departments come to work
at our company and their skills and knowledge are very helpful for us.

Q: What are your future plans? Do the awards make you self-sufficient?
A: I don’t want to go into details now, but we are thinking of an
analytical program that will deal with domestic politics. A program
called European Diary will inform our audience of the developments in
Europe and the impact they have on our country. A new series of
programs dealing with the activities of NGOs has been recently aired
on our channel.

Q: There are two ways of expanding the audience of a TV channel. The
most important one is of course raising the quality of the
programs. The other one is increasing the area of broadcasting. Ever
since Yerkir Media was created it was said that it would be broadcast
all over the country. A: We are working in this direction. We hope it
will happen in near future. Our programs will be broadcast not only
all over Armenia but at a larger scope.

Q: What other new programs can we watch on Yerkir Media in the new
season? A: Even though the summer is very hot, we have recently aired
a new program. It is called `Ambassador’ and tells about the
embassies accredited to Armenia and their staff. There is another new
program called `Miashabti=80=9D. A new series of programs will be
aired that tell about the beautiful sites of Armenia that are not
mentioned in any tourist guidebooks. In September we will air several
other new programs.

The Library of Congress
27 July 2005

H.R.3361
Title: To prohibit United States assistance to develop or promote any rail
connections or railway-related connections that traverse or connect Baku,
Azerbaijan; Tbilisi, Georgia; and Kars, Turkey, and that specifically
exclude cities in Armenia.
Sponsor: Rep Knollenberg, Joe [MI-9] (introduced 7/20/2005) Cosponsors
(10)
Latest Major Action: 7/20/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred
to the Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the
Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

COSPONSORS(10), ALPHABETICAL [followed by Cosponsors withdrawn]: (Sort:
by date)
Rep Garrett, Scott [NJ-5] – 7/26/2005Rep Kirk, Mark Steven [IL-10] –
7/26/2005
Rep Maloney, Carolyn B. [NY-14] – 7/25/2005Rep McCotter, Thaddeus G.
[MI-11] – 7/25/2005
Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3] – 7/25/2005Rep McNulty, Michael R. [NY-21] –
7/22/2005
Rep Pallone, Frank, Jr. [NJ-6] – 7/20/2005Rep Radanovich, George [CA-19] –
7/20/2005
Rep Rogers, Mike [MI-8] – 7/25/2005Rep Souder, Mark E. [IN-3] – 7/25/2005

KNOLLENBERG SPEARHEADS LEGISLATION TO BAR U.S. FUNDING FOR
RAILROAD LINKS THAT BYPASS ARMENIA

WASHINGTON, DC, JULY 26. ARMINFO. – Congressional Caucus on Armenian
Issues Co- Chair Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), along with Caucus Co-Chair
Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Rep. George Radanovich (R-CA), last
night introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would
bar U.S. assistance for a proposed Kars-Akhalkalaki rail link which
isolates Armenia from East-West commercial corridors, the Armenian
Assembly of America reports.

H. R. 3361, also known as the South Caucasus Integration and Open
Railroads Act of 2005, would prohibit U.S. assistance for this
ill-proposed route which would link Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan
but not traverse Armenia. According to preliminary estimates,
constructing a new rail link would cost at least $400-800 million and
would be financed by the participating countries.

“Excluding Armenia from economic and commercial opportunities
undermines U.S. long-term interests in the region,” said Congressman
Knollenberg. “The U.S. should not assist in promoting or developing
the proposed Kars-Akhalkalaki railroad, which bypasses Armenia,
ignores the existing Kars-Gyumri route, thwarts regional cooperation
and serves to destabilize the South Caucasus.”

Armenian government officials have repeatedly said that a new railway
is unnecessary given that a railroad linking Armenia, Georgia and
Turkey already exists. The existing line is in working condition and
could be operational within weeks.

In his speech, Nollenberg says: “United States foreign policy toward
the South Caucasus nations is one of fostering regional stability and
enhanced cooperation. I rise today to bring attention to the great
injustice in relations in this region. * I speak today to stress my
opposition and to move forward with legislation contesting the
proposed railroad connecting Tbilisi, Georgia and Kars, Turkey. The
proposed railroad would systematically bypass Armenia, and push them
further into isolation. * As we all know, Turkey and Armenia have
their differences. Although it is counterproductive to list those
differences, instead I want to highlight the fact that it goes
against United States policy to be in a position that further
advances the turmoil in this region, The proposed legislation would
bar U.S. support and funding for a rail link connecting Georgia and
Turkey, but which directly averts Armenia. * Eight years ago, the
former Turkish president and the former Georgian president meant to
discuss the railroad that would open a third frontier crossing
between the two countries,” providing further commerce and economic
opportunity for the South Caucasus region. Both countries would
benefit immensely from this railroad. * While I will always support
commerce-based proposals that spawn economic development around the
world, this proposal initiates commerce at the cost of another
country’s economic development. This is unacceptable. * This railroad
would cost between $400-$800 million to construct, while a perfectly
workable and capable rail link already exists. It is evident to all
that this new rail system is being proposed for the specific reason
of diverting commerce around Armenia. * The construction of the
proposed railroad would be equivalent to the people of Ohio building
a new bridge to Canada just to avoid traveling through Michigan. The
United States government would never condone this action, and we
should not be in the practice of condoning the actions set forth by
the Turkish government. * The existing rail would be available for
use within weeks of an agreement between Armenia, Turkey, and
Georgia. Furthermore, the Armenian people are willing to forego using
the rail until normal relations with Turkey are established. Mr.
Speaker, although normal relations may still take some time, there is
no reason to further shut Armenia out of the equation. * Moreover,
the building of this railroad also highlights the ongoing struggle
between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Known by all, Azerbaijan’s main goal
is to strangle Armenia into submission of Nagorno- Karabakh. This
railroad does just that. * The United States and other countries
around the world, including Turkey, need to allow these two countries
to agree upon a solution regarding Nagorno-Karabakh. It is necessary
that third parties remain neutral. The proposed railroad not only
stunts the diplomatic progress between Armenia, Turkey and
Azerbaijan, it unnecessarily blocks Armenia’s economic and political
progress. * I encourage my colleagues to look at the facts of this
situation. The existing rail link would be available essentially as
soon as possible and it would take a minimal amount of funding in
order to get it usable again. Whereas, a new rail link would take
months if not years to build, and would cost an estimated $400-$800
million. There should be no question as to which plan the United
States supports.”

Civil Georgia
July 25 2005

Armenian PM Meets Georgian Leadership

Visiting Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan met with
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and Parliamentary Chairperson
Nino Burjanadze on July 25 in Tbilisi.

Margaryan said after talks with Burjanadze that bilateral economic
cooperation and joint measure for social rehabilitation projects in
Armenian-populated Samtskhe-Javakheti region in southern Georgia were
discussed.

`In the course of this year USD 350,000 was already transferred [for
projects in Samtskhe-Javakheti] from the Armenian state budget,’
Margaryan told reporters. The funds were designed for construction of
schools and equipment.

Nino Burjanadze told reporters after talks that the Armenian PM
requested the Georgian side to speed up working over the issues
related with the ownership of the several churches in Javakheti and
in Tbilisi which are disputed between Armenian Apostolic and Georgian
Orthodox Churches.

Armenian Prime Minister, who arrived in Georgian on July 24 has
already visited Samtskhe-Javakheti region and met with his Georgian
counterpart Zurab Nogaideli.

Armenian DM: Armenian army’s funding no less than Azerbaijani’s

25.07.2005 14:13

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – If the Azerbaijani army was more capable than the
Armenian army for only 5 minutes, Azerbaijan would try to settle the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict through military ways, Armenian Defense
Minister Serzh Sargsian said on July 23 when speaking to the
participants of the Third Pan-Armenian Youth Gathering. “The question
is, if they are capable and willing, then why don’t they fulfill their
wish?” Sargsian asked?

The minister also noted that the Armenian military’s funding in 2005
was no less than the Azerbaijani’s. The Armenian armed forces have
been funded from the country’s budget as well as allies, sponsors and
organizations have made their contributions, a common practice in the
world, according to Sargsian.

PanArmenian News Network
July 22 2005

PROBLEMS OF ARMENIANS OF GEORGIA – RESULT OF POLICY PURSUED BY
GORGIAN AUTHORITIES

22.07.2005 07:35

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ There are people in Russia, who think that if
Georgia has more problems it will easier pursue the policy due to
`divide and rule’ principle, leader of Russian Union of People for
Education and Science Vyacheslav Irgunov stated when commenting on
Tbilisi’s attempts to present Turkey as a true ally and accusing
Russia of stirring up national hostility. In his words, Georgia
itself creates plenty of problems on its territory and the tension in
respect to Armenians is the result of the policy pursued by the
Georgian authorities, who do not allow them to receive proper
education and feel as citizens of Georgia. `The same problem is with
the Ossetians, whose representatives were dismissed from the state
posts. As result majority of Ossetians abandoned Georgia. Georgians
cannot solve national problems. Unless Georgians learn to treat other
nations as equals, nothing positive will happen’, leader of Russian
Union of People for Education and Science stated.

Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep
July 21 2005

Shootout Ends Georgian Manhunt For Grenade Suspect

Presidents Bush (left) and Saakashvili during the May visit
(Interpress)

21 July 2005 (RFE/RL) — Georgian police have announced the arrest
of a 27-year-old ethnic Armenian suspected of throwing a live hand
grenade in the direction of the Georgian and U.S. presidents during
a high-profile public appearance in Tbilisi in May.

The suspect, Vladimir Arutyunian, was captured overnight following
a shootout that claimed the life of a senior police officer who
specialized in counterintelligence.

The final stage of Arutyunian’s capture was broadcast live on Georgia’s
main television channels.

Addressing reporters during an impromptu news briefing, Interior
Minister Ivane Merabishvili said Arutyunian was apprehended in the
Vashlijvari suburb of the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

Arutyunian resisted arrest, opening fire on police officers.
Merabishvili said the head of the Interior Ministry’s
counterintelligence department, Zurab Kvlividze, was killed in the
shootout.

“As [police] went to the house of the suspect, Vladimir Vladimirovich
Arutyunian, he opened fire, causing the death of one of our men,
Zurab Kvlividze,” Merabishvile said. “Arutyunian was wounded in the
shootout that followed and, a few minutes later, detained by a special
police unit.”

Arutyunian sustained wounds in the leg and chest and was rushed to
Tbilisi’s Republican Hospital for treatment, where his condition is
reportedly not life-threatening.

Merabishvili insisted Arutyunian was still considered a suspect and
that police would need a few more hours, perhaps days, to determine
whether he is the man who allegedly threw the grenade.

Attack On Two Presidents

The incident was not reported until U.S. President George W. Bush
left Georgia after addressing tens of thousands of people on Tbilisi’s
Freedom Square on 10 May.

Georgian authorities reported then to the U.S. Secret Service that
someone in the crowd had thrown a hand grenade folded in a red
handkerchief toward the stage where Bush and Georgian President
Mikheil Saakashvili were standing.

Officials said the Russian-made grenade landed within 30 meters of
both leaders, but failed to go off due to an apparent malfunction. A
Georgian security officer reportedly picked up the device and removed
it from the area.

Reward Offered

Georgian police have since been engaged in a nationwide manhunt that
also involved U.S. investigators.

Georgia’s Interior Minister initially offered a reward worth 20,000
laris ($11,000) to anyone with information leading to the arrest of
a suspect. That reward was raised to 150,000 laris three days ago.

Georgian television channels today showed photographs of a dark-haired
man that were taken while he was attending Bush’s address. Police
said the man shown in the pictures is Arutyunian, an unemployed ethnic
Armenian who lives alone with his mother.

Arutyunian’s mother, Anzhela, who was briefly detained for questioning,
told reporters her son had disappeared for the past three days before
returning home overnight.

“He hasn’t been home for the past three days,” she said. “Before that,
he was always here.”

U.S. Involvement In Hunt

The U.S. Secret Service today said it was monitoring the investigation
conducted by the Georgian authorities. It also denied being involved
in Arutyunian’s arrest.

Georgia’s Imedi television, however, said today that FBI agents were
searching Arutyunian’s apartment for further evidence.

Unconfirmed Georgian news reports quote Interior Ministry officials as
saying explosives and detonators, as well as chemical substances that
could possibly serve to make a bomb, were found at Arutyunian’s home.

The Georgian presidential administration said today that, following
the news of Arutyunian’s arrest, Saakashvili has decided to cut short
his vacation in the Netherlands and return to Tbilisi.

Victorville Daily Press, CA
July 21 2005

Healthy Eating by Nancy Berkoff
Apricots: Mixed-up history

Apricots’ scientific name is “prunus armeniaca,” because some
misdirected Western botanists thought the apricot had originated in
Armenia. They didn’t go quite far enough, because the apricot comes
originally from China. Any which way, apricots were one of the first
fruit to be cultivated in Southern California, by the Mission Fathers
in the 18th century.

When initially introduced to the West, the apricot tree was grown for
its prettiness, but its fruit was scorned – it was thought to induce
fevers. Alexander the Great didn’t believe it, and he grew apricots
wherever he stayed long enough to cultivate the seeds.

The word “apricot” comes from a combination of Spanish and Arabic,
“al barquau,” meaning “precocious,” as apricots are the first tree
fruit to bloom in the spring. The apricot tree is a deciduous with
lots of varieties that will grow in warm and temperate climates.

Your apricots should satisfy Goldilocks – not too soft and not too
hard, just right. Green or very hard apricots will probably never
sweeten, and too soft or brown-spotted apricots will have a mushy,
grainy texture and a short shelf life. Apricots are quite sensitive
drupes (one-stoned fruit) and must be handled respectfully. Apricots
bruise easily and soften quickly, so pack them loosely, so they
don’t jostle each other – don’t jog home with them in your knapsack –
and store them in the fridge.

If your apricots are wilting right before your eyes, blanch them
(immerse in boiling water for only 30 seconds and them immerse them
in ice water to stop the cooking) whole, half and remove the pit
and freeze them. If the ripening has gotten out of hand, stew your
apricots or puree them and use as an ingredient in shakes, smoothies,
sorbets and baking recipes.

Fresh apricots are a palate-delicate snack eaten right from the tree
(or the grocery sack), but better to wash them first. Slice apricots
into poultry dishes, green, fruit and pasta salads, bake a pie or a
tart or serve over ice cream.

Fresh apricots are a great source of potassium and vitamin A. Of
course, dried apricots give more nutrients per square inch because
they are concentrated. So, enjoy fresh apricots while they are in
season and use dried apricots as Plan B. Six medium fresh apricots
will give at least one-third of your needs for vitamin A, and at 20
calories per apricot you can’t go wrong.

Another use for over-ripe apricots is in the beauty department.
Apricots contain astringents, which can clean and tighten the skin.
So, whirl some your pitted, overripe apricots in the blender, save
some of the puree for salad dressings and baking (and maybe some for
an apricot daiquiri). Slather the remaining puree on your kisser, sit
back and relax for about 10 minutes (that’s where the daiquiri comes
in), wash off and, voila, a new you! Who says produce can’t be fun?

Nancy Berkoff is a registered dietitian and chef with more
than 20 years of experience in the food industry. E-mail her at
[email protected]

American Daily, OH
July 20 2005

Islam: The Religion of Peace?
By Tom Brewton (07/20/05)

One consequence of our degraded educational system is a cohort of
college graduates who swallow the fallacious line that Muslims are
the aggrieved party; that because of the Crusades they are victims
who are merely struggling to redress oppression by the formerly
Christian West; that the United States deserved the 9/11 attacks.

The facts are overwhelmingly the reverse of the anti-American picture
painted by our liberal-socialist universities and colleges.

——–
Earlier postings on this website (here and here) have documented some
aspects of the truth about the barbaric and warlike nature of Islam,
which has been a religion of conquest, pillage, and enslavement since
622 AD.

That is not to say that all Muslims fit that profile today. It is to
say, however, that so long as they remain silent about, or joyfully
exult in terrorist mass murders, they do fit that description. Al
Queda~Rs principal spokesmen have explicitly declared war on the
Western world.

Unfortunately, just as happened to American colonists during our 1776
War of Independence, when families and friends were split between
American rebels and loyalists to the crown, Muslims living in western
societies are caught between two loyalties and they must choose.

***********
Maggie~Rs Farm provides additional specifics about Islam~Rs murderous
past in a posting dated Tuesday, July 19. 2005.

Islam: The Religion of Peace
Reading the reactions of Canadian Muslims to the London bombings as
they attempt to paint themselves as victims of nonexistent crimes
made me think back to some of the very real crimes that have been
committed by Muslims against the Christian (and other non-Muslim)
minorities in their midst throughout history. Most Westerners,
familar only with the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, and the
Holocaust, may be surprised by this:

The Armenians: Over 1,000,000 killed by the Turks in 1915 in a
forgotten genocide.

The Assyrian Christians: An ancient, non-Arab people of Northern
Iraq, 500,000-750,000 – almost three-quarters of the entire Assyrian
population – killed in 1915 by the Turks.

The Serbians: The first true ethnic cleansing in the Balkans was
committed by the Ottomans, who after a failed campaign against the
Austrians in the 1680s killed thousands of Serbs and destroyed
hundreds of churches and monasteries, notably in the Serbian homeland
of Kosovo.

The Egyptian Copts: The first major persecutions of Egyptian
Christians began during the medieval Fatimid Caliphate, but they
continue today in the form of abductions, forced conversions and
harsh laws overlooked by the government of Hosni Mubarak.

The Lebanese: Christians were a majority of the inhabitants of
Lebanon from late Roman times until the 1980s civil war, when tens of
thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands more driven to
emigrate. In 1980, Lebanon was majority Christian nation: today,
Christians are a shrinking minority.

The Sudanese: 1.5 million Christians have been killed by Muslims in
the north of the country, and many more have been tortured, enslaved
or driven from their homes.

The Nigerians: Muslims in the north of the country have launched a
virtual civil war against the Christians of the south, killing
thousands of innocent civilians in attacks over the past several
years.

The Iraqi Christians: One of the lamentable results of the Iraq war
has been the persecution, killing and emigration of hundreds of
thousands of Iraqi Christians, who are suspected of being in league
with the Western occupying forces. Christians made up as many as
15-20 percent of the Iraqi population 25 years ago: today the figure
is three percent and falling.

The Hindus: The Muslim conquest of northern India and Afghanistan
resulted in the massacre of hundreds of thousands of Hindus and
Buddhists and the destruction of entire cities. Even when nearly
every last non-Muslim had been killed or converted, the Taliban still
insisted on destroying the harmless and beautiful Buddhist reliefs
carved into cliffsides to eradicate every trace of their memory.

The Indonesians: Attacks against Christians in recent years have
resulted in the deaths of dozens of Christians and the destruction of
thousands of Christian-owned homes and businesses.

This is only a very partial list, of course, but it is fairly
representative of the atrocities that have been committed all over
the world throughout history and up to the present day. All of this
is in addition to continuing legal discrimination against Christians
in Muslim-majority nations, including laws against interfaith
marriage and Muslim-to-Christian conversions in Egypt, laws against
public worship and the establishment of new churches in Saudi Arabia,
and laws against proselytization of Muslims in Malaysia.

Having taken a brief look back at history, it seems more than a
little ridiculous for a Muslim to complain about his treatment in
Canada of all places, which has granted citizenship to hundreds of
thousands of Muslims in recent years, permitted the establishment of
hundreds of mosques, and caved in to Muslim demands at every turn.
Muslim arrogance at present is unparalleled since the days of the
~Srightly guided Caliphs,~T perhaps, and until Western nations find the
spine to stand up to this attitude things will only get worse.

What of the Western leaders describing the bombings as the work of a
“tiny core of extremists,~T or “a fringe movement?” Nonsense. Nearly
every Islamic nation in the world has waged or is currently waging a
war against the non-Muslims in its midst through one means or
another, with the goal of driving such unbelievers out entirely and
establishing complete demographic dominance while sending out
tentacles elsewhere. Islam does not deal in missionaries and sermons,
but in the sword and the chains of bondage, and always has. Modern
international terrorism is merely an outgrowth of this basic mindset,
which implicitly or explicitly condones whatever measures are
necessary to insure the spread of Islam. Perhaps the guilt-ridden
nations of the West can come to understand the vital lessons of
history before it is too late.

Posted by The Dylanologist in History at 15:53

Russian paper discusses situation in Javakhk

19.07.2005 16:54

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – A recent clash between Armenians and Georgians in
Javakhk region of southern Georgia became a topic for an article in
the Russian newspaper Pravda.ru, Armenpress reported. The seemingly
insignificant incident is likely to grow into a serious problem,
the paper wrote.

“Until now, the stability had been maintained due to the presence of
the Russian military base,” Pravda.ru wrote. “But now that the Russian
servicemen leave the region, serious ethnic and economic problems
emerge that Georgia is unable — and unwilling –to cope with.”