Author: Zaminian Bedik

The Jordan Times
Friday-Saturday, March 26-27, 2004

Annan summons UN council on probe into Iraq scandal

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – UN Secretary General Kofi Annan summoned Security
Council members on Thursday to get firm backing for an independent inquiry
into charges of corruption in the UN-run Iraq oil-for-food programme.
In a letter to council members obtained by Reuters, Annan defined terms of
the probe, saying it would look into allegations of corruption among UN
officials and outside firms dealing with Iraq under the now-defunct $65
billion humanitarian plan.

Evidence in the media from documents found in Iraq – but not given to the
United Nations – alleges payoffs, smuggling and bribes under the programme.
The worst allegation for the world body is a bribe said to have been paid to
the plan’s head, Benon Sevan, who has vigorously denied it.

UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said Annan was looking for a `nod’ from the
council, perhaps in a statement or a letter, after his meeting late on
Thursday.

`Without the full cooperation of governments and companies, the
investigation is not likely to succeed,’ Eckhard said.

Diplomats said a resolution mandating that all UN members cooperate with an
investigation would probably fail. Many of the firms and individuals charged
with wrongdoing were from the 15 Security Council member states.

Annan has not asked for council approval for the probe, which he said would
go ahead one way or another.

The oil-for-food plan, which began in late 1996, was intended to ease the
impact of 1991 Gulf War sanctions on ordinary Iraqis by allowing Baghdad to
sell oil to pay for humanitarian goods. Iraq selected the buyers of its oil
and vendors of goods.

Annan’s letter said the inquiry would be authorised to approach and seek
cooperation of member states and `their relevant authorities.’

He did not say how much the probe would cost or who would head it. Eckhard
said names were expected to be announced within a week.

Terms of inquiry

Annan in the letter said the probe also would determine:

– whether procedures established by the Security Council and UN secretariat
for monitoring and approving contracts were violated.

– whether any UN officials, personnel and agents or outside contractors
engaged in `any illicit or corrupt activities,’ including bribery, imposing
surcharges and other illicit payments.

– whether UN accounts were in order.

Annan said the independent commission could engage professional
investigators, auditors, accountants, forensic experts and others and issue
a report within three months after the start of the probe.

The burgeoning scandal is one of the worst to hit the world body, giving
fodder to its long-time critics. It also comes as the Bush administration
wants the United Nations to help Iraqis form an interim government

The US General Accounting Office, an interagency body headed by the treasury
department, says Iraqi elites raised $4.4 billion by imposing illegal
surcharges. Ousted Iraq President Saddam Hussein is estimated to have
smuggled another $5.7 billion in oil outside the UN programme through Syria,
Jordan and Turkey.

Many of the programme’s contracts, as well as previous allegations of
wrongdoing, were reviewed by the Security Council’s sanctions committee,
composed of all 15 council nations.

Some were brought to the panel’s attention by Sevan, others by the United
States and Britain over the years. But members, sharply divided over Iraq,
often took no action.

The Iraqi Governing Council has also launched an investigation and several
have been announced in Washington, by Congress, the Pentagon and others.
Britain is probing its own firms.

Friday-Saturday, March 26-27, 2004

ArmenPress
March 26 2004

GERMAN NEWSPAPER NAMES AVET TERTERIAN STAR OF THE YEAR

YEREVAN, MARCH 26, ARMENPRESS: Avet Terterian was awarded by a
German Az-Abendzeitung newspaper the title of Star of the Year for
his Earthquake opera. The world premiere of the Armenian composer
Avet Terterian’s opera “The Earthquake” was held on March 16, 2003 at
Munich’s Gertnerplatztheater. The opera’s libretto was written by
Gerta Stecher together with Terterian.
Heinrich von Kleist’s famous 1806 novella “The Earthquake in
Chile” provides the basic outline of the dramatic operatic subject,
which is the destruction of Santiago de Chile in 1647. Kleist tells
of a nobleman’s daughter who was placed in a convent in order to
separate her from her lover. When the lovers are caught in the
convent garden, they are sentenced to death. An earthquake frees them
shortly before the execution. The lovers go to the city’s half
destroyed cathedral in order to take part in the Mass and thank God
for saving them. They are recognized there and branded guilty at the
trial, then killed by the enraged crowd.
Avet Terterian’s creativity is rooted in the archaic traditions of
Armenian music. Melodic flourishes are present, but are used as sound
gestures contrasting with passages rich in tone color. The point of
departure of Terterian’s style is often a single tone held out over
long stretches of time.
In a conversation with Hannelore Gerlach, Terterian commented upon
his work as follows: “The confrontation between the individual and
the masses is the stimulating thing about this subject. It is the
problem of a pure, honest love amidst collective cruelty arising from
the insensitive adherence to outmoded moral concepts. Many problems
come to a head here through the occurrence of the earthquake –
people’s behavior towards each other, their weaknesses, their
transformations. The point is not the unsettling of the earth as a
natural event, but rather the unsettling of each individual person
and the behavior caused by it.”
Terterian was born in Baku, Azerbaijan in 1929 and died in 1994 in
Yekaterinburg, Russia. He graduated from Yerevan Conservatory and
wrote 8 symphonies, two operas, a ballet and many other works.

Glendale News Press
LATimes.com
March 26 2004

THE LANGUAGE OF LEARNING
Breaking down barriers

Bilingual students often help bridge the communication gap
English-language learners might have.

By Gary Moskowitz, News-Press

GLENDALE – That Sona Markaryan speaks English and Armenian fluently
makes her, and students like her, an asset in many Glendale Unified
School District classrooms.

Nearly 40% of the students enrolled in the district speak a primary
language other than English, and nearly all of those students are
enrolled in the district’s English Language Development program.

English-language learners typically receive about two hours per day
of specialized instruction in reading, speaking and writing. The rest
of the day, they sit in classes with proficient English speakers.

With more than 35 students in some high school classrooms, bilingual
students can prevent the more limited English speakers from getting
completely lost during class discussions, said Sona, a senior at
Glendale High School and student member of the district’s Board of
Education.

“I think [bilingual students] step in a lot and help, without being
asked to,” said Sona, 17. “It’s just common sense. It’s like a human
thing to do. You can sense that [the English learners] need help.

“I was born in Armenia, and came here when I was 4, so I never had
trouble with the language. But kids who come here when they are older
can get confused when the teacher explains things. Lots of times, I
will explain things in Armenian, and then go back and say the same
thing in English, to tie it together,” Sona said.

PEER ASSISTANCE IS WELCOME

Edison Elementary School Principal Linda Conover said bilingual or
multilingual students helping English learners keep up in class
happens naturally, without teachers having to ask for it.

“It happens without us even knowing, sometimes,” Conover said.
“Sometimes we formally assign students to help other students, but
many times it’s informal, and students come together and help each
other. Many of them are very compassionate and very empathetic.
There’s a lot of commonality and camaraderie.

“What students do mostly is help with translating, but it’s not a
formal English-language lesson. They let them know what’s going on,
and it’s extremely successful. The [bilingual student] becomes
someone they can identify with and communicate with. It bridges a
gap,” Conover said.

FLUENT BY GRADUATION DAY

All English learners in the program must pass five levels of English
Language Development classes to be considered fluent. To graduate,
they need to pass through the five levels of proficiency in addition
to normal graduation requirements in all subject areas, said Mary
McKee, an assistant superintendent for educational services for the
district.

Students who do not meet those requirements have a few options. They
can stay on an extra year as “Super Seniors,” take extra English
classes at Glendale Community College or pursue their General
Educational Development degree, which is equivalent to a high school
diploma.

By law, the district is only responsible for students through the age
of 18, but if a student is showing promise and is cooperating, the
district can make exceptions, McKee said.

“It is not easy,” McKee said. “They have to work very hard. If they
come in as a 10th-grader, it’s hard. As a junior or senior, it’s
almost impossible. We can’t do four years of instruction in one or
two years. Keep in mind that these kids are then going into math
classes and history classes while still trying to learn words in
English.

“We have to support them with translations where necessary and enough
modeling and examples so that they understand the concepts that are
being taught. In teaching the meaning of ‘democracy,’ just
translating is not enough. We have to make enough relevant
connections, and you just can’t just say it once,” McKee continued.

“Teachers try to make connections to what students are already
familiar with. They connect by understanding what it’s not, or what
it’s different from.”

READY TO GRADUATE

Crescenta Valley High School senior Mary Paik entered the English
Language Development program as a sophomore after moving here from
Korea. She spoke very little English.

She recently finished the program and is now considered a fluent
English speaker by state standards. Her parents speak Korean at home,
but Mary mostly speaks English with her younger brother, Howard, who
is a sophomore at her school. Mary will graduate this summer.

After two years in the ELD program, Mary said that, overall, she is
glad she took the English learner classes but sometimes felt like her
time was being wasted.

“I liked the classes, because they helped me a lot with my grammar,
writing and listening, and taught me about the culture of America,”
said Mary, 17. “I think if classes were shortened a little bit, it
might be better, so you could take other classes you want to take.
It’s not hard to understand if you study at home.

“I think sometimes teachers think your intelligence is lower than it
is, and that hurts. Once, a teacher asked us to color pictures, and I
felt like I was in elementary school,” Mary said.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan
March 23 2004

EU PAYS SPECIAL ATTENTION TO DEVELOPMENT OF RELATIONS WITH AZERBAIJAN

On March 22, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Vilayat
Guliyev the delegation headed by the special representative of the
European Union for the Southern Caucasus Heiki Talvitie.

As was informed from the press center of the ministry, Vilayat
Guliyev, warmly welcomed the visitors, emphasized that development of
relations between Azerbaijan and the European Union represents
special value for the Country.

Having noted that Azerbaijan is most economically advanced country on
Southern Caucasus, the Minister has emphasized necessity of the
further expansion of cooperation between our country and EU.

Then, Vilayat Guliyev informed visitors on prospects of connections
of Azerbaijan with the neighboring states, including with Georgia,
and the economic projects which are carried out within the framework
of regional cooperation, the work spent in the field of settlement of
the Armenian-Azerbaijani, Nagorny Karabakh conflict, activity of the
OSCE Minsk Group in this direction.

The special representative of the European Union for the Southern
Caucasus Heiki Talvitie has emphasized that the structure represented
by him attaches huge significance to the further development of
cooperation with Azerbaijan and supports more intensive continuation
of the connections representing mutual interest.

Having touched the Armenian-Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh conflict,
Mr. Heiki Talvitie has noted necessity of continuation of bilateral
negotiations and has expressed hope that as a result of joint efforts
of the international community, the conflict would shortly find the
fair peace settlement.

Then, the parties had exchange of views on a number of issues
representing mutual interest.

The Georgetown Hoya, DC
March 23 2004

Pulitzer Winner Calls for Attention to Human Rights

By Irmak Bademli
Hoya Staff Writer

Pulitzer Prize winner Samantha Power described the foreign policy of
the Bush administration as

Samantha Power, the 2003 Pulitzer Prize winner for nonfiction, said
there are obstacles to integrating concern for human rights into U.S.
foreign policy, but that the Bush administration can overcome these
obstacles by heightened commitment to principles and institutions.

Power delivered a lecture called `Terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, and
Human Rights: Can the United States Promote an `Age of Liberty’?’
Thursday evening in Copley Formal Lounge.

Power started her lecture by quoting a speech President Bush made on
Nov. 6, 2003 in Washington, D.C. `Sixty years of western nations
excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did
nothing to make us safe, because in the long run, stability cannot be
purchased at the expense of liberty.”

While she said some could respond to the speech cynically, seeing the
speech only as `rhetoric,’ Bush’s speech served to recognize the
shortcomings of the U.S. foreign policy.

Power said `the enemy of my enemy can be my friend’ attitude in
foreign policy must change. She gave the example of U.S. backing of
Iraq when `Iran was the enemy in the neighborhood.’

She said at the time Saddam Hussein was violating the rights of the
Kurdish minority in Iraq, but the United States overlooked these
violations.

`Lines not to cross were moved to keep Iran down,’ she said.

When Iraq started threatening not only Iran, but also Kuwait and
Israel with its weapons development program, it became clear that the
United States could no longer support Hussein, according to Power.

Power outlined many obstacles to integrating concern for human rights
into U.S. foreign policy.

The first one, she said, is that `victims of human rights abuses
don’t vote in the U.S.’ She said even she, `the genocide chick,’ did
not vote on the 1996 elections on the basis of how the Clinton
administration `allowed’ genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia.

According to Power, the second obstacle is a structural one. She said
unlike domestic politics, foreign policy does not have `checks and
balances’ to make sure `urgent will not trump the important, and
short term will not trump the long term.’

Power said the third obstacle is people’s lack of `moral
imagination.’ She said even though people know real-time facts, like
the number of Rwandans who died in the genocide, they have no real
knowledge of the `human stakes,’ they do not stop to imagine the
struggle of every person.

The main default of foreign policy is that short-term security and
economic interests always get in the way of the concern for human
rights and that while ethnic lobbies like Albanians and Armenians
play a constructive role for policy change, their efforts focus on a
particular group and lack universality.

Power called U.S. foreign policy `gratuitous unilateralism,’
recalling the resistance of the United States to the International
Criminal Court. She said the United States tried to convince its
allies not to turn in U.S. soldiers to the international court and
cut or suspended military aid to countries that refused.

She said that even though the United Nations itself stands as an
obstacle against human rights, it is still important. She recalled
the efforts of the U.N. inspectors in Iraq and the World Food
Program, which `kept the Iraqis fed while the war was persecuted.’

Power won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize in general nonfiction with her
book, A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide. In her
book she examined U.S. foreign policy toward genocide in 20th
century.

Power was the fourth speaker in this year’s Graduate School
Distinguished Lecturer Series.

ITAR-TASS, Russia
March 22 2004

UNESCO urges world forces to restore peace in Balkans

MOSCOW, March 22 (Itar-Tass) – UNESCO urges world political and
public circles to take energetic measures to restore peace in the
Balkans.

President of the World Armenian Congress Ara Abramyan said on Monday
UNESCO will do its best to restore peace and tolerance in the
Balkans.

`UNESCO is deeply concerned about the escalation of violence in
Kosovo and inter-ethnic hostility, in particular the destruction of
religious and historical monuments under UNESCO special protection,’
Abramyan said.

Armenian parliament rejects anti-smoking bill

AP Online
Mar 18, 2004

Armenia’s parliament rejected Thursday a bill that would have
restricted smoking in public places and sales of tobacco to minors.

The bill _ which would have banned smoking in government buildings,
hospitals, schools and universities and restrict it in cafes and
restaurants _ got just 41 votes in the 131-seat parliament, falling
short of the simple majority it needed for approval.

Most parliament members are smokers.

Baltic News Service
March 15, 2004

ALCOHOL WHOLESALER PERNOD RICARD LATVIA BOOSTS TURNOVER 34 PCT TO EUR
2 MLN IN 2003

RIGA

Pernod Ricard Latvia premium alcoholic beverage wholesaler posted a
turnover of 1.346 million last (EUR 2 mln) in 2003, up 34 percent in
the previous year, reported the company.

The company sold a total of 167,000 liters of beverages, mainly
brandy, cognac, tequila, vodka and wine last year, up 28.5 percent.

20.5 percent of the beverages sold by the company come from Armenia’s
Erevan Brandy Company and its Ararat brandy.

Pernod Ricard Latvia is a subsidiary of the Groupe Pernod Ricars,
Europe’s largest alcohol producer, and was established in 1998.

Agence France Presse
March 15, 2004 Monday

EU offers Armenia 100 million euros to shut down nuclear plant

YEREVAN

The European Union renewed pleas to Armenia Monday to close a nuclear
power station in an earthquake-prone zone, saying it would provide
100 million euros (122 million dollars) in compensatory aid.

The Soviet-built Metzamor plant, 30 kilometres (18 miles) west of the
Armenian capital Yerevan, supplies 40 percent of the energy in the
former Soviet republic.

It was commissioned in 1980 but closed temporarily because of an
earthquake in 1988.

“Safety is very important to us,” said Torben Holtze, head of the
European Commission delegation here.

“The EU will give Armenia 100 million euros to create alternative
energy production when Armenia sets a date for the closure of the
power plant,” he told journalists.

But Armenian Finance Minister Vardan Khachatrian said his country
would need a billion dollars to compensate for losses if the nuclear
plant closes.

The question of closure was “a very painful question for us,” he
said. “We will not close the plant until we have alternative energy
sources.”

He said construction of a gas pipeline between Iran and Armenia set
to begin this year would speed moves towards alternative energy.

The nuclear plant was closed down temporarily in 1988 because of an
earthquake at Spitak, but resumed operating in 1995 in order to help
stave off a national energy crisis.

The EU signed an accord with Armenia on closing the plant this year
but Armenia has failed to meet this deadline.

Officials here say the plant is capable of operating until 2018.

Gaguik Markossian, the plant’s director, said in December that
international credits and aid had allowed Armenia to make many safety
improvements at the plant, which includes two 440-megawatt reactors,
only one of which is in operation.

With electricity supplies reduced to three or four hours a day and
industry in crisis, one of the reactors was restarted in 1995. Since
then about 35 million dollars (28 million euros) have been spent on
various safety improvements.

The Institute for Applied Ecology in Austria says the Armenian plant,
along with similar units in Bulgaria, is among the most dangerous in
Europe.

PRESS RELEASE
Haigazian University-Public Relations Office
PO Box: 11-1748
Beirut, Lebanon

CONTACT : Loucia Isaac Seropian
Phone: 961-1-353010 Ext.: 365
Email: [email protected]

March 8, 2004

Haigazian University hosts ESU’s International Public Speaking Competition
2004- Lebanon

In coordination with The English- Speaking Union (ESU), a registered
charity (founded 1918) with a long tradition of cultural programs and
educational exchanges, the Haigazian University (Founded 1955) cordially
invites the concerned media to attend the ESU’s International Public
Speaking Competition of Lebanon held Saturday, March 20, 2004 -10:00 AM at
Haigazian University-Auditorium, Hamra, Beirut-Lebanon.

The theme for this year’s Public Speaking Competition is, “A Borderless
World”. Partaking in this Competition are full-time student contestants
representing local universities in Beirut using English as the language of
instruction.

The International Public Speaking Competition is organized and run annually
by the English-Speaking Union and Sponsored by HSBC Holdings plc in some 40
active countries in the World.

Each year the ESU chooses a universal theme to be addressed by young
international students, between 18-20 in full-time education. During the
preparations, the participants are advised by their professors to approach
the theme using a debatable style; aiming to teach, delight and move the
designated juries.
The overall objectives of this event is:

· To give young people experience in the fundamental skills of public
speaking.
· To give students from a variety of countries and backgrounds a chance to
meet, exchange views and form friendships.
· To provide a focus for the learning of effective English and
communication skills among young people in countries where English is not
the first Language.

Consequently, the ESU designates qualified juries to attend this event
across the concerned countries. The public speaker that manages to explore
and inspire the jury, as well as the audience, will travel to participate
in the headquarters International Public Speaking Competition at Dartmouth
House in London, May 2004.

In 2002 a young Lebanese student came second in the competition attended by
participants from over 35 countries.

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END