Georgian PM criticizes Russian governor’s “foolish escapade” in Abkhazia

Kavkasia-Press news agency
26 May 04

Tbilisi, 26 May: Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania has commented on
[Russian] Krasnodar Territory governor Aleksandr Tkachev’s recent visit
to Sukhumi [capital of breakaway region of Abkhazia] and Tkachev’s
statements about the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict.

Zhvania said he did not regard this as a manifestation of the Kremlin’s
policy [Cossack delegation led by Tkachev visited Sukhumi on 22 May].

“This was a foolish and irresponsible escapade. This may only bring
us back to the ambiguous relations of the previous decade,” the prime
minister said.

“We have no desire to return to the past. We want to see a new,
pragmatic Russia. We want to respect Russia’s interests in the region
and we hope that our sovereign interests will also be respected,”
he noted.

“We will never understand these kinds of hysterical escapades. If
Georgia’s and Russia’s policies are defined by this sort of gestures
and by such people, the Caucasus will once again be divided by many
lines of confrontation, while we wish to turn the Caucasus into
an arena of cooperation. These people do not want to help Russia to
resolve its problems and to increase Russia’s international authority,”
Zhvania said.

Georgian navy ready for “any combat mission” in Black Sea – president

Rustavi-2 TV, Tbilisi
26 May 04

[Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, addressing military parade
in Ajarian capital Batumi] Greetings to all of you. I extend my
greetings to our heroic Ajarians, people who endured a great fight,
people who are now standing here in this pouring rain in order to
prove, once again, their love for their motherland.

The whole world was applauding Ajaria. The whole world admired the
heroism of every Ajarian.

I wish to tell you that my main task is not to fail your hopes, my
dear Ajarians. I believe that Ajaria’s revival and the wellbeing of
every Ajarian family will certainly cause a chain reaction and the
same processes will develop throughout Georgia. [Passage omitted]

Our armed forces will protect Ajaria and the rest of Georgia. We will
win without fail. Our armed forces and the navy have enough force
today to perform any combat mission along our coast on the Black Sea.

We are not going to wage wars in [world] oceans. Our arena is here,
the Black Sea. Our arena and target is Abkhazia. Our target is to
protect our territory. Our target is that all enemies should know: We
want peace, but we will always render an appropriate response to the
[threat of] disintegration of Georgia. We want to hold negotiations
with everyone, we want a peaceful resolution of issues, but our
response to an enemy attack will always be very strong.

Thank you very much for your heroism and your strength.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS OFFICE
Armenian Holy Apostolic Church Canadian Diocese
Contact; Deacon Hagop Arslanian, Assistant to the Primate
615 Stuart Avenue, Outremont Quebec H2V 3H2
Tel; 514-276-9479, Fax; 514-276-9960
Email; [email protected] Website;

Bishop Galstanian meets the Mayor of Vancouver

On May 25, Bishop Galstanyan the Primate of the Armenian Apostolic
Church of Canada met with the Mayor of Vancouver, Mr. Larry Campbell
in Vancouver’s City Hall.

Mr. Campbell has had a remarkable career in public service. First as
an RCMP officer, then as the city’s Chief Coroner. The popular CBC
TV show, Da Vinci’s Inquest is loosely based on that time in his life.

The Mayor recalled the Armenian classmates he befriended during his
youth in Brantford, Ontario. His Grace and the Mayor also had a frank
discussion on the innovative yet controversial approaches the city
has taken to combat Vancouver East Side’s drug abuse problems.

Bishop Galstanian was accompanied by Fr. Keghart Garabedian, Pastor
of St. Vartan Armenian Church, Fr Hairig Hovhannessian, guest priest
from the Diocese, Parish Council member Mr. Arto Tavoukchian and
community member Ms. Rosin Tokatlian.

The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts. The Mayor stating that
there should be more Armenians in Vancouver, jokingly offering anyone
from Montreal and Toronto accommodations if they chose to move to
his beautiful city.

Bishop Bagrat Galstanian in Vancouver

On Friday, May 21 2004 His Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanian arrived
in Vancouver, British Columbia where the 21st Diocesan Annual Assembly
will be held on the weekend of May 28-30.

This Assembly is of particular significance since it marks the 20th
anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese. The Pontifical Letter
of Blessing of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians,
will be read in the first session of the Assembly as well as the
Words of Greeting of Premier of British Columbia, Honorable Gordon
Campbell and the Mayor of Vancouver Larry Campbell. The second session
of the Assembly will deliberate on re-organizational issues within
the Diocese and the third session will discuss new projects in Canada
and in Armenia.

On the 22nd of May, 2004 Bishop Galstanian met with representatives
of Vancouver Armenian community. During the cordial meeting,
discussions were focused on the future of St. Vartan Armenian
Church, the reorganization of the Vancouver Armenian community and
strengthening of relations between the Parish of Saint Vartan Armenian
Church and the Diocese of Canada. His Eminence expressed his joy and
praised the members of Vancouver Armenian community whose efforts and
contributions are aimed at restructuring a new and dynamic Armenian
Community in Vancouver.

We are delighted to announce that during the gathering, community
members and families responded positively to the appeal of His Eminence
and made generous donations that amount to 52.000 (fifty two thousand
Canadian dollars) to be allocated towards closing of the mortgage
of Saint Vartan Armenian Church. This is the first phase of a plan
designed by His Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanian to reorganize the
Vancouver Armenian community. A similar meeting is scheduled to be
held on the 19th of June, 2004.

The 30th of May 2004 will mark the first anniversary of the election
of His Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanian. Since his election as
Primate Bishop Galstanian has given special attention to spiritual
revival and to reorganization of the Diocesan structures towards the
strengthening of Parishes all across Canada.

DIVAN OF THE DIOCESE

President to Grant Dual Citizenship to Georgians Living Abroad

Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 2004-05-26 13:25:33

President Saakashvili said on May 26 that he will issue a special
decree on granting dual citizenship to those Georgians, who currently
live abroad.

“Under the Constitution of Georgia, I have the right to grant dual
citizenship. So, each Georgian, who currently lives abroad, will have
a possibility to receive dual citizenship,” President Saakashvili
said at a military parade on May 26.

He said, the authorities should implement relevant measures to ensure
that Georgian emigres return to their native country.

EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION
for Justice and Democracy
Avenue de la Renaissance 10
B – 1000 BRUXELLES
Tel./Fax : +32 (0) 2 732 70 27
E-mail : [email protected]
Web :

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
May 27th, 2004
Contact: Talline Tachdjian
Tel.: +32 (0)2 732 70 27

NORWEGIAN CITY OF KRAGERØ HONOURS BODIL BIØRN, UNSUNG HERO AND RELIEF WORKER
DURING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Brussels, Belgium – On the initiative of the Armenian community of
Aleppo, Syria, the Norwegian city of Kragerø (11000 inhabitants)
has erected a statue honoring Bodil Catharina Biørn, who spent 30
years of her life providing relief to the Armenians of Turkey before,
during and after the Armenian Genocide. The statue will be unveiled
on Saturday, May 29.

After studying nursing in Germany, Bodil Biørn, the daughter of
a wealthy ship owner, left her native Kragerø in 1905 to go to
Turkey. There, as part of benevolent evangelical missions, she provided
aid to the Christian populations, and especially to the Armenians,
who endured oppression under the Ottomans and who were regularly
victims of extortion.

Stationed in various regions of the Ottoman Empire (e.g., Van,
Cilicia), Bodil Biørn was in Mush in 1915 when the Genocide began. She
poured her energy into providing assistance to survivors there and
later in Armenia, during the First Republic (1918-1920).

After the Sovietization of Armenia, she continued her philathropical
work in the Armenian orphanages of Syria and Lebanon, where she
adopted an orphan she named Fridjof. She finally left the region to
return to her country in 1936.

The commemorative events in Kragerø are scheduled as follows:

o Saturday, May 29th

12.00 – Exhibition “The Ships Owner’s Daughter” in the Kragerø Museum
12.30 – Address by Jussi Flemming Biørn, son of Fridjof, “Bodil Catharina
Biørn, Philanthropist and Missionary”
14.00 – Unveiling of Bodil Biørn statue, in front of the town hall
16.30 – Showing of the movie « Ararat ».

o Sunday, May 30th

11.00 – Requiem service in memory of Bodil Biørn and the victims of the
Armenian Genocide.

“It is a moral duty for Armenians to pay homage to the many honorable,
just people, often women, often Scandinavians, who provided relief
to the victims of the barbarity committed by the Young Turks. With
this commemoration, Bodil Biørn finally emerges from anonymity and
takes her place beside Maria Jacobsen, Karen Jeppe, Alma Johansson or
Amalia Lange, her sisters in compassion,” declared Laurent Leylekian,
executive director of the European Armenian Federation.

“In these times of questioning about Europe’s borders, we are here to
testify that Europe is foremost a matter of values and identity. In
this regard, Norway, which is not a member of the Union is undeniably
part of our European family. This is not the case of Turkey, however,
which has a long and enduring record of fascism,” concluded Leylekian.

#####

GEORGIAN PRESIDENT SAYS STRONGER ECONOMY KEY TO REGAINING ABKHAZIA

Georgian State Television Channel 1, Tbilisi
25 May 04

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has said that “the path of
return to Abkhazia lies through the Georgian economy”. Speaking at a
news briefing in Tbilisi on the evening of 25 May, Saakashvili spoke
about the achievements of his government over the past few months and
said that he intended to increase the size of the Georgian armed forces
to 15,000-16,000 within the next two years. The president noted that
Georgia expected to receive gratis assistance of 1bn lari from the
United States over the next three years to rebuild the country’s key
infrastructure. He also touched on his warm relationship with Russian
President Vladimir Putin. The following is an excerpt from the news
briefing which was broadcast live by the Georgian State Television
on 25 May, with subheadings inserted editorially:

Georgia has achieved a lot since presidential election

(Saakashvili, addressing news briefing) Greetings to all of
you. Tomorrow Georgia will mark its main state holiday, 26 May, the
day of Georgia’s national independence. On such a day, heads of all
countries are supposed to sum up the period since the last celebration
and speak about certain directions (of future activities).

I will deliver a speech tomorrow at the Independence Day parade, and
I will speak about general direction of our country’s development. But
before that, together with our journalists, we will try to analyse what
has happened in Georgia during the past few months. I will briefly
touch on the main issues which we have managed to resolve during the
past four months since I started exercising presidential powers.

Georgia’s main achievement, which was watched with excitement
by the entire world, is that we have demonstrated the highest
level of culture, the highest level of statesmanlike and human
awareness. Nations that are wealthier and more developed than we are
have not reached this level. We have managed to change authorities
peacefully, twice, without bloodshed, without killing people,
without robberies and marauding. It was almost impossible because,
when this sort of change happens even in a very developed country,
it is usually accompanied by negative processes.

In these four months – five months, we have managed to hold
two elections at a level that no-one has ever held in the entire
post-Soviet area except for the Baltic republics. All international
organizations said that these two elections – presidential and
parliamentary elections – were European-level elections. (Passage
omitted)

During the same period, we have managed to give the Georgian army
a look that is now more like a real army. We will see this at
tomorrow’s parade. We have seen this during the past few months in
(the Ajarian capital) Batumi, where more than 2,000 soldiers have
been patrolling the streets of Batumi, for the last month, without any
serious violation of the law. Armies of much more developed countries
are not able to do this. Television reports are full of examples of
armies misusing their powers, but the Georgian army is able to behave
decently. This is very important. (Passage omitted)

We have also managed to change state symbols. (Points to the Georgian
flag) This is a very beautiful flag, maybe the most beautiful flag
in the world, you should agree with me, this is certainly so. The
Georgian people love it, and foreigners also like it very much. Our
anthem is a very beautiful anthem, maybe one of the best anthems in
Europe. As regards the state emblem, discussions still continue. It
will be demonstrated at tomorrow’s parade as a preliminary draft. Of
course, this emblem is based on our historical traditions, and the
parliament will approve it.

Finally, the main achievement of these months is that we have managed
to start
the process of Georgia’s unification. This has been achieved by
combined
efforts. This has been achieved by the fact that the state is stronger,
that there is a positive dynamic, that our armed forces are more like
real armed forces, that our intelligence and security services have
been working successfully. But the main agent, the main author of
this success, was our people.

The significance of this event is not limited to Georgia. No-one
expected that this kind of conflict in the post-Soviet area could
be resolved at all, let alone resolved peacefully. In spite of bad
forecasts, including forecasts made by Georgians (changes tack) –
I have read many dreadful scenarios. They were saying that the first
president (Gamsakhurdia) lost Tskhinvali (capital of breakaway South
Ossetia), the second president (Shevardnadze) lost Abkhazia, and this
one is losing Ajaria. But we have managed to prove to everyone that
we are different people, that we are different government. In this
respect, this event is of world-wide importance, and it was presented
as such by the world media.

This is an analysis of the past few months. I will now briefly touch
on our plans and then answer your questions.

Strong economy key to regaining Abkhazia

The first and most important issue is the economy. I want to say
that many people – when I am meeting (ethnic Georgian) refugees –
are asking now: when will we return to Abkhazia? When will you
return us to Abkhazia? The path of return to Abkhazia lies through
the Georgian economy. The Georgian economy is created not by the
Georgian government. We can help you, each of you, in creating the
economy. Let us create the economy all together. We will no longer
steal money from you, we will no longer rob you, we will no longer
obstruct you. On the contrary, we will assist you in every way. We
will not allow police to extort money from you, we will not allow
some bureaucrats to harass you, we will not allow anyone to stop you
at customs posts. We are doing our best to establish relations with
other countries and gain export markets. But everything else should
be done by you, our citizens, all together.

My ideology, my concept is that Georgia, the Georgian state should
be created by the Georgian people. This is the main thing. I will
never tell you that I will resolve all your problems, because this is
impossible. We can create a better tax system, a better framework,
but everything else should be done by us. The path of return to
Abkhazia lies through the economy and the revival of the economy.

USA to provide economic assistance

Also, our main task now is to develop infrastructure. We should
mobilize domestic resources. Also, from the United States of America
we are receiving (changes tack) – we have been included in the list
of 16 countries. There are more than 200 countries in the world, and
16 of them have been recognized as the most dynamically developing
countries, and we are one of them. So, we have a chance of receiving an
extra 1bn lari in aid gratis, over a three-year period. This is not
about debts or credits, this is the money simply given as a present.
We should spend this money on roads and power lines, we should spend
this money on things which constitute the country, which create its
main framework.

We also need to accomplish many other tasks. We need rapid reforms in
education, we need social reforms, including pension reform. No matter
how much the state increases salaries (changes tack) – they cannot be
increased significantly unless the pension system is changed. There
are a number of other issues about which I spoke at length at my
meeting with businessmen yesterday.

In short, I want to say one thing: For the first time in many years,
there is a positive dynamic in Georgia. Georgia begins to look like
a state. The people have a feeling of optimism, the people have a
feeling of positive movement. All of us, including our friends
abroad, now hope that Georgia can get back to its feet. Georgia
has strengthened its sovereignty. We now have borders, we are
controlling out territories, we have the most important attributes
of statehood. Now the main thing is not to stop and, gradually,
to turn all of this into benefits for each Georgian family and into
reunification of Georgia. This is our main task.

Now I will be pleased to answer your questions. Rustavi-2, then you,
and then you.

Georgian army to double in size within two years

(Reporter) Rustavi-2 TV company. Mr President, you have already said
that you are going to make a statement about Abkhazia tomorrow, on
26 May. What should we expect? Will you speak about some concrete
plan? Also, some 8,000 soldiers will take part in tomorrow’s
parade. (Passage omitted: words indistinct) Who is the addressee of
this parade?

(Saakashvili) The first thing which we want to demonstrate is that
the state is being created and that no-one can disregard us any
longer. We will demonstrate this equipment (changes tack) – when I
became the president, I was told that eight tanks were operational in
Georgia at that time, and even those eight tanks were not getting
fuel for years. There were two or three operational (military)
aircraft that were flying only when the airliner of my predecessor
(President Shevardnadze) took off from Tbilisi airport, but there
was no combat training. The Georgian army had seven helicopters.

Today we have about 100 pieces of heavy equipment, more than 20
military helicopters and seven aircraft which perform flights on a
permanent basis. We now have combat helicopters. By the end of this
year, we will have several more pieces of combat equipment of this
kind. The army started training, and the people who will take part
in the parade are well-trained people. (Passage omitted)

So, we are bringing these people out in order to demonstrate the
strength of our army. We need to double these forces. My task is to
double the armed forces within the next two years. Not on paper,
like it was in the past when those liars in the defence ministry
had 25,000-30,000 soldiers on their books while there were only
1,500 soldiers in reality. We will really have 15,000-16,000 very
well-trained soldiers who will constitute the best armed force in
the region. I will need two years for this.

Now, people are coming to us and asking: Give us salary of pension
arrears accumulated three or four years ago, the money which
Shevardnadze and his people have stolen. I, as the president, face
this choice: We should either spend all the money only on repayment of
social arrears (changes tack) – I understand this very well, poverty is
my main enemy, and I will do everything to eradicate poverty. However,
on the other hand, if we do this, we will never have an army. We need
the army as well as we need to assist people in need, and we also
need roads and electricity transmission lines. We need all of these.
Therefore, the army is one of the main priorities. (Passage omitted)

As regards Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia),
our Ossetian fellow citizens and Abkhaz fellow citizens, we will of
course speak about this issue tomorrow. You will see this. However,
when we are asking – when will the refugees return to Abkhazia? –
this may happen tomorrow or this may happen in 20 years, depending
on how much effort we put into this. I think that this will happen
within the term of my presidency. This is the main goal of my life.
But I will not be able to achieve this unless everyone stands by
me. We should have debates, someone may dislike something I have done,
but we should stand shoulder-to-shoulder with respect to the main
issue. And this (return) will happen much earlier than everyone could
expect, earlier than foreigners and our citizens think. But I need
support of every Georgian and every citizen – Azerbaijani, Armenian,
Abkhaz and Ossetian citizen. We will achieve this by our rational
policy, and this will need a strong economy. This is the main thing.
(Passage omitted)

“A new kind of Russia’s policy”

(Unidentified reporter) (Passage omitted: words indistinct) The
prime minister (Zurab Zhvania) has said that the authorities have
already developed a draft granting unprecedented political autonomy
to Abkhazia.

(Saakashvili) We have never made it secret that we are ready for
federation-type relations, for an asymmetric federation. However, we
will not create a federation which will disintegrate Georgia. The
slogans that there should be this sort of relations in Ajaria
(changes tack) – you know that we are going to preserve autonomy there
(changes tack) – or that Georgia’s regionalization should reach the
point when the central authorities would have no levers left at all –
no-one should expect to see this while I am the president.

However, we are going to have talks. Well, if I tell you that there
were some negotiations in Russia (changes tack) – for the time being,
negotiations with Russia on this topic have been progressing with
difficulty. As regards Ajaria, Russia demonstrated its goodwill
and played a positive role, but I should tell you that there was no
(preliminary) agreement there. The scenario was ours, not some scenario
agreed in advance. Perhaps some people in some countries had different
plans, but the situation turned out not as they wanted. However,
in the end, Russia certainly played a significant and positive
role. They provided an aircraft to that man (deposed Ajarian leader
Aslan Abashidze), which was good, and they were judicious enough not
to allow their military base (in Ajaria) to interfere.

We want a kind of cooperation with Russia which, on the one hand, will
enable us to join our efforts in the fight against terrorism. I have
established very warm and normal relations with President Putin. The
basis of these relations is that he is not demanding from me something
I cannot give, he is delicate enough. I also understand that Russia
has its own interests, not only interests at our expense, these are
different things.

Negotiations in Moscow about restructuring (Georgia’s) debts to Russia
were quite difficult too. Fortunately, a compromise has been achieved
today. Initially, their conditions were the same as those accepted in
the past by Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and other former Soviet republics. We
did not agree on these conditions of debt restructuring. We said
that they were not fair. So, after many weeks of negotiations,
(Finance Minister Zurab) Noghaideli yesterday and (Prime Minister
Zurab) Zhvania today finally confirmed that a compromise has been
reached. This is a new kind of Russia’s policy. Of course, we have a
long way to go, but Russia knows the main thing: that we will not give
up our state interests, but we will use maximally flexible approach
in order to create comfortable situation for Russia, so that Russia
faces no threats from the territory of Georgia. Russia should not
have a feeling that we are a hostile state. It is Russia’s right to
demand this. However, on the other hand, we should also feel that
things done by Russia in the past will never happen in Georgia again.

As regards agreements on Abkhazia, I think that, first of all,
this should be a subject of bilateral agreements between us and the
Abkhaz. After that, Russia can play a certain role. In this respect,
we have a lot of work to do. Generally, I think that the process is
developing positively. Let us see what happens. We have completely
different relations now, and let us hope that (changes tack) – a large
group of Russian businessmen will arrive here. It makes no difference
where capital comes from. The main thing is that our people should
be employed and our people should be rich. (Passage omitted)

There’s a reason I’m alive – I just don’t know what it is
By Uri Ash

Ha’aretz
May 27 2004

Hayk Panoyan – a Christian, Armenian, Israeli citizen, and Arabic
speaker, who worked as a waiter at the Maxim restaurant in Haifa –
cannot forgive himself for only being wounded in last year’s bombing
there, while his friends were killed. And he doesn’t understand why
the Palestinians insisted on declaring his friends martyrs.

Several days after the bombing of the Maxim restaurant in Haifa, Hayk
Panoyan’s mother sat by his bed at Rambam Hospital in Haifa. “A woman
came up to my mother and said to her `See, now you have a taste of what
we’re experiencing,'” he says, the pain and insult still discernible
in his voice. “And that same day, at the hospital, there was a guy
from some village who sang joyful Palestinian songs celebrating the
bombing and my mother jumped up at him and gave him a beating.”

Panoyan, who worked as a waiter at the restaurant, was hit by three
pieces of shrapnel from the deadly bomb set off by the terrorist
Hanadi Jaradat on October 4, 2003. The image of his friends sprawled
lifeless on the floor does not leave his mind. Panoyan’s mother is
a Christian Arab from Nazareth and his father is Armenian, the son
of refugees from the Turkish massacre of Armenians. Hayk grew up on
Zionism Avenue in Haifa. “I’m a Christian, Armenian, Israeli citizen,
Arabic speaker,” he explains, listing the parts of his identity in
order of their importance to him. He says that he is often labeled
as an Arab, though he sees himself as Armenian. “In this country,
anyone who is not a Jew is considered an Arab. People don’t know what
an Armenian is and whatever they don’t know they call an Arab. It
never bothered me to be `Arab.’ Why should it bother me if I’m very
proud of my religion and nationality?”

There have been 16 “Arab citizens killed in terror attacks” during
the three and a half years of intifada, according to a list compiled
by the Mossawa Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens in Israel. These
casualties include Druze soldiers from the Galilee and Carmel
Mountains; Christian Arabs from the Galilee, Haifa and Jerusalem;
and Muslim Arabs from Taibeh, Turan and Jisr al-Zarqa. Many dozens,
like Panoyan, have been injured. In at least one instance, the bombing
at the Meron Junction in August 2002, there were Arab citizens of
Israel involved on both sides: Maysoon Amin Hassan, a Druze student
from Sajour, and Roni Kamal Ghanem, a Druze soldier from Maghar, were
killed in an attack planned and executed by Ibrahim and Yassin Bakri,
two Muslim Arabs from Ba’ana, a village in the Galilee.

Serving food to the terrorist

Hayk Panoyan is 37, married to Sausan and the father of Armen, 13,
Paul, 9, and Lara, 3. He is an accountant by profession and since July
has been working for the Tiran shipping company. After many years of
frequenting the Maxim restaurant, he also began to work there as a
waiter on Saturdays during the summer. “You need a lot of money to
make ends meet with a mortgage and three children,” he explains.

On the morning of the bombing, his wife asked him to stay at home. He
had gone to sleep late and she suggested that he rest in bed. But
he insisted on going to the restaurant, where he met his friends and
fellow waiters Hanna Francis, Sharbal Matar and George Matar. Hanna
talked about his upcoming trip to Australia to bring his fiancee from
there; Sharbal, who was planning to travel to a wedding in the United
States, promised to bring a DVD player; George recalled that he had
forgotten to bring invitations for his friends to the wedding of his
daughter, scheduled to take place four days later. “What a day it was,
with all these beautiful tidings,” Panoyan says sadly. All three were
killed in the attack.

The restaurant was still half empty and Panoyan sat with Osama Najar,
a childhood friend who worked as a cook at Maxim and helped arrange
this additional job for him. Najar was also killed.

“Suddenly I hear a voice penetrating my head, a strong voice that
you cannot ignore. Like it takes control over you. It says to me,
`Get up and go to the kitchen and bring dishes.’ But I’m sitting there,
without any work to do. My section at the restaurant is empty, so why
get up to bring plates? It was maybe three or four meters from where
we were sitting to the place where the plates were piled. I got up.
You can’t resist a voice like that. I walk over and bring plates. I
stand by the entrance to the kitchen and am about to walk back and
look at my friends who were standing there, a meter or two away from
me. And then there was an enormous boom. I don’t know what supreme
power told me to get up. I told this to my wife and our priest.
Everyone says, `It’s a signal from God, who didn’t want you to die.’

“Because of all the smoke and fire there, I couldn’t see a thing.
After a moment or two there was quiet, and then you start to hear
screams and people crying and shouting. I’m standing with my hand on
my belly and see George, Hanna, Sharbal on the floor. And I scream
`Tony [Matar, the owner of the restaurant], Tony, help me!’ And then
I realized that my hands were full of blood and my stomach hurt
and blood was flowing from it. Tony quickly pulled me out via the
kitchen. He says I lost consciousness on the stairs. I only remember
that after I was operated on and woke up, I called for my wife and
immediately asked her about Hanna, because he was the closest and
Osama, who was a friend since we were children. And she told me,
`I don’t know, but I heard that they’re at Rothschild hospital.’ The
next day, there was a male nurse who came to take care of me and said,
`Did you know that Hanna was my friend?’ I asked him, `What do you
mean that he was your friend?’ and he replied: `What? You don’t know
that he was killed?’ That was a very difficult moment. Why was he
the one to have to tell me?”

The police investigation found that Panoyan served a meat dish to the
table of the terrorist and Mohammed Mahajneh, the one who drove her.
“When I approached the table, she was sitting facing the sea and I
didn’t get a good look at her,” he recalls. “Usually, when a couple
like this comes in, especially when you see that they are from a
village, we don’t look at them much and we give them quick service
because they are very touchy if someone looks at their woman. They
looked like a couple, a man and a woman. She was looking at him and
they were talking. There was nothing to arouse suspicion, but if I
had looked into her face, I’m sure I would have noticed that something
was amiss and would have done something. Yes, I definitely would have
risked my life to do so.”

The fact that he was so close to the terrorist contributes to his
feelings of guilt that he survived while all of his friends died.
“I’m very angry at myself for not being able to do anything,”
he says. “Because if I had seen her [the terrorist] I would have
identified her. And I feel a little guilty about this, seeing your
friends killed this way and doing nothing about it.”

The brother of Osama Najar, Husam, is also a childhood friend of
Panoyan and lives in the same building. At first, Panoyan says, “it was
very difficult. Until Husam told me, `Stop it. Every time you see me in
the elevator or on the stairs you’ll start to cry?’ It’s very hard for
me to look them in the eyes and very hard to see the mothers of Osama,
Hanna and Mtanes [Karkabi, also killed in the bombing], who was in our
school and whose parent’s home is about 15 meters away from my parents’
home. How can I look them in the eyes when I know exactly what they are
thinking – `Why is he alive and my son isn’t?’ I feel ashamed that
I wasn’t able to help them, because if I had looked her in the eyes,
I’m sure I would have identified her. Maybe I would have died or maybe
not. Perhaps I would have had courage or wisdom and done something.”

The nightmare never ends

In Fassouta in the upper Galilee, the village where the murdered
Hanna Francis and Sharbal Matar lived, many of the residents
define themselves as Christian Palestinian Arabs and find it hard to
comprehend how Muslim Palestinians could hurt Christian Palestinians.
In the case of Hayk Panoyan, who never felt Palestinian, the anger over
the attack by Hanadi Jaradat also makes him feel less of an “Israeli
Arab” (a label he has become accustomed to) and more Armenian. “She
simply came to kill and didn’t care about anything,” he says. “She
heard Arabic being spoken in the restaurant and saw that there were
children. If they claim that this is war and they are resisting
the Israeli occupation, then why don’t they fight against soldiers
instead of coming to kill children? Let’s see one of these `heroes’
enter an army base and start shooting. Why doesn’t this group of
`heroes’ shoot at soldiers? Why do they need to send a girl to blow
herself up next to children?

“I don’t know if I can say that we are part of their nation, but
I’m sure that they claim we are the same nation because they put
the names of Hanna and Osama and Sharbal on their list of martyrs
[shaheeds]. So how can you come and kill your own people? I’m not
part of their nation, but they say that the Arabs in Israel and the
Palestinians are one nation. So how can you compel someone to become
a shaheed? You murder me and then tell me that I’m a shaheed? I’ve
never seen myself as one of them. I live in the state here and am a
citizen of the country. I don’t do army service, but I’ve always been
loyal to this country and this is what I’ll teach my children. I’m
not a Palestinian. I’m also not an Arab.”

After he was operated on and the shrapnel removed, Hayk Panoyan
remained hospitalized for another two weeks before being sent home.
But friends and acquaintances, at home and in the street, continue to
ask him about the event, making it hard for him to distance himself
from the moments of horror. The nightmare does not end. “I still
suffer from pains and problems in my stomach and I can sleep at night
only by taking a sleeping pill,” he says. “I’m not able to fall asleep
because my mind keeps going over what happened. It’s like wallpaper in
my head. My wife says that I get up and shout and speak all the time
during the night with Hanna and with Osama. I ask them how they are
and if they have something to tell me. Even as I sit here speaking
with you, I see them. It keeps me from moving on in life with my
family, with my children and wife. And it affects my work. It’s very
difficult for me to concentrate and I’m always forgetting things. I
want to erase these images, but it’s very difficult.”

The physical and emotional difficulties have adversely affected his
relations with his children in particular. “I don’t play with them,” he
says. “I don’t take them to McDonald’s because I’m afraid and I don’t
even ride buses. I don’t play soccer or basketball with them because
I can’t jump and it’s very hard for me to pick up my daughter. The
children always are asking to see the wound – they’re very curious
about this. I always listen and explain to them. They would often
come and put their hands on the wound to calm me, `It’ll be okay,
father. Don’t worry, we’ll help you.’

“On one hand, this gave me enormous energy and strength. On the other
hand, a child of 9 or 12 identifies with his father and makes a great
effort not to ask for the things he used to request? I would sell
everything to change this situation. I want to get past this. I pray
everyday that I’ll get past this. I’m being treated by a psychiatrist,
who helps me and gives me pills. I want to only think about and
remember their beautiful images and don’t want to remember all of
that murder. What, will this continue to haunt me for the rest of my
life? After all, I have a small daughter and a wife. But this is like
superglue and I don’t have any acetone to detach it.”

The main decorations in the Panoyan’s home, which has a view of all
of Haifa from Stella Maris, are several icons of Jesus hung on the
walls, including one of Mary with the baby Jesus. “Our strong faith
certainly helps us, without our being aware of this.” He sees evidence
of this “in the fact that I recovered, that the family helps us, that
God gave my wife the strength to sleep in the hospital for 15 days,
that He gave the children patience to understand us and to absorb
this terrible thing, that all of our friends call and inquire, that
they support us and don’t abandon us.

“God put me to a test. When He spoke to me in the restaurant, He
wanted something from me. He didn’t keep me alive without any reason.
There’s a reason that I’m alive and I don’t know what it is – until
He speaks with me again. I don’t think that I’m any better than Hanna
or Mtanes or Osama. Why did He ask me to get up and for them to stay?”

His wife suggests an answer: “He surely didn’t want your children to
be left without a father.” But Hayk responds, “He also didn’t want
George’s children to be left without a father.”

ATTEMPT UPON LIFE OF “ARMENIA-LADA” HEAD

A1 Plus | 20:46:02 | 26-05-2004 | Social |

“Hayotc Ashkharh” Daily informs, at May 25 night an attempt was made
upon life of Rafael Shahmuradyan, businessman, Chair of “Armenia-Lada”
Company.

A burst from a driving “Niva” car was fired at “Nissan-Patrol”
of Shahmuradyan who was driving. Those attacking hided themselves,
Rafael Shahmuradyan is in hospital with severe injuries.

“Armenia-Lada” Company is a huge importer of Russian cars into
Armenia. At the same time “Karkomauto” Company headed by Shahmuradyan
is “Peugeot” and “Nissan” dealer in Armenia.

6 SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTING POLITICAL PRISONERS

A1 Plus | 13:48:54 | 26-05-2004 | Politics |

6 social organizations and “Republic” Party partook in the picket near
General Office of Prosecutor supporting Vagharshak Harutyunyan today.

According to Eleonora Manandyan, picket organizer and Chair of “New
Armenia” social organization, members of People’s Party of Armenia
take part in the picket from time to time, too.

Miss Manandyan couldn’t say whether the members of National Unity
Party took part in the picket since she didn’t know them.

Today is the 10th day of the picket for political prisoners. 5533
citizens have signed for release of them.

Tomorrow’s picket will be held supporting Lavrenti Kirakosyan. He is
the man whose wife had a miscarriage because of his arrest.

Eleonora Manandyan said it had been planned to hold the picket on
Monday for Aramazd Zaqaryan, member of “Republic” Party political
board but Office of Prosecutor passed ahead and released Aramazd.

“NEW TIMES” SET A DEADLINE TO AUTHORITIES

A1 Plus | 18:23:29 | 26-05-2004 | Politics |

“New Times” Party has today held a youth meeting. The ways to save
Armenia from the destructive future were represented.

In fact , the suggestions party has made today were addressed to
Robert Kocharyan. According to Party Chair Aram Karapetyan, he must
conduct reforms in Armenia.

Mr. Karapetyan expresses discontent that while dealing with Authorities
many of pro-governmental political figures pursue the policy “Don’t
touch me or else I will become Opposition”.

According to “New Times” strategy, if Robert Kocharyan doesn’t
accept the Party suggestions, “New Times” members will take
measures. Authorities were set 3 months to accept and apply the
suggestions.

“The actions will start in the morning and end in the evening. We
aren’t a third power, we are in Opposition”, Aram Karapetyan announces.

What will Authorities do?

“New Times” Party demands to dissolve coalition Government and
Parliament, and to hold special elections. There is nothing said in
the suggestions about distrust to President. Party also demands to
prevent corruption, bureaucracy.

“To establish a State Council affiliated with the Armenian President,
in which former and present Presidents, representatives of both
parliamentary and extraparliamentary influential powers and Diaspora
prevailing lobbyist structures must enroll”, another plank says.