Azat Artsakh – Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (NKR)
15-03-2004

G. KASPAROV: GLAD THAT TOURNAMENT IS HELD IN STEPANAKERT

On March 9 the international chess tournament devoted to the 75th
anniversary of the 9th champion of the world Tigran Petrossian
started in Stepanakert. Ten grand masters of chess, 3 international
masters, honourable guests from more than ten countries take part in
the tournament, among them the ex-champion of the world Boris
Spassky, grand masters Yevgeny Sveshnikov, Vladimir Hakobian and
Smbat Lpoutian, and others. The Azerbaijani authorities indeed made
much noise about the “organization of an international tournament by
FIDE in Khankendi, the center of Nagorni Karabakh considered an
Azerbaijani territory.” They were especially disappointed with the
greeting of the chairman of FIDE to the participants of the
tournament. And it is not a surprise that the mass media of our
neighbour country on these days is busy with another campaign against
“arrogant Armenians”, the NKR authorities. They, in particular,
“revealed” the observations of the former world champion of chess
Garry Kasparov he made in his interview to the Russian TV channel
NTV. The reason may be the memories connected with the world-famous
chess player born in Baku or simply the feeling of hate and jealousy…
Who knows? But in his speech Kasparov did not mention them at all,
and especially did not hurt the dignity of the Azerbaijanis. In this
case what is the meaning of getting angry and making a racket before
the world. In his greeting Kasparov simply mentioned, “I am glad that
the international tournament in the memory of T. Petrossian is held
in Stepanakert, which, in my opinion, is a manifestation of good will
on the part of FIDE. Life in Nagorni Karabakh is normalizing. The
wounds caused by the war are healing. People are busy with creative
peaceful work. And it is extremely important that together with
maintaining the defence of the country the authorities pay special
attention to the problems of development of culture and sport.
Presentations are organized in Stepanakert – Nagorni Karabakh
officially steps on the international arena. And I am glad that
especially Stepanakert was chosen for holding the international
tournament. I congratulate heartily all the participants of the
tournament, as well as the organizers who managed to overcome the
complex and gave way to Karabakh to the international arena.” In his
speech the chairman of FIDE Ilyumzhinov also emphasized the
importance of the tournament. He approved of the fact of holding the
international tournament devoted to the 75th anniversary of the world
champion Tigran Petrossian in Stepanakert and assured that the
tournament will favour the development of traditions of the Armenian
school of chess. Expressing his concern referring the attempts at
hindering the arrival of the foreign chess-players to Nagorni
Karabakh, obstructing the tournament, NKR prime minister Anoushavan
Danielian emphasized the inadmissibility of politicizing such spheres
as sport, humanitarian problems. He described the efforts of Baku as
an encroachment on the people of NKR. “The fact that the ambitions of
the Azerbaijani authorities are devoid of basis is proved by holding
the tournament which took place despite everything,” mentioned A.
Danielian, “sport has always been regarded as the ambassador of
peace. Therefore, the interests of our nations demand that battles
should take place on the chessboard and not in battlefields…” “It’s a
pity that Azerbaijan is discontent with organizing the tournament in
Stepanakert,” mentioned the organizer of the tournament, director of
the Armenian academy of chess, Smbat Lpoutian, “every similar
tournament is a significant event for the world of chess, especially
when it is held in the memory of a person such as Tigran Petrossian.
All the chess-players taking part in the tournament received the
invitation with love. I am sure that Stepanakert will become a
traditional town of international meetings and will be recognized in
the world as a chess town.” The chess commentators of the TV channel
NTV Sergey and Marina Makarevich also expressed their ideas
concerning the tournament held in the capital of NKR. Comparing the
recently held tournament in Linares with Stepanakert Sergey did not
hide his surprise concerning the fact that Nagorni Karabakh, having
just overcome the war, could organize a sport event on such a high
level. “Being so small, Stepanakert, in fact, has become a chess town
and is in the center of attention of the world chess-players today,”
he said. And his wife Marina, who covered the tournament of Linares,
added, “The sport and creative morale of the tournament in
Stepanakert is so high that I seemed to be in Linares. I admired the
new juvenile chess school of Stepanakert which, indeed, will have a
great future. I became convinced there that the young men love chess
more than in any other country. And the important thing is that they
do not play badly.”

DAVIT MIKAELIAN

Globe and Mail, Canada
March 17 2004

Rag-tag team seeks puck of the Irish

By ALLAN MAKI
>From Wednesday’s Globe and Mail

This was the summary from yesterday’s big hockey game in Iceland:
Mexico 8, Ireland 3. Ireland’s first two goals were scored by a
Russian defenceman. The Irish also got a goal from a left winger who
just happens to be a tennis pro who lives and coaches in Dublin.

But forget about that for a moment. Yesterday is done. Today is the
day that matters. Today is the day the tennis playing Larry Jurovich
and his Irish teammates have been thinking about for months; the day
they can do themselves and all Ireland proud by scoring their first
victory at a world hockey championship and on St. Patrick’s Day, no
less.

All they have to do is beat Armenia. Beat Armenia on St. Paddy’s Day
and, guaranteed, Irish hockey will have its galvanizing moment, its
1972 Summit Series, its 1980 Winter Olympics; also a good excuse to
drink green beer.

Mind you, just making it to the 2004 International Ice Hockey
Federation Division III world championship in Reykjavik is a major
accomplishment for this Irish team. Ireland has little history and no
burning connection to the game. It has even less when it comes to
youth hockey. As for permanent rinks, you can count them on two
fingers (the Odyssey Arena in Belfast and the International Ice Bowl
in Dundonald).

That so few given so little could get to a world championship is a
tribute to the Irish team’s spirit, its raw athleticism and, of
course, a bunch of puck-crazed Canadians.

You didn’t think there’d be a hockey story without some Canadian
content, did you? Jurovich, the tennis ace and goal-scoring left
winger, was born in Vancouver. He is now a naturalized Irish citizen
who serves as the high-performance coach for Tennis Ireland.
Centreman John White is a 44-year-old Dublin-born Canadian who says
he played his minor hockey in Brantford, Ont., with none other than
Wayne Gretzky. Garrett MacNeill, another Dublin-born Canadian, plays
defence for the Manhattanville College Valiants, an NCAA Division III
school in New York.

Then there are the coaches, Greg Fitzgerald and Jim Graves, both of
whom hail from the true north strong and free and now reside in
Dublin. Rounding out the rest of the roster are seven players from
Belfast, nine from Dublin and Dimitry Slavashevsky, the 34-year-old
defenceman whose parents came from Minsk, perhaps to get away from
hockey.

If the Irish lineup seems more than a wee bit quirky, consider what
the players had to go through in preparation for the world
championship. At first, they practised in Dublin, where the last
permanent arena was shut down four years ago. They practised
outdoors, on a non-regulation-size rink, after they’d finished work.
During Christmas, the players practised outdoors at midnight, after
all the public skaters had gone home. They did this three times a
week until they figured there had to be a better way, and there was.
Sort of.

What the Dublin-based players did was climb into their vehicles and
drive 21/2 hours north to Belfast, two, sometimes three times a week,
for on-ice sessions. They did this when they weren’t doing off-ice
workouts at the national boxing club or in-line skating to stay in
shape.

“We may not have a rink, and we may lack game experience, but we’ll
have the best fitness possible,” team captain Mark Bowes promised.

Bowes is the general secretary of the Irish Ice Hockey Association.
He and president/defenceman Cliff Saunders have done their part to
promote the game in Ireland, a game that Saunders has described as “a
cross between hurling and skating with the excitement of both.” (No
word on what Saunders thought of the Todd Bertuzzi incident, which
made a lot of Canadians think about hurling, too.)

Just how well Ireland will do at the Division III world championship
is an exercise in wishful thinking. Five years ago, the country sent
a team to the European under-18 junior championship in Bulgaria and
failed to win a game. Five players from that team played yesterday
against Mexico in a game in which the Irish were tied 2-2 after one
period, down a goal after two periods but badly outscored in the
third.

But to the likes of Slavashevsky and Jurovich and everyone else on
the emerald team, yesterday’s loss is over and done. Today is all
that matters; the day they can down Armenia and make their mark. That
it could happen on St. Patrick’s Day has presented them with an
opportunity they’ve been dreaming about for months.

The question now is: Is there a Paul O’Henderson in their midst?

Oil And Gas Journal
March 17 2004

Analyst: Potential Caspian oil production cannot free US from OPEC by
2008

By OGJ editors

HOUSTON, Mar. 17 — Caspian Sea region oil reserves will not free the
US from its dependence on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries by 2008, said Wayne Andrews, analyst with Raymond James &
Associates Inc.

“Politically, the stakes may be high, but from a pure energy supply
standpoint, the region is only a minnow in the vast ocean of Middle
Eastern oil,” Andrews said in a research note last month.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline will accommodate further development
by Azerbaijan International Operating Co. of the
Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) complex off Baku. The pipeline will bring
oil from Caspian fields to Turkey where it will be exported to world
markets.

“While we see no inherent problem in the construction of the pipeline
itself, everyone should be clear that the amount of oil in question
is so modest as to be almost immaterial for the market,” Andrews
said.

Best case scenario
Currently, the ACG Phase 1 produces less than 150,000 b/d. A BP
PLC-led consortium plans to ramp up production to 1 million b/d by
2008 in three phases, starting with 350,000 b/d in 2005 (OGJ Online,
Sept. 18, 2002).

But assuming that production does increase sevenfold in 4 years, the
growth only represents an extra 850,000 b/d.

“To put this in context, we project that global oil demand in 2004
will average 80.5 million b/d. Even assuming a very conservative 1.2%
annual demand growth for the next 4 years, 2008 demand would reach
84.4 million b/d, 3.9 million higher than currently,” Andrews said.

That means that Caspian oil would provide slightly more than 1% of
global demand in 2008, he concluded, noting that amount “will not
come even remotely close to replacing the West’s dependent on Persian
Gulf oil.” Meanwhile, OPEC is expected to supply 35-45% of world oil
supplies in 2008.

Obstacles to Caspian development
Andrews does not expect Caspian oil production to proceed as quickly
as project sponsors have forecast.

“If fact, there are several significant obstacles that may serve to
slow down development of the Caspian fields over the intermediate
term. While it is difficult to quantify their impact, it seems clear
to us that their overall influence will be negative,” he said.

The three biggest obstacles are corruption, political instability,
and the threat of violence.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline is slated to run through Azerbaijan,
Georgia, and Turkey. Andrews noted that corruption “has reached
enormous proportions since 1991” in Azerbaijan and Georgia.

“Despite the institutional safeguards insisted upon by the
multilateral lenders who provided project finance for the pipeline,
it is probable that at least some of the funds will not be spent
according to Western ‘best practices.’ This has the potential to
materially slow the pace of construction,” Andrews said.

After pipeline construction is finished, the system will face the
threat of violence from a potential conflict between Armenia and
Azerbaijan (OGJ Online, Jan. 30, 2003).

“Where there is a durable ceasefire in place, it is important to
recall that this conflict had escalated into nearly full-scale war in
the early 1990s. Other ethnic tensions in the Caucasus may lead to
strikes on the pipeline and other oil infrastructure,” Andrews said.

In addition, the Caspian region presents the logistical problems of
operating in remote terrain and the technical challenges of handling
highly sour crude oil.

RJA outlined “a mid-range scenario” in which the Caspian supplies
0.5% of world oil demand by 2008.

“In short, the Caspian’s output potential is simply too low to be of
any real significance for the oil market, so there is every reason to
believe that OPEC will be at least as firmly in control of the market
in 2008 as it is today,” Andrews said.

RIA Novosti, Russia
March 17 2004

FOREIGN MINISTER SPEAKS OUT ON RUSSIA’S POLICY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

MOSCOW, March 17, 2004 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow has noted progress in
Russian-Chinese relations. “China is our neighbour and friend,”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a press conference on
Wednesday.

“Russia’s and China’s positions on the overwhelming majority of
international problems are identical,” Mr. Lavrov said and added that
China’s position was becoming clearer and more outward-looking.

Mr. Lavrov also said that China was emerging as a major international
player.

Russia believes it important that China should tackle international
issues in cooperation with other countries. “This is a guarantee of
sustainable international relations,” said the minister.

Speaking about Russia’s relations with Japan, Mr. Lavrov said the
bilateral peace treaty must be drafted with due heed to the two
countries’ constitutions.

The minister said Moscow and Tokyo had a plan, according to which
they were working over the treaty.

When pressed for comment on Russia’s position on the territorial
dispute with Japan, Mr. Lavrov said that both countries had relevant
guidelines and the desire to move on.

Japanese Premier Junichiro Koizumi and Russian leaders adopted the
Action Plan in January 2003 when Mr. Koizumi was visiting Russia.
This comprehensive political document outlined the guidelines of
bilateral cooperation, including the guidelines of peace treaty
talks.

The negotiating process involves the two countries’ senior officials
and a bilateral commission, which was set up in 1998 and is headed by
the two foreign ministers.

Japan’s claims to South Kuriles continue to be the most sensitive
issue of bilateral relations, which hampers the signing of the peace
treaty. The insufficient volume and dynamism of mutual trade, which
do not correspond to the two countries’ cooperation potential, poor
investment in the Russian economy and Tokyo’s refusal to re-register
the former Soviet Union’s property in Japan with modern Russia make a
series of other problems facing the two countries.

Mr. Lavrov also emphasised at the press conference that Moscow sought
to continue the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear programme.

The Russian minister emphasised that the next round of talks had been
scheduled for as early as the summer of 2004.

Mr. Lavrov said he would meet his South Korean counterpart, Pan
Ki-mun, in late April or early May.

“This is when we will discuss arrangements for the third round of
six-party talks on North Korea, which will positively take place,”
Mr. Lavrov said, when asked whether the impeachment of South Korean
President No Mu-hyon would influence the negotiating process.

The process involves the United States, North Korea and other parties
concerned, including Russia, China, South Korea and Japan, which are
looking for ways to end the North’s nuclear programme. The first two
rounds of talks in Beijing did not bring progress, however the
countries did not abandon their efforts.

At the end of the second round of talks, the parties announced that
they would gather for the third round in summer 2004. They also
resolved to set up a joint working group to round off rough corners
in the positions of, above all, the USA and North Korea.

Observers suggested that the impeachment of the South Korean leader,
who supports rapprochement with the North, may affect the course of
talks. However, South Korea’s constitutional court may overrule,
within 6 months, the parliament’s impeachment decision if it finds it
insufficiently substantiated.

When speaking about the situation in the Balkans, Mr. Lavrov said
Russia was continuing to promote its interests in the region by
developing friendly relations with regional countries.

“We look forward to a time when the withdrawal of troops of one
country from another country will not be treated as the latter’s
inability to ensure its interests,” said Mr. Lavrov.

Mr. Lavrov said Moscow advocated a united Cyprus’ accession to the
European Union. However, this must happen on mutual accord and under
the UN aegis, said the Foreign Minister.

In the beginning, Russia had some doubts about the UN-proposed scheme
of resolving the Cyprus problem, according to which the UN Secretary
General was to advance his solution if the Cypriot negotiators,
Greece and Turkey fail to come to an agreement.

“We thought such an approach would endanger the principle of
voluntariness,” said Mr. Lavrov. He added that the involved parties’
current actions dispelled Moscow’s doubts.

In comments on media reports that Greece has approached NATO,
requesting it to help ensure Greek athletes’ security during the
summer Olympics in Athens, Mr. Lavrov said it was Greece’s legitimate
right to do so. “As to our athletes, we will resolve this problem on
our own,” he said.

When dwelling on certain aspects of Russia’s relations with former
Soviet republics, the Foreign Minister emphasised that Moscow was
continuing efforts to settle the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over
Nagorny Karabakh.

“Russia co-chairs what is known as the Minsk Group, which also
involves the USA and France. The group is looking for appropriate
ways to settle the conflict,” said Mr. Lavrov.

The group had advanced a series of settlement scenarios, which did
not work for technical, and later on, for political reasons,
according to Mr. Lavrov.

Yerevan and Baku will conduct direct political dialogue, which will
bring stability to the entire region, said Mr. Lavrov.

ArmenPress
March 17 2004

KOCHARIAN WELCOMES WIDER EUROPE, NEW NEIGHBORS CONCEPT

YEREVAN, MARCH 17, ARMENPRESS: Armenian president Robert Kocharian
has reaffirmed today his country’s commitment to enlarge the frames
and deepen cooperation between Armenia and the European Union.
Receiving a delegation of the European Union-Armenian parliamentary
cooperation commission, led by Ursula Schleikher, Kocharian described
economic relations between the parties as “very practical,” and
welcomed the process known as “Wider Europe, New Neighbors.”
“It is a serious incentive for Armenia to continue the process of
reforms and bring its legislation in compliance with European
standards,” Kocharian was quoted by his press office as saying.
Members of the delegation, who visited previously Armenia in 2002,
noted a significant progress since then, especially in what relates
to economy and stability. Ms. Schleikher was quoted as saying that
the South Caucasus is in the focus of Europe’s interests, which wants
it to be a region of stability and peace.
Kocharian briefed the delegation on a variety of issues, including
also prospects for resolving the Karabagh conflict.

ArmenPress
March 17 2004

MARGARIAN MEETS OSCE CHAIRMAN-IN-OFFICE

YEREVAN, MARCH 17, ARMENPRESS: Armenian prime minister Andranik
Margarian met today with the visiting chairman-in-office of the OSCE,
Bulgarian foreign minister Solomon Passy, who has arrived in Armenia
after visiting neighboring Georgia and Azerbaijan. The goal of the
visit is to get first-hand information about South Caucasian problems
and the latest developments concerning regulation of the region’s
conflicts.
The prime minister expressed hope that the visit will have a
positive impact on the resolution of the conflicts promoting
establishment pf peace and stability and reiterated that Armenia’s
foreign policy is aimed at closer integration with Europe, recalling
that Armenia joined OSCE in 1992. Relations between Armenia and OSCE,
according to Margarian are important first of all with regard to
efforts aimed to help the conflicting sides resolve their dispute
over Nagorno Karabagh.
He underlined that Armenia stands for continuation of the
disrupted negotiations process finding that jointly implemented
projects, not only together with Azerbaijan, but also with Turkey,
without preconditions would significantly raise chances for a
peaceful solution through building confidence measures. “The sooner
our problems with Azerbaijan and Turkey are resolved the better for
all sides, as we are neighbors and are doomed to live side by side,”
he said, but added that Turkey is not prepared now to accept this
‘clear realities,” and therefore Armenia is against Turkey taking up
in 2007 the chairmanship over the OSCE. “Our position in this regard
may change only after Turkey establishes full diplomatic relations
with Armenia and opens its borders,” he said.
Margarian also said that Armenia was disappointed with the OSCE
chairman-in-office’s failure to condemn the brutal murder of an
Armenian officer in Budapest by an Azeri classmate. According to
Margarian, such a step would have been appropriate having in mind the
demeanor of Azeri authorities seeking to justify the crime.
The prime minister also praised the OSCE Yerevan office for its
productive cooperation with Armenian authorities, singling out its
assistance in helping draft a series of legislations.
Solomon Passy in turn said his conclusion was that a dialogue,
joint discussions are the best way for resolving all exiting
problems. He also welcomed Armenia’s position to start cooperation
with its neighbors without preconditions pledging also his support.
Later in the day Solomon Passy was received by foreign minister
Vartan Oskanian.

ArmenPress
March 17 2004

ARMENIAN FM CALLS FOR ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF KARABAGH’S RIGHT TO
SELF-DETERMINATION

GENEVA, MARCH 17, ARMENPRESS: Addressing the 60-th session of the
UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva on March 16, Armenian foreign
affairs minister Vartan Oskanian described the brutal murder of an
Armenian officer in Budapest by an Azeri classmate as “an example of
ethnic enmity.”
Armenian foreign affairs ministry said that the minister
reiterated Armenia’s commitment to respect of human rights and
briefed the session on what has been achieved in Armenia to this end
in the last ten years, singling out, particularly, the abolition of
death penalty, appointment of the first ever ombudsman and
legislative reforms.
Oskanian explained that the existing discontents in the region are
the direct outcome of abuse of human rights and called on the
international community to acknowledge the right of Nagorno Karabagh
population to self-determination.
During a one-day visit to Geneva Oskanian met with Irish foreign
minister Bryan Kowen to discuss the Wider Europe project. He also had
meetings with his Swiss, Estonian and Luxembourg counterparts and
visited also the deputy UN Secretary General, the chief director of
the UN Geneva office Sergey Orjonikidze.

PRESS RELEASE
Department of Armenian Studies, Haigazian University
Beirut, Lebanon
Contact: Ara Sanjian
Tel: 961-1-353011
Email: [email protected]
Web:

HAIGAZIAN UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ARMENIAN STUDIES

invites to a lecture on

The Armenian Genocide in the Memoirs of Syrians
(in Armenian)

by

Dr. Nora Arissian
(Damascus)

Friday, March 19, 2004 – 7:30 p.m.
Haigazian University Auditorium – Mehagian building, Mexique Street,
Kantari, Beirut

N.B. Please accept this message as a personal invitation.

Haigazian University is a liberal arts institution of higher learning,
established in Beirut in 1955. For more information about its activities
you are welcome to visit its web-site at <; .
For additional information on the activities of its Department of
Armenian Studies, contact Ara Sanjian at <[email protected]>

The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec)
March 17, 2004 Wednesday Final Edition

Hockey is hurling on ice

by PAT HICKEY

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all my Irish friends and the rest of you
who wish you were Irish on this finest of days.

I’d like to take this opportunity to enter the current debate over
the origins of hockey and declare that

no matter where the game started, it was Irishmen who got the ball
rolling, or was it the puck sliding?

In the past month, Nova Scotia and Virginia have staked claims as the
birthplace of hockey. In each case, these bids have been supported by
paintings from the early 19th century. And in both cases, we see
players with curved sticks playing what can only be described as a
game of hurling on ice. This is particularly evident in the Virginia
painting, which was done by John O’Toole, an Irish-American folk
artist. For the uninitiated, hurling is a uniquely Irish sport that
is renowned more for its violence than its skill. And if that doesn’t
describe hockey, what does?

Rich tradition: While we’re on a St. Patrick’s Day theme, it’s
appropriate to note the Irish contribution to North American sport.
Tommy Gorman and Ambrose O’Brien were among the founders of the NHL.
The Canadiens dynasties of the ’50s included all-star goalie Gerry
McNeil and Dickie Moore and the current roster features Michael Ryder
and Jim Dowd. King Clancy, Frank McGee, Joe Malone, Cy Denneny, Red
Kelly and Teeder Kennedy are among the Hall of Fame members who can
claim Irish ancestry.

Heavyweight champs Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey were Irish and so is
John McEnroe, who can be found in the dictionary under Irish temper.
And if you’re looking for an all-Irish NBA team, how about Bill
Walton, Kevin McHale, Dick McGuire, Easy Ed Macauley and John
Stockton with Lenny Wilkens as coach?

The Fighting French? And then, of course, we have the Fighting Irish
of Notre Dame, although we’ve always felt the name didn’t quite fit
the reality.

The school is called Notre Dame because it was founded by Pere Edmond
Sorin. He was a member of the French congregation Sacre-Coeur that
continues to run the school to this day, and is also active here in
Quebec. I know a little something about the school’s history because
Sorin was a friend of my great-grandfather, the first Patrick
Valentine Hickey. Sorin recognized my great-grandfather’s
achievements as a journalist and publisher by awarding him the
Laetare Medal, which is presented annually to an outstanding Catholic
layman. The family took great pride in this award until it was
presented to John F. Kennedy, who gave new meaning to the word
layman.

I’ve always been puzzled why a school founded by French priests
became the Fighting Irish. True, three of the famed Four Horsemen –
Don Miller, Elmer Layden and Jim Crowley – were Irish and so was
legendary coach Frank Leahy.

But Norwegian-American Knute Rockne and Greek receiver Gus Dorais put
the school on the map; Armenian Ara Parseghian presided over the
team’s most recent success and the team’s stars over the years have
been named Bertelli, Hornung, Lujack, Ishmail and Montana.

One of my favourite stories about the Irish mystique surrounding
Notre Dame goes back to the 1970s, when Tom Clements led the Ottawa
Rough Riders to a Grey Cup championship. During the party following
the game, a tipsy Montreal columnist threw his arms around Clements
and said how great it was to see an Irishman lead the Riders to the
championship.

An embarrassed Clements thanked the writer, but went on to explain
that his ancestors came to the United States from Italy and changed
their name before Clements became one of the Fighting Irish.

The Times (London)
March 17, 2004, Wednesday

MGM to pay Las Vegas billionaire $ 1.6bn dividend

James Doran Wall Street Correspondent

Kirk Kerkorian, the billionaire Las Vegas casino and hotel magnate,
is poised for a big win in Hollywood as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the
movie studio he controls, contemplates paying him a special dividend
worth as much as $ 1.6 billion (£880 million).

MGM said on Monday that it was seriously considering a one-off
payment to shareholders to keep them happy.

The company does not have very many shareholders to placate, however,
as Mr Kerkorian owns 74 per cent of the 235 million shares in
circulation.

Sources close to the movie studio behind the James Bond franchise
said that the company was considering a payment of between $ 6 and $
9 a share. Such a paymentwould reap between $ 1 billion and $ 1.6
billion for Mr Kerkorian.

If MGM pays out at the highest end of expectations Mr Kerkorian will
see his $ 3.4 billion fortune swell to $ 5 billion.

MGM has been under pressure to offer a bonus to investors since it
failed to buy the entertainment assets of Vivendi Universal, the
French utility company, that were eventually bought by NBC, the US
broadcaster.

Alex Yemenidjian, the MGM chairman and chief executive, said in a
statement that the company had not made a decision about the special
dividend, which would mark the first shareholder payout since the
company floated in 1997.

But he added: “Our management remains committed to sharing the
company’s wealth with our shareholders.”

Mr Kerkorian, 86, has bought and sold MGM and pieces of it many times
over the past 35 years. It is estimated that he has invested some $ 3
billion in the company in total.

While the special dividend is the most likely course of action for
MGM, analysts believe the company is still considering other options
in its bid to keep Mr Kerkorian happy.

Many have said that the movie studio, which is awash with cash, could
seek to go private, or pursue a sale.

MGM’s 2003 revenues were about $ 1.7 billion, mainly because of
successful DVD sales of the films Legally Blonde 2: Red White and
Blonde and Jeepers Creepers 2.

The company retired all its debt last year and saw record cash flow
of about $ 193 million. It expects $ 600 million to $ 900 million of
free cash flow until2006.

Mr Kerkorian is said to prefer some sort of share-based transaction
because such a deal would be more tax advantageous.

The billionaire investor has not always been the consummate dealmaker
he is today.

The son of Armenian immigrants, he dropped out of school at the age
of nine to become a street newspaper vendor.

He ran away to become a pilot in the RAF during the Second World War
before returning to America to set up a private airline.

Today he is the 97th richest man in the world and owner of the MGM
Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas through his investment company,
which is named Tracinda Corporation after his daughters Tracy and
Linda.