A1 Plus | 14:58:31 | 09-03-2004 | Official |

KOCHARYAN ACCEPTED HUNGARY’S CONDOLENCES

New Hungarian Ambassador to Armenia Ferentc Contra /residence in Moscow/ has
today presented his credentials to Armenian President Robert Kocharyan.

On behalf of the Hungary Government Ambassador expressed condolences over
murder of Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan in Budapest on February 19.

In his turn Robert Kocharyan voiced confidence that the law-enforcement
bodies of Hungary will display the necessary consecution and the criminal
will be punished under the stringent law.

Stating that Hungary will become an EU member in May, Ambassador Contra said
that his country is ready to stimulate intensification of cooperation
between Armenia and European Union as far as possible.

—

Equatorial Guinea Says Arrests ‘Mercenaries’

Reuters
Tuesday, March 9, 2004

DAKAR, Senegal (Reuters) – Some 15 suspected mercenaries have been
arrested Equatorial Guinea, sub-Saharan Africa’s third-biggest oil
producer, after a widespread clampdown on foreign nationals, the
government said Tuesday. “Some 15 mercenaries have been arrested here in
Equatorial Guinea and it was connected with that plane in Zimbabwe. They
were the advance party of that
group,” Information Minister Agustin Nse Nfumu told Reuters.

Zimbabwe seized a U.S.-registered cargo plane Sunday evening which the
government has said was carrying 64 suspected mercenaries and a cargo of
military gear.

The minister said the group of 15 was made up of white South Africans,
black South Africans of Angolan origin, a German and others from
Kazakhstan and Armenia.

He said the suspected mercenaries had arrived in the former Spanish
colony, which borders Gabon and Cameroon, in December and were picked up
late Monday evening. He said some of them had been “presented to the
diplomatic corps.”

Equatorial Guinea said Monday its security forces had been chasing down
illegal immigrants since Saturday night and detained a number of people.
Residents said the swoop had been unusually severe with heavily armed
troops roaming the streets.

The clampdown comes amid growing tensions within President Teodoro
Obiang Nguema Mbasogo’s family, whose members hold most top positions in
the country, and speculation among exiled opposition politicians that a
coup was in the offing.

Equatorial Guinea’s information minister said Obiang would address the
nation on state media at 8 p.m.

Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
March 9, 2004
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]

ASSEMBLY ANNUAL BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING BUILDS ON DECADES OF PROGRESS

Delray Beach, FL – Building on more than three decades of activism, the
Armenian Assembly of America held its annual Board of Trustees Weekend March
6-7 in Delray Beach, Florida. Assembly leaders, members and supporters
from across the nation attended, participating in business meetings,
question and answer sessions and social events.

Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues member Rep. E. Clay Shaw, Jr. (R-FL)
and former South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Richard Harpootlian,
also a new Assembly Fellow Trustee, were among the featured speakers.

In a major announcement, Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair Hovnanian said
that he is renovating a three-story historical building he gifted to the
Assembly to house its Yerevan offices and that the premises, located near
Republic Square, should open in two years.

Board of Trustees President Carolyn Mugar said of Hovnanian’s most recent
philanthropy: “This action is another example of his generosity, passion and
vision in support of the Assembly’s mission.”

A full day of highly successful business meetings at the Delray Beach
Marriott, the site of all weekend events, gave participants the opportunity
to voice their thoughts and views on the Assembly’s future direction and
relations with other non-partisan Armenian organizations. Hovnanian
underlined the importance of building on the working relationship with the
Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) and the Eastern and Western Diocese
of the Armenian Church, and the cooperation between the organizations in the
Assembly’s upcoming National Conference and Banquet in Washington, DC.

Another weekend highlight was the passing of the baton from outgoing Board
of Directors Chairman Peter Vosbikian to the incoming Chair Anthony
Barsamian, who formerly served as vice chair.

Vosbikian said he leaves confident in Barsamian’s leadership. “Anthony and I
have been working side by side over the past twelve months and I can assure
you he has already hit the ground running,” he said.

Vosbikian also saluted outgoing and longtime Board of Directors members
Edgar Hagopian of Michigan and Sam Hagopian of Texas, who he said never
hesitate “to do what is right for the people of Armenia and Karabakh.”
Vosbikian also acknowledged Dork Alahydoian and Flora Dunaians, both of whom
were not present, for their years of service on the Board of Directors.

Assembly leaders also helped welcome several new members to the Board of
Directors including Bryan Ardouny of Montana, Berge Ayvazian of
Massachusetts, Corinne Heditsian of Rhode Island and Lisa Kalustian of
California.

Also of special interest was a presentation by Assembly Life Trustee Dr.
Noubar Afeyan, who spoke about an exciting new project, dubbed “Armenia
2020.” The purpose of the project, which has already invested $2 million
in research, polling and review meetings, is to develop possible scenarios
for Armenia’s long-term economic development.

As is customary, the weekend closed with a Saturday night banquet where
Assembly Fellow Trustee Hovsep Hovsepian donated an 85-year-old hand-drawn
silk map of historic Armenia, a family heirloom, to the Armenian Genocide
Museum and Memorial (AGMM).

The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

NR#2004-027

Photograph available on the Assembly’s Web site at the following link:

Caption: Assembly Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair Hovnanian, right, and
incoming Board of Directors Chairman Anthony Barsamian, left, presenting a
plaque to outgoing Chairman Peter Vosbikian in appreciation for his
outstanding service to the Assembly.

Mehr News Agency, Iran
March 8 2004

Churches of Tabriz

TEHRAN, March 8 (Mehr News Agency) — Shining as the oldest and
largest church in Tabriz, Saint Mary’s church was built in 1782 in
the Armenian style of architecture.

Beautiful pictures of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ, as well as
several apostles decorate the walls of the prayer niche and the
corners of the arch-shaped ceiling of the church in which religious
and national Armenian ceremonies are performed.

There are also several other churches in the city including the Saint
Serkis and Saint Shoghat churches.

Saint Serkis Church was built in 1821, and is located in the
Barunavak district of the city. It is also decorated with pictures of
the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ and several apostles. Another church is
on Valman Alley and a Gothic-style church built in 1910 is located on
Miyarmiyar St.

Shoghat Church is located next to the Armenian graveyard of the
Maralan district near Saint Mary’s Church.

Dissident Voice, United States
March 8 2004

The Coming Uncivil War: The Fire This Time
by Richard Oxman

“Why not annihilation? Their glory has fled, their spirit broken,
their manhood effaced; better that they should die than live the
miserable wretches that they are.

— L. Frank Baum, later to become author of The Wizard of Oz, writing
as editor of South Dakota’s Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer, encouraging
the extermination of each and every Native American, December 20,
1891.

Garland’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” had just ended. I was
lounging around, sipping my slave-picked Earl Grey from Sri Lanka,
and pouring over my May 11, 1911 original edition of Le Petit Journal
when the postman rang twice. A typical Tuesday afternoon, although
it could have been Wednesday this week. Unreal.

I’ll tell you what was in the parcel post piece shortly, a bombshell
of sorts for America. First, the obligatory parsing of pain.

The publication’s ink drawing portraying violent audience members at
the opera house of Livermore, Kentucky — spotlighting a quavering
figure on stage in the foreground — is unforgettable. There, yoked
to a pole, his upper torso strapped tight, with rope drawn across the
ankles forcing his lower body to bend at the knees, the black figure
in profile seemed to angle to the right, a twist, wanting to get away
from the drawn rifles and handguns, much like a dog — too afraid to
move — knowing that the Master is about to do something painful.
Perhaps more like a fish caught with a troll, in frozen anguish. His
clothes are in tatters, in stark contrast with a clenched fist behind
the back which is shooting out, stretching in the opposite direction
of his protruding lip. Millay’s “clutching at the South, screaming at
the North” comes to mind, the contortion commanding all. And
speaking of shooting, the public execution at Kentucky’s cultural
center only cost the usual prices for admission. However, those
holding orchestra tickets were allowed six shots whereas balcony
tickets were limited to one. For real.

Like Stamp Paid, the mid-19th century black man in Toni Morrison’s
Beloved, does when he notices a bit of bloody scalp, I want to scream
out “What are these people? You tell me, Jesus. What are they?” Of
course, they were white settlers. Demonic, not insane, to use
Terrence Des Pres’ yardstick. (1) Genocidal by all the standards
Raphael Lemkin established following Nuremberg.

The Jewish Holocaust was not an abominably unique event, unless one
is going to acknowledge the same for a million Armenians, Stalin’s
fourteen million “terror-faminized,” et. al. in Bangladesh, Burundi,
the Brazilian Amazon, Kampuchea, East Timor and elsewhere*(often with
our invaluable assistance). (2) Respecting Africans and Native
Americans, the only way Americans can make conscious-soothing
distinctions — allowing them to “do lunch,” shedding tears over
asparagus at an Oprah-based Book-of-the-Month tête-à-tête, in lieu of
taking any significant action — is to adopt the typical Eurocentric
bias that indiscriminately groups dark-skinned and red-skinned people
into only two undifferentiated masses; do that with white-skinned
people and one can totally exterminate the Polish population without
owning to genocide.

*There was a “total extermination of many American Indian peoples and
the near-extermination of others, in numbers that eventually totaled
close to 100 million.” (3)

It’s all horror that still goes on today, unabated here since the
European foot first stomped on this hallowed ground. But you’d never
know it to watch the parade of obese Americans, driving their SOVs
(Standard Obese Vehicles) going about their dailys. Not waiting on
them anymore to become compassionate, it looks like the guys who
mailed me the package have a Plan B. As promised, I’ll get to that
below.

At a mid-90s conference sponsored by the Global Alliance for
Preserving the History of World War II in Asia (AOHWA) in Cupertino,
California I saw the most horrific photographs I had ever seen up to
that point. They were photographs, poster-sized, of the Rape of
Nanking. Relative to writings about the Jewish Holocaust, very
little has been made available to us concerning atrocities
perpetrated in China, Korea, the Philippines, Singapore and
Indonesia. The Japanese military was responsible for approximately
50 million deaths, 30 million alone in China. It begs the question,
“Why?”.

>From December 13, 1937 to February 1938, in the single city of
Nanking, the International Military Tribunal of the Far East (IMTFE)
estimates that 260,000 were killed. The Memorial Hall of the Victims
of the Nanking Massacre in Nanjing claims that the number was over
300,000. Some Japanese put the figure as low as 3,000, its leading
historian of the war guessing that it was no higher than 42,000. (4)
Live burial competed with burning and freezing and the slowest and
most excruciating forms of killing ever known. Children were a
special delight.

A long time ago. None of it has much to do with us now, right?
We’re not killing minorities in cruel ways any longer, yes? We have
our figures straight these days, no? Our scruples in a row, like so
many ducks, vraiment? All I can say is “Quack, Quack!!” to the good
doctors (Ph.Ds, Ed.Ds et. al.) who have diagnosed Our Day that way.

I believe former UN relief chiefs, Hans Von Sponeck and Denis
Halliday –with decades of devotion to UN efforts behind them– would
not agree. As I remember, they quit their UN posts at very crucial
times over the cruel sanctions that were being imposed on the Iraqis.
Over the bombings, too, that had been going on for at least ten
years; there was that incredible 18-month study that John Pilger
cited not too long ago in The Mirror, wherein something like 36,000
sorties were flown over the Iraqi no-fly zones, 26,000 of them combat
runs (when there was no war!) (5), all in violation of international
law. And that didn’t account for the British bombs or the Turkish
air-campaign atrocities inflicted on the Kurds, the American and
British flyboys conveniently looking the other way.

In our own country, as Jeffrey St. Clair points out — lamenting the
federal government’s abandonment of efforts to prevent
pesticide-caused cancer — “Corporate and governmental statisticians
will broker the ‘acceptable’ number of people permitted to contract
cancer from pesticides residues, comforted in the knowledge that most
of these people will be poor and black or Hispanic.” (6)

I cite the particulars above — when there are an endless number to
choose from — because, for the most part, they’re the ones that were
alluded to in the little package I opened on Wednesday, March 3rd.
The one that informed me –anonymously– that something was in the
works, and motivated me to do something about it all.

“There is a physical difference between the white and black races
which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on
terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot
so live, while they remain together there must be the position of
superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of
having the superior position assigned to the white race.”

— Our own Abe Lincoln during the Stevie Douglas debates
(Undermining underlining mine)

As much as any other man? What man? He’s not talking about
Frederick Douglas here. Nor you, I presume. Certainly, he’s not
speaking for me. And I know those fellows who mailed their missive
to me have quite a different attitude.

However, one can’t say the same for Tommie Jefferson (“the
blacks…are inferior to the whites”) or Benny Franklin (“Why
increase the sons of Africa….?”); and they were the so-called
“soft-liners” who were nowhere near as maniacal as the likes of
Andrew Jackson, a leader far more representative of our past. Of
course, there’s the shining example set by John Quincy Adams who
“gave lip service” to the Indians and others. (7) What a crew. What
a foundation. Quelle dommage!

The point is is that the country is rotten to the core respecting the
issues touched upon above, and the stench is starting to motivate
compassionate/infuriated minorities, and their sympathetic brothers
and sisters of different stripes, to take trenchant (unprecedented in
America) measures. Take note, if you will, a house divided will not
stand.

One has to get notions of rebellious rag-tag youth gathering at the
gates of the Capitol Building (putting heads on the chopping block)
out of one’s mind. It’s not going to happen that way. Mau-Mau in
Kenya is more the model*. Mobilization by MoveOn will not be the
order of the day. And to make hay, the midnight killers — for
that’s what they will be if our present momentum is not reversed —
will not require huge groups, consensus or any form of
politically-correct sanction. They will be Invisible Revolutionaries
more along the lines of the Algerian Resistance. But unlike the
Algerians and Vietnamese, they will not demand the cover of the
general population. For they will not be fighting — in the most
immediate sense — for the people, nor in unison, but, rather, out of
rage, and out of unrequited love for what’s right. They will be
frustrated warriors who — in the face of stultifying surveillance
and overwhelming weaponry — simply can’t sit by and take it anymore.
Without any Grand Plan that all the academics and most
“officially-approved” leftists demand of those who would force
change. Arundhati Roy and Pilger, of course, are exceptions, but
where are the prominent U.S. examples?

* Minus the secret society meetings, the mountains of retreat being
replaced by myriad buildings, “habitats for humanity” in the minds of
many. No Kenyatta to capture, the individual insurgents will
proliferate on their own like cancer cells.

It’s a real shame ’cause it wouldn’t take much for a Bush or a Kerry
or a Nader or SOMEONE to simply step forward regularly, acknowledge
the horrors we continue to perpetrate…and remind the populace that
there’s not much else that’s more important than changing the course
of history in this respect. To show that they are doing this and
that…daily…to make it so, to make things right. A little bit of
Emily Dickinson’s “thing with feathers,” not token gestures.

That, or I’m afraid it’ll be a thousand points of burning lights,
illuminating everything from gas stations and office edifices to
private residences, ski lodges and wherever it is that golfers
congregate. Perhaps fire won’t be necessary in the clubhouses.

Thomas C. Mountain of the Hawaii Black History Committee, in an
article that appeared in Counterpunch, February 27, 2004, asked, “How
are we ever going to come to grips with racism in this country if we
continue to deny people of color their historical place? How could
white people hate people of color if they were taught Jesus would
pass for black if he were to rejoin us today?” He noted that Buddha,
Jesus, Krishna, Mohammed and Moses were all people of color.

Indeed. Again, what would it take for a president at a podium to
preach what’s begging to be expressed? To talk constructively about
what’s been wrong, in real language. Not much. Little for anyone.
But nothing like that is heard, periodic pontifications on places
like Haiti –during crises only– notwithstanding. On the other
(bloody) hand, it wouldn’t take much for the senders of my package
and their underground compatriots to set off bonfires in continental
coordination, sort of flambes for freedom, if you will. Bonfires,
originally, were fires in which bones were burned, evil-smelling
affairs that were nothing like the celebratory fires of today.
Nothing liked brings nothing liked.

Please tell Ashcroft, once he’s back to full health, making his
disgusting, fascistic overtures in full force, that I burned the
communication I opened last week; it would be too easy for him to
draw a line between this article, my recent piece “AH!” ARSONISTS FOR
HAITI” (which appeared on and
), the coming catastrophes and (alleged)
advocacy on my part. That’s if he asks. I want no part of an
investigation into the coming Kikuyu-like catastrophe that we’re
bringing on to ourselves.

Yes, I’ve got nothing more to say to the Justice Department or the
American people regarding the above. After all, it IS the American
people who are responsible for what’s taking place –as per legal
precedent established at Nuremberg by us– and they will have nothing
to complain about once the fan starts blowing, hurtling unwanted
waste and more their way.

“Will all great Neptune’s oceans wash this blood, clean from my
hands?”, asked Macbeth. Today, yes. The day after tomorrow, maybe
not.

Finally, it would behoove us to give some thought to these additional
(personal, emailed) words of Thomas C. Mountain (quoted also above),
perhaps relating them to this article’s opening quote from L. Frank
Baum,

“You might want to consider just how bad for black folk “integration”
or rather assimilation has turned out. Before
integration/assimilation black folk controlled the institutions in
their lives, the schools, the shops, the sports, even the music.
When their struggle began to lead the movement in the US, the move
was made to “integrate” them into white society, to take their
children out of the schools they controlled and assimilate them into
white schools, with white teachers etc. If one looks at the
statistics covering the majority of black folk, the 2/3s who did not
benefit from equal opportunity, life has gotten worse since the
“civil rights movement”, since assimilation started. Infant
mortality, maternal mortality, birth weights, drop out
rates/graduation rates, incarceration rates, drug addiction rates,
all the statistics show that life has gotten worse for most black
folk. In other words, if you want to break a people, break their
institutions first, than they become a crushed and broken people easy
to control and not a threat to the status quo.”

Keep in mind, if you will, that we’re not just talking about
dark-skinned people here. And the parameters of hostility might
easily extend to include people wanting to protect our public
lands…and many others.

Those dangerous-sounding gents who reached me at home via the postal
service –color not clear– claimed to be the three guys who I wrote
about recently in the Counterpunch piece cited above. I understand
the points they made about the U.S. not honoring The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights of December 9, 1948, and our ignoring
subsequent related international agreements and conventions. What I
don’t understand is a) why they contacted me, b) how they were able
to read my article and get something out so quickly (a day following
its appearance!), c) why they used a box when the only contents were
a letter, and d) how they got my home address.

I have a lot of questions.

Richard Oxman, a big fan of James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, can
be reached at [email protected]. He has fire gear available
upon request.

REFERENCES

(1) Terence Des Pres, “Introduction” to Jean-Francois Steiner,
Treblinka (New York: New American Library, 1979), p. xi.

(2) See Frank Chalk and Kurt Jonassohn, The History and Sociology of
Genocide: Analyses and Case Studies (New Haven: Yale University
Press, 1990). Also, Richard G. Hovannisian, ed., The Armenian
Genocide in Perspective (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers,
1986). And Robert Conquest, The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet
Collectivization and the Terror Famine (New York: Oxford University
Press, 1986), especially chapter 16.

(3) David E. Stannard, American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New
World (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), p. 151.

(4) See Iris Chang, The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of
World War II (New York: Basic Books, 1997), pp. 99-104. Also, Haruko
Taya Cook and Theodore F. Cook, Japan at War: An Oral History (New
York: New Press, 1992), p. 39.

(5) John Pilger, The Secret War: “The U.S. War Against Iraq is well
under way” in The Mirror (December 20, 2002), as posted on ZNet
().

(6) Jeffrey St. Clair, Been Brown So Long It Looked Like Green To
Me: The Politics of Nature (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press,
2004), p. 133.

(7) R. David Edmunds, “National Expansion from the Indian
Pespective,” in Indians in American History, ed. Frederick E. Hoxie
(1988), pp. 159-165.

ABS CBN News, Philippines
March 8 2004

Five gain good shot at La Union Open chess crown

By Manny Benitez
TODAY Chess Columnist

A thrilling race for the top prizes developed after coleaders Barlo
Nadera and Ronald Nolte fought to a short draw in the penultimate
eighth round of the weeklong, cash-rich La Union Open chess
tournament, allowing three others to join them at the helm with 6.5
points apiece.

Nadera, an international master (IM) from Mandaue City, and Nolte, a
national master (NM) from Baguio City, called a truce after only 15
moves of a Nimzo-Indian duel. Both belong to the Air Force team.

In an e-mail from San Fernando City, publicist Marlon Bernardino
quoted Nolte as saying: `Napagod na yata si Barlo kaya nakipagkasundo
siya ng draw sa aking kahit puti pa siya.’

They shared the lead with IM Richard Bitoon of Medellin, Cebu, who
beat Jerome Balico of Isabela in 39 moves of another Nimzo-Indian; NM
Darwin Laylo of Marikina, who outplayed NM Yves Ranola of Caloocan in
48 moves of an English; and NM Ronald Llavanes of Naga City, who
stopped Ferdinand Leysa of South Cotabato in 44 moves of a Modern
Defense.

Just half a point behind the five leaders were four players led by
lone Grandmaster (GM) Eugene Torre, who outclassed Alex Milagrosa in
31 moves of a Vienna.

The three other 6.0 pointers entering the ninth and final game were
IM Petronio Roca of Dasmariñas, Cavite, Fide Master (FM) Fernie
Donguines of Parañaque City, and Rustum Tolentino of Cagayan de Oro
City.

They won against Roland Salvador of San Jose del Monte City, Jermel
Abordo of Mexico, Pampanga, and FM Jesse Noel Sales of Calamba City,
respectively.

The top prize of P80,000 is at stake for the champion of the
tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the
Philippines with the support of La Union Gov. Victor Ortega, San
Fernando City Mayor Jane C. Ortega and the Villa Estrella Beach
Resort.

Tournament director is Engr. Joseph Dumuk.

Meanwhile, the Reykjavik Open chess tournament got under way on
Sunday (Monday in Manila) in the Icelandic capital made famous by the
historic Bobby Fischer-Boris Spassky world championship match of
1972.

Top players from all over the world, including Russian GM Alexei
Dreev, teenage Chinese GM Bu Xiangzhi and the former Australian
champion, GM Ian Rogers, are competing in the nine-round event.

The top three finishers are to qualify for the Reykjavik Rapid, which
will take place from March 17 to 21.

Former world champions Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov of Russia
are to lead a cast of heavyweights, including former challenger Nigel
Short of England, Emil Sutovsky of Israel and Peter Heine Nielsen of
Sweden, in the rapid event.

In Armenia, a memorial tournament in honor of the late ex-world
champion Tigran Petrosian, the deaf former chimney sweeper who
reigned at the height of Soviet hegemony from 1963 to ’69, starts on
Tuesday.

Although he had the reputation of being a relatively dull player
because of his positional style of play, Petrosian is the only
champion in chess history who swept through the interzonal and
candidates’ matches undefeated.

The Petrosian Memorial will be held in Stepanakert, Karabakh, in the
former scene of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 1992.

uefa.com, Switzerland
March 8 2004

Ronaldo knock helps Hakobyan hang on

A weekend of injuries, cup action and wayward finishing ensured that
Ara Hakobyan is still the unlikely leader of the ESM Golden Shoe
standings as the majority of European leagues enter the final
straight of the season.

Something of a miracle
It would require something of a mircale for Hakobyan to top the
standings at the end of the season. Indeed, the FC Banants
sharpshooter, who hit 45 goals in the 2003 Armenian League season
which finished back in November, has looked like being overhauled for
several weeks now.

Ronaldo injury
Last week Real Madrid CF striker Ronaldo moved to within just one
point of Hakobyan and the Armenian’s tenure at the top looked set to
end, but the Brazilian failed to score at the weekend and even limped
off in the closing minutes of his side’s match against Real Racing
Club Santander with a hamstring injury that will keep him on the
sidelines for at least one league game.

No headway
Thierry Henry, who leads the rest of the chasing pack, was in top
form, but his two strikes for Arsenal FC in the FA Cup against
Portsmouth FC do not count in the Golden Shoe standings.

Makaay makes a move
SV Werder Bremen’s Ailton and AC Milan’s Andriy Shevchenko were among
the contenders who were in league action but both drew blanks and
were substituted during their clubs’ wins. One man who did score was
last year’s winner, Roy Makaay, whose two goals for FC Bayern München
against Bayer 04 Leverkusen lifted him six places to 14th.

Pos Name Club (Country) Gls Val Pts
1 Ara Hakobyan FC Banants (ARM) 45 1 45
2 Ronaldo Real Madrid CF (ESP) 22 2 44
3 Thierry Henry Arsenal FC (ENG) 20 2 40
3 Ailton SV Werder Bremen(GER) 20 2 40
5 Tor Henning Hamre FC Flora (EST) 39 1 39
6 Ruud van Nistelrooij Manchester U.FC(ENG) 18 2 36
6 Djibril Cissé AJ Auxerre (FRA) 18 2 36
6 Viktors Dobrecovs FHK Liepajas Metalurgs (LAT) 36 1 36
9 Alan Shearer Newcastle United FC (ENG) 17 2 34
9 Andriy Shevchenko AC Milan (ITA) 17 2 34
9 Louis Saha Fulham FC/Manchester United FC(ENG) 17 2 34
12 Roland Kollmann Grazer AK (AUT) 22 1.5 33
13 Henrik Larsson Celtic FC (SCO) 21 1.5 31.5
14 Salva Málaga CF (ESP) 15 2 30
14 Pierre-Alain Frau FC Sochaux-Montbéliard (FRA) 15 2 30
14 Roy Makaay FC Bayern München (GER) 15 2 30
17 Mista Valencia CF (ESP) 14 2 28
17 Francesco Totti AS Roma (ITA) 14 2 28
17 Martin Max FC Hansa Rostock (GER) 14 2 28
17 Didier Drogba Olympique de Marseille (FRA) 14 2 28

Last updated: 22 February 2003

Only the leading five countries (Spain, Italy, Germany, France and
England) on the UEFA Ranking have two as their multiplier. This is to
emphasise the difference in (international) performance level between
the clubs from those countries and those from the other countries.

A player cannot first play in a summer league (eg. Norway) and then
in a winter league (eg. Spain) and combine the points total for each
season.

Figures from Voetbal International

Submitted by Janoyan Ana

PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-7810
Fax: 212-689-7168
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Contact: Iris Papazian

March 9, 2004

Blessing of Foundation Stones for
St. John Armenian Church
Takes Place in Boynton Beach

NEW YORK, NY-Sunday, February 29, was a memorable day for the Eastern
Prelacy and the Armenian community of South Florida. His Eminence Archbishop
Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic
Church of America, together with V. Rev. Fr. Anoushavan Tanielian, Vicar,
and Archpriest Fr. Vazken Bekiarian, blessed the sixteen cornerstones of the
new St. John Armenian Church of Boynton Beach, Florida. Joining the clergy
on this occasion were the deacons, the sixteen godfathers, the major
benefactor, Mr. George Pagoumian and his family, and the Faithful of the
community.
The sixteen cornerstones were purified with water and wine, then blessed
and anointed before being placed into their respective positions. With
everyone’s participation, the Andastan service (Blessing of the Harvest)
took place, beseeching the Lord for peace in all corners of the world,
goodness and glory for Armenia, and for the steadfastness of the Armenian
Church.
Archbishop Oshagan expressed his profound joy and gave thanks to God for
granting him the opportunity to preside over this ceremony. He explained the
meaning of the sixteen cornerstones, which represent Christ’s twelve
disciples, St. Paul, the evangelists Mark and Luke, and the father of the
Armenian Church, St. Gregory the Illuminator. “We are building this church,”
His Eminence said, “so that our lives will be solid and our faith will
remain immovable.”
Srpazan thanked the sixteen godfathers and especially George Pagoumian,
who along with his family, has made this God-pleasing gift in memory of his
father, John Pagoumian, in whose honor the new Church is named.
During the luncheon which followed the blessing of the cornerstones, the
Master of Ceremonies, Bedo Der Bedrosian, chairman of the Board of Trustees,
offered words of welcome and thanks and invited the chairman of the building
committee, Vahram Tanielian, to address the gathering. Mr. Tanielian
encouraged the attendees to continue the good work that has started with God
‘s blessings and to bring the project to a successful conclusion.
Mr. Pagoumian poignantly shared memories of his father. He said that the
building of this house of God provides the opportunity to spread the Lord’s
Word. He said that he considered it vital to put into practice the original
Biblical message, especially because in our modern times various currents
and movements have taken us far away from spiritual values.
Archpriest Bekiarian, who serves the Florida community, expressed his
thanks and emphasized that the building of a church is not the work of one
individual, but rather a collective effort of all of the Faithful.
In his closing words, Archbishop Oshagan extended his words of
appreciation and encouragement and spoke of the importance of this sacred
effort. He gave a brief view of the overall project, which includes the
Sanctuary, the fellowship hall with facilities for Saturday and Sunday
schools, and eventually a gymnasium. “We do all of this with love and
dedication because we believe that it is necessary for our future
generations to have their own home, where they will pray to God, learn their
mother tongue and history, so that they will find their true identity and
live as model citizens, keeping their faith and culture.”
Visit the Prelacy’s web site () for
photographs of the cornerstone blessing as well as up to the minute
information about Prelacy events and activities.

Politics.ie, Ireland
March 8 2004

Irish EU Presidency : EU Troika delegation met with Turkey’s Foreign
Minister – Cowen

An EU Troika delegation, led by Brian Cowen T.D., Minister for
Foreign Affairs, met with Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Mr. Abdullah
Gul, in Ankara today. Minister Cowen was accompanied by the High
Representative for CFSP, Javier Solana, EU Commissioner for
Enlargement Gunter Verheugen and the Foreign Minister of the
Netherlands, Bernard Bot.

At a press conference after the meeting, Minister Cowen said:

“We have had very useful discussions this morning with Foreign
Minister Gul covering EU – Turkey relations and a range of
international issues, including the Middle East, Iraq and Iran. We
also discussed current developments in Georgia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan, focusing on the positive role which Turkey, as a
neighbour, can play in the region. We will have further discussions
later today with Prime Minister Erdogan.

This is a very important point in the development of relations
between the European Union and Turkey, as we prepare for the European
Council decision in December. We have reiterated our strong assurance
that if the European Council decides in December that Turkey fulfils
the Copenhagen political criteria, the EU is committed to opening
accession negotiations without delay. A key element in that decision
will of course be progress in the reform process. We have warmly
welcomed the very substantial progress made to date in legislating
for reform. We discussed this morning a number of outstanding issues
in the process and the crucial importance of moving ahead with the
practical implementation of reforms at all levels of administration
and throughout the country.

We had a good discussion on the Cyprus problem. We confirmed the
strong support of the EU for the efforts of the UN Secretary General.
It is our firm hope that the parties will redouble their efforts in
the negotiating process now under way in Cyprus, on the basis of a
commitment to reaching a settlement based on the Secretary General’s
proposals. The clear preference of the EU is for the accession of a
united Cyprus. The only way to achieve this is on the basis of the
Annan Plan. The objective remains the agreement on a settlement which
will enable the accession of a united Cyprus on 1 May. This is
clearly in the interests of all the people of Cyprus, of the European
Union and of Turkey. It is also in the interests of the development
of ever closer relations between the EU and Turkey.

I have assured Foreign Minister Gul that the EU remains ready to
accommodate the terms of a settlement in line with the principles on
which the Union is founded. We are also ready, in consultation with
Secretary General Kofi Annan, to assist in any way which he feels
could usefully encourage agreement. ”

The Troika delegation will meet with Prime Minister Erdogan later
this afternoon.

The Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS (FJC), Russia
March 8 2004

Purim Celebrated Across the Former Soviet Union

On March 7th and 8th, Jews from 420 communities throughout the Former
Soviet Union, members of the Federation of Jewish Communities,
celebrated Purim.

The FJC and its member communities distributed over 200,000
‘Mishloach Manot’ gift packages throughout the CIS and Baltic States.

In fulfillment of a Purim mitzvah of helping those in need, the FJC
provided food packages and other assistance to more than 100,000
needy people. Volunteers from many Jewish communities are also
tending to the needs of homebound and disabled Jews for the holiday.

Thanks to the Rohr Family Foundation and the Ohr Avner Foundation,
more than 150,000 Jews attended ‘Megilat Esther’ readings and Purim
celebrations, involving more than 13,000 children from the Ohr Avner
Chabad school network.

This year, many Jewish communities and individuals celebrated Purim
for the first time. Yet other elderly members of the Jewish
community, still able to recall such celebrations from their
childhood, witnessed the revival of the Purim holiday in their
communities.

Many communities that don’t have a permanent rabbi celebrated Purim
with guidance from visiting Yeshiva students from Russia, Ukraine and
the USA. Students of the Tomchei Tmimim Yeshiva in Rostov-on-Don were
particularly active, visiting communities in both Ukraine and Russia.

The following is an overview of community events held for Purim-5764:

Jews in MOSCOW, Russia, enjoyed Purim at the Jewish Community Center
at Marina Roscha. After words from Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar,
participants were treated to a variety show, a youth party featuring
popular rock group, a fashion show and an art exhibition.

The Sunday School of VLADIKAVKAZ, Russia, held a joint event with one
of the state schools, where Jewish children told children of other
ethnic groups and religions about Purim and Jewish traditions and
then held a Purimspiel and concert for them.

Despite an avalanche, over 40 Jewish youth from IZHEVSK, Russia,
turned up for the Purim carnival and discoteque.

200 guests gathered in a local cafe for a kosher Purim feast in
RYAZAN, Russia. Over 20 women participated in the ‘Esther the
Beautiful” contest. Though only one girl won, all participants walked
away with a prize.

In BARNAUL, Russia, the Jewish community held a Purimspiel at the
puppet theater.

Over 200 people gathered in KEMEROVO, Russia, to hear
recently-arrived Rabbi Dovid de Bresser read from ‘Megilat Esther’.

Jews of KOSTROMA, Russia, enjoyed the Sholom Aleichem play “Bloody
Joke”, staged by the Kostroma Chamber Drama Theater. The performance
included traditional Jewish songs and original music, as well as
wonderful dances.

Purim events at Ohr Avner Chabad Elementary and High Schools in
NOVOSIBIRSK, Russia, culminated in a firework display.

In KHABAROVSK, Russia, the ‘Mizrach’ community celebrated a Youth
Purimspiel for the first time in Russia’s Far East region. Jewish
youth enjoyed music and dancing all evening, with an interweaving of
Jewish modern, classical, and Chassidic music. The Women’s Club also
celebrated, with a turnout of over 110 people. Participants enjoyed
Jewish melodies, sweets, and a fashion show.

A Purim celebration took place in brand new Jewish Community Center
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia.

About 4000 people in KHARKOV, Ukraine, turned out for Purimspiel
performances at the local circus. Due to extra demand, there were two
separate celebrations, involving two separate concerts and readings
from ‘Megilat Esther’.

In CHERNOVTSIY, Ukraine, over 200 people gathered for a Purimspiel. A
lottery was held and Jewish books were given as prizes.

Youth in MINSK, Belarus initiated this year’s Purim events by
bringing gifts and holiday greetings to the sick, elderly and
underprivileged children. On Sunday, over 500 people gathered at the
‘Profsoyuz’ Cultural Center to celebrate Purim.

The Purim concert in VILNIUS, Lithuania featured a concert by the
Jerusalem Boys’ Choir.

Over 100 people in YEREVAN, Armenia gathering in a restaurant for a
meal and performance – in Hebrew and Yiddish – by the children’s
vocal group ‘Keshet’ (Raduga). The Sunday School held a Purimspiel
with a concert, contests, lottery, high-profile guests and gifts.

More than 60 children from the Jewish Kindergarten of TBILISI,
Georgia celebrated Purim. The children impressed guests with songs in
Hebrew, Yiddish, Georgian, Russian and English. Israeli Ambassador to
Georgia Rivka Cohen presented the children ‘Mishloach Manot’.

Jews of TASHKENT, Uzbekistan celebrated Purim at the ‘Alladin’
Theater. Following words by Chief Rabbi of Uzbekistan David Gurevich,
children from the Jewish school put on a performance. The Women’s
Club celebrated Purim with a traditional tea ceremony.

The Jewish Community of BAKU, Azerbaijan held a ‘Megilat Esther’
reading with contests and candies, a dinner and a concert. The Jewish
community of Azerbaijan also received congratulations from both
Muslim and Russian Orthodox leaders.

The Jewish children in ALMATY, Kazakhstan performed a Purimspiel in
four different languages for members of the Jewish community.