Northern District Times (Australia)
August 25, 2004 Wednesday
Armenians seek home
A DEMAND for more facilities to cater for Ryde’s 10,000-strong
Armenian community has emerged as the council considers whether it
should demolish a derelict clubhouse at Burrow Park.
The Ryde-based Armenian Association of Australia’s 85 members are
lobbying Ryde Council to keep the unoccupied facility in Princes St,
Ryde, for their cultural activities.
The council has said they could carry out their traditions at nearby
Santa Rosa Park’s scout hall, which is used by another Armenian group
but an association spokesman said their cultures differed
significantly.
“Irrespective of them being another Armenian group, we’re like chalk
and cheese,” association vice president Toros Boyadjian said.
“There are big cultural and traditional differences. There’s a
different language and different dialect.”
Burrow Park members are predominantly Christian Orthodox while Santa
Rosa members are a mix of religions, some with Iranian heritage.
Mr Boyadjian dismissed the idea of cultural conflict dividing the
groups.
The association expressed interest in occupying the clubhouse when
the Italian group San Giorgio Martire Di Sydney left the premises in
2001, finding it inadequate on car parking and safety issues because
of its secluded site.
The council said the building was structurally unsound and
dilapidated and would cost $300,000 to restore.
Ryde councillor Sarkis Yedelian said Armenians still needed a
facility of their own.
He said Ryde Civic Centre was available only up to four times a year
while most locals had to travel to the Willoughby Armenian Cultural
Centre for traditional activities. The Armenian Youth Federation,
Armenian Cultural Association, Armenian Sports Association and
Armenian Relief Society use the Ryde Civic Centre.
The recommendation to demolish the clubhouse went before the council
again last night (Tuesday).

The Straits Times (Singapore)
August 25, 2004 Wednesday
Amazing Charla;
Small in stature but big in spirit, the tiny half of the racing
cousins shows that size really doesn’t matter
Hong Xinyi
YOU may have seen her running desperately to keep up with the other
contestants on The Amazing Race 5, but Charla Faddoul will have you
know that her dwarfism has seldom kept her from accomplishing her
goals.
The 28-year-old, who is 1.2m tall, said she endured tremendous pain
during surgery to straighten her legs when she was 13.
Why? ‘So I would be able to walk and run like everyone else. That was
the toughest time I’ve had to face as a little person,’ she said in a
phone interview yesterday from Baltimore in the United States.
‘It was excruciatingly painful, and no kid wants to spend the entire
summer in casts. After that I had to use a wheelchair for a while,
but it made me a stronger person,’ she said.
‘When I was in high school, kids were not very nice about my dwarfism
as well. But when I got older, I started showing my personality.’
Faddoul sounded slightly more tired than her usual upbeat self on
television – which was understandable as she had been fielding
interviews from the press all day.
Along with her cousin Mirna Hindoyian, 28, Faddoul was eliminated in
last week’s episode of the reality show.
Her sunny but determined disposition was abundantly apparent during
her TV stint, and viewers certainly took notice.
Websites and blogs run by fans of the show have been discussing
Faddoul and her cousin more than any other team.
In a CBS online poll held last month, the feisty twosome were voted
most likely to win the show’s US$1 million (S$1.71 million) prize.
One Faddoul fan said: ‘She can carry a side of beef on her back, eat
2 pounds of caviar and keep a legion of loyal Charla fans entertained
through the dog days of summer. This woman deserves a medal.’
Dan Okenfuss, spokesman for the interest group Little People Of
America, considers her a role model.
‘What Charla is doing on the show is great, introducing little people
to the mainstream world, doing an activity average-sized people are
doing,’ he was quoted in an article posted on the website
usatoday.com last month.
Even host Phil Keoghan got noticeably misty-eyed when he told the
cousins of their elimination last week.
‘Charla may be a little person, but she has a heart the size of a
whale,’ he was quoted as saying in an article on usatoday.com last
week.
Before their elimination, entertainment magazines like People and TV
shows like Entertainment Tonight had already been clamouring for
interviews with Faddoul.
Since their elimination, the pair have been making the talk show
rounds in New York and Los Angeles.
But the glitz and the glamour of their post-Race life is not as
important to Faddoul as the acceptance she now feels.
‘Before, people would judge me before they got to know me. But when
I’m walking on the streets now, people don’t look at me like I’m
different,’ she said. ‘They welcome me with open arms, and say that
I’m an inspiration. It’s such an honour.’
And she is not self-conscious about being labelled a role model
either.
‘I’m not perfect, but I hope I can encourage not just little people,
but people who are different in other ways. It’s tough out there, but
don’t give up.’
Hindoyian, an attorney, is delighted by her fan mail.
‘I’ve received over 50 letters and e-mail. Of course some are men
asking me out on dates, but there are also young girls who say they
want to be as strong and independent as us. It’s so heartwarming.
Thank you, everybody.’
There are some brickbats among the bouquets, though. Some reality
show pundits call Faddoul’s tactic of using her dwarfism to inspire
sympathy ‘hypocritical’.
Hindoyian’s contentious relationship with other Racers (see other
story) have also garnered choice adjectives like ‘whiny’,
‘self-dramatising’ and ‘bitch’.
Besides endless run-ins with arch-nemesis Colin Guinn, she had once
tried to prevent a ticket agent from selling other teams air tickets
by saying they were violent.
She could also barely contain her glee each time her team’s
bus/taxi/train/plane sped ahead of other teams.
Nonetheless, the pair stand firm on their Race-running strategies.
‘If people can’t see that I’m trying to break stereotypes, then
there’s nothing more I can do,’ said Faddoul, sounding a tad
defensive.
‘Certain things are harder for me. We had to buy tickets ahead of the
other teams so that things wouldn’t boil down to a running
competition at the end. Their legs were double my size. I played the
game the best way I could using what I had.’
Hindoyian, likewise, mounted a spirited defence. ‘We never intended
to have rivalries with anyone. When we first arrived on the show, we
hugged and greeted everyone, and we wanted to build alliances.’
However, she said, ‘the other teams didn’t take us seriously at
first’.
‘They didn’t realise that I was an attorney and a good strategist,
and that Charla is a very successful manager of 10 sportswear
stores.’
But the Syrian-born Armenian cousins are no strangers to exceeding
expectations.
Born a month apart in the same Syrian hospital, their families
emigrated to the US when they were children. Both women currently
reside in Baltimore, Maryland.
‘I had to teach myself English when I was five years old,’ said
Hindoyian proudly.
‘And I was the youngest graduate in my class in law school.’ She
graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law at the age of
23.
‘Some of the other teams commented on how we spoke in Armenian among
ourselves. But that’s the language we speak at home,’ she explained.
‘I guess some people have no appreciation for other cultures.’
Despite not winning, the pair are happy to have had the experience.
Faddoul cited ‘the sun setting over the pyramids in Egypt’ as her
favourite memory of the Race, while Hindoyian is grateful that ‘I got
to travel the world with my cousin’.
Indeed, the two remain as close as ever. Said Hindoyian: ‘Charla and
I have known each other for 28 years, spent every holiday together,
and we can read each other’s minds.
‘We know each other’s strengths, and any bickering during the Race
was minimal.’
Faddoul also credits her husband, David Faddoul, with giving her
support.
‘He was worried at first because it seemed like a very physical show,
but he knows I usually succeed in what I do.’
She has been married for 3 1/2 years to the 34-year-old (and 1.75m
tall) manager who runs one of her stores. They were introduced by
mutual friends at a party.
‘He’s a wonderful man who believes in me and makes me want to do
better.’
With the new-found belief from her fans, there’s no telling what the
Amazing Faddoul will be able to accomplish next. RACE RELATIONS
The name-calling, the intense glares, the hostile factions and the
snide comments. Why didn’t fan favourites Mirna Hindoyian and Charla
Faddoul make any friends among their fellow Amazing Race contestants?
Hindoyian (left) gives us her take:
On being dubbed ‘Mirna and Schmirna’ by brothers Lance and Marshall
Hudes:
‘I don’t have any feelings about them. They said that the Russians
were miserable people, the Arabs were miserable people, and that
Charla and I weren’t their type of people. I’m happy that we are not.
I just want to keep a positive attitude and not put everyone down.’
On her soap-opera-worthy rivalry with arch-nemesis Colin Guinn
(right):
‘Colin actually called us Russian bitches, completely disrespecting
our heritage. He said repeatedly that his goal was to beat Charla. I
don’t think his ego could stand being beaten by two girls.’
On the bowling Mums Linda Ruiz and Karen Heins:
‘The Mums were not out to win a popularity contest, they were out to
win. They made it very clear during the most recent episode that they
thought we were a strong team, and we really respect people who give
us a chance.’
On how she kept gushing over host Phil Keoghan and hugging him every
chance she could:
‘We come from a small town, and we’re big fans of show, so Phil is
like a big celebrity to me. I think he is so handsome and witty.’

The Miami Herald
August 25, 2004, Wednesday
Atrocity haunts “Birds Without Wings’
By Connie Ogle
_”Birds Without Wings,” by Louis de Bernieres; Knopf (553 pages,
$25.95)
“Arms aren’t wings,” a woman in Louis de Bernieres’ violent,
heart-breaking yet resplendent new anti-war novel tells a small boy
who longs to fly. “If we had wings, do you think we would suffer so
much in one place? Don’t you think we would fly away to paradise?”
Oh, yes, we would fly. We would soar. We would escape the bloody
whims of history; the terrifying inevitability of change; the fear,
horror and death that bloom when powerful forces decide that
invisible borders _ geographical, cultural, religious _ count more
than people.
In the grand, sweeping style of his international blockbuster
“Corelli’s Mandolin,” de Bernieres masterfully explores the terrible
price of love, politics and war _ a cost we still insist on paying.
“Birds Without Wings” is a breathtaking, sorrowful account of the
Ottoman Empire’s death seen through the eyes of the Turks and Greeks,
Christians and Muslims of a tiny coastal town in southwest Anatolia.
Like “Corelli’s Mandolin,” which features the inhabitants of the
Greek island of Cephallonia during World War II, “Birds Without
Wings” traces another turbulent era’s devastating effects on a simple
place and its people. Fueled by rich storytelling and superb
historical detail, the novel is set in “the age when everyone wanted
an empire and felt entitled to one, days of innocence perhaps, before
the world realised, if it yet has, that empires were pointless and
expensive, and their subject peoples rancorous and ungrateful.”
Turkey bridges the gap between East and West, its largely Islamic
population governed by a secular democratic government, and so the
novel feels disturbingly pertinent. But de Bernieres never fails to
keep his characters in sharp focus as he offers us an impassioned
argument against aggression and blind nationalism, lamenting its cost
with a fervor disturbingly relevant to our current war-heightened
sensibilities.
He is also a magnificent storyteller, bringing to life humble
Eskibahce and its rustic inhabitants, among them Ali the
Broken-Nosed, not to be confused with Ali the Snow-bringer; Mehmetcik
and Karatavuk, best friends who mimic birds as boys and grow up to
fight different battles; the homeless Dog, whose ravaged visage
frightens everyone; the lonely Rustem Bey, the town’s wealthy
landlord; and Ibrahim and Philothei, Muslim and Christian, betrothed
since childhood but doomed to tragedy.
Religion rarely polarizes. “Life was merrier when the Christians were
still among us, not least because almost every one of their days was
the feast of some saint,” Iskander the Potter, one of our narrators,
confides. The town’s imam and priest respectfully greet each other as
“Infidel Efendi.” Brides adopt their husbands’ faith without
argument. Muslims stand at the back of the church during Christian
services; Christian feet tread the clay that shapes Muslim pots. All
this will change with the rise of Mustafa Kemal, founder of modern
Turkey, whose story de Bernieres also tells in short, succinct
chapters that grow more complex as the soldier’s dreams expand.
De Bernieres, like Kemal, is a harsh critic of religious monomania.
“It is curious that the Russians, calling themselves Christians, and
like so many other nominal Christians throughout history, took no
notice whatsoever of the key parable of Jesus Christ himself, which
taught that you shall love your neighbor as yourself, and that even
those you have despised and hated are your neighbors. This has never
made any difference to Christians, since the primary epiphenomena of
any religion’s foundation are the production and flourishment of
hypocrisy, megalomania and psychopathy.” He is scornful of Islamic
extremists as well, decrying the “mad light of moral certainty in the
eyes of those who acted on God’s commands as laid down in holy books
that no one was able to read.”
War, quite simply, appalls de Bernieres. His lengthy, unnerving
descriptions of the battle of Gallipoli _ the book is dedicated
partly to his grandfather, who was severely wounded there _ detail
atrocities with brutal, numbing repetition. “There had been fighting
for one month, and the dead had never been collected,” Iskander’s son
Karatavuk tells us. “Some bodies were swollen up, and some were
black, and they were seething with maggots, and others were turning
to green slime, and others were fully rotted and shriveling up so
that the bones stuck out through the skin. A lot of them were built
into the parapets and fortifications, so that you might say they were
being employed as sandbags.”
“Birds Without Wings” is not without moments of humor, but atrocity
haunts it _ children crucified and disemboweled by the Greeks, the
Turkish slaughter of Armenians at Smyrna. “I blame men of God of both
faiths,” Iskander says. “I blame all those who gave their soldiers
permission to behave like wolves.” In the face of horror, de
Bernieres can offer only the meager comfort of man’s ability to
endure and adapt. But he has given us a marvelous novel nonetheless.
Its insight into the darkest human desires is unerring and indelible.
Oh, how we long for paradise. Oh, how we long to fly.
___
(Connie Ogle is The Miami Herald’s book editor.)
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Xinhua General News Service
August 25, 2004 Wednesday 7:30 PM EST
Paris mayor pays homage to liberators of Paris
PARIS
Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe on Wednesday paid homage to all
liberators of Paris in an address at the City Hall to celebrate the
60th anniversary of Paris’ liberation from Nazi occupation.
Delanoe said that Paris’ liberation was the “symbol of the Europe
that freed itself from the Nazi yoke”.
He paid homage to all liberators, including Americans, Spanish,
Armenians, Polish, German anti-Nazi fighters and Italian
anti-Fascists.
“Their will to serve mankind’s dignity and liberty gathered them in
our city, for which they relighted the flame,” he said.
“To all these guides who made our city blazed up when breath of
liberty met with flame of honor, I extend our immense gratitude at
the name of Parisians,” said the mayor.
“Oblivion, indifference or even worse falsification are permanent
dangers at the origine of barbarism, which forms anti- Semitism,
racism or repulsion of others because of their identity, ” he noted.
“To all liberators of Paris, we owe living in the honor,” he said.
After more than four years of Nazi occupation, Paris was liberated by
the 2nd French Armored Division and the 4th US Infantry Division on
Aug. 24-25, 1944.

La Nouvelle République du Centre Ouest
25 août 2004
La foule en liesse acclama la 2e DB

Après quatre années d’occupation, et une semaine de grèves,
barricades et combats de rue, le peuple parisien a retrouvé, en
s’insurgeant contre l’occupant allemand, la ferveur des grandes
heures révolutionnaires…
Paris s’est libéré tout seul. Enfin, presque. Quand le vendredi 25
août 1944, sous un soleil radieux, les chars de la 2e DB martèlent le
pavé parisien, la capitale s’est déjà soulevée depuis une semaine.
Qui tiendra Paris tiendra la France, disait-on. D’où des divergences,
non sans arrière-pensées politiques, sur les modalités de sa
libération, entre les Alliés, la résistance extérieure et les
résistants parisiens. Eisenhower préfère encercler la capitale. A la
tête du gouvernement provisoire, installé à Alger, de Gaulle plaide
pour une action rapide en direction de Paris. D’autant que
Rol-Tanguy, chef communiste des FFI, ardent partisan d’un soulèvement
immédiat, proclame le 18 août la mobilisation générale : « Français,
tous au combat ! » La grève est générale : ni transports, ni gaz, ni
électricité, ni courrier. Les journaux de la collaboration sont
remplacés par ceux de la clandestinité. Le chef des SS fuit la
capitale, Pierre Laval s’enfuit sous escorte allemande, il n’y a plus
de gouvernement. Les Allemands – 16.000 hommes, 80 chars et une
soixantaine de canons – sont depuis le 9 août sous le commandement du
général von Choltitz, installé à l’hôtel Meurice, rue de Rivoli.
Désorganisés, ils sont vite confinés par les FFI à quelques points
d’appui : École militaire, Luxembourg, Concorde, Opéra, République…
Aux ordres successifs d’Hitler de transformer Paris en un « champ de
ruines », von Choltitz n’obéira pas, jugeant ce projet insensé et
irréalisable.
Mairies, commissariats, bureaux de poste sont investis par les
résistants qui s’arment progressivement. De son PC souterrain de la
place Denfert-Rochereau, le colonel Rol coordonne les actions. Le
dimanche 20, des haut-parleurs annoncent un cessez-le-feu. Les
Parisiens achètent à la sauvette cocardes et drapeaux tricolores. Les
Allemands plient bagage et la Gestapo brûle ses dossiers sur les
pavés de la rue des Saussaies. Obtenue la veille au soir par le
consul général de Suède, Raoul Nordling, la trêve, rejetée avec force
par les mouvements de la Résistance intérieure, est rompue au bout de
24 heures. Les combats reprennent. Des barricades surgissent partout.
Les résistants étendent leur contrôle sur des quartiers entiers et
tiennent l’Hôtel de Ville. Le 23 août, les affrontements se
poursuivent.
Depuis l’aube, la 2e DB de Leclerc est en route vers Chartres et
Rambouillet. Le lendemain soir, une colonne blindée, composée de
pionniers espagnols et commandée par le capitaine Raymond Dronne, est
la première à pénétrer dans Paris : la nuit tombe, la foule en liesse
acclame les libérateurs et monte à l’assaut des véhicules. La radio
annonce la nouvelle, les cloches des églises sonnent à toute volée.
Le détachement parvient à l’Hôtel de Ville, guidé par un motocycliste
d’origine arménienne. Il est 21 h 20 à la grande horloge.
Au matin du vendredi 25, les chars Sherman de la division Leclerc
entrent dans Paris en trois colonnes par le sud et l’ouest qui se
rejoignent place de la Concorde. A midi, le drapeau français flotte
sur la tour Eiffel. L’unité du colonel Billotte prend d’assaut
l’hôtel Meurice et obtient la reddition de von Choltitz. Celui-ci
signe son acte de capitulation vers 15 h 30 à la préfecture de
police, en présence de Leclerc. Quelques instants plus tard, au PC de
Leclerc, gare Montparnasse, le général allemand rédige ses ordres de
cessez-le-feu.
Une marée humaine sur les Champs-Élysées
C’est là que Leclerc consent à faire signer au colonel Rol-Tanguy,
chef des insurgés parisiens, l’acte de reddition, avant que ne les
rejoigne le général de Gaulle, arrivé de Rambouillet. Le chef de la
France libre reprochera à Leclerc d’avoir laissé le résistant
communiste signer un exemplaire de l’acte de capitulation… Puis il
se rend à l’Hôtel de Ville où l’attend le Conseil national de la
Résistance rassemblé autour de son chef, Georges Bidault. De Gaulle
refuse de proclamer une République qui, pour lui, « n’a jamais cessé
d’exister ». Il rend hommage à la capitale, et, bras ouverts, salue
depuis un balcon les Parisiens qui l’acclament.
Pendant ce temps, dans le centre de Paris, de mystérieux coups de feu
partent des toits et des fenêtres. Les FFI poursuivent les tireurs.
Certains sont lynchés par la foule… tandis que de nombreuses
femmes, accusées de collaboration, sont tondues. La Libération de
Paris connaîtra aussi sa face noire. Mais le samedi 26 août au matin,
c’est la joie qui est de mise : de Gaulle descend les Champs-Élysées
escorté par une marée humaine. Jusqu’au 30 des combats sporadiques se
poursuivront dans la capitale. Au total, la « bataille de Paris »
aura coûté la vie à près de 1.000 FFI, 130 soldats de la 2e DB, près
de 600 civils, et à plus de 3.000 soldats allemands.
GRAPHIQUE: Image: Le lendemain, de Gaulle passe devant l’Arc de
triomphe avant de descendre les Champs-Élysées.

ARKA News Agency
Aug 25 2004
Festive devoted to the Day of the Republic to be held in Stepanakert
Danish Foreign Minister to visit Armenia on Aug 26-27
Meeting with kids been on holidays to Russia to be held in Yerevan
School `Slavyanskaya’
*********************************************************************
FESTIVE DEVOTED TO THE DAY OF THE REPUBLIC TO BE HELD IN STEPANAKERT
YEREVAN, August 25. /ARKA/. On September 2 on the occasion of the
13th anniversary of the Day of Declaration of Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic (NKR), festive will be held in Stepanakert and the regions
of NKR. According to ARKA’s reporter in Stepanakert, the celebration
will start with lessons in educational institutions of the republic
that will be devoted to the Day of the Declaration of NKR. Members of
the Government as well as Deputies and the representatives of the
Army will be present at the lessons. Columns of servicemen of the
Defense Army will march along the streets of Stepanakert. Members of
the Government, representatives of the community of the republic as
well as guests from Armenia and Russia will visit Stepanakert
memorial complex. Famous actors and singers invited from RA and RF
will have concerts in Stepanakert. A.H. – 0–
*********************************************************************
DANISH FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT ARMENIA ON AUG 26-27
YEREVAN, August 25. /ARKA/. Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig M?ller
to visit Armenia on Aug 26-27. As the Armenian Foreign Ministry
Information and Press Department told ARKA, the Danish Foreign
Minister schedules meetings with the Armenian PM Andranik Margarian,
the Armenian Foreign Minister VArdan Oskanian as well as Catholicos
of All-Armenian His Holiness Garegin II. On Aug 27 Per Stig M?ller
will visit the Armenian Genocide Memorial on Tsitsernakaberd. T.M.
-0–
*********************************************************************
MEETING WITH KIDS BEEN ON HOLIDAYS TO RUSSIA TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN
SCHOOL `SLAVYANSKAYA’
YEREVAN, August 25. /ARKA/. On Aug 27 there will be held a meeting in
Yerevan Secondary School `Slavyanskaya’ with kids that traveled to
Russia for holidays by invitation of the Russian Federal authorities
and Moscow Government. As the Russian Embassy told ARKA, 30 kids
traveled to recreation summer camp Ogonyek in Sergiev Posad and
another 40 along the `Golden Ring of Russia’. As it is mentioned in
the press release, during the meeting with representatives of the
mass media there will be provided information on Russian projects of
support of com-patriots residing in Armenia. Also, the kids will tell
about their impression of trip to Russia, while a photo exhibition
and demonstration of documentary video film about kids’ trip from
Armenia to Russia will be organized for guests. T.M. -0–

Azg Armenian Daily
Aug 26 2004
ARMENIANS OF ARTSAKH AND THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA ARE THE ONLY
GUARANTEE FOR NAGORNO KARABAKH
CONSTRUCTION WORKS CARRIED OUT ON SCHEDULE IN TAVUSH
“GERMANY AND SECRET GENOCIDE” IN THE JEWISH FESTIVAL
BOOKS OF VAHAGN TATRIAN BEING TRANSLATED
“DAVID OF SASOUN” AND “BOOK OF MOURNFUL SONGS” IN UKRAINIAN
*********************************************************************
ARMENIANS OF ARTSAKH AND THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA ARE THE ONLY
GUARANTEE FOR NAGORNO KARABAKH
Armenia’s Hopes for Russian Investments are Vain So Far
The regular meeting of the presidents of Armenian and Russia took
place in Sochi on August 20. At the press conference followed right
after the talks Vladimir Putin stated: “Russia is ready to be a
guarantee and mediator in Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement if
only Yerevan and Baku are willing”.
Mr. Putin never had promised during his tenure that “Russia is ready
to be a guarantee and mediator”. Since 2000 Mr. Putin has been
explaining Moscow’s position by saying that there should not be
winners or losers in the conflict resolution and that Russia will
support any project acceptable for Yerevan and Baku.
So what does it mean to be “guarantee in Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement”? Mr. Putin gave no further details on the matter and
that’s why it’s difficult to “decipher” the words of the Russian
president. But no matter what the promises are, neither Russia nor
other world powers can be a guarantee. Armenians of Artsakh and
Armenia are the only guarantee for Nagorno Karabakh. The Armenian
history and the Karabakh war come to testify to our words.
On the days of the World War I, when the Armenian nation was being
slain in its historic homeland, the English declared that the British
ships cannot climb the Armenian mountains. The British Prime Minister
Lloyd George noted: “If the Armenians are unable to defend their
territory then there is no use of such a nation”. This cynical
statement is partly true, as we preferred protecting our borders to
sending delegations to Europe and Russia. In 1991-94 the Armenian
nation proved that it’s able to defend its land and be the only
guarantee for the territorial wholeness and security.
The same Russia that left its ally Armenia alone with the Turkish
yataghan on the Eastern front only few years later became a guarantee
of the Karabakh conflict settlement as a Soviet Union. But the Soviet
government didn’t ask the will of Yerevan and Baku on the summer day
of 1921 as Mr. Putin did.
Decades later, in 1989, the Soviet government took the steer of
Nagorno Karabakh in his hands. Arkady Volski and his group left
Stepanakert in 1990. The Soviet Union, in its death agony, gave the
control over Nagorno Karabakh to anti-Armenian Polyanichko. The
events of these years also testify to the fact that Russia again
failed to be a guarantee for the Karabakh people and the Karabakh
issue.
It’s out of doubt that Russia is Armenia’s military ally. Moscow’s
role in the Karabakh conflict settlement is central. The role of the
US president is also vital. But Moscow and Washington can only be
guarantee for a short period of time.
Perhaps Armenia has other expectations from Russia too. The Russian
president noted during the meeting with Robert Kocharian that the
good circulation between the two countries is declining. During the
press conference the presidents tried to justify the reasons of this
declension. But Vladimir Putin preferred to keep silent about the
issue of the Russian investments, i.e. their absence, in Armenia.
At the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Ministers of Armenia and Russia
some months ago Vartan Oskanian noted that the good circulation
between Armenia and Russia may increase if the latter is willing to
invest in the companies handed over to Russia by the “Asset for Debt”
program.
Armenia has settled 93.76 million dollars of debt by the
abovementioned program hoping for a flow of investments. There were
no investments in the five Armenian companies till now. The future of
the two other big plants, “Armenal” and “Nairit” is uncertain. Today
“Armenal” doesn’t function with the excuse of repair. In 2000 when
the “Russki Aalumini” handed over “Kanaz” Ltd it is said to be
engaged in money laundering.
The Armenian-Russian alliance may “vapour” with time if Moscow
continues neglecting the economical factor especially if there are no
investments.
By Tatoul Hakobian
*********************************************************************
CONSTRUCTION WORKS CARRIED OUT ON SCHEDULE IN TAVUSH
RA Construction Minister States
In 2004 629 million AMD were allocated from RA State Budget for
capital construction in Tavush. 15 schools, a dwelling house in
Dilidjan, Tavush History Museum in Berd are being reconstructed at
present. After being fully renovated the library, having large
literature fund, will have all the required conditions for
comfortable reading. It is envisaged to allocate money from the state
budget for Dilidjan’s library in 2005 as well. The problem of the
town’s Kaghni Khach district’s two dwelling buildings that are to be
ruined will be settled by giving the dwellers apartments in the
Moldovakan district.
Aram Haroutiunian, RA Construction Minister, said this during the
working visit to Tavush. Minister emphasized the importance of
establishing united control system for the improvement of the
dwelling conditions both in Dilidjan and in Idjevan. This will help
the ministry renovate the privatized buildings. The construction of
the half-built administrative building in Idjevan will begin next
week. It will be given to Idjevan’s Mayor’s Office and Tavush
Regional Administration. Minister stated that the construction works
in all the places are being done on schedule.
Visiting the landslide areas, minister stated that in Gosh, Achadjur,
Hovq communities and in Dilidjan the landslide areas will be studied
within the framework of “Program of Urgent Measures Taken against
Landslide” based on RA Government’s decision. The program will be
implemented thanks to the financial assistance rendered by Japan
Government. A united conference of the ministry’s officials and the
representatives of the local administration was included in the
program of the working visit to the region. The officials discussed
the construction problems existing in the region and elaborated some
programs.
By Nana Petrosian
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“GERMANY AND SECRET GENOCIDE” IN THE JEWISH FESTIVAL
“Germany and Secret Genocide” film by Mikael Hakobian was shown in
the Jewish “Saidbar” section of Road Island International Film
Festival on August 12, Armenian Mirror Spectator informed. This is
the third film of the triad entitled “The Witnesses” dedicated to the
Armenian Genocide. The triad is produced by “Armenian Film
Institution” established in South California. The film was
represented at the festival by Doctor Sharon Rivo, Executive Director
of the Jewish Film Festival at Brandeis University. He was deeply
impressed by the film when he watched it during its premiere
organized by Bellemonde Armenian Research Center and decided to show
the film to a larger audience. Glen Far, Co-Producer of the film,
expressed satisfaction and said that this “confirms the idea that the
genocide is the problem of the world, the humanity.” It’s worth
mentioning that Road Island Film Festival is the biggest cultural
event of New England that help the New York and Boston spectators and
cinema critics be present and express their views.
“Germany and Secret Genocide” took the first place and was awarded a
special price at “One world Of Human Rights” Prague Film Festival, as
well as American Feature and Video Film Festival.
By Hakob Tsulikian
*********************************************************************
BOOKS OF VAHAGN TATRIAN BEING TRANSLATED
The books of Prof. Vahagn Tatrian, an eminent historian, author of
many researches into the Armenian Genocide, continue to interest
academical circles.
The Zorian Institute informs that one of Milan publishing houses,
“Edicioni Gerini” published Prof. Tatrian’s most famous book “The
history of the Armenian Genocide. The ethnic confrontation from the
Balkans to Anatolia and The Caucasus”. It was translated by Dr.
Alessandra Flores Darkais.
The book was translated in 2003 from the English translation provided
by the “Bergan Books” publishing house. The English version already
has six publications. “Prof. Tatrian’s book is the most convincing
from juridical point of view and the closest to the historic truth
from among all other books on this subject”, wrote Sheriff Basiuni,
president of the International Institute of Human Rights and the
International Association of Criminal Laws.
The book also had its second French publication and the Arabic
version was published in Damascus. Zorian Institute informs that the
collection of Prof. Tatrian’s articles on the Armenian Genocide is
translated into Turkish by Belji Yayinlari and is on sale in the
bookstores of “Dost”, “Kabile”, “Imje” in Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara.
Dr. Taner Akcam’s review of the book that was published in Radical
made the Turkish intelligentsia interested.
Dr. Akcam highly valued the work of Prof. Tatrian and considered the
book a “precious contribution”, stressing that it enables the Turkish
reader to learn about a theme that is a “taboo”. He also noted that
for a country yearning for the EU it’s impossible to deny the fact of
the Armenian Genocide.
By Hakob Tsulikian
*********************************************************************
“DAVID OF SASOUN” AND “BOOK OF MOURNFUL SONGS” IN UKRAINIAN
The Armenian epos “David of Sasoun” and Grigor Narekatsi’s “Book of
Mournful Songs” were translated into Ukrainian last year. The embassy
of Ukraine to Armenia and “Armenia-Ukraine” company initiated the
presentation of the book on August 24. “The translators did a great
work thus expressing their love towards the Armenian nation. The
language is so simple and comprehensible that the Ukrainians will
have no difficulty with understanding the philosophy of the works. I
know what Narekatsi means for the Armenians and that’s why I think
that his poem’s translation into Ukrainian is a great event in
Armenian-Ukrainian cultural relations”, said ambassador Vladimir
Tyaglo.
It’s a pity that the translators Victor Kachevski and Miron
Nesterchuk were not present at the presentation. Levon Mirinjanian,
Davit Muradian, Suren Muradian and others highly valued their work.
Suren Muradian said that Victor Kachevski began the translation in
Tsakhkadzor and amazed everyone by rejoicing at the deeds of the epos
heroes. He suggested the Writers’ Union of Armenia to invite Mr.
Kachevski to Tsakhkadzor for a holiday.
By Ruzan Poghosian

Messenger.com.ge, Georgia
Aug 25 2004
Chechen cards on the Georgian playing table
The current deputy prime minister in Chechnya’s pro-Russian
administration Ramzan Kadyrov this week announced that 5,000 Chechen
warriors are prepared to be deployed to the conflict zone in South
Ossetia to maintain peace.
The idea that Chechen soldiers are more needed here in Georgia is a
further demonstration of the cynicism and imperialism with which
senior Russian leaders view the independent country of Georgia while
turning a blind eye to their own problems.
The son of the assassinated leader Akhmad Kadyrov who was killed in a
bomb attack in May, Ramzan Kadyrov has excelled in creating his own
security force that both Moscow and Chechen rebels struggle to
control. Thus his threat against Georgia is more than just posturing
and all the more disturbing. On Saturday Kadyrov was reminded of the
unrest in his own land when Grozny became the scene of a massive gun
fight that left over 30 people dead, including as many as 20 police.
While hotspots like Karabakh, Abkhazia and even South Ossetia remain
so-called frozen conflicts, Chechnya remains a bleeding wound for
Russia. However, it appears like Kadyrov, who was snubbed as a
possible successor to his father, still wants to prove his loyalty to
Moscow and join with other pro-Russian groups like the Cossacks that
have entered Georgian territory. The arrival of Chechen forces would
not be the first for Georgia.
In the early 1990’s, Georgian, Russian and Abkhazian interests all
collided with Georgia holding the losing hand. It was there that
Russia played Chechen card for the first time. It equipped Chechen
warriors, trained them, organized them and sent them to fight against
Georgia. The results of the war are clear: under the weight of
Russian-backed militias, Georgia lost Abkhazia.
But the event backfired on Russia threefold. First it equipped North
Caucasus people and particularly Chechens with enormous amounts of
arms and ammunition. Though initially targeted against Georgia,
Chechens later turned their weapons on Russia. Second, it created a
myth about the undefeated victorious Chechen warriors who were able
to defeat any army. And the third, it created the precedent of a
separatist state in a former Soviet Union country.
Today Russia wants to direct its Chechen card against Georgia once
again. As Speaker of Parliament Nino Burjanadze said, she is sure
that the Chechen people have enough common sense not to get involved
in such an adventure. However, some ultra-patriotic leaders of Russia
such as Zhirinovsky are seriously considering this intervention.
The precedent of unauthorized troops in the region has been set by
armed Cossacks and more can be expected under the current struggle
for control. According to Georgian intelligence, there are different
types of mercenaries and terrorists fighting for the separatist side.
The first group represents followers of Zhirinovsly’s Russian
chauvinism who are paid as much as USD 1,000 a month and an
additional USD 100 a day during combat. Georgian intelligence
officers describe them as mainly amateurs and non-professionals.
Another more dangerous group is made up of adventurers led by the
paramilitary leader identified in the Georgian crime journal Kronika
as Timoshenko. At the moment they are creating the most problems for
separatist regime because they are poorly organized, undisciplined
and inexperienced in fighting. In addition, they are demanding
payment from the Kokoiti administration.
As Kronika reports, trained professionals from the ranks of the
Russian army units that participated in either Chechnya or earlier in
Afghanistan are receiving USD 2,000 a month and USD 200 a day during
combat. The best-trained mercenaries and Cossacks are paid USD 5,000
a month each. These special forces units – experienced, well-prepared
and trained under Russian commando instructors – create the bulk of
the separatist armed forces.
At the moment Kokoiti hardly controls these people because he is
short of cash and therefore these paramilitaries, particularly the
Timoshenko group, are suspected of involvement in robberies,
including a massive cattle theft reported on Monday. Of course
officials of the Russian Federation do not confirm the presence of
Russian citizens in the territory of conflict zone. The fact is they
are there and they create an enormous threat to the current peace
that was only achieved with great difficulty.
Since Russia continues its solitary control of the Roki Tunnel, the
only connection between the Russian Federation and Georgia in the
Tskhinvali region, it is surely aware of paramilitary groups
infiltrating Georgian territory. Just as Russia once called Chechens
in the Pankisi Gorge terrorists, these paramilitaries in South
Ossetia are also terrorists. Under the circumstances, the addition of
Chechen groups to the conflict zone would only exacerbate tensions,
and Kadyrov’s threat thus represents another incident of
Russian-backed aggression against Georgia.

Deutsche Welle
25 Aout 2004
Le président azerbaidjanais à Berlin…

– A l’issue d’un entretien avec le président azerbaïdjanais Ilham
Aliev à Berlin, le chancelier allemand Gerhard Schroeder a salué les
réformes réalisées en Azerbaïdjan. Le chancelier a salué les efforts
du pays pour améliorer la sécurité juridique et l’Etat de droit.
Gerhard Schroeder a appelé les investisseurs allemands à “renoncer à
leur réserve” dans la région. L’Allemagne soutient par ailleurs une
solution politique de la crise dans l’enclave du Nagorny Karabakh et
entend poursuivre ses efforts en ce sens au sein de l’OSCE,
l’Organisation pour la coopération et la sécurité en Europe …Le
président azerbaïdjanais effectue à Berlin sa première visite depuis
son élection contestée en octobre dernier…

*Vandeweghe adds assistant*
*By Adam Thompson
Denver Post Staff Writer*
*Wednesday, August 25, 2004* –
General manager Kiki Vandeweghe has tapped an old acquaintance, Rex
Kalamian, to round out the Nuggets’ coaching staff.
Kalamian, who spent 2003-04 with the Philadelphia 76ers after six years
with the Los Angeles Clippers as an assistant coach, first met
Vandeweghe at Pete Newell’s big man camp more than a decade ago.
Asked why he chose Kalamian, Vandeweghe said, “I think it’s just
basketball knowledge. He started out as a video guy. He’s got the same
kind of background (head coach) Jeff (Bzdelik) does. He’s great at
looking at what other teams do.”
Kalamian joins Michael Cooper as a new member of Bzdelik’s staff. The
two replace John MacLeod and T.R. Dunn.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress